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Constitutional Law Keyed to Levinson
United States v. Nixon, President of the United States
Citation:
418 U.S. 683 (1974)Facts
President Nixon (Respondent) was requested to produce certain tape recordings and documents relating to his conversations with aides and advisers. He refused, claiming the absolute executive privilege and of lack of jurisdiction of the court. In 1974, a grand jury of the United States District Court of the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging seven named individuals with various offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and to obstruct justice. Though he was not designated as such in the indictment, the grand jury named the President as an unindicted co-conspirator. Upon the court’s order, the subpoena required the production of certain tapes, memoranda, papers, transcripts or other writings relating to certain precisely identified meetings between the President and others. The President’s counsel argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to issue the subpoena because the matter was an intra-branch dispute between a subordinate and superior officer of the Executive Branch and hence not subject to judicial resolution.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
Federal Executive PowerTopic Refresher Course
Presidential PowersTopic Charts & Notes
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