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Should Executive Privilege Be Absolute

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Should the Executive Privilege Be Absolute In United States, the Executive Privilege played a positive role on the president in domestic and foreign policy decisions, defend national interests and the protection of national defense secrets. However, this privilege can be abused by the president and executive members as well in seizing power, even provide legal basis to disguise their illicit activities at the White House. In my point of view, I think the executive privilege should not be absolute due to lack of transparency and supervision on the matter of personal interest and national security. As the strongest nation across the global, the president and members of the executive of the United States has the power to conduct a number of operations or information in secret and the executive privilege grants them to resist some legislative and branches of government for disclosing those communications if would potentially interfere the functions of executive branch (Legal Information Institute). However, with such privilege, anyone could make mistakes. The Executive Privilege could grant the president power to conduct operations for personal interest, such privilege can disrupt the justice of investigation. In the Watergate scandal, when the U.S. supreme court asked president Nixon …show more content…

In this situation, the executive privilege merely served as the amulet of the president to cover up his personal interest toward reelection, moreover, the investigation has been disrupted many times during the process and led to protest from many justice officials toward Nixon. It is clear that without supervision and regulation, the executive privilege did not serve its true purpose to protect the country and became a super untouchable protection for the president. Although after the protest, Nixon turned over some of the tapes rather than all of them, but the issue on properly use of executive privilege remains the

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On the onset, it might appear as though the federal bureaucracy and Congress are two completely separate entities, with no relation to each other. However, upon a further look into the situation, it is obvious that the two work closely together, Congress makes and passes the laws, and the federal bureaucracy institutes and enforces those laws into action. Even though these two separate entities have their own specific functions, Congress is truly in control over the federal bureaucracy. Among the several different methods of control Congress employees, there are two specific measures Congress takes that standout among the rest. The measure of control is Congress institutes is Congressional investigations.

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So the early morning of June, 1972 Nixon ordered his plumbers to break and bug/wiretap the Democratic National Committee Headquarters located in Watergate apartments(The scandal’s name was named after the location of where the crime occurred). Unfortunately for the president, the mission was a failure and the plumbers were arrested. The White House administration were quick to deny any wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal, stating “no one in the White House staff, no one in this administration presently employed was involved in this bizarre incident... ”(The

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J. Edgar led many operations to help protect the USA against its enemies both outside and possibly inside of the government. Information gained when you are in a place that does not broadcast its doing on every station in America is called spying which is done from the inside. ... and even had an FBI operating the short wave radio station through which the Nazi spies communicated with their bosses in Berlin (the other half of history). Without spies information that has possibly prevented many disasters from happening would not have been gained. For a man who held nothing back in his pursuit of righteous justice and power and believed there were spies everywhere there was a limit.

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How would you feel about your government secretly breaking into your house and spying on everything you do just because you don't align with everything that they believe that is what happened with Watergate and it did not only force Richard Nixon to resign so he wouldn't be impeached. Watergate also changed the way government worked, New rules for how government works, Changed people's view against government, less people wanted to work in politics. One way Watergate changed the way government worked. With new rules for how government works to make sure another watergate does not happen in the future. For example congress created a permanent intelligence oversight committees in both the senate and the house this helps prevent the senate and

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The United States v. Nixon was a United States supreme court case which resulted in a decision against Richard Nixon, ordering him to deliver tape recordings and other materials to a federal district court. It was important in the late states of the Watergate scandal, during the ongoing impeachment of Richard Nixon. The executive privilege had to do with some recordings during the Watergate scandal, he was forced to release them; however, Nixon stated that he didn’t have to due to the Executive Privilege. In the end, it ended up not working because they didn’t believe he had the right to use it. Embargo signaled a shift in the global financial balance of power to oil-producing states and triggered a slew of U.S. attempts to address foreign

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The president is able to obtain a lot of direct information

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Today nobody ever realizes how powerful an executive order is. So I’ll help you understand how powerful one can be. Today there are too many executive orders that it is hard to realize how powerful an executive order is, but there are some that stand out. Like executive order 9066, when president Roosevelt stated all Japanese people may be excluded from military areas. This shows that one document can take away a citizen's rights, and gives the president too much power.

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William Henry Harrison’s speech left the idea that the president should protect the nation through the power that the president receives. For instance, President Harrison stated, “ A person elected to that high office..., must consider himself bound by the most solemn sanctions to guard, protect, and defend the rights of all and of every portion, great or small, from the injustice and oppression of the rest” (Inaugural Speech). In other words, Harrison’s words left the impression to the public that they can feel safe by President Harrison because he believed, since he has the power, the obvious way to use that power is to protect and defend everyone no matter who the individual

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The US Constitution allows the President the ability to use executive privilege. Example: President George Washington used executive privilege to prevent Congress to receiving paperwork from the U.S. Army loss to the American Indians at the Battle of Wabash. To withhold information, is the President’s absolute power to preserve national security interests.

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The executives can use the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act to investigate and intimidate those who are against some of their policies. Restricting checks and balances act to the disadvantage of the citizens because the executive can do anything despite the fact that the executives are usually tempted to use the intelligence service to gain information about civil rights activists, civil right groups and they may violate constitutional processes and rights to satisfy their selfish interest. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act eliminates the laws that would help the public ask questions as to why the government is doing certain things that are against their wish or when they are violating certain rights. The public can have the power to seek clarification from the government when they can cite a specific law that the government has violated. But without the laws, when the public has any issue they want to be addressed they can only go for civil actions to compel the government to listen to them.

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Executive privilege has been referenced in many supreme court decisions and even some that are related directly to the current case that is before us today. In the second world war during the year 1944 the precedent setting supreme court case Korematsu Vs U.S. was argued setting the precedent that in a time of war (of which one we are in right now) the government could use the crucial notion of executive privilege to preserve national security. While the way it was executed is different in both cases surly there are some parallels. This case truly fleshes out what it means to have executive privilege and is an important case to keep in mind as we look at Hamdi v Rumsfeld. This case cited executive privilege as being able to override the rights

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He had amassed a collection of government fills, tape records, and intelligence on the common people in the Watergate building. After it was broken into, files were stolen and released to the public. It was the first real time that the general public learned just how paranoid Nixon was, but also how much he wanted to keep the power he already had. As these precious documents surfaced, one could see in full light that Nixon exhibited all the symptoms of Paranoid Personality Disorder. He was always distrustful of people, he recorded every encounter he had, so that one could twist his words against him.

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As Americans we feel it is our right to know what is going on because we are paying money to live here. Also presidents can also take advantage of the executive privilege by concealing wrongdoing, and politically damaging information about them. When Obama used the executive privilege over the DOJ documents, some claimed it was inappropriate use of his power, in which he replied that he's keeping congress out of where they should not be. This I believe is a fine example of a good use of the executive privilege. Nowhere in the constitution does it state executive privilege and as “the late legal historian Raoul Berger once said it is one of the greatest ‘constitutional myths’. ”

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of the Constitution of the United State, it states that “He [The president] shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” (Foner). Even the president needs to follow the law. The president has a responsibility; to be attentive, in order to follow all the laws. Yet, presidents still break the law, without retribution. Nixon succeeded in sending spies into Watergate to wiretap phones, in order to receive information about the Democratic National Committee.

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As the head of the executive branch, “the president’s main job is to execute, or carry out, the laws passed by Congress” which includes the power to “veto, or reject, bills passed in Congress” and “pardon or reduce the penalties against people convicted of federal crimes” (215). The president bears the responsibility of making nationally important decisions on a regular basis. Thus, the president, as the leader of America, must have wisdom, prudence, and a consideration for human rights. When one holds the title of president, he or she “stands a s a symbol not only of the federal government, but of the entire nation” (215). As a highly respected and highly looked upon individual, the president must also ensure that their executive actions stay consistent with American values and maintain fundamental human

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