Angelle Smith Baugh

Angelle Smith Baugh is a special counsel in the firm’s White Collar Litigation and Election & Political Law practice groups. Ms. Baugh’s practice includes defense against government investigations in civil and criminal matters before the Department of Justice, Federal Election Commission, and Congressional Ethics Committees. She also provides ongoing political law advice, including federal and state ethics, election, and lobbying laws, to companies, trade associations, PACs, and high net-worth individuals.

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Financial Institutions and Congressional Investigations – 2020 into 2021

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith, Angelle Smith Baugh and Brendan Parets on March 2, 2021 Posted in Congressional Investigations

Financial institutions are consistently targets of congressional oversight interest. In the last Congress, House and Senate committees held hearings with, demanded documents from, requested interviews with, and hosted briefings from a number of bank and non-bank financial institutions regarding a variety of issues. In a recent client alert, we looked at recent trends in congressional … Continue Reading

Congressional Investigations with a Democratic House and Senate

By Angelle Smith Baugh, Perrin Cooke and Darcy Slayton on February 4, 2021 Posted in Congressional Investigations

In recent months, we have highlighted key developments on Capitol Hill and discussed the implications of the change in Administration on the pace and focus of congressional investigations. With a Democratic majority now in both the House and the Senate, investigations targeting the private sector are primed to take center stage in the new Congress. … Continue Reading

Covington Releases Investigations Manual for House and Senate Chiefs of Staff

By Robert Kelner and Angelle Smith Baugh on January 19, 2021 Posted in Political Law

Today Covington released an updated version of its manual for Chiefs of Staff to Members of Congress concerning best practices for responding to government investigations of Members and their staff. Titled “A How-To Guide for Chiefs of Staff,” the manual describes how government investigations of Members and staff unfold and the steps that Chiefs of … Continue Reading

D.C. Circuit Rules Obstruction of Office of Congressional Ethics Not a Crime, but Questions and Risks Remain

By Angelle Smith Baugh and Perrin Cooke on July 2, 2020 Posted in Congressional Investigations

In a unanimous ruling, the D.C. Circuit shed new light this week on the applicability of key federal criminal statutes on proceedings before the Office of Congressional Ethics (“OCE”). While largely removing the prospect of criminal obstruction liability for parties responding to inquiries from OCE, the court’s opinion is another reminder of the potentially serious … Continue Reading

House Leaders Push Ahead with Proposal for Virtual Oversight

By Robert Kelner, Muftiah M. McCartin, Angelle Smith Baugh, Perrin Cooke and William Sokolove on May 14, 2020 Posted in Congressional Action, Congressional Investigations, COVID-19

Last month, we highlighted congressional efforts to ensure that Congress is able to continue conducting the business of the American people during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. After weeks of halting progress, those efforts took an important step forward this morning with the release of a proposed resolution that would temporarily modify the House rules to enable … Continue Reading

Congressional Paper Hearings: The Future or The Past?

By Angelle Smith Baugh and Perrin Cooke on April 9, 2020 Posted in Congressional Action, COVID-19

Congressional leaders are actively exploring ways to continue the work of Congress as the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold. Currently, Congress is not able to have live, in-person hearings, which are the primary tool for conducting oversight of both the private sector and the executive branch. With existing oversight investigations still underway—and the recent establishment … Continue Reading

Fight Against Sexual Misconduct Bringing Regulations, Protections for Lobbyists

By Angelle Smith Baugh and Andrew Garrahan on January 22, 2018 Posted in Compliance Issues, Uncategorized

As sexual abuse, assault, harassment, and other misconduct have dominated national headlines, state capitols and lobbyists have not escaped scrutiny. Amidst a spate of allegations and member resignations, some state legislatures and ethics commissions are taking action. While a variety of measures are being considered, including tightening gift rules, it is apparent that lobbyists and … Continue Reading