Suzanne Spaulding

Senior adviser for the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), former Undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Counsel for the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, Central Intelligence Agency

After the Watergate scandal and eventual resignation of Richard Nixon Congress built a system to prevent another Nixon. Fifty years later Donald Trump seems determined to dismantle those rules. Long time prominent Washington legal expert Suzanne Spaulding will engage in a dialog with TCFR board member Bill Banks about the ongoing challenges to the rule of law presented by President Donald Trump’s second term actions in the areas of national security and foreign affairs. The list of potential topics for discussion grows almost daily and includes the President’s refusal to spend funds appropriated by Congress, his dismantling and downsizing of agencies previously authorized by Congress, the dismissal of agency officials from agencies protected from dismissal by statute, his cavalier treatment of a significant security breach inside the Pentagon in a supposedly secure discussion of sensitive military attack plans, the unilateral decision to attack Iranian nuclear sites without authorization or consultation with Congress, and the deployment of Marines and Army personnel to respond to protests of immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. Ms. Spaulding will discuss the lawfulness of President Trump’s actions to date, the means available to counter any excesses or unlawful actions, and lessons for our future.