Executive Privilege -

Fri. Jul 31st, 2026

A 1807 courtroom scene showing Chief Justice John Marshall presiding over the treason trial of Aaron Burr.

The Courts

The Trial of Aaron Burr: Defining Treason in the Early Republic

The 1807 treason trial of Aaron Burr established critical precedents for the definition of treason and the limits of executive power in the United States. Presided over by Chief Justice…

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EPA Administrator Anne Gorsuch Burford testifies before a House subcommittee in 1983 during the Superfund document dispute.

The Courts

The 1983 EPA Contempt Crisis: A Post-Watergate Test of Executive Privilege

June 12, 2026 Lila Hayes 0 Comments

In 1983, the United States experienced a constitutional crisis when EPA Administrator Anne Gorsuch Burford refused to release Superfund documents to Congress. The resulting contempt citation and legal battle clarified…

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