Date: Wednesday, July 7, 2021 Time: 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. ET
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Experts discuss the reforms needed to restore checks and balances and strengthen accountability in the post-Trump era.

In late 2020, the Protecting Our Democracy Act was introduced in the House of Representatives with 92 cosponsors. It is a landmark reform package to prevent future presidential abuses, restore our system of checks and balances, strengthen accountability and transparency, and protect our elections. The bill would patch some of the institutional weaknesses revealed during the Trump administration and before. While there had previously been some piecemeal action on those issues, Congress has not acted holistically. This webinar discussion will focus on why reforms are urgently needed.

This event is produced in partnership with Protect Democracy.

Speakers: Bob Bauer, Former White House Counsel, Coauthor, After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency; Preet Bharara, Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, Co-chair, National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy; Christine Todd Whitman, Former Governor, New Jersey, Co-chair, National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy

Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 Time: 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. ET
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A single emergency power accounts for 37 of the 40 national emergencies active today: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which underlies most U.S. economic sanctions regimes. Although it was originally enacted to constrain the president during peacetime, Congress today has almost no ability to check presidential uses (or abuses) of this extremely broad power. Moreover, sanctions programs and targets have ballooned since IEEPA’s enactment, harming both Americans’ constitutional rights and the well-being of civilians abroad. The Biden administration has pledged to review the sanctions regimes currently in place, and voices inside and outside of government are calling for reform. A recent report released by the Brennan Center for Justice, Checking the President’s Sanctions Powers, delves into the problems with IEEPA and its implementation and offers recommendations to address them.

Speakers: Asli Bâli, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, Faculty Director, Promise Institute for Human Rights; Peter Beinart, Professor of Journalism and Political Science, CUNY, Author, The Beinart Notebook; Andrew Boyle, Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice, Author, Checking the President’s Sanctions Powers; Moderator: Hina Shamsi, Director, ACLU National Security Project