Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Lewinsky Case May Reach High Court > WASHINGTON (AP) -- If President Clinton pursues his > executive privilege claim in the Monica Lewinsky > inquiry, it quickly could get to the nation's highest > court. That's what happened 24 years ago to Richard > Nixon's ill-fated assertion of authority to withhold > information from Congress. > > The Supreme Court had been silent on presidential > claims of executive privilege for nearly 200 years > before rejecting Nixon's arguments and paving the way > for his resignation in 1974. > > Judge John J. Sirica ruled against Nixon on May 20, > 1974. The Supreme Court's landmark decision came 55 > days later, on July 24. > > Nixon filed an appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of > Appeals for the District of Columbia, the same route > Clinton's lawyers must take if they appeal U.S. > District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson's denial of the > privilege claim. > > Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski and later > Nixon's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to hear the > case even before any appeals court opinion, and the > highest court on May 31 agreed to do so. > > The case was argued July 8 and decided 16 days later -- > remarkable speed for a court that sometimes takes nine > months to announce a decision in a case once it has > been argued. > > Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr is > investigating a possible presidential affair and > cover-up, but the legal wrangling over executive > privilege has remained under seal. Clinton has refused > to even acknowledge publicly that he invoked the > privilege. > > But aides who spoke on condition of anonymity told The > Associated Press that the president's claim was limited > -- pertaining to grand jury questioning about White > House strategy, not about the president's relationship > with Ms. Lewinsky. > > Although the Supreme Court's 1974 decision is best > known for forcing Nixon to surrender damaging White > House tape recordings, the ruling also recognized for > the first time that a limited privilege is > constitutionally based. > > The court's unanimous ruling said a presidential > assertion of the privilege must be justified on a > case-by-case basis, adding: ``The privilege is > fundamental to the operation of government and > inextricably rooted in the separation of powers under > the Constitution.'' -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
