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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Nixon v. Administrator of General Services
Citation:
433 U.S. 425 (1977)Facts
Following President Nixon’s resignation in August 1974, he entered into an agreement with GSA Administrator Arthur Sampson that would have given Nixon control over his presidential materials, including approximately 42 million pages of documents and 880 tape recordings. The agreement allowed Nixon to withdraw materials after three years and provided for the destruction of tape recordings at his direction or upon his death. Congress, concerned about the potential loss of historically significant materials and evidence related to Watergate, passed the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act in December 1974. The Act directed the GSA Administrator to take custody of Nixon’s presidential materials, have them screened by government archivists, preserve those with historical value, and make them available for use in judicial proceedings. The Act also required the Administrator to issue regulations that would protect any legally or constitutionally based rights or privileges and return to Nixon materials that were personal and private in nature. Nixon immediately filed suit challenging the Act’s constitutionality on several grounds, including separation of powers, presidential privilege, privacy, First Amendment rights, and as a bill of attainder.
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