Friday’s letter from the House Ethics Committee indicates that Billy Martin was asked “to review allegations that this Committee violated due process rights or rules attaching to Representative Waters.” Martin was also asked “to address whether recusal of any Members of the Committee should be considered and when would be the most appropriate time for [...]
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Who Was the Mystery Witness Invoking the Fifth Before the House Ethics Committee?
According to a letter sent today by the House Ethics Committee to the Speaker, outside counsel Billy Martin has spent a good deal of time reviewing “allegations that this Committee violated due process rights or rules attaching to Representative [Maxine] Waters.” However, Martin has been unable to complete the due process review because one “necessary witness” has [...]
Alec Rogers on “Mr. Speaker! The Life and Times of Thomas B. Reed, the Man who Broke the Filibuster”
My former colleague Alec Rogers has been kind enough to share this review of James Grant’s biography of Speaker Thomas Reed: James Grant is best known for his financial analysis, shared with those willing to part with a pretty penny, via the eponymous Grant’s Interest Rate Observer (current subscription rate: US$910). For decades, Wall Streeters [...]
The Recess Appointments Clause, Original Vacancies and Attorney General Wirt
As discussed in my prior post on this subject, it seems to have been the prevailing view in the 1814 Senate that the President could not use the Recess Appointments Clause to fill a newly created statutory office, absent explicit authority in the law to do so. This view could rest on three different grounds. [...]
Inappropriate Behavior?
House Rule XI (g)(5) provides (5) To the maximum extent practicable, each committee shall— (A) provide audio and video coverage of each hearing or meeting for the transaction of business in a manner that allows the public to easily listen to and view the proceedings; and (B) maintain the recordings of such coverage in a [...]
The Recess Appointments Clause and the War of 1812
To continue our discussion of the Recess Appointments Clause, I would like to revisit a debate that took place on the Senate floor in March 1814. It concerned actions taken by President Madison earlier that year, while the Senate was in recess. Having received an offer from Czar Alexander of Russia to help mediate an [...]
So About that Recess Appointments Clause
Article II, §2, cl. 3 of the Constitution (the “Recess Appointments Clause” or “RAC”) provides that “[t]he President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the end of their next Session.” The Constitution requires that Congress “assemble” at [...]
Did Senator Paul’s TSA Detention Violate the Arrest Clause?
Senator Rand Paul was “detained” earlier today by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) after the Senator refused to consent to a full body pat down at the airport in Nashville, Tennessee. Senator Paul was at the airport to catch a flight to Washington, DC. This raises an interesting question under the Arrest Clause, art. I, [...]
Bolling Memorandum on Breaking Ties in the Virginia Senate
Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bolling has issued this ruling on his power to break deadlocks in the Virginia Senate. In brief, Bolling concludes that his power to vote includes organizational matters such as determining rules of procedure and voting on officers. However, he also finds that he lacks the power to vote on final passage of [...]
More on Gingrich and Judges
Former Speaker Gingrich’s plan to rein in the federal judiciary has met with near-universal criticism, but Curt Levey has gamely offered a qualified defense in the Wall Street Journal. Levey contends that the attacks on Gingrich’s proposal are “overblown.” As an example, he has this to say about Gingrich’s idea of subpoenaing federal judges to [...]