NLJ Quotes Raphael Prober, Karen Christian on Challenges in Congressional Investigations

For its article “‘Papering the Universe’?: Congressional Committees Ramping Up Pressure for Attorneys Guiding Clients Through Probes,” The National Law Journal extensively quoted Akin congressional investigations practice co-heads Raphael Prober and Karen Christian.

The article discusses the challenges lawyers in the congressional investigations space are facing, given new tools that the GOP House majority can use and new synergy between state attorneys general and Congress. Karen said, “They’ve got more ways of making your life difficult.”

NLJthat there is also a record pace of investigative demands, with lawyers like Karen helping clients navigate a response. “They are papering the universe with requests covering the administration, but also picking up companies who might be somehow connected to those investigations,” Karen said. “Like every Congress with a new majority, their members were ready to go and they want to speak to the issues that got them elected.”

The article also reports on the impact that GOP criticism of environmental, social and governance priorities and a company’s investment practices and activism has moved beyond Congress into the offices of state attorneys general. “You always have to think about documents provided to any governmental agency and where those might be shared,” Rafi said. “That’s impacting how companies and lawyers are looking at these investigations and developing strategies on how to address them.” He noted that he has not yet seen state-level investigation documents reach Congress yet, but is expecting it soon, given what he considers a new level of synergy between states and Congress.

The article goes on to cover the tools Congress gained by way of video depositions in the wake of the January 6 committee hearings, to which Karen responds, “That was novel [in the Jan. 6 Committee], and you’re seeing committees use that tool now. And when the committees are trying to leverage their authority that’s a good way to do it.”

With regard to a renewed interest in pushing back on Congress’s authority, Rafi said, “As Congress pushes the bounds of their authority there’s more interest in trying to check it.”

Karen discussed a company’s ability to run out the clock on an investigation: “Big companies can fight it for a time, but it’s a matter of risk tolerance,” she said and warned that a drawn-out investigation, dragging feet on responses or fighting requests can all cause investigations to bleed out over time. She noted, “It may hamper their efforts to change the story publicly.”

As for the 2024 election season when both the White House and Congress are in play, Rafi said, “They’re going to try and land even more punches.”