A President's Power to Withhold Information
The presidential power of executive privilege, a right presidents can assert to withhold information from the legislative or judicial branches, was the focus of a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight. Christopher Schroeder, assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel testified.
Description
The presidential power of executive privilege, a right presidents can assert to withhold information from the legislative or judicial branches, was the focus of a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight. Christopher Schroeder, assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel testified.
Bell Ringer Assignment
- What "expansive" power does Congress have? According to Christopher Schroeder, what "limits" does Congress' power have? Summarize the quote he provides from U.S. v. Nixon (1974).
- Based on the clip, for what two reasons have Presidents "relied" on the power of confidentiality?
- What did the Supreme Court "note" in Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP (2020)?
- According to Schroeder, what does the Executive Branch "acknowledge?" What "implicit Constitutional mandate" should each branch consider?
- What else "remains true today?" Summarize the Executive Branch's current approach, based on President Ronald Reagan's 1982 Memorandum.
Additional Resources
- Video Clip: Executive Privilege and US v Nixon
- Video Clip: How Contempt of Congress Works
- Bell Ringer: Executive Privilege
- Bell Ringer: Historical Foundation of the Roles and Powers of the President
- Bell Ringer: Watergate- Nixon's Obstruction of Justice and Taping of Conversations
- Lesson Plan: The Powers of the President
- Lesson Plan: Watergate Scandal and Investigation
Participants
Vocabulary
- Branches Of Government
- Confidentiality
- Congress
- Constitution
- Disclosure
- George Washington
- Inquiry
- President
- Reagan Memorandum (1982)
- Supreme Court
- Testimony
- United States V. Nixon (1974)