In 1974

In 1974, President Richard Nixon was accused of taken advantage of his executive privileges during his time in office. Also known as the Watergate affair, President Nixon installed tape recorders to recorded conversations held in the oval office. This caused a grand jury to return with indictments against seven of Nixon’s allies, all of which through him under the bus. In demand to regain the peace and order of this chaos, President Nixon hired a Special Prosecutor. The prosecutor appointed to this case requested access to the tape recordings and quickly, Nixon refused. Holding that he had executive privileges, allowing him to withhold information from other branches of government in order to preserve the confidentiality within the executive branch and to ensure national security. Reluctant to hand over the tapes and failure to comply with the prosecutor lead to this case being taken all the way to the Supreme court. In which, the court decided that the tapes should be released, and the executive privileges are not unlimited. While dealing with an enduring impeachment it’s no wonder President Nixon tried avoiding court. The separation of powers doctrine, nor the general need for confidentiality, can withstand an absolute, unreserved presidential privilege. As specified by the United States Supreme Court, there are vital executive privileges in areas of diplomatic and military affairs, unlike the president. Furthermore, two weeks after finalizing the case and after giving up the tapes, Nixon resigned from office. This United States Supreme Court Case demarcated the President to never take advantage of their power and never to break the law. This case set boundaries on the president, ruling that the leader of our country is not resistant in obeying orders from the court. This case is monumental in United States history by; setting precedents, limiting the power of the presidents and ensuring that the president is aware they’re not above the law.