Introduction
The United States v. Nixon case happened in 1974 is one of the most critical decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States because it rejected the privileges that the head of the state supposedly had. The case continued the Watergate scandal when President Nixon ordered to spy on his political rival, the Democrat McGovern, to use the acquired information during the subsequent presidential campaign. After this scandal had become public, the executive privilege did not help President Nixon protect himself against accusations of spying. It is possible to hypothesize that the United States v. Nixon case illustrates the autonomy of the Supreme Court in pursuing justice principles.
Discussion and Analysis
The Supreme Court made the decision based on the opinion of the majority. The conclusions of six associate justices and chief judge Warren E. Burger were considered in the final decision. Only one associate judge, William Rehnquist, did not participate in the decision-making and consideration of this case. Other judges agreed that every American was equal before the law, and the President did not have privileges that allowed them to disregard the Constitution in their interests.
It is critical to mention the Watergate scandal when Nixon was accused of spying on his political opponent, and it has become the reason for the subsequent court investigation. President Noxin’s second term began in 1974, even though the reelection happened after one of the most significant public scandals in American political life. After Nixon’s return to the Oval Office, people who were responsible for breaking into the political office of the Democratic party in Washington, DC, were caught and convicted to prison. Soon after the arrest of five burglars, the police found the check that covered the expanses of this crime in the office of the President, and the documents proved that Richard Nixon’s office sponsored these actions during the elections campaign. (Landmark Supreme Court Cases 1). These events show that the circumstances that preceded the case were outstanding, which explained the public interest in this situation that happened on the highest political level.
The court charged assistant Nixon with the crimes, which made the case scandalous. According to the court decision, five persons who were initially accused of the crime pleaded guilty, including the closest assistants of Richard Nixon. Among the accusations were wiretapping, burglary, and conspiracy. After the scandal started in mass media, Nixon’s assistants decided to leave the White House because their reputation was destroyed (Landmark Supreme Court Cases 1). The situation became more apparent in July 1973, when one of the President’s assistants, Alexander Butterfield, testified in the Supreme Court that Richard Nixon used the secret taping system placed in the White House (Landmark Supreme Court Cases 1). The Supreme Court could not leave these testimonials and asked Richard Nixon to give these tapes to law enforcement (Moynihan 101). The peculiar detail was the reluctance of the President to provide the court with the recordings; instead of it, he presented the transcripts that did not satisfy the Supreme Court (Landmark Supreme Court Cases 1). The President wanted to use his superior position to hide the materials.
The decision of the Supreme Court was unanimous that the President should give all materials connected with the case. The court held that the party requesting the documents had to make a sufficient showing that the material provided by the President was essential to the justice of the case. Chief justice Warren Burger classified that executive privilege would most often apply to national security matters. Three days after this, the judiciary committee passes the first of the three articles of impeachment, charging the President with Obstruction (Weiner n.p.). It was a question of criminal activity involving the President’s office, which made the case especially critical for the Supreme Court and public opinion.
The case was the continuation of the Watergate scandal that marked the rivalry between parties during the presidential campaign of 1972. It is essential to understand that the Republicans and the Democrats try to prove their superiority using all possible methods during political competition (Sanders 176). It is crucial to realize that neither Republicans nor Democrats hesitated to use the most scandalous details from the biographies of their political opponents to gain superiority during the elections. Moreover, most people assumed that high-rank politicians had immunity against legal accusations, making them feel special. The Nixon case proved to Americans that it was the illusion of omnipotence that the politicians and the President possibly had.
As reported in law journals, the legal reaction to the case was unanimous because the Supreme Court decision showed that all Americans were equal to justice. The state’s judge who requested to work on this case also had a critical attitude toward the event. He claimed that the President wanted the judge to agree that his authority made him similar to the mighty monarch like Louis XIV, making him invincible to any court decisions except impeachment. In other words, the President believed that his status protected him from all legal accusations during the four years of his presidency. The judge disagreed with President Nixon’s conclusions and ordered him to present all tapes to the court as soon as possible. The advocate of Nixon, in his turn, stated that it was illegal because the President had the legal right to protect the communication with the high governmental authorities, and disclosing this information would endanger national security (Holson 1). This example shows that legislators understood that the President should not have a unique position concerning their rights because it ruined the principles of justice and democracy.
As reported in newspapers and magazines, the contemporary reaction to the case is similar to the legal one because most Americans agree that justice should be the same for every citizen. When the President cannot withhold the materials from the court, as was in the case of Richard Nixon, the court has access to all materials. At the same time, the personality of Richard Nixon is often connected with the tragic circumstances in modern media. It is assumed that all politicians lied and spied to achieve their goals, but Nixon was the only President whom the judicial system punished severely. It makes Richard Nixon the example of the tragic hero who suffered to show all Americans that the Supreme Court respects the justice principles that are the same for all individuals (Greenberg 1). It is fair from the legal point of view and gives average Americans a belief injustice that does not make an exception even for the country’s most influential politicians.
The historical impact of the discussed legal case is critical in understanding the peculiarities of American political life. On August 9th, 1974, President Nixon resigned, and it showed the American nation that there were no exceptions to the law and justice. The vice president, who substituted Richard Nixon during the trial, promoted the idea that the law should not disregard Nixon’s offenses. Even though Nixon was accused of sponsoring such crimes as burglary during the election campaign the same year, he still showed a significant advantage compared to the Democratic politicians. The vice president stated that it was critical to analyze all materials, including the tapes, to understand the role of Richard Nixon in the criminal affair and make the results of the elections entirely fair (Holson 1). Therefore, the Supreme Court ruled that no branch is more powerful than the other, and in this case, which was not a matter of national security, the President did not have the right to use his executive powers.
Conclusion
The United States v. Nixon case is an example of the fair attitude of the court towards all Americans regardless of their social status and political authority. This case shows that the President of the United States has no privileges. It is critical to understand the opportunities of the President and their duties to evaluate the work of the head of the state adequately. It is an essential element in the functioning of a democratic country because when the rights and privileges of the President are unlimited, there is the chance that they will abuse their power. Moreover, it might lead to crimes on the highest level, a menace to national security.
Works Cited
Greenberg, David. “Was Richard Nixon a Tragic Hero? Nonfiction.”The New York Times, 2021.
Holson, Laura. “No One Could Believe It’: When Ford Pardoned Nixon Four Decades Ago.”The New York Times, 2018.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases. “Cases – United States v. Nixon.”Landmark Supreme Court Cases, n.d.
Moynihan, Daniel P. Secrecy: The American Experience. Yale University Press, 1999.
Sanders, Vivienne. Access to History. Hodder Education, 2008.
Weiner, Tim. One Man Against the World: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon. St. Martin’s Press, 2016. Kindle ed.