A looming House vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress is unlikely to result in punishment, recent history shows, but could ultimately help Democrats gain access to the information they are seeking.

Both parties have voted to hold high-ranking, executive branch officials in contempt over the past two decades for refusing to testify or turn over subpoenaed material, among them President George W. Bush’s chief of staff, Josh Bolten, and President Barack Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder.