Charlotte Butash is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was a Lawfare student contributor. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from Johns Hopkins University.
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Could Congress build a kind of distributed truth commission on the back of a system that already investigates misconduct in every important agency in the federal government: the network of inspectors general?
On August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sitting en banc, decided Committee on the Judiciary v. McGahn. What’s in the ruling?
In the end, President Trump has probably succeeded in his effort to keep his financial records from Congress through the November election. But if his goal was to prevent the judiciary from enforcing congressional subpoenas affecting him, he has likely failed.
On May 12, the Supreme Court livestreamed more than three hours of arguments in three cases involving the validity of subpoenas issued to third parties for the president’s financial information.
The outcome of these three cases could have significant implications for congressional power, the Trump family’s business dealings and the transparency of the president’s reelection campaign.
Precedent seems to require the dismissal of the Michael Flynn case, but Judge Emmet Sullivan can ask questions first.
Judges were skeptical of the Department of Justice’s sweeping arguments but searched for limiting principles on court cases brought by Congress.