In 2019, the House Judiciary Committee filed suit to enforce a subpoena compelling White House counsel Donald McGahn to testify. The Trump White House claimed absolute immunity on McGahn’s behalf. After two years of intense litigation and multiple court decisions, in May 2021, the Committee and the Biden Administration agreed to dismiss the case and have McGahn testify in executive session with certain limitations. The agreement left a number of critical issues undecided by the courts including the key issue in the McGahn case, whether certain senior presidential aides are absolutely immune to congressional subpoenas. Various legislative proposals are now…

In January 2022, the Levin Center will release over a dozen Portraits in Oversight, profiles that describe important congressional investigations and trace the work of key figures in the history of legislative oversight. The Portraits explore congressional oversight from 1792 to the present day, including inquiries into the Civil War, covert CIA operations, Enron, and Watergate and such figures as Representatives John Dingell and Elijah Cummings and Senators Harry Truman and Joe McCarthy. Our panel of historians will explore the role of congressional oversight in our history and how these investigations influenced our understanding of the American story. RSVP HERE…

On January 13, 2022, the Levin Center released its “Portraits in Oversight” – short profiles that describe important congressional investigations and trace the work of key figures in the history of legislative oversight. The portraits explore congressional oversight from 1792 to the present day, including inquiries into the Civil War, covert CIA operations, Enron, and Watergate and such figures as Senators Harry Truman and Joe McCarthy, and Representative John Dingell. As part of Wayne State University’s Black History Month, we are delighted to invite you to our panel discussion on Representative Elijah Cummings’ Portrait in Oversight. For 23 years, Elijah…

Properly administered election audits are one of the most important tools states can use to improve voter confidence and election security. In 2020, however, state legislatures in multiple states used audits for the opposite goal of undermining the public's faith in elections and the electoral results themselves. Join us on April 14, as representatives from the Brennan Center for Justice and the R Street Institute discuss the audits that followed the last election cycle and explore options to strengthen oversight of our elections going forward. This virtual panel discussion is hosted by Wayne Law's Voting Rights and Election Law Society and the…

For our democratic system to work, public and private institutions, public officials, and citizens need to value facts and truthfulness. But recent years have witnessed mass disagreements over what is true and how to separate fact from fiction. Join our discussion ‘Pursuing Factual Consensus: What Does "Truth" Mean in the Public Square?’ to delve more deeply into how facts become established in the public mind and how truthfulness might be restored to our public discourse. RSVP HERE   Moderator: Jim Townsend - Director, Levin Center Panelists:   Jonathan Rauch Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution       Marc Hetherington Professor of…

For our democratic system to work, our leaders, institutions (both public and private), and citizens need to value facts and truthfulness.  In recent years, however, we have witnessed mass disagreements over what is true and how to separate fact from fiction. We’ve also learned the consequences can be deadly.  The Levin Center is sponsoring a three-part series of panels to delve more deeply into how facts become established in the public mind and how truthfulness might be restored to our public discourse. Our first panel, on May 19th, “Pursuing Factual Consensus: What Does ’Truth’ Mean in the Public Square?” heard from…

Join our Fall 2022 Career Panel for Wayne Law students to find out more about legal careers in Congress. Panelists: Slade Bond - Chief Counsel, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Daina Robinson - Counsel, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform / Wayne Law Alum / Levin Center Intern 2018 Lunch sandwiches will be provided on a first come first serve basis.

For our democratic system to work, our leaders, institutions, and citizens need to value facts and truthfulness. Recent years, however, have witnessed a steep decline in the public’s ability to separate fact from fiction. We’ve also learned the consequences can be deadly. The Levin Center is sponsoring a three-part series of panels to delve more deeply into how facts become established in the public mind and how truthfulness might be restored to our public discourse. Our first two panels heard from scholars and former member of Congress. Our third panel will feature journalists, media professionals, and scholars discussing the role…

Join us on November 10, 2022, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. ET to discuss the midterm election results with U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12) and John Moolenaar (R-MI-04)!   RSVP HERE

The Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy and Georgetown Law Center for Congressional Studies are partnering to present a live panel on how the innovative approaches used by the January 6 Select Committee will affect future oversight hearings by Congress. The panelists are: Kristin Amerling, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the January 6 Committee Reginald Brown, Kirkland & Ellis partner who represented witnesses before the January 6 Committee Lisa Desjardins, PBS NewsHour correspondent who covered the January 6 Committee hearings Professor David Rapallo, Georgetown University Law Center, and former longtime congressional investigator   Hosts: Victoria Nourse, Ralph V.…

On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, from noon to 1:30pm, we are hosting an online panel of legal experts to discuss how federal courts are shaping the ability of Congress to investigate issues and obtain information.  The panel will delve into cases decided from 2021 to 2022, discussing the emerging case law affecting such issues as whether the Speech and Debate clause bars suits challenging congressional subpoenas, Congress' authority to subpoena tax return information, the impact of executive and common law privileges on congressional inquiries, and the rejuvenation of contempt of Congress prosecutions. Panelists: Doug Letter, Former General Counsel, U.S. House…

On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at 2 PM ET, the Levin Center is partnering with NAPA's Center for Intergovernmental Partnerships for a webinar on the intergovernmental oversight of election administration and equitable voting access. The event will feature a panel discussion with speakers from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the University of Southern California's Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, and more followed by a Q&A session. RSVP HERE