Tribhavan Singh 10/25/99 BradfordThe Watergate ScandalFacts: On June 17,1972 five men were arrested for braking into the Democratic Headquarters, and were charged for theft. The burglars who were caught stealing papers, and installing electronic devices worked for the Republican campaign organization under President Richard M. Nixon. The burglars were charges with federal crimes, and the House began to discuss impeachment for the president. Before being impeached Nixon resigned. Last, the case was brought to the court petitioned by the United States against President Nixon.Issues: When President Nixon was asked to hand over the tapes, and he disagreed to it, its that a violation of checks and balances? Or does the president have the right to perform his job without the interference from the Judicial Branch?Ruling: The Supreme Court’s decision was unanimous in favor of the defendants.Rationale: In this case as mention there were no dissenting opinions, as all of the justices voted the president to hand the tapes over. The justices said that “The allowance of the privilege to withhold evidence that is … relevant in a criminal trial would cut deeply into the guarantee of due process of law.”Also the justices mentioned that the constitutional duties are interpreted by the constitution. “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is”. Thus, this forced the president to give up the tapes to the court. My Opinion: This case has been to satisfaction because if the representative is a “thief” what example is he setting up for this country. In other words, if the President of the United States is a criminal, in no doubt he should be removed from office. ...
