Supreme Court Rules 8-0 in United States v. Nixon: President Must Surrender Tapes

On July 24, 1974, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous 8-0 decision in United States v. Nixon, ordering President Richard Nixon to deliver sixty-four tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to the federal district court. Chief Justice Warren Burger—a Nixon appointee—wrote the decision, in which the Court acknowledged the doctrine of executive privilege but ruled it was generally limited to areas of national security or diplomatic affairs. The Court established that neither the separation of powers nor a generalized need for confidential communications supported an absolute privilege, setting a standard of “demonstrated specific need” for enforcement of a federal criminal subpoena to the President. Most significantly, the Court declared that “the President is not above the law” and must turn over the tapes.

Justice William H. Rehnquist recused himself, citing his previous role as a Justice Department official under Nixon, but the other Nixon appointees—Justices Harry A. Blackmun and Lewis F. Powell Jr., as well as Chief Justice Burger himself—all participated in the decision against the President who had elevated them to the Court. This remarkable fact underscored the strength of judicial independence even among justices who owed their positions to the president they were ruling against. The unanimity of the decision was crucial: it left Nixon with no political room to resist or claim the Court was divided or politically motivated.

Nixon complied with the Court’s order, releasing the tapes that sealed his fate. One recording came to be known as the “Smoking Gun Tape”—the June 23, 1972 conversation revealing that just six days after the Watergate break-in, Nixon and H.R. Haldeman had discussed ways to obstruct the FBI’s investigation. Nixon resigned sixteen days after the Supreme Court decision, on August 9, 1974. United States v. Nixon established the landmark principle that executive privilege is not absolute and that presidents can be compelled to provide evidence in criminal proceedings. However, the decision’s impact on presidential accountability was limited by Gerald Ford’s subsequent pardon of Nixon, which prevented any criminal prosecution. The ruling affirmed that presidents are subject to law in theory, but the pardon demonstrated that political decisions could still shield them from consequences in practice.