12AD.4.4a Washington’s Response to a Congressional Request for Documents, 30 March 1796

Description

Excerpt from a letter penned by George Washington to Congress in 1976. The document is considered an important precedent for presidential claims of executive privilege.This reply categorically denied that the House has any veto over a treaty approved by the Senate and the president, and it characterized the House demand as a “dangerous precedent” that would violate the proper separation of powers within the government.