Fair point!
FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024
Looks like the discovery of more classified documents has prompted the DOJ to request the court to hold Donald Trump’s office in contempt. (note that this tweet is not really by Jack Smith)
What does it mean in legalese to hold somebody in contempt? What are the consequences?
He’ll probably make his poor lawyers take it to the Supreme Court citing the Checkers precedent.
I think it’s here:
The meat of it seems to be [UPDATED]:
In all cases of criminal contempt arising under the provisions of this Act, the accused, upon conviction, shall be punished by fine or imprisonment or both: Provided however, That in case the accused is a natural person the fine to be paid shall not exceed the sum of $1,000, nor shall imprisonment exceed the term of six months
So he has to pay a measly grand to avoid six months of prison?
… for each day he remains in contempt.
Ah, that makes a difference! Still peanuts.
There’s criminal contempt and civil contempt. I haven’t seen the DOJ request.
Regardless, it’s primarily to get his attention and secure better cooperation going forward.
I didn’t summarize it well enough. Allow me to add:
In all cases of criminal contempt arising under the provisions of this Act, the accused, upon conviction, shall be punished by fine or imprisonment or both
Thanks. That’s what I was looking at next. It looks a wee bit complicated:
ETA: Yeah. Whether they’re aiming for civil or criminal matters. I trust our eagle-eyed observers will chime in when we know which.
How can he get out of this?
AIUI, the DOJ is seeking a sworn affidavit affirmatively stating that all materials at issue have been turned over. They’ve been unable to get anything definitive to date. Lots of hemming and hawing, lots of individual attorneys saying, “Well, I haven’t found anything else…” but nothing stated with certainty one way or the other.
IANAL, but AIUI … if he’s charged with:
- Civil Contempt, he’ll have to comply with the Subpoenas to the Court’s satisfaction in order for the pain to stop
- Criminal Contempt, he may have to either strike a plea deal or stand trial and face potential consequences
@Procrustus : sound close? 
Ah, thanks to all for the explanations. Sounds good. I wonder if Trump’s lawyers dare to write such an affidavit, given how Trump and his cronies seem to handle these documents (next to swords and stuff in an unsecured storage unit).
Yes, but I’d be surprised if it’s criminal contempt. We’ll see.
OK, so they hold him in contempt until he complies with the subpoenas. But how do they know when he’s complied? The obvious countermove is to say “Yup, that’s all of the classified documents now”, regardless of whether it is or not. How does the court know?
My guess is there is still something(s) missing that they know of for sure. That’s why they pushed for the contempt charge. That pressures Trump to attest in writing that he gave everything back. Then they execute another search warrant (based on their inside info), find the missing McGuffin and Trump goes to prison on an open & shut case.
I so hope for your scenario, but that would be too stupid even for Trump and his lawyers, wouldn’t it?