Senate committee votes to hold Steward's De la Torre in contempt

The Senate panel investigating the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care voted Thursday to refer criminal and civil contempt cases to the full Senate.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee unanimously approved resolutions to pursue enforcement of a subpoena against Steward Health CEO Dr. Ralph de La Torre. 

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One is for civil enforcement and would refer the case to the Washington, D.C., federal district court. The other is a certification to the U.S. Attorney for criminal contempt.

The full Senate must pass the resolutions. De la Torre refused to comply with a subpoena last week seeking his testimony at a hearing where Steward workers and others testified.

The CEO’s attorneys said at the time that de la Torre wanted to delay his testimony until after his company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case is resolved, saying he did not want to jeopardize settlement proceedings.

Wednesday, his legal team went a step further, declaring de la Torre was pleading his Fifth Amendment right against testifying. He also raised other objections in advance of the hearing, but the committee overruled those objections, and he was ordered to appear.

“Dr. de la Torre has given us no choice but to move forward on two resolutions to enforce the subpoena and to hold him accountable for his actions.” said Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “Today's bipartisan markup will make clear that even though Dr. de la Torre may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, even though he may be able to own fancy yachts and private jets and luxurious accommodations throughout the world, even though he may be able to afford some of the most expensive lawyers in America, no, Dr. de la Torre is not above the law,” Sanders said.

“A witness cannot disregard and evade a duly authorized subpoena, and it's unfortunately gotten to this point,” added Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the committee's ranking member. “If someone shows contempt for the American people by defying a subpoena and refusing to provide answers, that is contemptible. And we are here to represent the American people. It is not just Congress he is defying, it is the people whom we represent.”

Sanders and Cassidy also issued a joint statement in response to de la Torre’s assertion regarding his Fifth Amendment rights, saying the Constitution does not protect him from testifying before members of Congress.

“As we told Dr. de la Torre on Sept. 5, the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination does not permit a witness to refuse to appear when summoned to testify before a congressional committee. While the committee respects the constitutional rights of witnesses, the witness must appear in response to a valid subpoena and assert the privilege in response to specific questions,” the statement said.

A spokesperson for de la Torre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story has been updated to include additional remarks from committee members.