RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND MICHAEL JOSEPH IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

On 2026-09-01, Representative Michael Guest (R-MS-3) delivered a floor speech titled "RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND MICHAEL JOSEPH IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COM" in the House.

RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND MICHAEL JOSEPH IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 138 (Tuesday, September 1, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 1, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5393-H5394] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND MICHAEL JOSEPH IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1504) which is printed in House Report 119-693, regarding proceedings against Michael Joseph and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1504 Resolved, That Michael Joseph shall be found to be in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with the subpoena duces tecum issued to him on September 11, 2025. Resolved, That Michael Joseph shall be found to be in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with the subpoena ad testificandum issued to him on September 11, 2025. Resolved, That pursuant to 2 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 192 and 194, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall certify the Report of the Committee on Ethics, detailing the refusal of Michael Joseph to produce documents and appear before the Investigative Subcommittee as directed by these subpoenas, to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, to the end that Mr. Joseph be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law. Resolved, That the Speaker of the House shall otherwise take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoenas, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest) and the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi. {time} 1510 General Leave Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution printed in House Report 119-693. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mississippi? There was no objection. Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as the chair of the Committee on Ethics, I rise in support of the resolutions which call for Michael Joseph and Hector Roos to be held in contempt of Congress for their failure to comply with documentary and testimonial subpoenas issued on September 11, 2025, and August 12, 2026, respectively. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution provides that each House may punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member. The House has charged the Committee on Ethics with the duty of implementing this provision on its behalf. The committee recommends and enforces ethical standards that ensure Members and staff act in a manner befitting the public trust. Pursuant to that authority, the House has authorized the committee and its subcommittees to require by subpoena or otherwise the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and their production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents as it considers necessary to carry out its investigative functions. House rules do not specify that personal service is the only method of effecting service of its subpoenas. An individual has a legal obligation to comply with a duly issued and valid congressional subpoena, unless a valid privilege or other legal justification excuses compliance. An individual who fails to comply with a House subpoena may be cited for contempt of Congress. In this case, the committee impaneled an investigative subcommittee to inquire into certain allegations regarding former Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. In order to conduct a thorough investigation, the investigative subcommittee authorized, and the committee issued, subpoenas for documents and testimonies to Mr. Joseph and Mr. Roos. Mr. Roos was a senior campaign staffer who filed inaccurate reports with the Federal Election Commission and made in kind contributions to the campaign. Mr. Roos was served with documentary and testimonial subpoenas issued on August 12, 2025, by the United States Marshals Service. He did not appear for his deposition on September 25, 2025, nor did he produce the documents at any time. Mr. Roos did not provide a valid legal justification for his noncompliance. Mr. Joseph was the President of a company that improperly provided corporate funds for the Congresswoman's campaign and influenced her staff to submit community funding project requests for entities that he supported. Mr. Joseph was served with documentary and testimonial subpoenas issued on March 11, 2025. Mr. Joseph accepted service. Later, he responded he could not comply because as an attorney it would violate attorney-client privilege. Committee rules provide that the presiding member of the subcommittee may consider objections on the basis of privilege and request his objection be put in writing. Although Mr. Joseph did not do so, the investigative subcommittee nonetheless considered his objection and determined it was not a valid assertion of the attorney-client privilege. Nonetheless, Mr. Joseph did not appear for his deposition on October 7, 2025, nor did he produce documents at any time. Mr. Joseph did not provide a valid legal justification for his noncompliance. The investigative subcommittee offered both Mr. Roos and Mr. Joseph a final opportunity to comply with subpoenas, but neither did so. Therefore, the investigative subcommittee voted on March 18, 2026, to adopt reports recommending the committee submit a resolution recommending the House cite Mr. Roos and Mr. Joseph for contempt of Congress pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 194 and 192. On May 13, 2026, the committee adopted its own reports incorporating by reference the reports of the investigative subcommittee and concurring with this recommendation. The reports were transmitted to the Clerk of the House and made public on June 22, 2026, and have been made available to Members of the House and the public on the committee's website since Friday. The committee cannot fulfill its obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House when witnesses ignore its subpoenas, and the House cannot accept such willful disregard of its authority. Mr. Roos and Mr. Joseph willfully failed to comply with multiple subpoenas issued by the committee. They impeded the investigative subcommittee's investigations into the allegations concerning former Representative Cherfilus-McCormick. Those allegations were serious and included violations of Federal law to which Mr. Roos and Mr. Joseph were party. Their conduct warrants referrals to the United States Department of Justice for contempt of Congress. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution holding Michael Joseph in contempt of Congress for his failure to [[Page H5394]] comply with duly authorized subpoenas issued by the Committee on Ethics. At a time when public confidence in Congress is at historic lows and the House's ability to self-police Member conduct is under intense scrutiny, enforcing lawful congressional process is vital to delivering swift transparency and accountability for any misconduct. A witness who refuses to cooperate with the Ethics Committee hinders the thoroughness and swiftness of an investigation. If the committee must authorize and issue a subpoena for that witness, more delays result. If after those additional steps the witness decides to flout the subpoena, the committee is ultimately deprived of key evidence needed to resolve the allegations. A subpoena from the House Ethics Committee is not a suggestion. It is a lawful demand for information needed by the House to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities to enforce the official code of conduct, adjudicate violations, and to impose appropriate discipline. The investigative subcommittee in the matter of Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick repeatedly sought documents and testimony from Mr. Joseph, yet he failed to comply with voluntary requests for information and multiple subpoenas in the 118th and 119th Congresses. While other witnesses did not fully cooperate with the committee's investigation, Mr. Joseph's conduct went further. Twice he failed to appear for subpoenaed testimony in the current Congress, and he was made aware numerous times that his failure to comply with the subpoenas could result in contempt proceedings. He had notice of and was properly served all the subpoenas by the investigatory subcommittee, and he never asserted any valid privilege or basis for noncompliance. The bipartisan investigative subcommittee unanimously found, and the full committee agreed, that his conduct was contemptuous. His noncompliance also unnecessarily and significantly delayed the committee's investigation. Contempt referrals like these are a rare step because almost all subpoenaed witnesses cooperate with the committee before contempt proceedings need to be initiated. But the rareness of this step should not obscure its importance. The effectiveness of the committee's oversight hinges on the expectation that subpoenas cannot and will not be ignored. This contempt resolution is not intended to be a punitive measure. It is a deterrent to future noncompliance and obstructive conduct by witnesses in future investigations. With this resolution, we can establish a clear and necessary boundary for future witnesses. If you are subpoenaed by the committee, you cannot simply decide that compliance is optional. By demonstrating that noncompliance has consequences, this resolution will empower the Ethics Committee in its continued efforts to uphold civic confidence and the i

Referenced legislation: HRES1504, HRES1504