MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER
Before the Court is petitioners’ Petition for Order Directing Release of Transcript of Richard M. Nixon’s Grand Jury Testimony of June 23-24, 1975, and Associated Materials of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force [1]. Upon consideration of the petition, the government’s opposition [16] and reply thereto [19], the government’s ex parte submission to the Court [21], and the applicable law, the Court will grant the petition for the reasons set forth below.
I. BACKGROUND
Stanley Kutler, 1 the American Historical Association, the American Society for Legal History, the Organization of American Historians, and the Society of American Archivists have petitioned the Court to unseal the transcript of President Richard M. Nixon’s grand jury testimony from June 23 and 24, 1975. Kutler Petition 1, Sept. 13, 2010 [1]. Petitioners also seek associated materials of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force (WSPF), which are located at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in boxes five, six, and seven of Record Group 460. Id. at 1-2. Petitioners have submitted the declarations of several scholars and other individuals who support their request. See id. at 4, ¶¶ 8-9 (listing the names and titles of declarants).
The government opposes the petition, arguing that the requested disclosure falls outside the exceptions to grand jury secrecy set forth in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e). Petitioners base their request not on Rule 6(e), but on the Court’s inherent supervisory authority to order the release of grand jury materials. Specifically, petitioners ask the Court to apply the “special circumstances” test articulated by the Second Circuit in
In re Petition of Craig,
The key events of Watergate — the details of which Mr. Kutler describes thoroughly in his declaration at Tab A — are well known. The content of President Nixon’s grand jury testimony, however, is unknown to the public. Following his resignation and President Gerald Ford’s pardon, the WSPF could not prosecute President Nixon for conduct related to the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up. The last of the three WSPF grand juries, however, remained open with respect to investigations of other potential targets. Declaration of Richard J. Davis (Tab C) ¶3 [1]. The WSPF secured an agreement to take President Nixon’s testimony in connection with its open investigations and in a manner that would avoid litigation over such issues as executive privilege. Id. at ¶¶ 3-4. Prosecutors agreed to take his testimony near his home in San Clemente, California. Declaration of Julian Helisek (Tab B) ¶ 7 [1]. On June 23 and 24, 1975, President Nixon testified for eleven hours before two members of the grand jury and several WSPF attorneys. Id. Afterward, a full transcript of the proceeding was read to the remaining members of the grand jury in Washington, DC. Id. at ¶ 9.
Because the content of the testimony was sealed, the press reported primarily on the fact of it — in keeping with President Nixon’s desire that the fact of his testimony be made public. Id. at ¶ 10. Press accounts indicate that the testimony covered at least four topics: (1) the 18/6- *44 minute gap in a White House tape recording of a conversation between President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman; (2) the alteration of White House tape transcripts submitted to the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment inquiry; (3) the extent to which the Nixon Administration used the IRS to harass political enemies; and (4) the $100,000 payment from billionaire Howard Hughes to President Nixon’s friend, Charles “Bebe” Rebozo. Id. at ¶ 11. A few pieces of information about the testimony’s content have been reported — including, for example, President Nixon’s statement in a 1977 interview that he did not erase the infamous 18^-minute segment — but little else is known to the public. Id. at ¶ 13.
On July 3, 1975, the third Watergate grand jury was dismissed. Id. at ¶ 29. It had handed up no indictments in the wake of President Nixon’s testimony. Id. at ¶ 12.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
There is a tradition in the United States — one that is “older than our Nation itself’ — that proceedings before a grand jury should remain secret.
In re Biaggi,
(1) [t]o prevent the escape of those whose indictment may be contemplated;
(2) to insure the utmost freedom to the grand jury in its deliberations, and to prevent persons subject to indictment or their friends from importuning the grand jurors; (3) to prevent subornation of perjury or tampering with the witnesses who may testify before [the] grand jury and later appear at the trial of those indicted by it; (4) to encourage free and untrammeled disclosures by persons who have information with respect to the commission of crimes; [and] (5) to protect [the] innocent accused who is exonerated from disclosure of the fact that he has been under investigation, and from the expense of standing trial where there was no probability of guilt.
United States v. Procter & Gamble Co.,
But the rule of grand jury secrecy is not without exceptions. These exceptions, which “have developed historically alongside the secrecy tradition,” are codified in Rule 6(e)(3).
In re Petition of Craig,
Indeed, there is ample support for the view that courts’ authority regarding grand jury records reaches beyond Rule 6(e)’s literal wording. As the Advisory Committee stated in adopting the rule, Rule 6(e) “continues the traditional practice of secrecy on the part of members of the grand jury,
except when the court permits a
disclosure.” Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(e) advisory committee’s note (emphasis added). And several years after the rule was promulgated, the Supreme Court stated that “federal trial courts as well as the Courts of Appeals have been nearly unanimous in regarding disclosure as
committed to the discretion of the trial judge.
Our cases announce the same principle, and
Rule 6(e) is but declaratory
of it.”
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.,
In 1971, for example, a district court went beyond the language of Rule 6(e)— which at that time permitted disclosure of grand jury records only to “attorneys for the government” — and permitted disclosure to IRS agents in connection with a Department of Justice investigation.
In re William H. Pflaumer & Sons, Inc.,
As its history demonstrates, Rule 6(e) was not designed to ossify the exceptions to the general rule of grand jury secrecy— freezing the scope of such exceptions at the moment the rule was promulgated— but instead was intended to declare the law of disclosure as it stood in 1944. And as new exceptions outside of those enumerated in Rule 6(e) have gained traction among the courts, the scope of the rule has
*46
followed suit — a practice in keeping with courts’ traditional discretion regarding disclosure,
see Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.,
While “it is certain that a court’s power to order disclosure of grand jury records is not strictly confined to the instances spelled out in the rule,” there is little guidance as to when a court is free to go beyond Rule 6(e).
Hastings,
Certainly ... courts must adhere to Rule 6(e) in “garden variety” petitions for grand jury disclosure. The rule was intended to provide a reliable statement of the law in this area, and would be rendered meaningless if departures were freely sanctioned. We assume that courts are not empowered to act outside Rule 6(e) in other than exceptional circumstances consonant with the rule’s policy and spirit.
Hastings,
Contrary to the government’s contention, the special circumstances exception first recognized in
Biaggi
does not circumvent Rule 6(e). The Supreme Court has admonished that courts’ inherent supervisory power “does not include the power to develop rules that circumvent or conflict with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.”
Carlisle v. United States,
The D.C. Circuit has not specifically addressed the question of whether courts have inherent authority to order the release of grand jury records in circumstances not enumerated by Rule 6(e). It has, however, permitted disclosure in circumstances in which no Rule 6(e) exception applied.
See In re Grand Jury Subpoena, Judith Miller,
Given the dearth of relevant law in our Circuit and the absence of any precedent precluding petitioners’ request, 2 it is appropriate to look to the way other Circuits have dealt with the disclosure of grand jury materials outside of Rule 6(e). For the reasons discussed above, the Court finds that the Second Circuit’s special circumstances exception is well grounded in courts’ inherent supervisory authority to order the release of grand jury materials. Importantly, the exception, by its very nature, applies only in exceptional circumstances, requiring a nuanced and fact-intensive assessment of whether disclosure is justified. Craig provided a non-exhaustive list of factors that a court may consider when making such an assessment. These factors include:
(i) the identity of the party seeking disclosure; (ii) whether the defendant to the grand jury proceeding or the government opposes the disclosure; (iii) why disclosure is being sought in the particular case; (iv) what specific information is being sought for disclosure; (v) how long ago the grand jury proeeed *48 ings took place; (vi) the current status of the principals of the grand jury proceedings and that of their families; (vii) the extent to which the desired material — either permissibly or impermissibly — has been previously made public; (viii) whether witnesses to the grand jury proceedings who might be affected by disclosure are still alive; and (ix) the additional need for maintaining secrecy in the particular case in question.
Craig,
III. MERITS OF THE PETITION
The factors enumerated above properly balance any special circumstances justifying disclosure against the need to maintain grand jury secrecy. Accordingly, the Court will consider those factors in determining whether petitioners have demonstrated that the disclosure of President Nixon’s grand jury testimony is justified. The government argues that — even if the Court applies the special circumstances test — petitioners fail to meet that test in light of the privacy interests of individuals named in the testimony and the age of the requested records. Petitioners contend that the need to maintain the secrecy of the records is minimal and that it is outweighed by special circumstances — namely, historical interest in the records — justifying disclosure.
The Court finds that the factors enumerated above favor the unsealing of the requested records. First, the identity of the parties seeking disclosure — including major historical groups and several leading Nixon and Watergate scholars— weighs in petitioners’ favor. Second, petitioners seek only a narrow range of records related to a single grand jury witness. Third, the government’s opposition to disclosure, based primarily on privacy implications and the age of the records, lacks weight in light of the Court’s discussion of those factors below.
See Craig,
In addition to these factors, the reason disclosure is sought is particularly significant here. There is no question that the requested records are of great historical importance, and indeed, the government does not contest that fact. Petitioners focus on both the general historical importance of the Watergate criminal investigations and the specific historical importance of President Nixon’s testimony. To be sure, Watergate’s significance in American history cannot be overstated. Nearly forty years later, Watergate continues to capture both scholarly and public interest. The disclosure of President Nixon’s grand jury testimony would likely enhance the existing historical record, foster further scholarly discussion, and improve the public’s understanding of a significant historical event.
See, e.g., In re Tabac,
No. 3:08-mc-0243,
The remaining
Craig
factors, which pertain to the need to maintain the secrecy of the requested records, do not overcome the interests favoring disclosure. As an initial matter, the Court notes that the traditional objectives of grand jury secrecy are not implicated here.
See Procter & Gamble,
Thus, the only relevant secrecy interest here — and the government’s primary reason for opposing petitioners’ request — is the interest in protecting the privacy of named individuals and their families. 3 Turning to the remaining factors, the Court finds that the privacy interests at stake here are minimal. As noted above, President Nixon, the sole testifying witness, passed away seventeen years ago. Furthermore, many Watergate principals who are likely mentioned in his testimony are deceased. See Kutler Petition 38-39 [1]. Most surviving principals, 4 as well as less significant Watergate figures, have either written about Watergate, given interviews, or testified under oath about their involvement. See id. at 22-23 n. 6, 26 nn. 7-8, 39 & n. 16. Many of these individuals are among those who testified before the Senate Watergate Committee or at one of the four Watergate criminal trials — the transcripts of which are public. Id. at 39; Reply 14-15 [19]. Additionally, portions of the grand jury testimony of certain Watergate figures have been made public. Declaration of Julian Helisek (Tab B) ¶ 30 [1]. Given the extent to which Watergate figures — both indicted and unindicted — have written, spoken, or testified about Watergate, privacy concerns are of limited significance here.
*50 Moreover, NARA’s review procedures allay any remaining privacy concerns. The government has informed the Court that, in the event that the requested records are unsealed, NARA would review the testimony and its associated materials for privacy concerns. With respect to named individuals who are still living, NARA would look to the treatment of those individuals in previously released Watergate-related records. NARA would also consider such factors as the passage of time and the notoriety of those individuals in connection with the events being discussed. These review procedures, to the extent that privacy concerns exist, greatly diminish any interest in maintaining the secrecy of the requested records. 5
In light of the above discussion, the Court rejects the government’s argument that thirty-six-year-old records are too “young” for disclosure. The government points to courts that have authorized disclosure on the basis of historical interest fifty to sixty years after the relevant grand jury proceedings.
See, e.g., In re Petition of Nat’l Sec. Archive,
No. 08-civ-6599, Summary Order at 1-2 (granting a petition to unseal sixty-year-old grand jury records relating to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Abraham Brothman, and Miriam Moskowitz);
Am. Historical Ass’n,
Taken together, the Court finds that the relevant factors weigh in favor of unsealing President Nixon’s grand jury testimony and the WSPF’s associated materials, subject to NARA’s review procedures. The special circumstances presented here— namely, undisputed historical interest in the requested records — far outweigh the need to maintain the secrecy of the records. The Court is confident that disclosure will greatly benefit the public and its understanding of Watergate without compromising the tradition and objectives of grand jury secrecy.
IV. CONCLUSION
For these reasons, it is hereby
ORDERED that petitioners’ Petition for Order Directing Release of Transcript of Richard M. Nixon’s Grand Jury Testimony of June 23-24, 1975, and Associated Materials of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force [1] is GRANTED. The requested records shall be unsealed subject to the review procedures of the National Archives and Records Administration.
SO ORDERED.
Notes
. Mr. Kutler is an historian, Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, and the author of several books about President Nixon and Watergate. Kutler Petition 2, ¶ 1 [1],
. The government points to In re Petition of Newman, No. 87-5345 (D.C.Cir. Apr. 20, 1988), in which the D.C. Circuit affirmed the denial of a petition to unseal grand jury transcripts because "a claim of historical importance, without more, falls outside the scope of the Rule 6(e)(3) exceptions permitting disclosure.” Id. at *3a. But Newman was an unpublished opinion, and thus lacks precedential value here.
. The government has provided an ex parte submission [21] indicating the current status of individuals named in President Nixon's testimony. The Court has reviewed the submission in camera and takes its contents into account in this analysis.
. John Dean, a surviving principal who pled guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice in connection with his role in the Watergate coverup, has submitted a declaration in support of the petition. See Declaration of John W. Dean III (Tab D) [1].
. Additionally, to the extent that any portions of President Nixon's testimony have been redacted as classified, such portions would not be made public without undergoing declassification review.
