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Breaking The Law Essay

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Throughout the years, many presidents have committed crimes, and gotten away with it. Presidents breaking the law is controversial because in Article. II. Section. 3. of the Constitution of the United State, it states that “He [The president] shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” (Foner). Even the president needs to follow the law. The president has a responsibility; to be attentive, in order to follow all the laws. Yet, presidents still break the law, without retribution. Nixon succeeded in sending spies into Watergate to wiretap phones, in order to receive information about the Democratic National Committee. Nixon went as far as to bribe the men to not mention the white house while they were on trial. Many other offenses …show more content…

Nixon committed crimes, in order to achieve his goals. He didn’t only want to win the reelection, he wanted to win by a colossal amount. Nixon is the key example of what imperial presidency truly is. He took advantage of his power, to accomplish his means. Even more, he used his status to commit crimes, without being tried for them. Nixon is not the only president to have commit crimes. William Clinton also committed crimes, in an effort to hide information. In the year 1998, Clinton had an ongoing affair with Monica Lewinsky. According to Give Me Liberty! He opposed the affair during “The Jones lawsuit” (Foner). Lying under oath is considered perjury, which is an impeachable offense. Along with perjury his lying was also considered obstruction of justice. Obstruction of justice and perjury were the two crimes that Clinton committed, which caused him to be impeached. Clinton did not consider the legal ramifications of lying about the affair. He was more concerned about his own motives, such as hiding the affair from his wife and daughter. This is an example of imperial presidency, because instead of following the law and constitution, Clinton broke laws in order to obtain his own goals. He is not taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, instead he is pursuing his own

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