"LOCK HIM UP"?

Rep. Nadler blasts McGahn after the ex-WH counsel refuses to appear before the House Judiciary Committee: "Our subpoenas are not optional" pic.twitter.com/Lt32v75W7i

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) May 21, 2019

If this were to happen in a court of law, the court would announce a contempt hearing and give the contemnor (McGahn, in this case) notice to appear and present his defense to the charge.  If the court finds the contempt is criminal contempt, which would allow for arrest and detention, then:

Defendants charged with criminal contempt are afforded all the usual privileges of other criminal defendants, like the right to a trial by jury, to examine, and to call, witnesses, and to testify on one's own behalf. 

No immediate jail time, in other words.  If you recall, Joe Arpaio was charged with criminal contempt of court.  Proceedings pended for several months before he was finally held in criminal contempt and taken to jail.  It did not involve the FBI busting down his door at 3 in the morning and hauling him away to a cell to await the final hearing.

The likeliest course here is a contempt of Congress resolution, which has to be enforced by the courts.  Whether DOJ will take that to court is an open question, so other arrangements will probably have to be made.  Easy enough, but then the court holds a hearing, a ruling is entered, and if McGahn again refuses to appear, it would take another hearing to enforce a criminal contempt proceeding (contempt of Congress is not equivalent to criminal contempt of Court, or Eric Holder would have been sent to jail for his contempt of Congress citation).

McGahn is going to testify, sooner or later.  It just isn't going to happen before the 50 minute TeeVee episode is over.

(I mean, honestly, you can't tell the Trump supporters at a rally from the Trump opponents on Twitter:

Does the contempt decision have to precede the warrant for McGahn's arrest?

— Carrie Sweet (@CarrieSweet2017) May 21, 2019

Yes.  And there won't be an arrest warrant.  Criminal contempt is not a violation of criminal statutory law.

When do we get to start dragging people out by the face? Soon?

— Blanx (@blanx73) May 21, 2019

 Never.  This is not Russia.

I'ma need to start seeing people in handcuffs soon though. This has worn thin.

— Laura Bogart (@LDBogart) May 21, 2019

Don't hold your breath, you'll pass out first.

"Rule of law" on Twitter pretty much means punching somebody in the face.  Feh.)