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Quis Custodiet...
Jul. 22nd, 2018 08:36 pmThe Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Nixon (1974) was a critical moment in the Watergate scandal. The ruling forced Nixon to disgorge the notorious tapes, dooming his presidency.
Justice Rehnquist recused himself, since he had held office in the Department of Justice under Nixon. The other eight Justices, three of whom had been appointed by Nixon, ruled unanimously that the subpoena for the tapes was lawful and had to be obeyed.
Brett Kavanaugh, recently nominated for the Supreme Court, commented a few years ago that U.S. v. Nixon "may have been" (read, "was") wrongly decided. He has also said that the President should be invulnerable to civil or criminal investigation. The correct vehicle for such things, he says, is impeachment. (Kavanaugh, it might be noted, was part of Kenneth Starr's team during the Whitewater investigation.)
I think it's rather clear why Kavanaugh was nominated.
Justice Rehnquist recused himself, since he had held office in the Department of Justice under Nixon. The other eight Justices, three of whom had been appointed by Nixon, ruled unanimously that the subpoena for the tapes was lawful and had to be obeyed.
Brett Kavanaugh, recently nominated for the Supreme Court, commented a few years ago that U.S. v. Nixon "may have been" (read, "was") wrongly decided. He has also said that the President should be invulnerable to civil or criminal investigation. The correct vehicle for such things, he says, is impeachment. (Kavanaugh, it might be noted, was part of Kenneth Starr's team during the Whitewater investigation.)
I think it's rather clear why Kavanaugh was nominated.
