United States v. Nixon (1974)

Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski subpoenaed tape recordings of 64 White House conversations for use in the criminal trial of seven Nixon aides charged with the cover-up of the 1972 break-in at Democratic headquarters. President Richard Nixon refused, claiming that executive privilege gave him absolute authority to keep his confidential communications from the courts. The Supreme Court took the case on an expedited basis and heard argument on July 8, 1974.

On July 24, 1974, the Court ruled 8 to 0, with Justice William Rehnquist not participating because he had served in Nixon's Justice Department. Chief Justice Warren Burger, a Nixon appointee, wrote that the Constitution implies a privilege for presidential communications, but that it is qualified, not absolute. A generalized claim of confidentiality must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial. The Court also held that it, not the President, decides the scope of the privilege.

Nixon complied. One of the released tapes, from June 23, 1972, showed him directing the CIA to obstruct the FBI's investigation, and his remaining support in Congress collapsed. He resigned on August 9, 1974, sixteen days after the ruling. The case remains the leading authority on executive privilege and a central precedent for the principle that the President is subject to the law, and it was cited heavily in the debates over presidential immunity decided in Trump v. United States in 2024.