In dismissing the classified documents case against former president Donald Trump, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon argues that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Would the Founders have agreed?
Presidential historian Peter Kastor, the Samuel K. Eddy Professor of History in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is an expert on how the federal government operated in its first decades of existence. His current project, “Creating a Federal Government,” combines careful analysis of the Founders’ vision for the federal government with a massive digital archive of over 30,000 federal employees.
Kastor is available to discuss the history of the Appointments Clause; how it was interpreted by the Founders; and which appointments required the “advice and consent” of the U.S. Senate and which did not.
To arrange an interview with Kastor, please contact Liam Otten, liam_otten@wustl.edu.
