The Age of Dis-Contempt: Subpoenas, Privilege, and a Separation of Powers Showdown

Shortly after the release of Special Counsel Mueller’s “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,” congressional committees issued subpoenas for follow-up oral testimony and written documents. In response, President Trump vowed to fight “all the subpoenas.” The administration’s refusal to respond to congressional requests for information however predates the Mueller Report, including its refusal to turn over documents related to its family separation policy at the southern border, its decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, and its support for the litigation challenging the Affordable Care Act. This strategy has led House Democrats to complain that Congress’s authority as a co-equal branch of government is being thwarted. What are Congress’s constitutional oversight responsibilities and how can it perform them under these circumstances? Is it unprecedented for an administration to withhold documents? What are the remedies left to Congress in response? How will this showdown be resolved?

Featuring:

Caroline Fredrickson, President, American Constitution Society (moderator)

Alan B. Morrison, Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest and Public Service Law, George Washington University Law School

Donald K. Sherman, Deputy Director, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW); former Chief Oversight Counsel House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

This call is pending approval for 1 hour of California MCLE credit.