Supreme Court orders Nixon to hand over the tapes; the president complies

For two years, Richard Nixon had fought subpoenas, fired the prosecutor chasing him, and released only what he chose to release. In July 1974, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that executive privilege could not shield the Oval Office tapes from a criminal investigation, and ordered them turned over. Nixon complied. One recording arrived with eighteen and a half minutes erased, and two others had vanished entirely, but what remained was enough to end his presidency within weeks…