Letter from Richard Nixon Declining to Produce Certain Tape Recordings
7/25/1973
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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.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force.
National Archives Identifier: 7582825
Full Citation: Letter to Judge John J Sirica from Richard Nixon Declining to Obey the Subpoena to Produce for a Grand Jury Certain Tape Recordings as Well as Certain Specified Documents; 7/25/1973; Transcripts of In Re Grand Jury Proceedings, 5/1973 - 1/1974; Records of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, Record Group 460; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-nixon-declining-subpoena, May 30, 2023]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.