In the United States, the presidents and the members of executive branch of the government are allowed to keep secret information about their personal life. The president is allowed also no hide information that he/she thinks that if revealed, it can hinder the activities of the executive branch. This is what is called the executive privilege. Some information cannot be revealed since if revealed, they can cause threat to the national security. This privilege is not provided for in the constitution. However, it can be said to be implied by the doctrine of separation of powers (Berger, 19). In this regard, the president and the members of cabinet cannot be forced to reveal some information to the judiciary or the parliament because this would amount to breach of the law of separation of powers.
Executive privileges involve the fact that the president and the executive do not have to reveal the issues they discuss, to other arms of the government. This is especially so if the issues involved are of national security (Brandon, 62).
The existence of the executive privilege is of great importance. In the first place, it helps to ensure that information about the armed forces is kept secret. This is because if this information is revealed, it may pose security problems to the whole of the United States. Since the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces, then other arms of the government rarely challenge privilege relating to the national security (Margolin, 123).
The executive privilege is important for ensuring the safety of the people who are close to the president. This includes the advisors and the ministers. These people give important information to the president during their meetings. Their discussions are recorded but not all of this information can be released to the public. This is important in assuring the people communicating with the president that their security will be of importance. Otherwise, these people may fail to give important information if they feel insecure. The doctrine of executive privilege therefore assure these people of their security and gives them the confidence to reveal all the information that may be of importance to the executive. This privilege may be however challenged by the other arms of the government, which may result to an order to reveal the information (Brandon, 74).
It can be observed that the executive privilege can be applied under two circumstances. When the information being demanded is of national security, then the other arms of the government have no power to demand it. This is because if the information is revealed, there is likelihood that the United States would be in danger. Therefore, the president and other members of the cabinet cannot be compelled to reveal such information.
The other circumstance is when the safety of the members of the executive would be affected if the information were revealed. When such information is revealed, the operations of the cabinet would be adversely affected. This is because the members will realize that they can be in danger if they reveal some of the important information they may be having (Margolin, 98). The advisors of the president would be threatened and hence will not be able to perform their duties appropriately.
There are no circumstances when the executive privilege can be denied. The precedents that have been made so far indicate that there are no circumstances when this privilege can be denied as far as the two aims of concealing the information are proved. Unless the information being demanded by the other arm is not likely to affect the national security and the operations of the executive body, then the privilege is always granted.
The courts have confirmed in most cases that the executive privilege is necessary for the running of the country by the executive and the president. The first affirmation was in the case of United States v Nixon. This led to the creation of the first precedent relating to the executive privilege. The courts however are of the opinion that the privilege may be denied when the information in question are necessary to ensure justice of individuals. However, these individuals are required by the court to prove that the information that is being demanded is very necessary if the justice of the individual is to be assured. The courts however support the fact that information can never be revealed if doing so threatens the national security.
According to US v Nixon, the court decided that even though the constitution has not stipulated the issue of executive privilege, the privilege is necessary in that its absence can lead to inability of the president to carry out his responsibilities (Rozell, 114). Since the responsibilities of the president are laid out in the constitution, then it follows that anything that is meant to enable the president carry out his responsibilities is acceptable legally. The court stated that if confidentiality in some information is not accepted, the decision making process will be compromised. This is because it would be difficult to gather all the information necessary for the decision making process.
According to the supreme courts however, the privilege of the executive branch is subject to the decisions of the judges. This is because the judges are believed to the final individuals who can interpret the constitution. The court has the power to revoke the privileges of the executive if enough reasons are found.
The courts have also decided that the privilege may not be granted if it is realized that the concealment of the information by the president and the executive is meant to propagate some government misconduct. The court has also outlined that the privilege will be denied whenever it is realized that the information is being concealed as a way of helping the government avoid its responsibilities (Berger, 142).
It will be realized that the courts have the final decision on whether concealment of certain information should be granted executive privilege. The courts have argued that the precedents are just the basis of making decisions on the future matters relating to executive privilege. However, the courts have the right to evaluate the issue at hand before deciding whether it deserves to be granted the executive privilege.
There are certain limits that control the extent to which executive privilege is granted. It will be realized that the privilege is granted if the matter at hand is likely to lead to national insecurity if the information being demanded is released. The privilege is also granted if failure to do so will make it difficult to executive the duties of both the president and the cabinet.
On certain circumstances, the executive privilege may not be granted. When the information being demanded is necessary to ensure that justice is granted in a particular case, then there is a possibility that the executive privilege will not be granted. The privilege will also not be granted in case the concealment of the information is meant to help the executive to avoid its responsibilities. The privilege may also be unavailable in case the court realizes that the information concealment is meant to facilitate some government misconduct.
The issue of national security is completely protected by the privilege. However, concealment of information for proper operation of executive may be denied in some instances. The fate of a situation lies on the decision of the court.
It will be realized that the issue of executive privilege is a controversial issue in the United States. The issue is not addressed by the constitution but is based on the principle of separation of powers. The other arms of the government are able to challenge this principle on the basis of check of powers of the arms of the government. The issue is however very important for facilitating the duties of both the president and the members of the executive. It appears that the court has the greatest say on the issue. In many circumstances, the court has been seen to protect this privilege (Rozell, 174). However, this power is subject to misuse by the executive arm and the president to propagate personal interests. This is why it is necessary that the courts intervene to ensure that the privilege is not used to propagate government misconduct and avoidance of duties. The privilege is checked by the fact that the court has laid out the limits of application of the principle.
Works cited.
Margolin, Phillip. Executive Privilege. New York, NY: Harper, 2008. Print.
Rozell, Mark J. Executive Privilege: The Dilemma of Secrecy and Democratic Accountability. Baltimore u.a: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1994. Print.
Brandon, Jay. Executive Privilege. New York: Tor, 2003. Print
Executive Privilege: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Eighty-Sixth Congress, 1st Session : Executive Privilege and Freedom of Information. Washington: U.S. G.P.O, 1959. Print.
Berger, Raoul. Executive Privilege: A Constitutional Myth. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard U.P, 1974. Print
