Why do presidents invoke executive privilege

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No thanks. Twitter Facebook E-mail. June 20, By submitting comments here, you are consenting to these rules: Readers' comments that include profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, harassment, or are defamatory, sexist, racist, violate a third party's right to privacy, or are otherwise inappropriate, will be removed. More Stories. When executive privilege is invoked in litigation, the court should weigh its applicability by balancing competing interests.

The Constitution is silent on the executive power to withhold information from the courts or Congress; the privilege is rooted in the separation of powers doctrine that divides the power of the United States government into legislative, executive and judicial branches. United States v. Some, including President Lyndon B. Johnson , believed that Eisenhower went too far with executive privilege. Johnson made a point to say that if his administration were to use executive privilege, he would be the sole one to invoke it, much like his predecessor, John F.

Both Presidents used it sparingly. While the previous two Presidents helped to define executive privilege, President Richard Nixon was the one who really brought it to the forefront of American politics.

Executive privilege had always been nominally used in defense of the public interest, but Nixon attempted to use it to protect himself and other advisors during the Watergate investigation.

In the landmark Supreme Court case U. Nixon , the Supreme Court unanimously declared that executive privilege is constitutional and sometimes necessary for national security. But the Court also held that it is not all-encompassing. If requested documents and testimonies are a key part of an investigation, then they must be brought forward.

Therefore, the Watergate tapes were turned over to the special prosecutor. Shortly after this decision, Nixon resigned. Nixon forever changed how Americans view executive privilege. His use of the power led many Americans to believe that all uses are for the same undisclosed reasons. Bush to use the privilege sparingly—especially Ford, who had to deal with many congressmen using the Nixon saga as leverage to make the White House as transparent as possible.

Reagan was so cautious that he did not use the privilege during the investigation of the Iran-Contra affair.