Registration and Lunch
Panel 1: Investigations
There have been numerous investigations into the past two presidents, from a special counsel investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents to a similar investigation of President Trump’s storage of classified materials, among other investigations into Trump, along with countless congressional investigations. What are the historical roots of and norms for investigations into presidents? […]
Panel 2: Impeachment
Many experts believed impeachment was the appropriate remedy to rein in what they perceived as former President Trump’s abuses of power and threat to the constitution, as well as to permanently disqualify him from holding office. Now Republicans in the House are considering impeaching President Biden. Yet the last three impeachments (Clinton and two Trumps) […]
Registration and Breakfast
Panel 3: Disqualification
With the publication of Will Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen’s law review article arguing that section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment bars President Trump from holding office because of his engagement in an insurrection, presidential disqualification has been a live topic this election cycle, resulting in litigation that is currently ongoing. Building on the conversation […]
Panel 4: Prosecution and Civil Suits
Former President Trump is facing multiple prosecutions. What’s the historical precedent for prosecuting a former or sitting president? What are the arguments for and against presidential immunity? Assuming a president isn’t immune, what are the benefits and risks of trying to hold a president accountable in a court of law as opposed to the court […]
Lunch
Keynote with Jack Goldsmith: The Failed 50-year Experiment With Institutionalized Special Counsels
Professor Goldsmith will build on his recent New York Times op-ed to examine how and why the special counsel institution has gone wrong, why Watergate was the exception that proved the rule, and how to deal with allegations of high-profile executive branch wrongdoing in the future.
Panel 5: Internal Executive Branch Resistance
An alternative remedy to abuse of presidential power is internal executive branch resistance. There were widespread reports during the Trump presidency of possible resistance by high-level executive branch members, from the cabinet to the military. Indeed, many across the ideological spectrum called for such action, especially because individuals on the inside of the administration arguably […]
