King George persisted last night that he will not allow subpoenas for Rove and Miers in the canning attorneys scandal. This is Nixon era playing all over again. Different era but same playbook:
In the U.S. vs. Nixon case in 1974, Archibald Cox, an investigator in the Watergate case, obtained a subpoena for audiotapes of Nixon and his staff. Cox's successor, Leon Jaworski, subsequently pursued that subpoena, and Nixon refused access to the tapes and as justification claimed their confidentiality was protected by executive privilege. Jaworski sought further court orders, and the Supreme Court accepted the case. The White House stated that Nixon would abide by "a definitive order" by the court.
The unanimous decision held that the Supreme Court has not only the power established in Marbury v. Madison to rule a law invalid for conflicting with constitutional provisions, but also power to decide how the Constitution limits the President's powers; that the Constitution provides for laws enforceable on a president; and that executive privilege does not apply to "demonstrably relevant" evidence in criminal cases.
U.S. vs. Nixon
Full case name: United States of America vs. Nixon
Citations: 418 U.S. 683; 94 S. Ct. 3090; 41 L.Ed.2d 1039; 1974 U.S. LEXIS 159
Supreme Court said:
"The Supreme Court does have the final voice in determining constitutional questions; no person, not even the President of the United States, is completely above law; and the president cannot use executive privilege as an excuse to withhold evidence that is 'demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial.'"
1 comment:
I was way too young to remember Nixon as president and I that was not my favorite part of History class, the Nixon stuff. I was into the war stuff, and communism stuff more. But I am thinking that the Chimp era has to be so much worse.
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