House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Friday that he's willing to put an old contempt rule into practice to force Trump administration officials to comply with summonses to appear before his committee.

While he'd love to throw Trump officials in jail, Schiff suggested he'd have an easier time legally collecting large fines.

'Much as I like the visual of, I think it's far more practical to consider levying individual fines on the person — not the office — until they comply,' he told Axios. 'You could fine someone $25,000 a day until they comply. You can do that. We're looking through the history and studying the law to make sure we're on solid ground,' he said.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Friday that he's willing to put an old contempt rule into practice to force Trump administration officials to comply with summonses to appear before his committee

Schiff said he'd exert 'inherent contempt power' to get the money. The obscure rule hasn't been put to use since 1935 and could be just an unenforceable as jail time.

It was the latest threat from a Democrat seeking to haul Trump officials in for more testimony to use every available tool under the law to make them do it.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler is also warning of massive fines for anyone who ignores a subpoena.

Congressional Republicans said Friday that their colleagues have little resource to enforce the legal demands for testimony, however, if the subject of the subpoena decides to roll the die.

The president's son was deciding this week whether to refuse a Senate committee's summons. Attorney General William Barr and former White House Counsel Don McGahn were grappling with a similar situation, in response to House requests.

Trump said he will fight every subpoena they send him, and moved this week to exert executive privilege to keep the full special counsel report out of their clutches.

Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said last month that Nadler needs to 'calm down' and stop threatening fines and jail time to drag individuals down.

Barr refused to appear before the House committee last Thursday, a day after he testified in the U.S Senate.

The Department of Justice takes issue with the Democratic-run House's proposed format for the conversation — they want the committee's lawyers to cross-examine him in public.

Nadler's committee voted this week to hold Barr in contempt. The whole House must approve the motion before it can pass and Democrats were looking on Friday to compromise with the Justice Department.

A DOJ source who spoke to DailyMail.com said Members of Congress should be to get the job done without the assistance of their underlings.

'Why do they not feel up to the task of questioning the attorney general, in light of the fact that most of them attorneys?' the person asked.

The White House has accused lawmakers of harassing Barr, a two-time attorney general.

'The harassment of Bill Barr and the disrespect is completely disgraceful to this man who spent his career in public service and in private law practice,' Conway argued ahead of the contempt vote. 'I think it's outrageous the way the way they want to play the system.'

Nadler threatened arrests and fines for current and former Trump aides refusing to comply with subpoenas compelling their testimony prior to the contemt

'Someone is in contempt of Congress, you send the Sergeant at Arms and you arrest them. Alternatively you fine him $20,000 a day, whatever,' Nadler said. 'We could do this.'

Special Counsel Robert Mueller sent the Justice Department a report that Barr was forced to partially redact, and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee want the freedom to see what's under the black boxes by taking the May 2 hearing into 'closed session'

Conway said the attacks on the president are making it hard for the White House to take Democrats' seriously when they say they want to work on bipartisan efforts like infrastructure.

'Are we now actually going to do that?' she said of Nadler's threat before a White House meeting with Democratic lawmakers. 'Are we now dangling arrests of innocent citizens for not complying with subpoenas? I think Congress needs to calm down a little bit on this.'

Barr is willing to undergo questioning from lawmakers but does not believe he should be interviewed by committee staff. Many lawmakers on the committee have law degrees, and members who don't could yield their turn to those colleagues.

Nadler says Barr and the DOJ do not get to 'dictate' the terms of the Cabinet official's appearances.

'It's none of the business of a witness to try to dictate try to a congressional committee what our procedures for questioning him are,' he said last month.

Attorney General William Barr might be a no-show at a scheduled May 2 House hearing on the Mueller report

Democrats are also seeking a session with former White House counsel Don McGahn, who can speak to acts they will try to prove were obstructive to the investigation into election meddling.

They want to talk to Mueller, as well. Trump has said that Mueller 'should not' testify but has not ordered him to stay quiet. Mueller is still an employee of Justice, while his probe winds down, which means Trump is still technically his boss.

Mueller has not said whether he'd be willing to testify about his investigation.

McGahn told Nadler this week that he would not comply with part of his subpoena after Trump exerted executive privilege.

'The committee seeks to compel Mr. McGahn to produce White House documents the executive branch has directed that he not produce,' his lawyer said.

The former White House attorney has not said whether he will appear at May 21 hearing that was part of the subpoena.

Lawmakers are trying to get their hands on the full, unredacted Mueller report. They also want to see the underlying evidence that Mueller relied on to make his assessment that no one in the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and materials that could help inform their views on obstruction of justice.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told journalists this week that Democrats are asking Barr to break the law and give them documents they have no right to see.

'It's truly outrageous and absurd what the chairman is doing and he should be embarrassed of his behavior,' she said.

Nadler argued this week that the White House already waived privilege when officials submitted documents and testimony to Mueller. Sanders told DailyMail.com that Nadler is wrong.

'You would think for an attorney, Chairman Nadler would be a little more up on the law. I'm not, and I actually feel like I understand it better than he does,' she said. 'The attorney general is protecting information, grand jury information, confidential information, that he cannot release. But the fact that the chairman knows that and he continues to ignore it, is absolutely absurd.'