The President of the United States
Roles of the President The President of the United States is: Chief Executive: enforces the laws of the United States that are passed by Congress Commander-in-Chief: Leader of the Armed Forces and Military of the United States However, only Congress can declare war Head of Government and Head of State
Other Powers Executive Privilege: the right of a president to withhold or keep private from the public any documents or communications made that may interfere with the function of the executive branch State Secrets Privilege: the president may withhold any information or documents that if revealed would violate national security
Abuse of Power Richard Nixon President, 1969-1974 1972: 5 men were arrested breaking in to the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel
The Watergate Scandal First, the Attorney General (the head of the Department of Justice) was accused Then, White House Chief of Staff (the president’s senior aide) was accused next Then the White House Counsel (the president’s official lawyer) was accused The new attorney general appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the cover-up The special prosecutor intended to subpoena President Nixon to find out what he knew
The Scandal Blows Up The White House Counsel, John Dean, became the lead witness against Nixon Nixon then ordered his attorney general to fire the special prosecutor The attorney general and deputy attorney general both refused and resigned instead; the solicitor general fired the prosecutor The Supreme Court in U.S. vs. Nixon ruled that Nixon couldn’t hide behind executive privilege The House of Representatives voted to begin impeachment proceedings Nixon resigned August 9, 1974 rather than face impeachment
Limits on Presidential Power Presidents are limited by the power of impeachment When accused of “high crimes and misdemeanors” the House of Representatives brings articles of impeachment against the president The president then stands trial before the U.S. Senate: if 2/3 of the Senate votes to convict, the president is removed from office
Term Limits The president can only serve two, four-year terms under the TWENTY-SECOND AMENDMENT Before this, a president could theoretically serve for life, as long as they kept getting elected
Summarize In your interactive notebook, at the bottom of your notes page, write a short paragraph about today’s lesson. Write about: What the main idea of the lesson was AND what you learned today. Your summary should be able to explain today’s lesson to someone who was not in class today.