Bellarmine University’s chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Club and Pre-Law Society will host a panel discussion to discuss the history of the president’s executive power.
The discussion is on Saturday, February 14, at 10:30 a.m. in Frazier Hall. [campus map]
The panel, titled “The President’s Executive Power: When is it Constitutional?” will include Bellarmine history professor Eric P. Roorda and assistant political science professor Lee Remington Williams, as well as attorneys at law Jane Lollis and Trent C. Apple. Bellarmine associate political science professor Aaron D. Hoffman will be the moderator, and the discussant will be University of Kentucky professor Paul E. Salamanca.
The panelists will discuss several topics relating to executive power, which is outlined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution and in such laws as the 1973 War Powers Resolution. They will also discuss topics relating to executive privilege, which is the executive branch’s power to keep information confidential, often in the interest of national security.
They will examine the history of the president’s executive power, how our political system tries to balance executive power with the freedom of the press and the right to property, the roots of executive privilege in the U.S. Constitution, and controversies surrounding executive privilege. A question and answer period will follow the discussion.
This event is also sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Historical Society of Kentucky, and is free and open to the public.
Lynn Olympia, president of the Alexander Hamilton Society of Kentucky, said, “Our goals with such an event are to promote a better understanding of the Founding Fathers' political philosophy, the genesis of the Constitution, and the resulting institutions required for effective government.”