Lesh
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- Dec 21, 2016
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Nixon claimed Executive Privilege to keep his White House tapes from being seen by Congressional investigators. The Supreme Court ruled that EP could not be used to keep evidence from being seen in a criminal trial. For some reason you think THAT rather specific ruling meant that Nixon no longer had Executive Privilege! He did.
Nixon's attempt to destroy Watergate tapes
The Supreme Court scaffolding for the current dispute dates to 1977, when Nixon, three years removed from office, challenged the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act in his effort to shield Watergate tape recordings and documents.Chutkan noted in her opinion that Nixon had said he planned to destroy the tapes and that, since the entire Nixon ordeal, Congress had adopted the Presidential Records Act, which changed ownership of a president's official files from private to public; the House committee is seeking the archived Trump files under the act's terms.
![The secret Supreme Court: Late nights, courtesy votes and the unwritten 6-vote rule The secret Supreme Court: Late nights, courtesy votes and the unwritten 6-vote rule](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/201104111205-20201104-scotus-split-gfx-medium-plus-169.jpg)
The secret Supreme Court: Late nights, courtesy votes and the unwritten 6-vote rule
Nixon lost in 1977 by a 7-2 vote.