Executive privilege : a constitutional myth /

Demonstrates that the presidential claim of authority to withhold information is without historical or constitutional foundation.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Berger, Raoul, 1901-2000
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1974.
Series:Studies in legal history.
Subjects:
Online Access:French equivalent / Équivalent français
Table of Contents:
  • 1. History of legislative inquiries into executive conduct : Parliamentary inquiries ; Colonial and early state materials ; The founders
  • 2. Presidential powers: the "executive power"
  • 3. Presidential powers: the commander-in-chief : The intention of the founders : The commander-in-chief clause ; "Congress shall have power ... to declare war". Presidential usage: the "125 incidents" ; "Adaptation by usage" ; Inherent presidential power: United States v. Curtis-Wright export corporation ; What is the exclusive presidential enclave?
  • 4. Presidential powers: foreign relations : Negotiations of treaties : The text of the Constitution ; The understanding of the founders ; Washington's contemporaneous construction ; Marshall's "sole organ" of foreign relations ; Hamilton's later views ; The 1816 senate report. Executive agreements : Evolution ; Supreme court decisions
  • 5. Presidential "precedents" : The St. Clair inquiry ; The Jay treaty ; The Jefferson incident ; The Jackson incidents ; The Tyler incident ; Marbury v. Madison ; The trial of Aaron Burr : Production of documents ; Personal attendance by the president. Executive shielding of subordinates ; Inferences from creation of foreign affairs department ; House rule 22 ; The American tradition against secrecy
  • 6. Executive privilege compared with evidentiary privilege : Introductory ; Evidentiary privilege : Secrets of state: military and foreign affairs : Military secrets ; Foreign affairs secrets. Informers ; Confidential information : Investigation reports ; Statutory assurances of confidential treatment. The "housekeeping" privilege ; Interdepartmental "candid interchange"
  • 7. Withholding intradepartmental communications from Congress : The "candid interchange" doctrine ; "Candid interchange" in the Nixon administration
  • 8. The cost of secrecy : Saigon: a tottering ally ; Bombing ; Commitment of combat troops ; American objectives ; Suppression of the Pentagon papers
  • 9. Practical arguments for executive privilege examined
  • 10. Judicial review : Introductory ; The contempt power ; Judicial enforcement of a subpoena : "Case or controversy" ; Standing to sue ; Political questions : Boundary dispute between two branches ; "Manageable standards" and "enforceable remedy."