Presidents Have Testified Before
A president has never been summoned before a federal grand jury while in office. As Kenneth Starr's investigation winds down, President Clinton's testimony could come swiftly in the coming weeks. However, every president since Richard Nixon has testified in one legal forum or another, CBS News Correspondent Bill Plante reports.
 |
| Our Full Coverage of this Ongoing Story |
- President Richard Nixon fought a subpoena from Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox for the famous Oval Office tape recordings. But the White House turned the tapes over to Cox after the Supreme Court ruled it must. Mr. Nixon later resigned over for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.
- President Ford testified on videotape as a defense witness in the trial of the woman accused of trying to assassinate him. His testimony came after a court rejected Ford's initial proposal to submit a written statement.
- President Carter answered questions under oath in the White House for a special counsel investigating his family's peanut business. The Carters were cleared of any wrongdoing.
- Ronald Reagan answered questions about the Iran-Contra affair in writing. After he left office, Reagan testified on videotape in a trial against his former national security adviser.
- Back in 1807, Thomas Jefferson was subpoenaed to give testimony in the treason trial of his former vice president. Jefferson declined to appear, but did produce relevant documents.
- George Bush stands as the lone exception. As president, he refused to answer a special prosecutor's questions about the Iran-Contra investigation until after the 1992 election.
Reported by Bill Plante