Statement Announcing Intention To Comply With Supreme Court Decision Requiring Production of Presidential Tape Recordings

MY challenge in the courts to the subpoena of the Special Prosecutor was based on the belief it was unconstitutionally issued and on my strong desire to protect the principle of Presidential confidentiality in a system of separation of powers.

While I am, of course, disappointed in the result, I respect and accept the Court's decision, and I have instructed Mr. St. Clair to take whatever measures are necessary to comply with that decision in all respects.

For the future, it will be essential that 'the special circumstances of this case not be permitted to cloud the rights of Presidents to maintain the basic confidentiality without which this office cannot function. I was gratified, therefore, to note that the Court reaffirmed both the validity and the importance of the principle of executive privilege--the principle I had sought to maintain. By complying fully with the Court's ruling in this case, I hope and trust that I will contribute to strengthening rather than weakening this principle for the future--so that this will prove to be not the precedent that destroyed the principle, but the action that preserved it.