CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Justice or Politics?

February 19, 2026
7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. ET
WEBINAR

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The U.S. judicial system is rooted in the Constitution and is central to the health of our democracy. The rule of law has served as the foundation for how justice is defined and administered. Concerns have emerged that the justice system is increasingly viewed—and used—as a political instrument. What is happening within our justice system today, and what does it mean for the future of democratic governance? Panelists Mary McCord, Asha Rangappa, and Andrew Weissmann will discuss the current state of the U.S. justice system and what these developments may mean for the rule of law. Join live to ask questions. This event is organized by the Network for Responsible Public Policy.

SPEAKERS

MARY MCCORD is Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) and a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center.  At ICAP, McCord leads a team that brings constitutional impact litigation at all levels of the federal and state courts across a wide variety of areas including First Amendment rights, immigration, criminal justice reform, separation of powers, combating political violence, and protecting democratic processes. McCord was the Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2016 to 2017 and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security from 2014 to 2016. Before that, McCord was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for nearly 20 years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. McCord writes frequently about political violence and the rule of law for publications including the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg Law, The Atlantic, Slate, Lawfare, and Just Security.  She has appeared on NPR, PBS, MS NOW, CNN, ABC, and other media outlets.  She is an MS NOW legal and national security contributor, and co-host of the award-winning MS NOW podcast, “Main Justice.”

ASHA RANGAPPA is a Senior Lecturer at the Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs and a former Associate Dean at Yale Law School. Prior to her current position, Asha served as a Special Agent in the New York Division of the FBI, specializing in counterintelligence investigations. At Yale, she teaches courses on national security law, Russian information warfare, and leadership and ethics. She is the author of The Freedom Academy, a bestselling online Substack publication about disinformation and its impact on democracy, and also co-hosts the legal podcast, It’s Complicated, with Renato Mariotti. Asha graduated cum laude from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study constitutional reform and U.S. drug policy in Bogotá, Colombia. She received her law degree from Yale Law School where she was a Coker Fellow in constitutional law, and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Juan R. Torruella on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Asha is a former legal and national security analyst for CNN and ABC News, and has also appeared frequently on MSNBC and BBC. She is an editor for Just Security, a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, and a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project.

ANDREW WEISSMANN is a Professor of Practice at NYU School of Law. He teaches courses in national security and criminal procedure. Andrew served as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office (2017–19) and as Chief of the Fraud Section in the Department of Justice (2015–2019). From 2011 to 2013, Weissmann served as the General Counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Andrew is the co-host of the popular podcast Main Justice and is a frequent legal analyst for NBC/MSNBC. He serves on the board of Just Security and writes frequently for it, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. His memoir about the Special Counsel investigation, Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation, was a New York Times bestseller. He has taught criminal law and procedure at Fordham Law School and Brooklyn Law School. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and attended the University of Geneva on a Fulbright Fellowship.

EVENT CO-SPONSORS

Network for Responsible Public Policy
The Academy of Political Science
The Puffin Foundation