Congressional Investigations and Oversight

Congressional Investigations and Oversight PDF

Author: Lance Cole (Law teacher)

Publisher: Carolina Academic Press LLC

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781531023454

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This book examines the legal and policy issues surrounding congressional investigations through a series of case studies, with an emphasis on the second half of the twentieth century to date. The new and updated second edition covers significant developments from the Obama and Trump administrations, including the two Trump impeachments, the January 6 Committee investigation of the 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and recent Supreme Court decisions on congressional investigative powers. The book is organized by case study topic, with each chapter using two or three case studies to introduce and analyze a discrete area of legal authorities and policy issues. The central thesis and organizing principle of the book is the importance of effective congressional oversight and investigative activities in our American democratic system of government, especially in the aftermath of the disputed 2020 presidential election. In addition to collecting legal authorities, the book includes relevant historical information and structural analysis of government functions, with an emphasis on separation of powers issues. The use of a case study format, rather than a traditional law school casebook format, is intended to present the subject matter in a way that can be used to teach undergraduate and graduate school courses as well as law school courses. The authors combine original congressional and judicial source materials with book excerpts and explanatory text, as well as notes and questions for each case study, to make the subject matter accessible to graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in government and political science courses, as well as to law students.

Congressional Investigations and Oversight

Congressional Investigations and Oversight PDF

Author: Lance Cole

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781594606229

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This book examines the legal and policy issues surrounding congressional investigations through a series of case studies, with an emphasis on the period from the second half of the twentieth century to date. It is organized by case study topic, with each chapter using one or two case studies to introduce and analyze a discrete area of legal authorities and policy issues. The central thesis and organizing principle of this book is to highlight the importance of effective congressional oversight and investigative activities in our American democratic system of government, as well as the constitutional and parliamentary bases for this legislative power. In addition to collecting legal authorities, the book includes relevant historical information and structural analysis of government functions, with an emphasis on separation of powers issues. The use of a case study format, rather than a traditional law school casebook format, is intended to present the subject matter in a way that will appeal to the undergraduate and graduate school textbook market as well as the law school market. The authors combine original congressional and judicial source materials with book excerpts and explanatory text to make the subject matter accessible to graduate and upper level undergraduate students in government and political science, as well as law students.

Investigative Oversight

Investigative Oversight PDF

Author: Morton Rosenburg

Publisher: Nova Biomedical Books

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13:

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Congressional investigations have a special role in the history and the life of our government. In addition to informing Congress, so as to best accomplish its task of developing legislation, monitoring the implementation of public policy, and of disclosing to the public how its government is performing, the inquisitorial process also sustains and vindicates Congress' role in our constitutional scheme of cheques and balances. While they are only investigations, the high profile nature of many, including the failed St. Clair expedition of 1792 through Teapot Dome, Watergate, Iran-Contra and Whitewater has established in law and practice, the nature and contours of congressional prerogatives necessary to maintain the integrity of the legislative role in the government. This book thoroughly highlights the more common legal, procedural and practical issues, questions and problems that committees have faced in the course of an investigation. Problems of investigating the executive branch are detailed, with the focal point being the claim of the presidential executive privilege, and the problem of accessing information with respect to open or closed civil or criminal investigative matters. Various other issues are also touched and described.

Congressional Investigations of the Department of Justice and Claims of Executive Privilege

Congressional Investigations of the Department of Justice and Claims of Executive Privilege PDF

Author: Nathan De Vos

Publisher: Nova Science Publishers

Published: 2013-07

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781628080735

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Legislative oversight is most commonly conducted through congressional budget, authorisation, appropriations, confirmation, and investigative processes, and, in rare instances, through impeachment. But the adversarial, often confrontational, and sometimes high profile nature of congressional investigations sets it apart from the more routine, accommodative facets of the oversight process experienced in authorisation, appropriations, or confirmation exercises. While all aspects of legislative oversight share the common goals of informing Congress so as to best accomplish its tasks of developing legislation, monitoring the implementation of public policy, and disclosing to the public how its government is performing, the inquisitorial process also sustains and vindicates Congress's role in our constitutional scheme of separated powers and checks and balances. The rich history of congressional investigations from the failed St Clair expedition in 1792 through Teapot Dome, Watergate, Iran-Contra, Whitewater, and the current ongoing inquiries into Operation Fast and Furious, has established, in law and practice, the nature and contours of congressional prerogatives necessary to maintain the integrity of the legislative role in that constitutional scheme. This book reviews the legal basis for investigative oversight, followed by several prominent examples of congressional oversight that reflects the significant breadth and reach of the legislative investigative prerogative vis-á-vis the Department.

Investigating the President

Investigating the President PDF

Author: Douglas L. Kriner

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 0691171866

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Although congressional investigations have provided some of the most dramatic moments in American political history, they have often been dismissed as mere political theater. But these investigations are far more than grandstanding. Investigating the President shows that congressional investigations are a powerful tool for members of Congress to counter presidential aggrandizement. By shining a light on alleged executive wrongdoing, investigations can exert significant pressure on the president and materially affect policy outcomes. Douglas Kriner and Eric Schickler construct the most comprehensive overview of congressional investigative oversight to date, analyzing nearly thirteen thousand days of hearings, spanning more than a century, from 1898 through 2014. The authors examine the forces driving investigative power over time and across chambers, identify how hearings might influence the president's strategic calculations through the erosion of the president’s public approval rating, and uncover the pathways through which investigations have shaped public policy. Put simply, by bringing significant political pressure to bear on the president, investigations often afford Congress a blunt, but effective check on presidential power—without the need to worry about veto threats or other hurdles such as Senate filibusters. In an era of intense partisan polarization and institutional dysfunction, Investigating the President delves into the dynamics of congressional investigations and how Congress leverages this tool to counterbalance presidential power.

Financial Exposure

Financial Exposure PDF

Author: Elise J. Bean

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-08-07

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 331994388X

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At a time when Congressional investigations have taken on added importance and urgency in American politics, this book offers readers a rare, insider’s portrait of the world of US Congressional oversight. It examines specific oversight investigations into multiple financial and offshore tax scandals over fifteen years, from 1999 to 2014, when Senator Levin served in a leadership role on the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), the Senate’s premier investigative body. Despite mounting levels of partisanship, dysfunction, and cynicism swirling through Congress during those years, this book describes how Congressional oversight investigations can be a powerful tool for uncovering facts, building bipartisan consensus, and fostering change, offering detailed case histories as proof. Grounded in fact, and written as only an insider could tell it, this book will be of interest to financial and tax practitioners, policymakers, academics, students, and the general public.

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