The pseudonym "Philo Vaihinger" has been abandoned. All posts have been and are written by me, Joseph Auclair.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Nixon's last days in the White House

Watching a Tricky Dick episode about Nixon blaming the press for its reports as he went for weeks lying about the tapes, refusing to hand them over, after the Saturday Night Massacre.

The Supremes told him 8-0 that he had to hand over the tapes.

Some of today's Republicans are on record as holding that decision was an error and should be overturned, though I forget on what grounds.

It is a daunting question how the judges on today's court would have decided the matter.

Anyway, the next day the house began to put together impeachment articles.

Days later Nixon released a transcript of the "smoking gun" tape of Nixon ordering a call to the FBI to tell them to stop investigating the Watergate break in.

That convinced some of his last Republican defenders he was guilty of obstruction of justice and should be impeached.

It is interesting to reflect that many of today's Republicans, perhaps including Barr and certainly including Kavanaugh, accept a strong theory of the unitary executive according to which the president cannot commit obstruction of justice via exercise of his legitimate, constitutional authority, and that every executive office, department, or employee works for him and at his pleasure.

So the Saturday Night Massacre was not obstruction of justice, and neither was calling the FBI to tell them to drop their investigation of the Watergate break in.

Nixon went on TV on August 8th and resigned effective at noon the 9th.

He admitted no guilt, no involvement in the coverup.

So ended a term won by the greatest popular vote victory in American history.

In a later interview he said his resignation was the only apology there was going to be.

More than two years from the break in to the resignation.

If the house impeaches Trump the senate Republicans will not ask him to resign and not convict, despite the ocean of evidence we already swim in.

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