Brad Miller, a former Democratic congressman from North Carolina, thinks that House Democrats should really take off the gloves when it comes to investigations of President Donald Trump.
Writing in the Daily Beast, Miller warns Democrats that Trump does not observe any rules and will be more obstructionist in handling congressional investigations than any past president.
"His allies openly proclaim that his strategy is to hinder and delay congressional investigations until after the 2020 election," he writes. "The administration's use of frivolous arguments and dilatory legal tactics will only be limited by their lawyers' risk appetite for court sanction."
So what's the solution to this dilemma? Miller argues that it could come in the form of throwing uncooperative Trump associates in the slammer until they yield.
"House Democrats have a powerful, and long dormant, tool at their disposal as they retake control: they can enforce subpoenas to obtain documents and testimony without the help of prosecutors or judges," he argues. "The House and the Senate have inherent power to jail a contemnor until the contemnor provides subpoenaed documents or testimony, similar to the civil contempt power that judges use to enforce obedience to court subpoenas or orders."
Although Congress hasn't actually used this power since the 1930s, Miller says that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and that the risk for Democrats is looking too timid rather than too aggressive.
"If House Democrats aggressively use their own inherent contempt power, then there may be little Trump can do to suppress information controlled by private parties," he concludes. "As to the politics, House Democrats may better risk appearing dictatorial than to appear feckless."
