United States v. Nixon Research Paper

📌Category: Government, History, History of the United States, Law, President of the United States
📌Words: 1123
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 10 April 2022

After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt stepped into power as the 26th and youngest president. Despite his youth Theodore Roosevelt ran the nation with power and authority; even more power than his former incumbents and ushered in the era of Imperial Presidency. Imperial Presidency can be defined as using greater powers than those outlined in the United States Constitution. During this era presidents felt the need to exercise whatever executive action they felt that was necessary for the security and perseverance of the Union. However, in 1973 this era ended abruptly with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case of United States V. Nixon. The Supreme Court found that executive privilege only applied under certain circumstances and in President Nixon’s case the claim of this privilege was a clear attempt at abuse of power. United States V. Nixon is one of the most important cases when it comes to the governance of the United States. This case reestablished the powers delegated to the three branches of government and especially the powers of the ever-growing executive branch. The ruling by the Supreme Court also let the American citizens and politicians that abuse of power, the claiming of powers not outlined in the constitution, and evasion of crime due to positional power would not be tolerated by the judicial branch

In June of 1972 the Watergate Hotel, headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, was broken into and seven of President Richard Nixon’s white house associates were brought up on charges and requested tapings of conversation between them and the President to be brought in as evidence of the trial. This resulted in President Nixon being subpoenaed that required that the tapings be delivered to the courts. However, President Nixon and his counsel argued that the recordings between him and his staff were protected under executive privilege. Executive Privilege is the power to withhold certain evidence of communications between the president, staff, and essential personnel in an effort to protect national security. After refusing to release the full recordings the issue was sent to the Supreme Court; where the court unanimously concluded that “ The president has asserted only a “generalized interest in confidentiality,” while the specific need for relevant evidence in a criminal trial is a requirement of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process.” (PBS 2013)  Twelve days after the Supreme Court’s ruling Richard Nixon released the tapes in their entirety and three days later he resigned from the Oval Office as the President of the United States. 

Although many Supreme Court decisions are split and justices will persuade one another to vote a certain way, by writing a dissent; this was not the case when it came to United States V. Nixon.; the court being unified in their decision demonstrated their belief that a clear abuse of power and privilege had taken place. The final decision was 8-0 in favor of the United States; with Justice Rehnquist recusing himself due to personal ties with Richard Nixon. Supreme Court Justice Burger wrote the majority opinion that expressed the decisions of the Supreme Court on United States V. Nixon. The Supreme Court’s main argument was that President Nixon’s claim to confidentiality did not take preference over the criminal justice system. “When a claim of Presidential privilege as to materials subpoenaed for use in a criminal trial is based, as it is here, not on the ground that military or diplomatic secrets are implicated, but merely on the ground of a generalized interest in confidentiality, the President's generalized assertion of privilege must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial and the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of criminal justice.” (United States V. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683) President Nixon’s claim to Executive Privilege allowed for a disruption to the criminal justice process when it came to the investigation of the Watergate Hotel break in. “From this Court's examination of the material submitted by the Special Prosecutor in support of his motion for the subpoena, much of which is under seal, it is clear that the District Court's denial of the motion to quash comported with Rule 17(c), and that the Special Prosecutor has made a sufficient showing to justify a subpoena for production before trial.”(United States V. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683) Not only is the Supreme Court responsible for deciding the decision for this case they must also use past ruling and precedents to justify their stance. The Supreme Court cites several different cases in order to justify their decision; one of the most important cases used is Marbury V. Madison. Scott Medsker argues that the Supreme Court uses this case in their justification in order to restablish their power and legitimacy. In order to demonstrate this duty the Court called upon the seminal case in American legal history—Marbury v. Madison. The Court used Marbury to establish their credibility and authority, calling upon it to explain that “it is the duty of this Court ‘to say what the law is’” (Rozell 1999) Not only did the Supreme Court’s decision change the outcome of Nixon’s presidency and legacy; it also left a lasting impact on how the executive branch was ruled and the use of Executive Privilege with future presidents.

United States V. Nixon limited the power of the executive branch and defined the borders for executive privilege. When it came to executive privilege the interpretation was mostly up to the president’s discretion. However, after United States V. Nixon executive privilege had been defined by the Supreme Court and could not be used beyond those borders. “Under those precedents, the privilege, which is constitutionally rooted, could be invoked by the President when asked to produce documents or other materials or information that reflect presidential decision making and deliberations that he believes should remain confidential. If the President does so, the materials become presumptively privileged. The privilege, however, is qualified, not absolute, and can be overcome by an adequate showing of need.”(Galvan 2010)With executive privilege now defined if the asking party( usually congress) was able to show the necessity of the president’s communications they would have to be turned over. This is evident through President’s Bush term as the administration has three failed attempts at claiming executive privilege. After the Watergate Scandal the executive branch fell under strict scrutiny and a more watchful eye from the American public. Sam Berger in “Lessons From Watergate” states “Broadly, these reforms sought to provide for a more ethical, transparent government; combat the corrupting influence of money in politics; protect people against governmental abuses of power; and place limits on extraordinary exercises of presidential power.”(Berger 2018)  American citizens now expect complete transparency with those that run the country; which can be seen during presidential elections when citizens demand that presidential candidates release their tax returns.

United States V. Nixon was a landmark case that not only determined Richard Nixon’s presidency, but also the bounds of executive privilege, and the expectations for the executive for years to come. By using past precedents and cases the Supreme Court was able to establish executive privilege and reestablish their legitimacy and authority to interpret laws and high-level disputes. The post-Watergate and United States V. Nixon era is one that demands transparency, public scrutiny, and a narrow channel for abuse of executive power.

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