The Public and Private Lives of Presidents

Focusing on a frequent theme in the executive privilege arguments advanced by the Clinton Administration, Neal Kumar Katyal explores the distinction drawn between the public and private lives of the President, particularly in the Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky cases. He argues that the Administration's difficulties in asserting executive privilege claims following these cases demonstrate that the public/private distinction is not entirely valid. He asserts that, unlike members of Congress who have time when they are not in session, the President is unique in that he is office twenty-four hours a day. He argues that this special constitutional status puts pressure on the public and private distinction.

Professor Katyal maintains that presidents have only a limited reservoir of secrecy from which to draw. Thus, the use of privilege on private matters such as the Lewinsky investigation not only weakens their ability to claim executive privilege on significant public matters but it also adversely affects their ability to achieve their political ends