WHEN NIXON SAID …
In part 3 of the Nixon /Frost interviews, broadcast in 1977, Nixon stated, “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” This was a lie. It was a lie in 1977, and it remains a lie in the year 2025. Nixon tried to lie his way out of his involvement in the Watergate break-in, but the crime led all the way back to the Oval Office. Several days after the break-in, Nixon ordered a payment of several hundreds of thousands of dollars to be paid to the Watergate burglars. He then obstructed justice by impeding the FBI’s investigation. Legal? Not even remotely. This happened in an era when a person holding the office of President of the United States, if caught performing illegal activities, would feel a degree of shame. Republican congressional leaders met with Nixon and told him there was no way around it, he was going to be impeached. Nixon resigned from the office of the presidency, rather than have the stain of impeachment on his record. One of the main things Nixon is remembered for, is the quote referenced above, where he lies about how much power a United States president wields. A key historical lesson from Nixon’s presidency is to not elect politicians of such low character into office, especially if they would not only say, but believe their own lies, such as “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Of course, the contemporary corollary is when the Supreme Court ruled in 2024, that “presidents have absolute immunity for acts committed as president within their core constitutional purview, at least presumptive immunity for official acts within the outer perimeter of their official responsibility, and no immunity for unofficial acts.” which can be read as a lot of High Court legalese saying, “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Or, is it possible there is enough here, in these three words: “core constitutional purview” that a fundamentally important part of the ruling isn’t getting enough attention. Especially in this historic moment, when so many government agencies in charge of our most personal data have gone off the rails due to firings, understaffing, and lack of resources. These three words tell me, if you do it as a president, and it’s unconstitutional, you in fact can’t do it, legally. In the future, should another presidential candidate, especially one who even said on the campaign trail they never had any intention of acting as a president, but rather as a tyrant – we should take them at their word. With years of rebuilding our democracy ahead of us, we’d be smart to remember that this type of democracy-destroying thinking needs to be nipped in the bud.
Powerful prose on a critically important 3-word phrase. Thank you, Russell.
Your post here states what seems to be the obvious, and yet the Republican Party seems blind or intimidated. Where is the courage of these members of congress: representatives and senators?