speechwriter, started using the suffix “gate” to describe scandals. More than 200 scandals have had “gate” attached to them. This topic is important to my case because it changed the way people looked at the presidents because they really didn't know what other president were capable of doing the things that Nixon did. The American people started to see corruption in the highest form. The supreme court was 100% correct in the decision they made on executive privilege. No one should have so much power that the law does not matter for them. They shouldn’t have more power than the law. Executive Privilege is a constitutional principle that allows presidents and/or high level executive branch officers to withhold information from the courts,
This testimony led to the fight for the tape recordings from the House Judiciary Committee, the House believed that these could help uncover his role in the Watergate Scandal. The public was having an increase in suspicion of Nixon because of his vigorous effort to defend the tapes. After the Supreme Court’s rejection of Nixon's executive privilege, there were over 700 white house files, 19 presidential conversations, and over 42 additional tapes taken, but the biggest suspicion was the eighteen and a half minute silent gap in a conversation with Mr.Haldeman in 1972. Nixon later in court lies about the $25,000 check given to Bernard Barker, saying that he is probably a “bum” and definitely did not receive the money from CREEP, even though the check was directly traceable to the committee. On May 10, 1989 the House of Representatives adopted 3 Articles of impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors, with the first two articles charging Nixon with giving false testimony before the grand jury and the third article with bringing disrepute on the Federal judiciary. These charges placed on the highest position in American society is disastrous and leads to a distrust in government within the American people.The fact that Nixon was granted a full pardon and was acquitted of all of the charges makes Americans lose hope in the American Judicial System and makes people question the “role of the
Executive - Mainly used by the President, this power enforces the law. This power also grants the ability to veto the proposal for a law, appoint federal posts, negotiate foreign treaties, appoint federal judges, and grant pardons for a crime.
Richard Nixon's first term as president will always be connected with the Watergate scandal, the biggest political scandal in United States history. Various illegal activities were conducted including burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, sabotage, and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents to help Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. There were about 40 people charged with crimes related to the scandal. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty. Watergate involved more high-level government officials than any previous scandal. It has been etched in the minds of millions and is still being recalled today when faced with the present day scandal of
All the President's Men is a book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The book discussed what happened to President Nixon in the Watergate Scandal from Bernstein and Woodward's point of view. The Watergate Scandal was a significant part of presidential history. This even would result in Nixon's resignation and what would have been his guaranteed impeachment. The Watergate Scandal took an impact on politics as a whole. Politicians are known as "liars" and people who keep secrets from the public. The Watergate Scandal is something Nixon can never make up for, but will always beremembered for.
Executive order is a rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law. Executive Order (EOs) were used since President George Washington but were not mandated to be publicly released until 1900. To date, there have been thirteen thousand eight hundred and seven executive orders. Many argue that these orders are unconstitutional as it gives one-person authority to make changes without consequences and without the consent of Congress. The term executive order is not a principle found within the Constitution. EO is derived from Article II, Section I of the Constitution in which it states, “the executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America”. The term executive power was never defined, leaving it open to the interpretation of each president. That statement coupled with Article II, Section III “he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” has been the backbone of how presidents have been able to create these orders.
James Comey had no real pleasant choice or option to make for the reason being that both of his options would leave him in the bad. Technically, there was no “right” choice but in my opinion I do not believe he made the right decision. It is so close to election day for this to be happening that it seriously has the potential to cost Hillary Clinton the election. This whole scandal can lower her numbers and chances of winning the election. Because of this perhaps some undeclared voters may commit to Donald Trump, causing his voter percentage to increase. Many people believe that Hillary Clinton is not fit to be president and is untrustworthy because of these emails. The swing states will be significant towards outcome of this election. Some
That same year, Congress would tap into its oversight powers once again as it launched a full-fledged investigation against Nixon and top White House officials who used their political positions for political advantage in the Watergate scandal. Citing “executive privilege,” Nixon asserted that he, as president, was immune from legislative oversight and that "the inherent power of the President to safeguard the security of the nation" authorized him to order wiretaps without warrants.
Over President Nixon's presidency he had made significant changes to The United States which moreover helped the country has a whole. Along with adding new constitutional acts like: Environmental Protection Agency ,National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Clean Air Act, President Nixon signed “Title lX” banning gender based discrimination. Included in this process, Nixon made sure schools would become desegregated in a peaceful manner. Nixon lowed voting age, ended Vietnam, and normalized ties with China, which consequently, are all successful things about Nixon's presidency which get forgotten so very easily.
Former President Richard Nixon is most well-known for his role in the Watergate crisis in the early 1970’s. The Watergate crisis started in June of 1972, when the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters was broke into by members of Nixon’s re-election committee. The press took this breaking news and began to dig deeper into what the Whitehouse (President Nixon) was hiding. Over the next two years heavy investigations into the Watergate incident revealed that President Nixon did, in fact, ordered a cover-up to keep the incident under control. Fearing impeachment, President Nixon resigned his presidency in August 1974,
For this project I am going to discuss two different articles about President Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. The first article is “The Washington Post Editorial Watergate: The unfinished business.” The other article that I will be discussing and comparing is one written by Dean Burch. “In Defense of Richard Nixon.” I will provide a brief summary of the two arguments as well as describe how the Watergate events changed American views in politics and politicians. I will also speculate how the events could have been different if the media and population during the Watergate scandal had today’s technology, an example being smart phones,
A power that the judicial branch holds over the executive branch is that the judicial branch
In the election of 1972, Nixon won by over sixty percent of the votes and won all states except Massachusetts against George McGovern (“The History Place…”). This is one of the biggest landslides in U.S. Presidential election history. In January 1973, Richard Nixon’s approval rating was sixty-seven percent, which is relatively high compared to current president Barack Obama’s forty-seven percent and many other Presidents before him (“The History Place…”). Therefore, he had a great reputation and was in the highest possible position, the leader of the free world, just like Father Flynn was in his parish. Richard Nixon also had a very positive relationship with members of the White House. For example, members of the White House were caught breaking in and violating the law to get President Nixon re-elected (“The History Place…”). Abuse of power comes from a high reputation that is unquestioned.
Throughout American history, after the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, the validity of executive privilege has been questioned in federal courts and among legal scholars on countless occasions. According to Merriam-Webster, executive privilege entails, “exemption from legally enforced disclosure of communications within the executive branch of government when such disclosure would adversely affect the functions and decision-making processes of the executive branch” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, executive privilege is the notion that the President is exempt from having to give evidence or disclose information to congressional hearings or to judicial inquiries. Executive privilege also typically includes immunity from legal disputes involving the presidency. Although not officially referred to as “executive privilege” until Eisenhower’s presidency, the first argument of executive privilege or immunity took place during George Washington’s presidency (The Constitution and Executive Privilege). Claiming executive privilege has been a common occurrence throughout all U.S. presidencies and continuing with President Obama. Those who argue against the legitimacy of executive privilege use the reasoning that it is not constitutional because it is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution and interrupts the separation of powers. On the other hand, many legal scholars assert that executive privilege is necessary for
In the past, the power of executive privilege has been used by Presidents to conceal information that has to do with foreign affairs and negotiations, military, national security issues as well as deliberations and policy making that is done between the President and his top aides. This power is only used when Congress asks the President or one of his top aides to produce all of the information pertaining to an event or situation. If the President then feels that parts of this information needs to be kept secret to protect the best interest of the public, or the other issues listed previously, then he will use executive privilege in order
The Supreme Court in New York Times Co. v. United States was a very controversial case and remains to this day one that is accompanied by a range of different opinions. The case pertains to the Vietnam War, government secrecy, and the right to a free press. President Nixon believed he was right in attempting to suppress the rights of the first amendment on the New York Times, this was a completely unjust move by President Nixon. Ultimately, the court ended up ruling in the New York Times favor which was the proper and correct thing to do.