Investigating the President

Investigating the President
Author: Douglas L. Kriner
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2016-09-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691171866

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.

Contempt

Contempt
Author: Ken Starr
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2018-09-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0525536159

Twenty years after the Starr Report and the Clinton impeachment, former special prosecutor Ken Starr finally shares his definitive account of one of the most divisive periods in American history. You could fill a library with books about the scandals of the Clinton administration, which eventually led to President Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives. Bill and Hillary Clinton have told their version of events, as have various journalists and participants. Whenever liberals recall those years, they usually depict independent counsel Ken Starr as an out-of-control, politically driven prosecutor. But as a New York Times columnist asked in 2017, "What if Ken Starr was right?" What if the popular media in the 1990s completely misunderstood Starr's motives, his tactics, and his ultimate goal: to ensure that no one, especially not the president of the United States, is above the law? Starr -- the man at the eye of the hurricane -- has kept his unique perspective to himself for two full decades. In this long-awaited memoir, he finally sheds light on everything he couldn't tell us during the Clinton years, even in his carefully detailed "Starr Report" of September 1998. Contempt puts you, the reader, into the shoes of Starr and his team as they tackle the many scandals of that era, from Whitewater to Vince Foster's death to Travelgate to Monica Lewinsky. Starr explains in vivid detail how all those scandals shared a common thread: the Clintons' contempt for our system of justice. This book proves that Bill and Hillary Clinton weren't victims of a so-called "vast right-wing conspiracy." They played fast and loose with the law and abused their powers and privileges. Today, from the #MeToo aftermath and Russiagate to President Trump’s impeachment trial, the office of the American presidency is in crisis—and Starr’s insights are more relevant now than ever.

An Affair of State

An Affair of State
Author: Richard A. Posner
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2009-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0674042328

President Bill Clinton’s year of crisis, which began when his affair with Monica Lewinsky hit the front pages in January 1998, engendered a host of important questions of criminal and constitutional law, public and private morality, and political and cultural conflict. In a book written while the events of the year were unfolding, Richard Posner presents a balanced and scholarly understanding of the crisis that also has the freshness and immediacy of journalism. Posner clarifies the issues and eliminates misunderstandings concerning facts and the law that were relevant to the investigation by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and to the impeachment proceeding itself. He explains the legal definitions of obstruction of justice and perjury, which even many lawyers are unfamiliar with. He carefully assesses the conduct of Starr and his prosecutors, including their contacts with the lawyers for Paula Jones and their hardball tactics with Monica Lewinsky and her mother. He compares and contrasts the Clinton affair with Watergate, Iran–Contra, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, exploring the subtle relationship between public and private morality. And he examines the place of impeachment in the American constitutional scheme, the pros and cons of impeaching President Clinton, and the major procedural issues raised by both the impeachment in the House and the trial in the Senate. This book, reflecting the breadth of Posner’s experience and expertise, will be the essential foundation for anyone who wants to understand President Clinton’s impeachment ordeal.

Investigating the President

Investigating the President
Author: Douglas L. Kriner
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2016
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691171858

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of Tables and Figures -- Acknowledgments -- CHAPTER 1: Introduction -- CHAPTER 2: When Congress Investigates -- CHAPTER 3: Investigations and Public Opinion -- CHAPTER 4: The Direct Influence of Congressional Investigations on Policy Outcomes -- CHAPTER 5: The Indirect Influence of Congressional Investigations on Policy Outcomes -- CHAPTER 6: Investigations in the Age of Obama -- CHAPTER 7: Conclusion -- References -- Index

Where Law Ends

Where Law Ends
Author: Andrew Weissmann
Publisher:
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2020
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0593138570

"In the first and only inside account of the Mueller investigation, one of the special counsel's most trusted prosecutors breaks his silence on the team's history-making search for the truth, their painstaking deliberations and costly mistakes, and Trump's unprecedented efforts to stifle their report." -- Amazon.com.

Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 224
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 1982109270

The Myth of the Imperial Presidency

The Myth of the Imperial Presidency
Author: Dino P. Christenson
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2020-07-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 022670453X

Throughout American history, presidents have shown a startling power to act independently of Congress and the courts. On their own initiative, presidents have taken the country to war, abolished slavery, shielded undocumented immigrants from deportation, declared a national emergency at the border, and more, leading many to decry the rise of an imperial presidency. But given the steep barriers that usually prevent Congress and the courts from formally checking unilateral power, what stops presidents from going it alone even more aggressively? The answer, Dino P. Christenson and Douglas L. Kriner argue, lies in the power of public opinion. With robust empirical data and compelling case studies, the authors reveal the extent to which domestic public opinion limits executive might. Presidents are emboldened to pursue their own agendas when they enjoy strong public support, and constrained when they don’t, since unilateral action risks inciting political pushback, jeopardizing future initiatives, and further eroding their political capital. Although few Americans instinctively recoil against unilateralism, Congress and the courts can sway the public’s view via their criticism of unilateral policies. Thus, other branches can still check the executive branch through political means. As long as presidents are concerned with public opinion, Christenson and Kriner contend that fears of an imperial presidency are overblown.

Debriefing the President

Debriefing the President
Author: John Nixon (Middle East expert)
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0399575812

The first man to conduct a prolonged interrogation of Saddam Hussein after his capture explains why preconceived ideas about the dictator led Washington policymakers and the Bush White House astray.

Trump on Trial

Trump on Trial
Author: Victor Edgar Rivera
Publisher:
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2020-11-03
Genre:
ISBN: 9780967671956

This book of 13 poems by Victor Edgar Rivera, a New Jersey writer born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, condemns Donald Trump and his administration for their treatment of immigrants and the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, their trampling on the rights of African-Americans, women and the LGBT community, and their erosion of civil liberties and social justice.