Justice Department lawyers have repeatedly delayed or rebuffed the judge’s orders, culminating in a frustrating Thursday court hearing in which an exasperated but reluctant Sullivan floated the possibility of contempt proceedings.
“I just don’t want anyone to be blindsided if we have to go down that road,” he said. “It’s not a threat. It’s a promise. I have a job to administer justice, and I take that very seriously.”
A federal judge can fine every lawyer that worked on any part of this $5000 a day until they quit the DoJ or the judge has the files in hand. That’s civil contempt and there isn’t a fucking thing the DoJ can do about it.