Hauled Before a Senate Subcommittee: Difference between revisions

* Steve Rogers ([[Captain America]]) faces the Committee on Super Human Activities, who demand that he work only for them since the U.S. government legally owns the CA identity. He quits instead.

* Tony Stark ([[Iron Man]]) faces a senate committee himself in a 1960s story and the questioning proves so long and arduous that Stark collapses on the stand. When an attending doctor opens Stark's shirt, finds his chestplate/external pacemaker and it is finally exposed to the world that the tycoon is a ''very'' sick man.

* The [[Justice Society of America]] (the [[Justice League]]'s predecessors) were called before a committee and accused of being Communist sympathizers. Depending on the continuity, this may have been the actual Senator McCarthy or a substitute. They chose to disband and retire rather than comply with the new [[Super Registration Act]]. Later, we get to see an alternate universe where the JSA did sign up. ([[Bad Future|It didn't end well.]])

 

** Interestingly, the book has everything being entirely legal, with the exception that when Jack ''does'' get to the subcommittee, he would be giving them false information based on the briefings that he received from his superiors. He even [[Lampshades]] the whole process of government by saying "Everything that's happened only becomes murder ''retroactively'' if something ''extraneous'' to the murder ''does not happen''. Who made up this bullshit process, anyway?"

* Lt. Col. Devoe's [[Establishing Character Moment]] in ''[[The Peacemaker]]'' is him explaining to a subcommittee how the SUV in his expense report was vital in securing some surplus chemical weapons from the black market.

* Dick Goodwin, one of the main characters of ''Quiz Show'' ([[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]]) is a young lawyer with a House oversight committee who cajoles his boss into investigating rigged TV game shows. The congressional hearings are the setting for the Charles Van Doren's confession that he's been cheating at the climax of the film and for Herbert Stempel's attempts to vindicate himself by exposing the network. It ends up being as much about the flaws in the system as anything, illustrated by details like the head of the committee covering his microphone to reminisce with the network president about the last time they went golfing together before calling him to testify.

* ''[[Time Cop]]'' has a Senate Committee arranging congressional oversight on [[Time Travel]].

* ''[[The Return of Captain Invincible|Captain Invincible]]'' is called before the House Un-American Activities Committee to answer charges of Communist sympathies (based upon the fact he provided super-powered air support for the invading armies' march on Berlin- and the Russian forces were closer to Berlin than the US/UK), impersonating an officer of the United States Armed Forces (as there was no record of him receiving a captaincy or even a commission in any service), and showing his [[Underwear of Power]] in public.

* ''[[The Pentagon Wars]]'' uses this trope as a framing device. The general in charge of the development of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle squirms under the interrogation of a House subcommittee while flashbacks reveal what a disaster it was.

* Most of the plot of [[Kitty Norville|Kitty Goes To Washington]], the second book of the series. In the first book, [[Broken Masquerade|the Masquerade was broken]], revealing the existence of vampires and werewolves to the general public, in large part by Kitty herself. In the second book, the Senate wants details straight from the horse's mouth.

* In a Brad Thor novel, a conniving bitch of a Democratic senator tries to get Scot Harvath up before one of these, just so she can humiliate the President and get herself into the Presidency. She nearly succeeds due to her having a affiar with a CIA member who gives her all the classififed info. {{spoiler|Fortunately, she gets caught and is forced from office while her little source of info gets a hefty jail sentence.}}

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

** Jack Bauer appears before a Senate Committee at the beginning of Day Seven.

** In the [[Expanded Universe]], David Palmer used his influence in such a sub-committee to authorise "Operation Nightfall". A House Committee investigated the events of Day One and the report was "leaked" to form a book called ''24: The Official Investigation''.

* ''[[Airwolf]]'' has Archangel showing the titular chopper to a congressional demonstration when Dr. Moffett steals it, killing several people and blinding Archangel in one eye.

* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' and Senator Kinsey, who chairs the committee that sets the SGC's budget. A later episode has Hammond figure out why Kinsey is pushing for the Stargate to be handed over to the NID when he learns he's moved to the committee that directly controls that.

** The UK also has "public inquiries". In one episode of ''Yes, Prime Minister'' Sir Humphrey told Hacker there would be a public inquiry into recent leaks. Hacker replied "I don't want a public inquiry! I want to find out who's responsible!"

* ''[[Dollhouse]]'' features a US Senator, Daniel Perrin who is investigating Rossum Corporation and plans to use Mellie (the former "November") as a star witness. Worried that his attractive blonde wife is in fact an Active, Paul Ballard goes over to their house and uses a device that renders Actives highly dazed and gives them nosebleeds. It has no effect on her, but then the horrible truth is revealed... {{spoiler|He's the Active.}}

* One episode of [[Quantum Leap]] (''Honeymoon Express'') revolves around Al's being called before a subcommittee to account for the doings of Project Quantum Leap. The committee is incredulous at his testimony at first and threatens to cut off their funding, so he tries to get Sam to do something in the past that will show that he's actually back there and they're not just, well, lying to get funding.

* In the first episode of ''[[Fringe]]'' season 2 (A New Day in the Old Town), Broyles is called to Washington to appear before a Senate subcommittee. They tell him that the lack of definitive results produced by the Fringe Division is unacceptable, and are poised to shut the division down until Peter gives them a broken shapeshifting device used by {{spoiler|the shapeshifter who killed Charlie}}.