Executive privilege is a constitutional principle that allows the president and the high-level executive branch officers to withhold information from the courts, Congress, and in effect, from the public (Rosell, 2012). Although executive privilege is not explicitly indicated in the Constitution, it is an implied presidential power that the courts recognize. It is exercised by presidents when they need to keep certain forms of communication confidential. It enables the president and his staff to deliberate over issues and decisions in private, without fear of their exchanges being publicized. In particular, there are four areas upon which a claim of this privilege by the executive branch is based. These include law enforcement investigations; national security, military affairs, foreign relations; or national security; deliberative process privilege; and presidential communications.
George Washington, who first used this privilege, asserted that it must be used only to serve the public interest. However, some presidents have abused the use of this privilege in that they used it r to keep politically embarrassing information and wrongdoings from being known by the public. As such, this privilege is subject to a balancing test in that while it provides the needs of the president and his advisers for confidentiality, it must also be ensured that Congress is provided with the executive branch information that it needs to perform its investigative function, as indicated in the Constitution. In this regard, this privilege should be claimed only when there is a compelling reason to do so. It should not be used for the sole purpose of preventing Congress or the courts from accessing information. This means that Congress is able to uphold its right to perform an investigation if the executive branch fails to provide a strong reason for withholding information.
References
Rosell, M. (2012, July 12). The constitution and executive privilege. Retrieved from
http://www.libertylawsite.org/2012/07/12/the-constitution-and-executive-privilege/
