United States v. Nixon

In 1974, burglars from the Committee to Reelect the President broke into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters. Their headquarters were at the Watergate office and apartment complex. The president had many taped conversations from the White House's Oval Office and Nixon refused to give up the tapes. He claimed executive privilege, which protects the Office of the President from being compelled by the Judicial Branch to turn over confidential Executive Branch material.

I do think that Nixon should have to turn over the tapes. The president was just trying to save himself by not handing over the tapes but the I don't think the president should be trying to cover up anything. He shouldn't have special privileges especially when it comes to federal court. When it comes down to the president lying and cheating, that's just not right. So I do think that it was a good decision that he had to give over the tapes because just because he is a president doesn't mean he gets special privileges in court.



This video shows some outtakes from Nixon's resignation speech and his actual resign at the end. I think that executive privilege should only be in lower courts and something that isn't as important as this case was. If it was a minor case then executive privilege should be properly asserted but not when the president is being considered a crook.

This is important for presidents because it sets a standard for them. They can't have special accommodations in court just because they don't want to lose a case. I can see why Nixon didn't want to give up the tapes because he didn't want to resign as president. I don't blame him for not wanting to give them up but I am glad they made him.