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84 Nos. 77-1698, 77-1210 & 77-1370 A court of the United States shall have power to punish by fine or imprisonment, at its diseretion, such contempt of its authority, and none other, as—- “(1) Misbehavior of any person in its: presence or so near thereto as to obstruct the administration of justice... .” The Supreme Court, commenting on this statute in Jn re McConnell, 370 U.S. 230, 288-34 (1962), explained that this provision was enacted by Congress “in order to cor- rect serious abuses of the summary contempt power that had grown up... revealing ‘a Congressional intent to safeguard Constitutional procedures by limiting courts ... to “the least possible power adequate to the end proposed.”’” The Court in McConnell then defined the issue: Thus the question in this case comes down to whether it can “clearly be shown” on this record that the petitioner’s statements while attempting to make his offers of proof actually obstructed the dis- trict judge in “the performance of judicial duty.” Id. at 234. In the case before us, paraphrasing the above-quoted language, the question comes down to whether it can “clearly be shown” on the record that the respective con- duct of Haas and Taylor actually obstructed the district judge in the “performance of judicial duty.” We are con- vinced that their conduct cannot be so characterized. The Taylor episode must be viewed against the background of the events leading up to it: The trial judge’s erroneous accusation before the jury that Haas had deliberately and wilfully misread’ the statement _ about the stipulation; the judge’s repeated denials-to per- mit the inspection of the court’s transcript for verifica- tion that Haas had not “misread the statement”; the judge’s refusal to correct the record immediately, but in lieu thereof giving the defendants ten days to respond. These combined circumstances apparently caused Taylor to reach the “breaking point” of his patience and forbearance. We also must take into consideration that the episode occurred while the court was recessed, and