See also DELIBERATIVE PROCESS PRIVILEGE; OFFICIAL RECORDS AND REPORTS
SPEECH OR DEBATE PRIVILEGE; STATE SECRETS

§ 2.  The Presidential Privilege

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The President of the United States has an absolute privilege to refuse disclosure of his communications relating to national security or foreign affairs.  Presidential communications on other subjects are presumed privileged, and disclosure will be required in criminal cases only where the information is essential to the trial.{footnote}  United States v. Nixon, 417 U.S. 683 (1974).{/footnote}  It is unsettled whether disclosure may ever be required in a civil case.  The court has wide discretion in how it reviews the information at issue, which will generally be an in camera inspection, and how it balances the need for secrecy with the need for the evidence in the case.{footnote}  CHECK United States v. Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1 (1953).{/footnote}  It has been held that the privilege extends to communications among presidential advisers when preparing advice for the President.{footnote}In re Sealed Case, 116 F.3d 550 (D.C. Cir. 1997), criticized in Recent Case: Constitutional Law – Executive Privilege – D.C. Circuit Defines Scope of Presidential Communications Privilege, 111 Harv. L. Rev. 861 (1998).{/footnote}