Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/19-635_o7jq.pdf
Page Number: 42.0

10 

TRUMP v. VANCE 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambi-
tion, of faction, and of anarchy. . . . A feeble Executive 
implies a feeble execution of the government.  A feeble 
execution  is  but  another  phrase  for  a  bad  execution;
and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in 
theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.”  The 
Federalist No. 70, at 423. 

In sum, the demands on the President’s time and the im-
portance of his tasks are extraordinary, and the office of the
President cannot be delegated to subordinates.  A subpoena
imposes both demands on the President’s limited time and 
a  mental  burden,  even  when  the  President  is  not  directly 
engaged  in  complying.  This  understanding  of  the  Presi-
dency should guide courts in deciding whether to enforce a 
subpoena for the President’s documents. 

2 

Courts must also recognize their own limitations.  When 
the President asserts that matters of foreign affairs or na-
tional defense preclude his compliance with a subpoena, the 
Judiciary will rarely have a basis for rejecting that asser-
tion.  Judges “simply lack the relevant information and ex-
pertise to second-guess determinations made by the Presi-
dent based on information properly withheld.”  Hamdi, 542 
U. S., at 583 (THOMAS, J., dissenting).

“[E]ven if the courts could compel the Executive to pro-
duce  the  necessary  information”  to  understand  the  de-
mands  on  his  time,  decisions  about  that  information  “are 
simply  not  amenable  to  judicial  determination  because 
‘[t]hey are delicate, complex, and involve large elements of 
prophecy.’ ”  Ibid. (quoting Chicago & Southern Air Lines, 
Inc.  v.  Waterman  S.  S.  Corp.,  333  U. S.  103,  111  (1948)). 
The  President  has  at  his  disposal  enormous  amounts  of 
classified intelligence regarding the Government’s concerns 
around the globe.  His decisionmaking is further informed
by experience in matters of foreign affairs, national defense,