Webcast: Congressional Investigations in the 118th Congress: What to Expect and How to Prepare

January 18, 2023

In this complementary webcast, Gibson Dunn covers what you need to know about the congressional investigations landscape in the 118th Congress, which is scheduled to convene on January 3, 2023. The Gibson team discuss the nuts and bolts of congressional investigations, including committee authorities and witness defenses and how disputes play out in practice. The team drills down on recent legal developments that impact committee authorities and strategic considerations. We also cover new leadership on key committees in the House and Senate and how that leadership will affect investigations in the coming two years. The team then discusses what investigations to expect from the most active investigative committees as well as what investigations have been launched already. Finally, the webcast provides practical guidance to help you prepare for and navigate challenging congressional inquiries.

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PANELISTS:

Machalagh Carr is General Counsel for the Office of the Republican Leader at the U.S. House of Representatives. Previously, she served as General Counsel & Parliamentarian for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, where she handled all legal and procedural issues for the Committee. Before that, she was the Oversight Staff Director at the Committee where she led the subcommittee in its investigations and oversight of all issues within the Committee’s jurisdiction. She also previously served as the Director of Oversight and Investigations for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and as Senior Oversight Counsel at the Committee on Natural Resources.

Michael Bopp is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He chairs the Congressional Investigations Practice Group practice and he is a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations Crisis Management Practice Groups. He also co-chairs the firm’s Public Policy Practice Group and is a member of its Financial Institutions Practice Group. Mr. Bopp’s practice focuses on congressional investigations, internal corporate investigations, and other government investigations. Michael spent more than a dozen years on Capitol Hill including as Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee under Senator Susan Collins (R-ME).

Thomas G. Hungar is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher . His practice focuses on appellate litigation, and he assists clients with congressional investigations and complex trial court litigation matters as well. He has presented oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States in 26 cases, including some of the Court’s most important patent, antitrust, securities, and environmental law decisions, and he has also appeared before numerous lower federal and state courts. Mr. Hungar served as General Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives from 2016-2019, working closely with various House committees in their oversight and investigative activities and related litigation.

Roscoe Jones is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, DC office, co-chair of the Firm’s Public Policy Practice Group, and a member of the Congressional Investigations Practice Group. Mr. Jones’s practice focuses on promoting and protecting clients’ interests before the U.S. Congress and the Administration, including providing a range of public policy services to clients such as strategic counseling, advocacy, coalition building, political intelligence gathering, substantive policy expertise, legislative drafting, and message development .Roscoe spent a decade on Capitol Hill as a chief of staff, legislative director and senior counsel advising three US Senators and a member of Congress, including Senators Feinstein, Booker and Leahy and Rep. Spanberger.

Amanda H. Neely is of counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the Public Policy Practice Group and Congressional Investigations Practice Group. Amanda previously served as Director of Governmental Affairs for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and General Counsel to Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Deputy Chief Counsel to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Oversight Counsel on the House Ways and Means Committee. She has represented clients undergoing investigations by congressional committees including the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Danny Smith is of counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the Public Policy practice group. Danny’s practice focuses on advancing clients’ interests before the U.S. Congress and the Executive Branch. He provides a range of services to clients, including political advice, intelligence gathering, policy expertise, communications guidance, and legislative analysis and drafting. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Danny worked for Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) for nearly a decade, most recently as his Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism.