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Executive Privilege In The United States Vs. Richard Nixon

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In the Supreme Court case United States vs. Richard Nixon there was a lot of controversy about Nixon’s executive privilege. Well, what is an executive privilege? It is known as the privilege, or special right, claimed by the president in the executive branch of the US government, of withholding information in the public interest. Although Presidents get special privileges, their rights are “not absolute and must be balanced against other political interests”(United States vs. Nixon). Nixon abused his right of Executive privilege when he helped his government officials break into the Watergate complex. It was said that the Watergate affair relates to the re-election of Richard Nixon, which later worked out in his favor because he won the election. Well how did this get to the courts? With more than 5 people involved in the scandal, they broke into the Democratic National Committee in Washington D.C. and wiretapped the phones in the building and also stole important documents. The burglars discovered that the microphones weren’t working so they broke in again to try to get them and put new ones in, but got caught by a security guard who noticed that the door locks were taped over. They didn’t know for sure if President Nixon was involved until they found copies of the White House’s reelection …show more content…

The judges stated that “ neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege”(United States v. Nixon/Oyez). The courts agreed that there is limited executive privilege that a president can pursue in either military or diplomatic instances. Nixon abused his executive privilege and has the right to obey the court with providing the tapes and documents that the burglars stole in the break-in and must now face the consequences of his actions. Nixon resigned not much longer after releasing the tapes to the

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