(11 of 11)
Were it to act out either of these scenarios of surprise, or some other, the court in effect would be vindicating St. Clair's bold, circular argument. Stripped of frills, that contention leaves the President virtually invulnerable. It says that he cannot be indicted by a grand jury unless he is first impeached and convicted in Congress, that he can be impeached only for offenses that are subject to criminal indictment and that he is the only rightful arbiter of what evidence in his possession should be made available either to the courts or to the Congress.
At the center of this circle is the totem of Executive privilege—Nixon is ostensibly not protecting himself but his own and his presidential successors' institutional prerogatives. The irony is that the Watergate scandal, and the particular showdown before the Supreme Court, is more dangerous to the presidency than any voluntary concession concerning his privilege would be. By his actions, Nixon has invited a ruling from the highest court that may for the first tune put stated limits on the very immunity he professes to protect.