Brian Smith spoke to The American Lawyer about the state of congressional investigations in light of the midterm election results.
“Whereas in the past, when Republicans were in charge you would see less investigations of corporate activity, we are already hearing from members on the Hill, that there are some industries that they are very interested in investigating,” said Brian “So many things that used to just be corporate decisions and the everyday running of a business, are increasingly political. Politics is reaching further into everyday corporate activity.”
He said his firm is preparing for a continued environment of significant oversight activity.
Even congressional investigations of the executive branch can sweep up clients, Brian said, explaining that during Donald Trump’s presidency, congressional investigators were asking companies about their interactions with the Trump administration, or using their oversight of federal agencies to examine how agencies were interacting with the private sector.
“The Republicans are going to take some of those tactics and strategies they saw Democrats use in congressional investigations and use them for their own political agendas,” Brian said. “This trend is set to continue. Frequently we see outside entities being brought into executive branch oversight,” he continued, adding that Covington has been “more active” in congressional investigations in the past four years than any other moment in the practice’s history.
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