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Jesus College, Cambridge Frankopan Hall
Frankopan Hall, Jesus College, West Court, Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BSUpdate: Due to unforeseen circumstances Anne Applebaum is no longer able to join us, the lecture will now be given by Kim Wehle, Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law.
Professor Kim Wehle. Photograph courtesy of kimberlywehle.com 2026.
About
It is one thing to have a written Constitution and a set of legal rules. It is yet another to have incentives to obey them.
The end of legislative oversight, the irrelevance of impeachment, and the disrespect for the rule of law had already left its mark on US politics before Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025. Perhaps most consequentially, in 2024, the Supreme Court granted sweeping criminal immunity for official acts by the White House, practically eliminating the legal risks that once operated to disincentivize potential crimes in the Oval Office.
Kim Wehle’s lecture will take a deep dive into the collapse of presidential accountability: how has it unfolded since 2025? Why have so many institutions failed to defend the rule of law? And what does it mean for the future of constitutional democracy? It shows that liberal democracy can be hollowed out not only by force, but also by the law itself: when it serves authority, rather than restrains it.
About the speaker
Kimberly Wehle is an expert in constitutional law and the separation of powers. She is a Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she teaches Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Administrative law, and Federal Courts, and a recipient of the University of Maryland System Board of Regents Award for excellence in scholarship. She is a legal contributor for ABC News and Zeteo, and regularly writes for Politico, The Atlantic, and The Bulwark.
Wehle was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Washington DC office and Associate Independent Counsel in the Whitewater Investigation. She is author of the books, What You Need to Know about Voting—and Why, How to Read The Constitution—and Why, and How to Think Like a Lawyer—and Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas. Her book Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works—and Why won the 2025 Silver Award in the Political & Current Events category by the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Wehle was also 2024-2025 Fulbright US Scholar Award in the University of Leiden, The Netherlands and a Thinker-in-Residence at the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam. During her time in The Netherlands, Kim lectured throughout Europe on the US Constitution and global democracy
About this event
This lecture is hosted by Dr Marietta van der Tol and the Imagining Sacred Lands project (Alfred Landecker Foundation), in partnership with the University of Cambridge Development and Alumni Relations team.
This guest lecture is open to all University of Cambridge members, including staff, students and alumni. Alumni should use the link above to secure a place.
Learn more about Dr Van der Tol’s Imagining Sacred Lands project (via divinity.cam.ac.uk).
Event updated: 23 January.