Contempt of Congress — Civic term

What it means

A finding that someone has obstructed a congressional committee — most often by refusing to appear, testify, or produce subpoenaed documents. A chamber may refer a criminal contempt citation to the Justice Department, which decides independently whether to prosecute; referral is not a charge, and a charge is not a conviction.

Definition drawn from law.cornell.edu · last verified 2026-08-10

Sift's plain-language summary of the cited source, not a quotation from it.

How it's being covered

105 stories in Sift's index, from 23 outlets.

Filed 2026-04-02 — 2026-09-18.

Counts stories whose headline or summary uses the term, plus stories where Sift's own reading notes flagged it — many pieces turn on a term they never spell out in the headline.

Across the spectrum

Left31 stories
Center36 stories
Right33 stories

Positions are AllSides' published ratings, shown for the outlets that filed these stories. 5 stories are counted in the total above but not placed here — either the outlet has no published rating, or Sift has not yet matched the name it files under to a dossier.

Who's covering it