Hugo Black

“ And no part of that history even tends to show that Congress meant to permit use of a witness' testimony to convict him of any crime other than perjury. There is a justifiable reason for the perjury exception. The crime consists of the testimony itself, without which no prosecution would be possible. Not so with default in producing papers. That crime is based not on a witness' testimony but rather on his failure to produce-conduct which can be proved by members of a committee, clerks, or spectators. ”

“ One who has failed to produce certainly could not be compelled to answer questions concerning his power to produce, thereby making him a 'witness against himself.' If application of the statute as Congress wrote it would lead to 'absurd conclusions,' so would the Fifth Amendment.
The Court finds comfort in the statement that the Committee testimony of witnesses is 'uniformly printed in the reports of committees recommending contempt action' to the houses of Congress. ”

“ The reasons given by the Court for its amendment of the statute have an anomalous basis: the Court feels compelled to alter the clear language of § 3486 in order not to 'subvert the congressional purpose' which it admits has already been irrevocably frustrated by the decision in Counselman v. ”