Word: clairs
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Draw a Line. St. Clair's agility in mustering procedural arguments against the impeachment process was evident in a letter signed by Nixon to Chairman Rodino, firmly rejecting for the fourth time a Judiciary Committee subpoena of presidential tapes. Contending that the White House had extensively cooperated with the committee, the Nixon letter argued that he must "draw a line" to prevent "unlimited search and seizure" of Executive Branch files by the Legislative Branch. This was necessary to preserve the delicate separation of powers among the three branches decreed by the Constitution. Totally ignored in the letter...
...judge turned back to St. Clair: "The White House conduct in this case is totally offensive," he declared. "It borders on obstruction." Referring to the barring of Ehrlichman's lawyer from the files, Gesell added: "It's absurd. I don't see how I can tolerate it. I'm astounded, totally astounded. It's totally offensive to our entire concept of justice...
...Clair protested: "The President has to deal with the Constitution as he sees it, and with all due respect, it's his decision and not yours...
Judge Gerhard A. Gesell's scalding lectures to James St. Clair are typical of the outspoken jurist's conduct on the bench. A Yale Law School graduate (1935) and longtime Washington attorney in both private and Government practice, Gesell, a Democrat, was appointed to the federal judiciary by Lyndon Johnson in 1967. He generally takes a libertarian line and has been a tart critic of Government wiretapping, restrictive anti-abortion laws and the Nixon Administration's mass arrests during the 1971 May Day antiwar demonstrations. Noted for facing judicial issues headon, Gesell has been both helpful...
...Supreme Court to require the President to supply 64 specific tapes considered relevant to the Watergate investigation. The President contends that his refusal to hand over the tapes on the ground of Executive privilege transcends the needs of the criminal process. Besides, says White House Counsel James St. Clair, the court should not even consider that question because Nixon is the country's chief law-enforcement officer, head of the Executive household and ultimately Jaworski's boss. As such, St. Clair explains, the President has final authority to settle what is essentially an internal matter. Yale...