WATKINS v. UNITED STATES
MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN
delivered the opinionof the Court. MR. JUSTICE FRANKFURTER,
concurring.
MR. JUSTICE CLARK, dissenting.
As I see it the chief fault in the majority
opinion is its mischievous curbing of the informing function of
the Congress. While I am not versed in its procedures, my experience
in the Executive Branch of the Government leads me to believe
that the requirements laid down in the opinion for the operation
of the committee system of inquiry are both unnecessary and unworkable.
It is my purpose to first discuss this phase of the opinion and
then record my views on the merits of Watkins' case.
I.
It may be that at times the House Committee
on Un-American Activities has, as the Court says, "conceived
of its task in the grand view of its name." And, perhaps,
as the Court indicates, the rules of conduct placed upon the Committee
by the House admit of individual abuse and unfairness. But that
is none of our affair. So long as the object of a legislative
inquiry is legitimate and the questions propounded are pertinent
thereto, it is not for the courts to interfere with the committee
system of inquiry. To hold otherwise would be an infringement
on the power given the Congress to inform itself, and thus a trespass
upon the fundamental American principle of separation of powers.
The majority has substituted the judiciary as the grand inquisitor
and supervisor of congressional investigations. It has never been
so.
II.
Legislative committees to inquire into facts
or conditions for assurance of the public welfare or to determine
the need for legislative action have grown in importance with
the complexity of government. The investigation that gave rise
to this prosecution is of the latter type. Since many matters
requiring statutory action lie in the domain of the specialist
or are unknown without testimony from informed witnesses, the
need for information has brought about legislative inquiries that
have used the compulsion of the subpoena to lay bare needed facts
and a statute, 2 U.S.C. § 192 here involved, to punish recalcitrant
witnesses. The propriety of investigations has long been recognized
and rarely curbed by the courts, though constitutional limitations
on the investigatory powers are admitted. 1
The use of legislative committees to secure information follows
the example of the people from whom our legislative system is
derived. The British method has variations from that of the United
States but fundamentally serves the same purpose -- the enlightenment
of Parliament for the better performance of its duties. There
are standing committees to carry on the routine work, royal commissions
to grapple with important social or economic problems, and special
tribunals of inquiry for some alleged offense in government. 2
Our Congress has since its beginning used the committee system
to inform itself. It has been estimated that over 600 investigations
have been conducted since the First Congress. They are "a
necessary and appropriate attribute of the power to legislate
. . . ." McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135, 175 (1927).
The Court indicates that in this case the source
of the trouble lies in the "tremendous latitude" given
the Un-American Activities Committee in the Legislative Reorganization
Act. 3 It finds that the Committee
"is allowed, in essence, to define its own authority, [and]
to choose the direction and focus of its activities." This,
of course, is largely true of all committees within their respective
spheres. And, while it is necessary that the "charter,"
as the opinion calls the enabling resolution, "spell out
[its] jurisdiction and purpose," that must necessarily be
in more or less general terms. An examination of the enabling
resolutions of other committees reveals the extent to which this
is true.
Permanent or standing committees of both Houses
have been given power in exceedingly broad terms. For example,
the Committees on the Armed Services have jurisdiction over "Common
defense generally"; 4
the Committees on Interstate and Foreign Commerce have jurisdiction
over "Interstate and foreign commerce generally"; 5
and the Committees on Appropriation have jurisdiction over "Appropriation
of the revenue for the support of the Government." 6
Perhaps even more important for purposes of comparison are the
broad authorizations given to select or special committees established
by the Congress from time to time. Such committees have been "authorized
and directed" to make full and complete studies "of
whether organized crime utilizes the facilities of interstate
commerce or otherwise operates in interstate commerce"; 7
"of . . . all lobbying activities intended to influence,
encourage, promote, or retard legislation"; 8
"to determine the extent to which current literature . .
. containing immoral, [or] obscene . . .
matter, or placing improper emphasis on crime
. . . are being made available to the people of the United States
. . ."; 9 and "of
the extent to which criminal or other improper practices . . .
are, or have been, engaged in in the field of labor-management
relations . . . to the detriment of the interests of the public
. . . ." 10 (Emphasis
added in each example.) Surely these authorizations permit the
committees even more "tremendous latitude" than the
"charter" of the Un-American Activities Committee. Yet
no one has suggested that the powers granted were too broad. To
restrain and limit the breadth of investigative power of this
Committee necessitates the similar handling of all other committees.
The resulting restraint imposed on the committee system appears
to cripple the system beyond workability.
The Court finds fault with the use made of
compulsory process, power for the use of which is granted the
Committee in the Reorganization Act. While the Court finds that
the Congress is free "to determine the kinds of data"
it wishes its committees to collect, this has led, the Court says,
to an encroachment on individual rights through the abuse of process.
To my mind this indicates a lack of understanding of the problems
facing such committees. I am sure that the committees would welcome
voluntary disclosure. It would simplify and relieve their burden
considerably if the parties involved in investigations would come
forward with a frank willingness to cooperate. But everyday experience
shows this just does not happen. One needs only to read the newspapers
to know that the Congress could gather little "data"
unless its committees had, unfettered, the power of subpoena.
In fact, Watkins himself could not be found for appearance at
the first hearing and it was only by subpoena that he attended
the second. The Court generalizes on this crucial problem saying
"added care on the part of the House and the Senate in authorizing
the use of compulsory process and by their committees in exercising
that power would suffice." It does not say how this "added
care" could be applied in practice; however, there are many
implications since the opinion warns that "procedures which
prevent the separation of power from responsibility" would
be necessary along with "constitutional requisites of fairness
for witnesses." The "power" and "responsibility"
for the investigations are, of course, in the House where the
proceeding is initiated. But the investigating job itself can
only be done through the use of committees. They must have the
"power" to force compliance with their requirements.
If the rule requires that this power be retained in the full House
then investigations will be so cumbrous that their conduct will
be a practical impossibility. As to "fairness for witnesses"
there is nothing in the record showing any abuse of Watkins. If
anything, the Committee was abused by his recalcitrance.
While ambiguity prevents exactness (and there
is "vice in vagueness" the majority reminds), the sweep
of the opinion seems to be that "preliminary control"
of the Committee must be exercised. The Court says a witness'
protected freedoms cannot "be placed in danger in the absence
of a clear determination by the House or the Senate that a particular
inquiry is justified by a specific legislative need." Frankly
I do not see how any such procedure as "preliminary control"
can be effected in either House of the Congress. What will be
controlled preliminarily? The plans of the investigation, the
necessity of calling certain witnesses, the questions to be asked,
the details of subpoenas duces tecum, etc.? As it is now, Congress
is hard pressed to find sufficient time to fully debate and adopt
all needed legislation. The Court asserts that "the Congress
has practically abandoned its original practice of utilizing the
coercive sanction of contempt proceedings at the bar of the House."
This was to be expected. It may be that back in the twenties and
thirties Congress could spare the time to conduct contempt hearings,
but that appears impossible now. The Court places a greater burden
in the conduct of contempt cases before the courts than it does
before "the bar of the House." It cites with approval
cases of contempt tried before a House of the Congress where no
more safeguards were present than we find here. In contempt prosecutions
before a court, however, the majority places an investigative
hearing on a par with a criminal trial, requiring that "knowledge
of the subject to which the interrogation is deemed pertinent
. . . must be available [to the witness] with the same degree
of explicitness and clarity that the Due Process Clause requires
in the expression of any element of a criminal offense."
I know of no such claim ever being made before. Such a requirement
has never been thought applicable to investigations and is wholly
out of place when related to the informing function of the Congress.
See Frankfurter, Hands Off The Investigations, 38 New Republic,
May 21, 1924, p. 329, 65 Cong. Rec. 9080-9082. The Congress does
not have the facts at the time of the investigation for it is
the facts that are being sought. In a criminal trial the investigation
has been completed and all of the facts are at hand. The informing
function of the Congress is in effect "a study by the government
of circumstances which seem to call for study in the public interest."
See Black, Inside a Senate Investigation, 172 Harper's Magazine,
Feb. 1936, pp. 275, 278. In the conduct of such a proceeding it
is impossible to be as explicit and exact as in a criminal prosecution.
If the Court is saying that its new rule does not apply to contempt
cases tried before the bar of the House affected, it may well
lead to trial of all contempt cases before the bar of the whole
House in order to avoid the restrictions of the rule. But this
will not promote the result desired by the majority. Summary treatment,
at best, could be provided before the whole House because of the
time factor, and such treatment would necessarily deprive the
witness of many of the safeguards in the present procedures. On
review here the majority might then find fault with that procedure.
III.
Coming to the merits of Watkins' case, the
Court reverses the judgment because: (1) The subject matter of
the inquiry was not "made to appear with undisputable clarity"
either through its "charter" or by the Chairman at the
time of the hearing and, therefore, Watkins was deprived of a
clear understanding of "the manner in which the propounded
questions [were] pertinent thereto"; and (2) the present
committee system of inquiry of the House, as practiced by the
Un-American Activities Committee, does not provide adequate safeguards
for the protection of the constitutional right of free speech.
I subscribe to neither conclusion.
Watkins had been an active leader in the labor
movement for many years and had been identified by two previous
witnesses at the Committee's hearing in Chicago as a member of
the Communist Party. There can be no question that he was fully
informed of the subject matter of the inquiry. His testimony reveals
a complete knowledge and understanding of the hearings at Chicago.
There the Chairman had announced that the Committee had been directed
"to ascertain the extent and success of subversive activities
directed against these United States [and] On the basis of these
investigations and hearings . . . [report] its findings to the
Congress and [make] recommendations . . . for new legislation."
He pointed to the various laws that had been enacted as a result
of Committee recommendations. He stated that "The Congress
has also referred to the House Committee on Un-American Activities
a bill which would amend the National Security Act of 1950"
which, if made law, would restrict the availability of the Labor
Act to unions not "in fact Communist-controlled action groups."
The Chairman went on to say that "It cannot be said that
subversive infiltration has had a greater nor a lesser success
in infiltrating this important area. The hearings today are the
culmination of an investigation . . . . Every witness who has
been subpoenaed to appear before the committee here in Chicago
. . . [is] known to possess information which will assist the
Committee in performing its directed function to the Congress
of the United States."
A subpoena had issued for Watkins to appear
at the Chicago hearings but he was not served. After Watkins was
served the hearing in question was held in Washington, D.C. Reference
at this hearing was made to the one conducted in Chicago. Watkins
came before the Committee with a carefully prepared statement.
He denied certain testimony of the previous witnesses and declared
that he had never been a "card-carrying member" of the
Party. He admitted that for the period 1942-1947 he "cooperated
with the Communist Party . . . participated in Communist activities
. . . made contributions . . . attended caucuses at [his union's]
convention at which Communist Party officials were present . .
. [and] freely cooperated with the Communist Party . . . ."
This indicated that for a five-year period he, a union official,
was cooperating closely with the Communist Party even permitting
its officials to attend union caucuses. For the last two years
of this liaison the Party had publicly thrown off its cloak of
a political party. It was a reconstituted, militant group known
to be dedicated to the overthrow of our Government by force and
violence. In this setting the Committee attempted to have Watkins
identify 30 persons, most of whom were connected with labor unions
in some way. While one "operated a beauty parlor" and
another was "a watchmaker," they may well have been
"drops" or other functionaries in the program of cooperation
between the union and the Party. It is a non sequitur for the
Court to say that since "almost a quarter of the persons
on the list are not labor people, the inference becomes strong
that the subject before the Subcommittee was not defined in terms
of Communism in labor." I submit that the opposite is true.
IV.
I think the Committee here was acting entirely
within its scope and that the purpose of its inquiry was set out
with "undisputable clarity." In the first place, the
authorizing language of the Reorganization Act 11
must be read as a whole, not dissected. It authorized investigation
into subversive activity, its extent, character, objects, and
diffusion. While the language might have been more explicit than
using such words as "un-American," or phrases like "principle
of the form of government," still these are fairly well understood
terms. We must construe them to give them meaning if we can. Our
cases indicate that rather than finding fault with the use of
words or phrases, we are bound to presume that the action of the
legislative body in granting authority to the Committee was with
a legitimate object "if [the action] is capable of being
so construed." (Emphasis added.) People ex rel. McDonald
v. Keeler, 99 N.Y. 463, 487, 2 N.E. 615, 627-628 (1885), as quoted
and approved in McGrain v. Daugherty, supra, at 178. Before we
can deny the authority "it must be obvious that" the
Committee has "exceeded the bounds of legislative power."
Tenney v. Brandhove, 341 U.S. 367, 378 (1951). The fact that the
Committee has often been attacked has caused close scrutiny of
its acts by the House as a whole and the House has repeatedly
given the Committee its approval. "Power" and "responsibility"
have not been separated. But the record in this case does not
stop here. It shows that at the hearings involving Watkins, the
Chairman made statements explaining the functions of the Committee.
12 And, furthermore, Watkins'
action at the hearing clearly reveals that he was well acquainted
with the purpose of the hearing. It was to investigate Communist
infiltration into his union. This certainly falls within the grant
of authority from the Reorganization Act and the House has had
ample opportunity to limit the investigative scope of the Committee
if it feels that the Committee has exceeded its legitimate bounds.
The Court makes much of petitioner's claim
of "exposure for exposure's sake" and strikes at the
purposes of the Committee through this catch phrase. But we are
bound to accept as the purpose of the Committee that stated in
the Reorganization Act together with the statements of the Chairman
at the hearings involved here. Nothing was said of exposure. The
statements of a single Congressman cannot transform the real purpose
of the Committee into something not authorized by the parent resolution.
See United States v. Rumely, 345 U.S. 41 (1953); Sinclair v. United
States, 279 U.S. 263, 290, 295 (1929). The Court indicates that
the questions propounded were asked for exposure's sake and had
no pertinency to the inquiry. It appears to me that they were
entirely pertinent to the announced purpose of the Committee's
inquiry. Undoubtedly Congress has the power to inquire into the
subjects of communism and the Communist Party. American Communications
Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382 (1950). As a corollary of the congressional
power to inquire into such subject matter, the Congress, through
its committees, can legitimately seek to identify individual members
of the Party. Barsky v. United States, 83 U.S. App. D.C. 127,
167 F. 2d 241 (1948), cert. denied, 334 U.S. 843. See also Lawson
v. United States, 85 U.S. App. D.C. 167, 170-171, 176 F. 2d 49,
52-53 (1949), cert. denied, 339 U.S. 934; United States v. Josephson,
165 F. 2d 82, 90-92 (1947), cert. denied, 333 U.S. 838.
The pertinency of the questions is highlighted
by the need for the Congress to know the extent of infiltration
of communism in labor unions. This technique of infiltration was
that used in bringing the downfall of countries formerly free
but now still remaining behind the Iron Curtain. The Douds case
illustrates that the Party is not an ordinary political party
and has not been at least since 1945. Association with its officials
is not an ordinary association. Nor does it matter that the questions
related to the past. Influences of past associations often linger
on as was clearly shown in the instance of the witness Matusow
and others. The techniques used in the infiltration which admittedly
existed here might well be used again in the future. If the parties
about whom Watkins was interrogated were Communists and collaborated
with him, as a prior witness indicated, an entirely new area of
investigation might have been opened up. Watkins' silence prevented
the Committee from learning this information which could have
been vital to its future investigation. The Committee was likewise
entitled to elicit testimony showing the truth or falsity of the
prior testimony of the witnesses who had involved Watkins and
the union with collaboration with the Party. If the testimony
was untrue a false picture of the relationship between the union
and the Party leaders would have resulted. For these reasons there
were ample indications of the pertinency of the questions.
V.
The Court condemns the long-established and
long-recognized committee system of inquiry of the House because
it raises serious questions concerning the protection it affords
to constitutional rights. It concludes that compelling a witness
to reveal his "beliefs, expressions or associations"
impinges upon First Amendment rights. The system of inquiry, it
says, must "insure that the Congress does not unjustifiably
encroach upon an individual's right to privacy nor abridge his
liberty of speech, press, religion or assembly." In effect
the Court honors Watkins' claim of a "right to silence"
which brings all inquiries, as we know, to a "dead end."
I do not see how any First Amendment rights were endangered here.
There is nothing in the First Amendment that provides the guarantees
Watkins claims. That Amendment was designed to prevent attempts
by law to curtail freedom of speech. Whitney v. California, 274
U.S. 357, 375 (1927). It forbids Congress from making any law
"abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."
It guarantees Watkins' right to join any organization and make
any speech that does not have an intent to incite to crime. Dennis
v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951). But Watkins was asked whether
he knew named individuals and whether they were Communists. He
refused to answer on the ground that his rights were being abridged.
What he was actually seeking to do was to protect his former associates,
not himself, from embarrassment. He had already admitted his own
involvement. He sought to vindicate the rights, if any, of his
associates. It is settled that one cannot invoke the constitutional
rights of another. Tileston v. Ullman, 318 U.S. 44, 46 (1943).
As already indicated, even if Watkins' associates
were on the stand they could not decline to disclose their Communist
connections on First Amendment grounds. While there may be no
restraint by the Government of one's beliefs, the right of free
belief has never been extended to include the withholding of knowledge
of past events or transactions. There is no general privilege
of silence. The First Amendment does not make speech or silence
permissible to a person in such measure as he chooses. Watkins
has here exercised his own choice as to when he talks, what questions
he answers, and when he remains silent. A witness is not given
such a choice by the Amendment. Remote and indirect disadvantages
such as "public stigma, scorn and obloquy" may be related
to the First Amendment, but they are not enough to block investigation.
The Congress has recognized this since 1862 when it first adopted
the contempt section, R.S. § 103, as amended, 2 U.S.C. §
193, declaring that no witness before a congressional committee
may refuse to testify "upon the ground that his testimony
to such fact or his production of such paper may tend to disgrace
him or otherwise render him infamous." See also McGrain v.
Daugherty, supra, at 179-180; United States v. Josephson, 165
F. 2d 82, 89 (1947), cert. denied, 333 U.S. 838. See also Report
on Congressional Investigations, Assn. of the Bar of the City
of New York, 3-4 (1948).
We do not have in this case unauthorized, arbitrary,
or unreasonable inquiries and disclosures with respect to a witness'
personal and private affairs so ably and properly denounced in
the Sinclair case, supra, at 291-292. This inquiry is far different
from the cases relied upon by the Court. There is no analogy to
the case of Richard Thompson 13
involving the sermons of clergymen. It is not Floyd's 14
case involving criticism of the royal family. There is no resemblance
to John Wilkes' struggle for a seat in Parliament. It is not Briggs
15 where the prosecutor sought
to develop the national origin of policemen. It is not Kilbourn
16 involving a private real
estate pool.
Nor is it Quinn, 17
Emspak 18 , or Bart 19
, involving the Fifth Amendment. It is not Rumely 20
involving the interpretation of a lobbying statute. Nor is this
"a new kind of congressional inquiry unknown in prior periods
of American history . . . [i.e.] a broad scale intrusion into
the lives and affairs of private citizens." As I see it only
the setting is different. It involves new faces and new issues
brought about by new situations which the Congress feels it is
necessary to control in the public interest. The difficulties
of getting information are identical if not greater. Like authority
to that always used by the Congress is employed here and in the
same manner so far as congressional procedures are concerned.
We should afford to Congress the presumption that it takes every
precaution possible to avoid unnecessary damage to reputations.
Some committees have codes of procedure, and others use the executive
hearing technique to this end. The record in this case shows no
conduct on the part of the Un-American Activities Committee that
justifies condemnation. That there may have been such occasions
is not for us to consider here. Nor should we permit its past
transgressions, if any, to lead to the rigid restraint of all
congressional committees. To carry on its heavy responsibility
the compulsion of truth that does not incriminate is not only
necessary to the Congress but is permitted within the limits of
the Constitution.
---- Begin EndNotes ----
1 United States v. Rumely, 345 U.S. 41 (1953); Sinclair v. United States, 279 U.S. 263 (1929); Reed v. County Commissioners, 277 U.S. 376 (1928); McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 (1927); Landis, Constitutional Limitations on the Congressional Power of Investigation, 40 Harv. L. Rev. 153 (1926).
2 Symposium on Congressional Investigations, 18 U. of Chi. L. Rev. 421, Finer, The British System, 521, 532, 554, 561 (1951).
3 The Committee
originated in 1938 under H. Res. 282, 75th Cong., 3d Sess., 83
Cong. Rec. 7568, and was patterned after a resolution of 1934
authorizing the investigation of Nazi propaganda. H. Res. 198,
73d Cong., 2d Sess., 78 Cong. Rec. 4934. The resolution read much
the same as the present authority of the Committee which is quoted
below. By a succession of House Resolutions (H. Res. 26, 76th
Cong., 1st Sess., 84 Cong. Rec. 1098; H. Res. 321, 76th Cong.,
3d Sess., 86 Cong. Rec. 572; H. Res. 90, 77th Cong., 1st Sess.,
87 Cong. Rec. 886; H. Res. 420, 77th Cong., 2d Sess., 88 Cong.
Rec. 2282; H. Res. 65, 78th Cong., 1st Sess., 89 Cong. Rec. 795)
the Committee continued in existence until in 1945, by amendment
of the House Rules, it was made a standing committee. 91 Cong.
Rec. 10, 15. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 retained
it as one of the standing committees and provided:
"All proposed legislation, messages, petitions,
memorials, and other matters relating to the subjects listed under
the standing committees named below shall be referred to such
committees, respectively: . . ."
"(q) . . . (2) The Committee on Un-American
Activities, as a whole or by subcommittee, is authorized to make
from time to time investigations of (i) the extent, character,
and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United
States, (ii) the diffusion within the United States of subversive
and un-American propaganda that is instigated from foreign countries
or of a domestic origin and attacks the principle of the form
of government as guaranteed by our Constitution, and (iii) all
other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in
any necessary remedial legislation." 60 Stat. 823, 828.
The Committee is authorized to sit and act at any time, anywhere in the United States and to require the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers. A resolution of the Eighty-third Congress adopted the Rules of the previous Congresses as amended by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. H. Res. 5, 83d Cong., 1st Sess., 99 Cong. Rec. 15, 16, 18, 24.
4 60 Stat. 815, 824.
5 60 Stat. 817, 826.
6 60 Stat. 815, 824.
7 . S. Res.
202, 81st Cong., 2d Sess., in pertinent part provides:
"authorized and directed to make a full and complete study and investigation of whether organized crime utilizes the facilities of interstate commerce or otherwise operates in interstate commerce in furtherance of any transactions which are in violation of the law of the United States or of the State in which the transactions occur, and, if so, the manner and extent to which, and the identity of the persons, firms, or corporations by which such utilization is being made, what facilities are being used, and whether or not organized crime utilizes such interstate facilities or otherwise operates in interstate commerce for the development of corrupting influences in violation of law of the United States or of the laws of any State: Provided, however, That nothing contained herein shall authorize (1) the recommendation of any change in the laws of the several States relative to gambling, or (2) any possible interference with the rights of the several States to prohibit, legalize, or in any way regulate gambling within their borders."
8 H. Res.
298, 81st Cong., 1st Sess., in pertinent part provides:
"authorized and directed to conduct a study and investigation of (1) all lobbying activities intended to influence, encourage, promote, or retard legislation; and (2) all activities of agencies of the Federal Government intended to influence, encourage, promote, or retard legislation."
9 H. Res.
596, 82d Cong., 2d Sess., in pertinent part provides:
"authorized and directed to conduct a full and complete investigation and study (1) to determine the extent to which current literature -- books, magazines, and comic books -- containing immoral, obscene, or otherwise offense matter, or placing improper emphasis on crime, violence, and corruption, are being made available to the people of the United States through the United States mails and otherwise; and (2) to determine the adequacy of existing law to prevent the publication and distribution of books containing immoral, offensive, and other undesirable matter."
10 S.
Res. 74, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., in pertinent part provides:
"authorized and directed to conduct an investigation and study of the extent to which criminal or other improper practices or activities are, or have been, engaged in in the field of labor-management relations or in groups or organizations of employees or employers to the detriment of the interests of the public, employers or employees, and to determine whether any changes are required in the laws of the United States in order to protect such interests against the occurrence of such practices or activities."
11 See note 3, supra.
12 See
supra, at p. 226. See also the statement by Congressman Velde,
Chairman of the Committee on Un-American Activities, April 29,
1954, at Washington, D.C., where Mr. Velde stated, inter alia:
"This committee is set up by the House of Representatives
to investigate subversion and subversive propaganda and to report
to the House of Representatives for the purpose of remedial legislation.
"The House of Representatives has by a very clear majority, a very large majority, directed us to engage in that type of work, and so we do, as a committee of the House of Representatives, have the authority, the jurisdiction, to ask you concerning your activities in the Communist Party, concerning your knowledge of any other persons who are members of the Communist Party or who have been members of the Communist Party, and so, Mr. Watkins, you are directed to answer the question propounded to you by counsel."
13 Proceedings against Richard Thompson, 8 How. St. Tr. 2 (1680).
14 See 1 De Lolme, The Rise and Progress of the English Constitution (1838), at 347-348.
15 Briggs v. Mackellar, 2 Abb. Pr. 30, 65 (N.Y. Common Pleas 1855).
16 Kilbourn v. Thompson, 103 U.S. 168 (1881).
17 Quinn v. United States, 349 U.S. 155 (1955).
18 Emspak v. United States, 349 U.S. 190 (1955).
19 Bart v. United States, 349 U.S. 219 (1955).
20 United
States v. Rumely, 345 U.S. 41 (1953).
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