Presidents and the Law: The United States v. Nixon
The United States v. Nixon is a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court that considered the issue of presidential power and its limits. The case, reported at 418 U.S. 683 (1974), was a unanimous 8–0 decision that went against President Richard Nixon and was an important part of the story of the Watergate scandal. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, who had been nominated to that position by newly elected President Nixon in 1969, wrote the opinion for a unanimous court. The other members of the court who joined in that decision were Justices William O. Douglas, William J. Brennan, Potter Stewart, Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun and Lewis F. Powell. Besides Burger, Blackmun and Powell were also appointed to the Court by Nixon during his first term. Associate Justice (later Chief Justice) William Rehnquist, a Nixon appointee, recused himself from sitting on the case because he had previously served in the Nixon administration as Assistant Attorney-General.
The Watergate scandal began during the 1972 election campaign between Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota and President Nixon when, on June 17, 1972, about five months before the general election, five burglars broke into Democratic headquarters located in the Watergate building complex in Washington, DC. The burglary was conducted with the knowledge of members of Nixon's "Committee to Re-elect the President" (or CREEP as it was pejoratively called). An issue arose as to whether or not the White House had knowledge of the burglary, and this in turn led to attempts to obstruct justice by keeping the burglars from informing. A cover-up soon developed.
In May 1973, Nixon's Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, appointed Archibald Cox to the position of special prosecutor, charged with investigating the break-in. In the course of the Watergate Hearings in the Senate, it was disclosed that Nixon had tape-recorded many of his conversations in the oval office and attempts were made to subpoena those recordings, something that Nixon resisted. In October Nixon had special prosecutor Cox fired in the what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre. (Attorney General Richardson and Deputy Attorney-General William Ruckelshaus refused to fire Cox and they resigned. The task was eventually carried out by Solicitor-General Robert Bork.). Public outrage and political pressure forced Nixon to appoint a new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who was charged with conducting the Watergate investigation for the government.
In April 1974, Jaworski obtained a subpoena ordering Nixon to release certain tapes and papers related to specific meetings between the President and those indicted by the grand jury. Those tapes and the conversations they revealed were believed to contain damaging evidence involving Nixon and others. To try and control the damage, Nixon turned over edited transcripts of forty-three conversations, including portions of twenty conversations demanded by the subpoena. James D. St. Clair, Nixon's attorney, then requested Judge John Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to quash the subpoena.
Sirica denied Nixon's motion and ordered the President to turn the tapes over by May 31. Both Nixon and Jaworski appealed directly to the Supreme Court which heard arguments on July 8, 1974. Nixon's attorney argued the matter should not be subject to judicial review because the matter was a dispute within the executive branch and the branch should resolve the dispute itself. It was also argued that Special Prosecutor Jaworski had not proven the requested materials were necessary for the trial of those involved with the burglary. He argued that Nixon had an absolute executive privilege to protect communications between "high Government officials and those who advise and assist them in carrying out their duties."
The Court issued its decision on July 24, 1974. All of the justices contributed to the opinion, but Chief Justice Burger delivered the unanimous decision. The court held that this was a matter for judicial review and that Jaworski had proven a "sufficient likelihood that each of the tapes contains conversations relevant to the offenses charged in the indictment." The Court then went to the main issue of executive privilege. The Court rejected Nixon's claim to an "absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances."
The ruling was devastating to Nixon. What remaining political support he had quickly eroded. Nixon resigned fifteen days later, on August 9.
The Watergate scandal began during the 1972 election campaign between Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota and President Nixon when, on June 17, 1972, about five months before the general election, five burglars broke into Democratic headquarters located in the Watergate building complex in Washington, DC. The burglary was conducted with the knowledge of members of Nixon's "Committee to Re-elect the President" (or CREEP as it was pejoratively called). An issue arose as to whether or not the White House had knowledge of the burglary, and this in turn led to attempts to obstruct justice by keeping the burglars from informing. A cover-up soon developed.
In May 1973, Nixon's Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, appointed Archibald Cox to the position of special prosecutor, charged with investigating the break-in. In the course of the Watergate Hearings in the Senate, it was disclosed that Nixon had tape-recorded many of his conversations in the oval office and attempts were made to subpoena those recordings, something that Nixon resisted. In October Nixon had special prosecutor Cox fired in the what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre. (Attorney General Richardson and Deputy Attorney-General William Ruckelshaus refused to fire Cox and they resigned. The task was eventually carried out by Solicitor-General Robert Bork.). Public outrage and political pressure forced Nixon to appoint a new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who was charged with conducting the Watergate investigation for the government.
In April 1974, Jaworski obtained a subpoena ordering Nixon to release certain tapes and papers related to specific meetings between the President and those indicted by the grand jury. Those tapes and the conversations they revealed were believed to contain damaging evidence involving Nixon and others. To try and control the damage, Nixon turned over edited transcripts of forty-three conversations, including portions of twenty conversations demanded by the subpoena. James D. St. Clair, Nixon's attorney, then requested Judge John Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to quash the subpoena.
Sirica denied Nixon's motion and ordered the President to turn the tapes over by May 31. Both Nixon and Jaworski appealed directly to the Supreme Court which heard arguments on July 8, 1974. Nixon's attorney argued the matter should not be subject to judicial review because the matter was a dispute within the executive branch and the branch should resolve the dispute itself. It was also argued that Special Prosecutor Jaworski had not proven the requested materials were necessary for the trial of those involved with the burglary. He argued that Nixon had an absolute executive privilege to protect communications between "high Government officials and those who advise and assist them in carrying out their duties."
The Court issued its decision on July 24, 1974. All of the justices contributed to the opinion, but Chief Justice Burger delivered the unanimous decision. The court held that this was a matter for judicial review and that Jaworski had proven a "sufficient likelihood that each of the tapes contains conversations relevant to the offenses charged in the indictment." The Court then went to the main issue of executive privilege. The Court rejected Nixon's claim to an "absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances."
The ruling was devastating to Nixon. What remaining political support he had quickly eroded. Nixon resigned fifteen days later, on August 9.