De la Torre was disappointed the Senate decided “to continue their violations of Dr. de la Torre’s constitutional rights, particularly those protected under the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution,” a spokesman told the Globe in an early morning email after the vote. “The US Constitution stands above the government to protect all Americans from precisely the kind of assault on our rights that we are witnessing here.”
Lawmakers have said de la Torre is entitled to cite his Fifth Amendment right against incrimination if he declines to answer specific questions, but he cannot ignore appearing to testify after being subpoenaed.
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After the Senate vote, the US Justice Department must decide whether to prosecute de la Torre, who built Steward into the largest privately held for-profit hospital chain in the country only to see it tumble into bankruptcy amid accusations of excessive compensation for top executives. If found guilty, de la Torre could serve up to 12 months in prison.
The move on the criminal contempt charge comes a week after the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved sending criminal and civil contempt charges to the full Senate after de la Torre failed to appear at a Sept. 12 hearing about Steward’s bankruptcy.
De la Torre also blasted the committee’s efforts.”The HELP Committee has weaponized Congress’s civil and criminal contempt procedures to punish Dr. de la Torre, and obtain his testimony by compulsion,” de la Torre’s spokesperson said.
The Senate’s criminal referral follows the legal path laid out by a House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were subpoenaed but refused to appear to testify, citing executive privilege. Both were referred for criminal charges and ended up serving months-long prison sentences.
Aaron Pressman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @ampressman.
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Publish date : 2024-09-26 04:03:00
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