Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Maryland
Congressional Testimony
In light of the recent baseball Congressional hearings, I have the following hypthetical question. Can one make a case for refusing to testify even if given immunity given the fact that testimony almost always is leaked to the public. This is social self-incrimination when it happens and can do irrepairable harm to a witness. I understand that this would probably not be justified in a real trial, but testfying before congress is not a real trial.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Congressional Testimony
No. If Congress has merely invited you to appear you can decline, but if it subpoenas you then you have to go. If you decline an invitation but your testimony would be important to whatever investigation is going on you should expect a subpoena to follow. If you fail to show up you can be prosecuted for contempt.
Congress has the right to compel testimony, regardless of how the witness feels about appearing. Such testimony becomes public not because it is leaked but because it is almost always given in public hearings. Finally, the fact that Congressional hearings aren't court trials does not make them less important or make Congress's subpoena power less effective.
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