United States v. Nixon was a landmark Supreme Court case decided in 1974. It arose from the Watergate scandal, where President Richard Nixon was accused of covering up illegal activities. The case centered on whether Nixon could claim executive privilege to withhold information from a subpoena requiring him to release tape recordings of conversations related to the scandal. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the president was not above the law and had to comply with the subpoena. This decision reinforced the principle of accountability in government and limited the scope of executive privilege, shaping the relationship between the presidency and the judicial system.