a claim by the President or another high official of the executive branch that he/she
need not answer a request (including a subpena issued by a court or Congress) for
confidential government or personal communications, on the ground that such revelations
would hamper effective governmental operations and decision-making. The rationale
is that such a demand would violate the principle of separation of powers among
the executive, legislative and judicial branches. If there is a potential criminal
charge, executive privilege will be denied, as Richard Nixon discovered when he
attempted to use executive privilege to deny Congress, the courts and the Department
of Justice access to tapes and documents in the Watergate scandal (1973-1974).
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