Welcome to the Hughes Hubbard Anticorruption and Internal investigation Practice Group’s podcast, where host Tom Fox and members of the Hughes Hubbard Anticorruption and Internal Investigation Practices Group delve into the legal issues surrounding white-collar and other investigations, both domestically and internationally. John Wood, Investigative Counsel on the January 6 Committee, joins Tom and Mike DeBernadis on this week’s show. They delve into the inner workings of the January 6 Committee.
John Wood is a former Hughes Hubbard partner; he serves as Investigative Counsel on the January 6 Committee. He is well known for his work with the Bush administration, where he worked at the Justice Department, White House and Department of Homeland Security.
Key ideas you’ll hear in this episode:
- The January 6th attack on the Capitol investigation was conducted by five teams, with a bipartisan committee and one staff. Documents were crucial to the investigation and legal strategies were used to obtain them. The National Archives produced a significant number of documents, while electronic documents were quickly obtained from witnesses through subpoenas, text messages and email accounts.
- Some witnesses were less compliant or refused to cooperate and the House held some in criminal contempt. The Fifth Amendment was respected, but the investigation was frustrated by some who claimed it as a defense.
- The public hearing was divided into topical sections and used video and live and deposition testimony to create a compelling story for the American people.
- John questioned Judge Ludic, a former clerk and conservative expert witness. The hearing was more structured and scripted, but with surprises and led by members of Congress and senior investigative counsel.
- The report was intentionally detailed with specific citations to documents and transcripts for backup, time-consuming to write, but important to have as buttoned up as possible to prevent denial by the former President or his allies.
- The hope for the legacy of the committee is to prevent something like January 6 from happening again, and to put partisanship and politics aside to work for the country.
- John recommends a book, “Scavenger Hunt” by Chad Boudreaux, as a fun and informative read.
KEY QUOTES:
“In terms of the [January 6 Committee] investigation, while obviously there were differences of opinion on how to proceed with certain things with strategy or tactics to use, it was never based on political or party affiliation.” – John Wood
Resources
Hughes Hubbard & Reed website
John Wood on LinkedIn