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Bob Bauer

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Bob Bauer served as White House Counsel to President Obama. In 2013, the President named Bob to be Co-Chair of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. He is a Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law, as well as the co-director of the university's Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic. In 2020, he served as a senior advisor to the Biden campaign.

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Impeachment

The Strategic Underpinning—and the Limits—of the Republican ‘Due Process’ Defense of Donald Trump

Bob Bauer   Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 9:04 AM

Impeachment is both a political and a legal process. It is not unconstrained by precedent, nor is it controlled by it. In the course of impeachment, legislators may be guided by a sense of constitutional responsibility, but they also keep their eye on public opinion polls. They are sensitive to the constitutional history they are writing. Lawmakers also prefer reelection to defeat. Nothing they say in one moment about process or substance may hold under the pressure of events or swings in public sentiment.

norms

Rules and Norms in the Trump Presidency: The Risks and Rewards of ‘Playing It Straight’ on the Inside

Bob Bauer   Thu, Sep 19, 2019, 4:52 PM

James Comey famously does things his own way, and the Department of Justice inspector general has not approved. Having criticized the former FBI director’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, the inspector general most recently upbraided him for his use of “sensitive investigative information” in sounding an alarm about Donald Trump.

Federal Law Enforcement

The Perils and Opportunities of Mueller’s Testimony

Bob Bauer   Thu, May 23, 2019, 7:52 AM

There is a substantial and impatient audience both within and outside Congress for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony on the Russia investigation. The House judiciary committee is negotiating for Mueller to appear, and while the Trump administration is busily objecting to other appearances, such as that of former White House Counsel Don McGahn, it seems prepared to relent in the case of Mueller.