Barney Frank: “Yes, Mr. Speaker, it was a subpoena that came from the former Member, Mr. Dornan, as opposed to one solemnly voted by…”

“Yes, Mr. Speaker, it was a subpoena that came from the former Member, Mr. Dornan, as opposed to one solemnly voted by the House in the course of an investigation. But the argument that it was not authorized by a district court, no, under our Constitution this House has the right constitutionally to issue contempt citations to try to compel testimony. The Attorney General, I did not libel or defame the Attorney General, I simply quoted him. Being dead is not relevant. The fact is that the Attorney General said, it is wholly a matter of prosecutorial discretion whether or not we act on a contempt citation, and one voted by the whole House in the course of an investigation certainly has a great deal of standing.”