Watergate: President of the United States and Executive Privilege
Definitions:
1. Impeachment- (in congress or a state legislature) the presentation of formal charges against a public official by the lower house, trial before the upper house
2. The “plumbers”- secret White House special investigations unit established in1971 during the Nixon presidency
3. Perjury- the willful giving of false testimony under oath of affirmation, before a competent tribunal, upon a point material to a legal inquiry
4. Judicial Review- the power of a court to adjudicate the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official
5. Subpoena- the usual writ for the summoning of witnesses or the submission of evidence, as records or documents, before a court or other deliberative body
6. CREEP- in 1972 the committee to re-elect the president
7. Separation of Powers- the principle or system of keeping the government broken up into different branches; the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of government
8. Indictment- a formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes
U.S. v. Nixon (1974)
1. What were the three reasons that Nixon gave for refusing to turn over the White House tapes?
1. He argued that the courts lacked the power to compel production of the tapes
2. Because the dispute was between the president and the special prosecutor, it was an executive branch conflict not subject to judicial resolution
3. Even if the Court were the proper branch to decide the scope of the privilege, the need for executive confidentiality justified the application of the privilege in this case
2. What do these reasons state about Nixon’s understanding of the division of powers within the federal government?
Nixon didn’t have an understanding of the division of powers within the federal government or he was so desperate in hiding his guilt he would say anything to try to hide what he did
3. What did Chief Justice Burger say about
1. Impeachment- (in congress or a state legislature) the presentation of formal charges against a public official by the lower house, trial before the upper house
2. The “plumbers”- secret White House special investigations unit established in1971 during the Nixon presidency
3. Perjury- the willful giving of false testimony under oath of affirmation, before a competent tribunal, upon a point material to a legal inquiry
4. Judicial Review- the power of a court to adjudicate the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official
5. Subpoena- the usual writ for the summoning of witnesses or the submission of evidence, as records or documents, before a court or other deliberative body
6. CREEP- in 1972 the committee to re-elect the president
7. Separation of Powers- the principle or system of keeping the government broken up into different branches; the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of government
8. Indictment- a formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes
U.S. v. Nixon (1974)
1. What were the three reasons that Nixon gave for refusing to turn over the White House tapes?
1. He argued that the courts lacked the power to compel production of the tapes
2. Because the dispute was between the president and the special prosecutor, it was an executive branch conflict not subject to judicial resolution
3. Even if the Court were the proper branch to decide the scope of the privilege, the need for executive confidentiality justified the application of the privilege in this case
2. What do these reasons state about Nixon’s understanding of the division of powers within the federal government?
Nixon didn’t have an understanding of the division of powers within the federal government or he was so desperate in hiding his guilt he would say anything to try to hide what he did
3. What did Chief Justice Burger say about