It was a matter of principle- Congress had no right to demand access to confidential White House records. The tape recordings were made of confidential meetings for the use of the President and and were his property . It is rather like somebody demanding to read your diary in hopes of finding something incriminating to use against you.
Answer
There was also a factor of 18 minutes that had to be worked out. No one has said (as far as I know) what was on the missing 18 minutes: honestly missing or incriminating conversation that was deleted.
Nixon must give officials his recordingsThe Supreme Court's position in the water gate cases is that Nixon must hand over his recordings.
Warren Burger
Nixon must give officials his recordingsThe Supreme Court's position in the water gate cases is that Nixon must hand over his recordings.
Nixon must give officials his recordingsThe Supreme Court's position in the water gate cases is that Nixon must hand over his recordings.
Nixon must give officials his recordingsThe Supreme Court's position in the water gate cases is that Nixon must hand over his recordings.
Nixon must give officials his recordingsThe Supreme Court's position in the water gate cases is that Nixon must hand over his recordings.
Nixon must give officials his recordingsThe Supreme Court's position in the water gate cases is that Nixon must hand over his recordings.
Nixon must give officials his recordingsThe Supreme Court's position in the water gate cases is that Nixon must hand over his recordings.
The outcome of United States v. Nixon was a unanimous 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court, ruling that President Nixon must turn over tape recordings and other materials subpoenaed as evidence in the Watergate scandal. This decision established the principle that the President is not immune from the judicial process and must comply with court orders. As a result, Nixon resigned from the presidency shortly after the ruling.
handing over secret tapes of oval office conversations to prosecutors
After refusing to hand over the Watergate tapes, President Nixon offered to provide edited transcripts of the recordings instead. He argued that the tapes contained sensitive information and that the transcripts would suffice for the investigation. However, this offer was met with skepticism, and the courts ultimately ruled that he had to release the actual tapes, leading to his eventual resignation.
handing over secret tapes of oval office conversations to prosecutors