Kristina Moore Discusses Midterm Elections & Congressional Investigations with Defense One

The 2026 Midterm Elections are in the books, and it was an eventful one, with both houses of Congress switching hands. Womble Bond Dickinson Partner Kristina Moore was quoted by Defense One in two different articles about the election outcome and its potential impact on government contractors.

Moore noted that the Democrat-led Congress is likely to pursue investigations into corruption allegations against Trump Administration officials. She said the first wave of investigations are likely to target “where there is evidence that a family member close to the president or the administration had an unfair advantage, or somehow benefited directly financially because of a transaction—an acquisition, a merger, a government loan or a contract… Was a contribution made, say to the White House ballroom, and—close in time—a policy outcome or a contracting decision, right?”

Other areas of Congressional investigations may include Venezuela, Iran, drones, and AI, she said. 

“What is that oversight angle there? Was there a no-bid contract awarded in one of those scenarios? What influenced the administration's policy? Who benefited from a change in the administration policy? And then there's just simply who holds information,” Moore tells Defense One. 

Moore noted that Congress operates in the court of public opinion, so company officials need to be aware of the reputational risks at stake in a Congressional investigation. It’s important that in-house counsel know ahead of time what conversations company leaders may have had with White House officials.

Finally, she warned that the incoming group of lawmakers is likely to be aggressive when Congressional investigations are concerned.

“House Oversight is aggressive. It's going to be populated with freshmen that want to show a win…. They want to use social media to amplify their tough questioning,” Moore said.

Click here to read, “Tough Choices, Uncertainty, and Scrutiny May Lie Ahead for Defense Contractors” in Defense One. 

Also, in Defense One’s Defense Business Brief, Moore said that in-house counsel at defense contracting companies need to be aware that Congressional investigations are unlike any court proceeding or agency inquiry.

“Congress’s position is that common law privileges, attorney-client privilege, work product privilege—they recognize that at their discretion. And so that's going to be surprising, where a lot of general counsels might be under the operating assumption that ‘that's a privileged conversation [because] I was in the room, outside counsel was in the room. That's privileged, right?’ That might not be the case,” Moore said.

She also noted that companies generally have a short timetable (two weeks or less) to respond to Congressional letters of inquiry, so they need to be prepared before receiving such communications.