- On September 25, 2025, President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-7, Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence. The memorandum
Handling Investigations of Members of Congress and Congressional Staff: A How-To Guide for Chiefs of Staff
It may begin with an unusual media inquiry or a sudden spike in interest on social media. Just as often, it starts with a non-public request for documents or other evidence. Your boss or your staff have been accused of wrongdoing, and it falls to you to lead the response.
Continue Reading Handling Investigations of Members of Congress and Congressional Staff: A How-To Guide for Chiefs of StaffCongressional Ethics Investigations: An Overview of Processes, Challenges, and Implications for Private Actors
Following a string of high-profile investigations targeting Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, congressional ethics investigations are more visible than ever. Indeed, as we recently explored, the House Ethics Committee in particular may be moving toward a more active and transparent enforcement posture, with its most
Continue Reading Congressional Ethics Investigations: An Overview of Processes, Challenges, and Implications for Private ActorsGeorgia Senate Launches Abrams-Focused Inquiry, Signaling Growing Risk of State Legislative Investigations
Last week, the Georgia state Senate authorized a sweeping investigation of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, continuing a national trend of increased state legislative investigations. Although state-level investigations continue to lag far behind congressional investigations, state legislatures appear to be replicating what we see on the federal level with increasing
Continue Reading Georgia Senate Launches Abrams-Focused Inquiry, Signaling Growing Risk of State Legislative InvestigationsPreparing Now for Expected Congressional Oversight: Newly Released Oversight Plans Signal Investigations of Private Parties
Recently, three key investigative committees of the House of Representatives—the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Judiciary Committee, and Energy and Commerce Committee—each adopted their respective committee’s oversight plan for the new Congress, offering a window into the committees’ investigative priorities for the next two years. The newly adopted oversight plans provide insights into the companies and industries most likely to draw congressional scrutiny from these three significant committees.
Under clause 2(d) of Rule X of the House, each authorizing committee is required to adopt and submit an oversight plan to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on House Administration by March 1 after the start of a new Congress. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee collects the individual oversight plans and later publishes a comprehensive collection by April 15.
With some exceptions, the current oversight plans described below align with the plans adopted by these committees in the last Congress, and the Republican Members of the committees rebuffed the Democratic Members’ efforts to expand the plans to encompass oversight of the new Trump Administration. During a series of contentious markups, the committees rejected various amendments that would have expanded the scope of the oversight plans to include reviews of the Trump Administration directives, federal funding freezes, the activities of the Department of Government Efficiency, and other topics. As a result, the oversight plans tend to focus on private sector investigations, suggesting that investigations of private sector interests may take an outsized role in these committees’ oversight activities in the current Congress.
Below we highlight those elements of the committees’ oversight plans that are mostly likely to have implications for private sector entities. The plans are especially relevant to clients in industries including energy and environment, aerospace and defense, communications, technology, artificial intelligence, higher education, and pharmaceuticals.Continue Reading Preparing Now for Expected Congressional Oversight: Newly Released Oversight Plans Signal Investigations of Private Parties
Newly Published “Oversight Plan” Outlines the House’s Investigative Priorities
Late last week, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability published the House of Representative’s “Authorization and Oversight Plans.” The massive 241-page report is required by the House rules, and the Oversight Committee’s report collects the individual oversight plans that each standing committee of the House is required to create at the start of a new Congress. The report is the most comprehensive collection of the committees’ plans for investigations in the coming Congress.
This year’s report reflects a significant shift in priorities, reflecting the change in control of the House to the Republicans. For example, the Oversight Plan speaks to expected oversight of the Administration’s alleged “collusion” with “Big Tech,” the “politicization” of the federal government, China’s interactions with the American economy and national security, and the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing prevention efforts. A repeated priority throughout the plans is seeking out and minimizing instances of “waste, fraud, and abuse” in government programs, which includes scrutinizing the recipients and use of government funds.
The plans of the four most active oversight committees—Oversight and Accountability, Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and Financial Services—stand out in particular for their focus on the private sector and the way companies interact with the federal government. Other committees, including the Foreign Affairs Committee, have outlined ambitious oversight agendas as well. Of note, the Foreign Affairs Committee has added a Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability “to undertake more complex oversight and investigative activities,” including on issues related to China, the conflict in Ukraine, the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the origins of the pandemic. The Oversight Plan does not include the oversight objectives of the newly created House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, which we explored in a separate alert.
The following summarizes key portions of the Oversight Plan with implications for the private sector and other individuals and entities that routinely interface with government:Continue Reading Newly Published “Oversight Plan” Outlines the House’s Investigative Priorities
Recent Arkansas Sentencing Highlights How Easily Federal Prosecutors Can Target State Campaign Finance Issues
What happens in Arkansas does not stay in Arkansas. Or at least not when federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section get involved.
A recent sentencing from Arkansas highlights the many options in DOJ’s toolkit to pursue “state-level” misconduct involving public officials. In the case of former state senator Jeremy Hutchinson, DOJ obtained a “global” guilty plea for misconduct charged in three separate district courts. The court sentenced Hutchinson to 46 months incarceration.
According to the Government’s sentencing memorandum, Hutchinson accepted over $157,500 from the owner of an orthodontic clinic in exchange for advancing favorable legislation to deregulate the state dental industry. The bribes masqueraded as payment for legal retainers, according to the Plea Agreement. In addition, Hutchinson:
commingled campaign contributions and donations with his own personal funds and misappropriated and converted campaign funds for his own personal use, including, but not limited to, using campaign funds for a vacation, hotel stay, travel expenses, groceries, a gym membership, and jewelry.
January 6 Committee Filing Provides Further Support for Parties Asserting Attorney-Client Privilege in Congressional Investigations
Yesterday, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol filed a highly consequential brief in ongoing litigation relating to a subpoena seeking documents involving attorney John Eastman’s alleged participation in efforts to thwart Congress’s certification of the results of the 2020 Presidential election.
Continue Reading January 6 Committee Filing Provides Further Support for Parties Asserting Attorney-Client Privilege in Congressional Investigations
Increased Enforcement Risk for Criminal Campaign Finance Violations
Continue Reading Increased Enforcement Risk for Criminal Campaign Finance Violations