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Congressional _
Sa Research Service
Accommodation and Contempt of Congress:
Two Oversight Case Studies
June 26, 2023
During the first months of the 118th Congress, two House committees have conducted widely followed
investigations that provide instructive case studies of how committees can negotiate and use
congressional authority to conduct oversight of the executive branch and obtain documents in the face of
agency objections. In both cases, while agencies raised specific concerns about sharing specific materials,
the committees were ultimately able to review key documents after negotiating a compromise on access
conditions and threatening agency leaders with contempt of Congress resolutions.
Past practice plays a central role in the conduct of congressional oversight of the executive branch.
Therefore, the strategies and accommodations discussed in this Insight may be valuable precedents for
Congress in future disputes with the executive branch.
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Department of State
On March 28, 2023, Chairman Michael McCaul of the House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a
subpoena demanding that the Department of State turn over a 2021 dissent cable regarding Afghanistan
signed by 23 Department of State officials. The cable has become an important element of the
committee's review of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, which the committee began
investigating during the 117th Congress. After becoming chair at the beginning of the 118th Congress,
Chairman McCaul renewed requests for documents, including the dissent cable, first made in 2021 and
2022 when he was the committee's ranking member.
Before and after the subpoena was issued, the committee and Department negotiated the response to a
broader committee request for materials related to the Afghanistan withdrawal. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken resisted sharing the dissent document, telling the committee in a March 23, 2023 hearing, just
before the subpoena was issued, that Department regulations limited sharing of dissent cables to protect
the integrity of the [dissent channel] process and avoid any chilling effect on future use of the dissent
channel. Despite refusing to immediately share the cable, negotiations continued, with the Department
offering compromises including briefings and summaries and Chairman McCaul pressing for full
disclosure.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN12184
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govembd0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)