{"id":54799,"date":"2025-03-04T13:56:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T18:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/supreme\/supreme-court-insights\/u-s-v-nixon-case-summary.html"},"modified":"2025-03-04T14:06:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T19:06:53","slug":"u-s-v-nixon-case-summary","status":"publish","type":"supreme","link":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/supreme-court-insights\/u-s-v-nixon-case-summary.html","title":{"rendered":"U.S. v. Nixon Case Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n
\n

U.S. v. Nixon Case Summary<\/h1>\n
\n
\n By Susan Buckner, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Laura Temme, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last reviewed\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
\n

This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
\n

The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

\n

U.S. v. Nixon is a landmark Supreme Court case that stemmed from the Watergate scandal, a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters connected to President Nixon’s re-election campaign. The case reached the Supreme Court after Nixon refused to release recordings from the Oval Office that captured crucial conversations about the scandal, citing executive privilege. The Court unanimously ruled that Nixon must turn over the tapes, emphasizing that no one, not even the president, is above the law. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

On the night of May 28, 1972, a security guard patrolling the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. discovered tape holding open the door to the underground parking complex. He removed the tape, but when he returned half an hour later, someone had taped the door open again. The guard called D.C. police. Police found five men rummaging through the Democratic National Committee headquarters and arrested them.<\/p>\r\n

What might have been a minor burglary would become a major political scandal and a landmark Supreme Court decision. One of the burglars was James W. McCord, Jr., the security director for the Committee to Re-Elect President Richard M. Nixon.<\/p>\r\n

Background of the Case<\/h2>\r\n

The matter might have remained a minor break-in with minimal political implications. Then reporters for the Washington Post received a tip that the burglary involved other White House insiders. The reporters continued digging and reporting throughout the 1972 election and into the following year.<\/p>\r\n

In September 1972, a federal court\u00a0indicted<\/a>\u00a0the burglars and others, including McCord and Nixon confidants E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. They were convicted in early 1973.<\/p>\r\n

In January 1973, President Richard Nixon entered office for his second term. Almost immediately, the Watergate scandal started unraveling. During FBI confirmation hearings, incoming director L. Patrick Gray admitted that White House counsel John Dean had asked for daily updates on the investigation. At his sentencing hearing, McCord presented a letter saying he perjured himself during his earlier testimony. The letter implicated other government officials. From here, the investigation focused on the White House.<\/p>\r\n

The Senate Watergate Committee Hearings<\/h3>\r\n

Beginning in April 1973, John Dean began cooperating with federal prosecutors. FBI director Gray and senior White House officials John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman, and Richard Kleindienst resigned.<\/p>\r\n

In June 1973, Dean told the Committee that based on his observations of what went on in the Oval Office, there was some kind of audiotape system within the office. The Committee called Alexander Butterfield to testify.<\/p>\r\n

Butterfield, then administrator of the FAA, had worked for Haldeman and oversaw the installation of the vast recording system within the Oval Office and Executive Office Building. Butterfield admitted the system existed and described the nature and extent of the system to investigators.<\/p>\r\n

Indictments of the “Watergate Seven”<\/h3>\r\n

In July 1973, the Senate Watergate Committee made an informal request for the recordings. Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox followed with a subpoena, which President Nixon refused, citing\u00a0executive privilege<\/a>. Up to this point, the investigation only involved the Committee to Re-Elect the President and the Watergate break-in. It was now clear to the Committee that the affair went much higher.<\/p>\r\n

In October 1973, Nixon fired Special Prosecutor Cox. His superiors Elliot Richardson and William Ruckelshaus resigned in what has become known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.” Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski took over Cox’s role.<\/p>\r\n

In March 1974, a\u00a0grand jury<\/a>\u00a0handed down indictments of the so-called “Watergate Seven.” The charges were conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of justice, perjury, and other charges. The Watergate Seven were:<\/p>\r\n