As the congressional hearings for the events of January 6, 2021, continue, we’ll hear from The Honorable J. Michael Luttig, formerly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, as he recounts a story of his historic tweet that contributed to Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to certify the results of the 2020 election, along with his reflections on how to prevent another January 6. He’s then joined by three experts—Ned Foley of The Ohio State University, Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch, and Clark Neily of the Cato Institute—who are each leading a team on a bipartisan project for the National Constitution Center, Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy. They discuss other potential reforms including whether changes should be made to the Electoral Count Act and preview their forthcoming reports for the project, which will be published later this summer. Together, our panelists consider ways to strengthen American constitutional and democratic institutions against current and future threats. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This conversation was originally part of a live, private event hosted by the National Constitution Center in Coral Gables, Florida, recorded in May 2022 with permission from the speakers. Thank you to Advanced Staging Productions for engineering and recording the event.
The Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy project is made possible with the support of Mike and Jackie Bezos.
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This episode was produced by Melody Rowell and engineered by Dave Stotz. Research was provided by Sam Desai, Lana Ulrich, and Colin Thibault.
Participants
Edward B. Foley holds the Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at The Ohio State University, where he also directs its election law program. He is the author of Ballot Battles: The History of Disputed Elections in the United States and his most current book, Presidential Elections and Majority Rule. He is team lead for team progressive in the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy project.
Sarah Isgur is a staff writer and host of the legal podcast Advisory Opinions for The Dispatch, a professor at George Washington’s School of Media and Public Affairs and George Mason Law School, a contributing editor at Politico, and an ABC News contributor. She most recently served in the Department of Justice as the director of the Office of Public Affairs and senior counsel to the deputy attorney general during the Russia investigation. She is team lead for team conservative in the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy project.
Clark Neily is senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute. Before joining Cato in 2017, Mr. Neily was a senior attorney and constitutional litigator at the Institute for Justice and director of the Institute’s Center for Judicial Engagement. Mr. Neily is an adjunct professor at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia School of Law, where he teaches constitutional litigation and public-interest law. He is the author of Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution’s Promise of Limited Government. He is team lead for team libertarian in the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy project.
J. Michael Luttig served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for 15 years, from 1991 to 2006. He is currently counselor and special advisor to The Coca-Cola Company and its board of directors. Previously Judge Luttig was counselor and senior advisor to The Boeing Company CEO and board of directors. He also previously served as assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice and was assistant counsel to President Ronald Reagan. From 1983 to 1985, he served as a law clerk and special assistant to the chief justice of the United States.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Read Judge Luttig’s Twitter thread from January 5, 2021
- Read Judge Luttig’s statement to the January 6 investigative committee
- Read “Anatomy of a tweet: The behind-the-scenes story of how retired federal judge Michael Luttig used Twitter to try to stop an insurrection” on CNN
- “How Congress Can Fix the Electoral Count Act,” by Edward B. Foley et. al. in The Washington Post
- Listen to Sarah Isgur on The Dispatch Podcast: “January 6 Committee Makes Their Case”
- Read Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution's Promise of Limited Government, by Clark Neily
- Read the full text of the Electoral Count Act of 1887
- Listen to “The Case for Reforming the Electoral Count Act” on We the People
- Listen to “What is the 'Independent State Legislature Doctrine'?” on We the People
Transcript
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This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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