A Conversation with Neal Katyal
Featuring former Acting Solicitor General of the United States Neal Katyal in conversation with Slate Senior Editor Dahlia Lithwick. President George Washington said in his farewell address: “Foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” The founders’ apprehension of foreign actors ultimately led to the Constitution granting Congress the power to impeach a president on the grounds of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. But what are high crimes and misdemeanors, exactly? As Congress considers impeachment, do we risk losing a piece of our democracy? Or would the precedent set by the failure to do so cause even greater damage? Katyal will lay out the facts needed to make that determination – not only about whether President Trump solicited election interference from Ukraine, but also the history of impeachment: why it was included in our Constitution, how it has been enforced throughout our history, and where that leaves us today—and what it means for the fate of our democracy.