UnitedStatesvNixon美国诉尼克松案.doc

United States v. Nixon 418 U.S. 683 (1974) Facts: On March 1, 1974, a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia investigating Watergate returned indictments against former Attorney General John Mitchell and six other individuals, alleging conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice. The Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, had reservations as to whether a sitting President could be indicted without first being impeached and removed from office. Jaworski thus persuaded the grand jury to instead name President Nixon as an "unindicted co-conspirator". On April 18 Jaworski sought and District Judge John Sirica issued a subpoena duces tecum directed at the President as a third party to produce certain tape recordings of conversations with specifically named advisors and aides on particular dates and other memoranda then in his possession relevant to the upcoming trials of those indicted. The President challenged the subpoena on the grounds of executive privilege. The constitutionality of the subpoena was affirmed on appeal (Nixon v. Sirica 487 F. 2d 700 (D.C. Cir. 1973)). On April 30, the President released to the public edited transcripts of 43 conversations, 20 of which had been subpoenaed. The President declined to release additional material and through his counsel, James St. Clair, moved to quash the subpoena, asserting that the dispute did not properly lie before the district court because the controversy was nonjusticiable (involving what was purported to be a purely internal dispute between a superior officer and his subordinate within the executive branch). It was also claimed any judicial action in the matter was precluded by the claim of executive privilege. The district court rejected the first argument made by the President, relying upon a special regulation concerning the independence of the Special Prosecutor declared by the Attorney General. That court also rejected the second argument by citing the ruling of the US c