Amanda Nelson

A way Congress can arrest Pam Bondi

Meet "inherent contempt"

Amanda Nelson's avatar
Amanda Nelson
Feb 18, 2026
∙ Paid

Democrats don’t have the majority in the House or Senate, which means we can’t impeach anyone, we can’t subpoena anyone with the expectation of actual consequences, and we can’t hold anyone in criminal contempt. Even if we did have the majority, criminal contempt requires a U.S. attorney to convene a grand jury, and the U.S. attorneys work for the Justice Department, and the Justice Department works for Donald Trump. So you can see how that particular accountability loop has a few problems.

But Congress doesn’t actually need the Justice Department to hold someone accountable —it has a power that predates the DOJ by nearly a century. It’s called inherent contempt, and it can be used…theoretically…to arrest Pam Bondi.

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Amanda Nelson.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Amanda · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture