When Nixon tried to claim executive privilege over the recordings that would eventually show the smoking gun that he coordinated the cover-up of Watergate, the Supreme Court not only ruled against Nixon’s executive privilege claim, they ruled against it UNANIMOUSLY. 1/
The Court said that the “historic commitment to rule of law” outweighs a president’s generalized need for privacy. So since Congress is tasked with investigating wrongdoing by the president and ultimately deciding impeachment... 2/
the interest of those investigators uncovering the truth outweighs a president’s right to keep communications private. Meaning, if the legislative branch’s request for info or witness testimony is pitted against executive privilege, past precedent bodes poorly for the WH. 3/
Also, it should be noted that according to the 1974 ruling, presidential privilege is quote “limited to communications in performance of (a President’s) responsibilities … of his office” made while shaping policies and decisions. HOWEVER... 4/
Trump is accused of using his presidential powers to shape policies and decisions that advance his own PERSONAL interests, so even if he COULD claim privilege, it wouldn’t cover the information that he’s trying to shield. 5/5
Ultimately just going for the @KevinMKruse stamp of approval here.
