Partner Alyssa DaCunha spoke at “Presidents Beware: Investigations, Impeachment, Disqualification, and Prosecution,” a conference organized by Stanford Law School that took place May 17-18, 2024. Former President and now presidential candidate Donald Trump looms large over questions about investigation, impeachment, disqualification and prosecution of presidents. This conference took the opportunity to step back and ask broader questions about the history, structure and application of these checks — or intrusions — into executive power.

Ms. DaCunha participated in Panel 1 on Investigations, which was moderated by Judge Danielle J. Forrest of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The panel examined questions about the historical roots of and norms for investigations into presidents, the role investigations have served and what we know about how investigations are being used – or misused – today, and how they should be used going forward.