The Attorney General, the President, and Congressional Oversight

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 November 2018

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of President Trump, the president appointed Sessions’ former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, to serve as acting attorney general, and a flurry of questions about the legality, constitutionality, and political repercussions of these developments ensued. Constitutional law scholar Steve Vladeck and political scientist Greg Weiner join host Jeffrey Rosen to think through those questions, including: Is Whitaker’s appointment constitutional? What are Congress’ powers to investigate or even subpoena the President or other executive branch officials over Sessions’ departure? How could the President respond? What will happen to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation? Is a constitutional crisis developing, or is this simply the Constitution at work?

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome
0:09.2	to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:13.0	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:23.4	After the 2018 midterm elections,
0:26.8	Democrats took control of the House of Representatives
0:29.2	and divided government, as re-emerged in Washington.
0:32.6	That may bring a host of constitutional issues,
0:34.9	including, is the acting attorney general's appointment
0:38.8	consistent with the Constitution and with federal statutes?
0:41.4	If Congress thinks it isn't, what can it do about it? What if Congress
0:44.4	tries to subpoena the acting attorney general or the special counsel? And what has the Supreme
0:51.1	Court said about Congress's investigatory powers,
0:54.6	about Congress's power to oversee the executive branch?
0:57.8	Joining us to discuss these pressing constitutional questions are two of America's
1:01.1	leading constitutional scholars and historians?
1:04.0	Stephen Vlottic is A Dalton Cross, Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law.
1:09.0	He's co-editor and chief of just security, a senior contributor to law fair, co-host of the
1:15.4	National Security Law Podcast with a CNN legal analyst he co-wrote the
1:19.6	Constitution's Interactive Constitution Explainers on the Constitution, on the Commander-in-Chief
1:24.3	Clause of Article II and the Declare War Clause of Article I with Michael Ramsey, and those
1:29.2	might be good places to start your homework.
1:31.6	Steve, thank you so much for joining. Thanks, Jeff. Great to be your homework. Steve, thank you so much for joining.
	...

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