18 U.S.C. § 401 (2) empowers a court of the United States to punish as contempt "Misbehavior of any of its officers in their official transactions . . . ." Petitioner, a lawyer, sent a questionnaire to a District of Columbia grand jury. For this, the District Court found petitioner guilty of contempt and fined him $100. 122 F. Supp. 388 . In so doing the court held that within the meaning of the statute petitioner was one "of its officers" and that sending the questionnaire was "misbehavior" in an "official transaction."

The record here amply substantiates a finding of misbehavior. As Judge Laws said in his opinion [ 122 F. Supp. 388]: "To harass [the jurors] by challenging and lengthy questions while they are deliberating or about to consider cases is intolerable. A timid juror will not fail to be disturbed, possibly influenced.