Compare And Contrast Us Vs Nixon

Reed Broussard
Coach Roch
Civics 3rd hour
1 March, 2016
U.S. vs. Nixon Many presidents have committed scandals while in office. One of the most public of these scandals was the Watergate Scandal. Because of this scandal, President Richard Nixon was brought to the Supreme Court. What resulted in him being brought to the supreme court was a landmark case. The Supreme Court case of United States vs. Nixon was a case that impacted the power of any U.S. president. Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States. Before his reign as president, he served in both houses in the U.S. congress. In these terms he represented the state of California. His biggest accomplishment during his presidency was ending the fighting with Vietnam and reconciling the relationship between the United States and U.S.S.R. as well as China. He is now the only president to resign while in his office. He resigned in his second term due to the Watergate Scandal. This scandal was also brought to the Supreme Court
President Richard was involved the infamous Watergate Scandal.
This scandal is arguably one of the biggest in United States history. It occurred when burglars were arrested in July of 1972. The burglars were not just any criminals, they were part of Nixon’s reelection campaign. They were caught stealing confidential documents and wiretapping phones. They did this in the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate headquarters in the prime of the election between, then, President Nixon and Senator George McGovern. They were caught when a guard noticed the taped locks when the burglars came to re-wiretap the phones (Watergate). Nixon was also not initially thought to be involved and ended up winning the campaign. This was the quiet before the storm of the Supreme Court case United States versus
Nixon. The case was initially started against Nixon when the court ordered him to turn over tapes. These tapes would have helped prosecute the people who broke into the Watergate. Nixon refused to turn over the tapes saying he did not have to follow the subpoena because of his “executive privilege.”
Executive privilege is the right to not turn over information from other branches to keep from exposing the secrets that the communications may hold. Nixon also argued that he did not need to turn them over because of separation of powers. The primary question that this case asked is if presidents’ conversations be subject to be turned over, or should they be kept private under executive and absolute privilege. This is what made this case a landmark case. This case happened in 1974. Although Nixon himself was not indicted, his accomplices in the scandal were. At this point this is where the court issued the order to turn over the tapes and Nixon refusing. He argues that all of his conversations are between him and who he is in that conversation with. He makes the point that if who he is speaking with knows their conversations are not privileged that they would be too scared to say what needs to be said. This was probably the most convincing argument that Nixon brought forth. The court agreed with this argument saying that they should not have to bring forth what they said, but they needed to bring forth the conversation because it was on the grounds of public policy. Nixon also argued about separation of powers. Unlike the last argument, the court rejected this one. The court recognized the need for a strong presidential privilege, but this certain information that is being withheld is going against the due process of law. This also would undermine the function of the courts because the court would not be able to fully determine whether the burglars were guilty or innocent. The final conclusion was that the president's concern over privacy should not be over the court's orders. (United States vs. Richard). This wrapped up the landmark case that made a big impression on affairs of presidents. This
(CHECKING FOR PLAGIARISM BECAUSE TURNITIN NOT USED)