Letter from Richard Nixon Declining to Produce Certain Tape Recordings

In this letter, President Nixon stated that he declined to obey the command of the subpoena, following the example of a long line of his predecessors as President of the United States who have consistently adhered to the position that the President is not subject to compulsory process from the courts. He cited Attorney General Speed from 1865 that the official transactions between the heads of departments of Government and their subordinate officers are, in general, treated as "privileged communications" and that the President is not bound to produce papers or disclose information communicated to them where, in their own judgement, the disclosure would, on public considerations, be inexpedient. This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2013 Summer Workshop in Washington, DC.