what was the term for the night nixon's attorney. general and his assistant atty. general

by Maegan Klocko 3 min read

Who was the Attorney General under Nixon?

Nov 25, 2009 · William P. Rogers held two cabinet positions; he was U.S. Attorney General under President Eisenhower and U.S. Secretary of State under President Nixon. Is …

What law firm did Richard Nixon work with?

President Nixon had upended the Justice Department, having let go of his attorney general, deputy attorney general and the special counsel investigating the Watergate scandal.

Did Nixon attack his own Justice Department?

The Saturday Night Massacre was a series of events that took place in the United States on the evening of Saturday, October 20, 1973, during the Watergate scandal. U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately.Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney …

Who was the Attorney General under President Johnson?

Feb 23, 2019 · Kleindienst served as attorney general (President Nixon) from Feb. 15, 1972 to May 25, 1973. He was born in Winslow, AZ (Aug. 5, 1923) and attended Harvard University. He served in the Army from 1943 to 1946. Kleindienst served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 1953 to 1954. He was in private practice before becoming Deputy AG in 1969.

Who was the attorney general under Nixon?

John Newton Mitchell (September 15, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon and chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns.

What was the Saturday Night Massacre and why was it important?

The Saturday Night Massacre marked the turning point of the Watergate scandal as the public, while increasingly uncertain about Nixon's actions in Watergate, were incensed by Nixon's seemingly blatant attempt to end the Watergate probe, while Congress, having largely taken a wait-and-see policy regarding Nixon's role ...

Why did Nixon fire U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson?

Richardson had promised Congress he would not interfere with the Special Prosecutor, and, rather than disobey the President or break his promise, he resigned. President Nixon subsequently ordered Richardson's second-in-command, Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, to carry out the order.

What was established in February of 1973?

On February 5, 1973, Senator Edward Kennedy offered Senate Resolution 60 to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate campaign activities related to the presidential election of 1972.

How did most of the nation react to President Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre quizlet?

How did most of the nation react to President Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre? Many people called for him to be impeached.

How did Nixon's presidency end?

By late 1973, the Nixon administration's involvement in Watergate eroded his support in Congress and the country. On August 9, 1974, facing almost certain impeachment and removal from office, Nixon resigned the presidency. Afterwards, he was issued a pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford.

Who were the 2 journalists of Watergate?

While a young reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward; the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon.

What did the Supreme Court say about the Nixon tapes?

Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a unanimous decision against President Richard Nixon, ordering him to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials to a federal district court.

Is Elliot Richardson still alive?

Who ran the Watergate investigation?

The FBI launched an investigation of the incident, and the dogged reporting of two Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions and suggested connections between Richard Nixon's controversial reelection campaign and the men awaiting trial.

Who headed the Watergate investigation?

After Nixon's landslide victory in November, the Senate appointed a special committee to investigate the matter. In televised hearings, the Watergate committee, chaired by North Carolina senator Sam Ervin, grilled key administration figures.

When did the Watergate hearings take place?

William Ruckelshaus is appointed as his replacement. April 30, 1973: Senior White House administration officials Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and Richard Kleindienst resign, and John Dean is fired. May 17, 1973: The Senate Watergate Committee begins its nationally televised hearings.

What was the Saturday Night Massacre?

ELVING: It would come to be known as the Saturday Night Massacre. From that night on, the battle over the White House tape recordings transfixed much of official Washington. Both the House and Senate were controlled by Democrats and swiftly obsessed by the tapes. Nixon fought on in private and in public.

Who is Ron Elving?

Here's Ron Elving, NPR's senior editor and correspondent, with the story of the Saturday Night Massacre. It's why we call him professor Ron. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: The Democratic National Committee is trying to solve a spy mystery.

Who was the Attorney General of the United States during the Watergate scandal?

U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately.

Who was the special prosecutor in the Watergate scandal?

Leon Jaworski was appointed as the new special prosecutor on November 1, 1973, and on November 14, 1973, United States District Judge Gerhard Gesell ruled that the dismissal had been illegal. The Saturday Night Massacre marked the turning point of the Watergate scandal as the public, while increasingly uncertain about Nixon's actions in Watergate, ...

Where did the phrase "saturday night massacre" come from?

Origin of the phrase. The actual origin of the phrase is unknown; it first appeared in writing two days after the events, in a Washington Post article by David S. Broder on October 22, but even in that article, Broder writes that the events were already "being called" the Saturday Night Massacre.

Who fired Cox?

Nixon then ordered the third-most-senior official at the Justice Department, Solicitor General Robert Bork, to fire Cox. Bork carried out the dismissal as Nixon asked. Bork stated that he intended to resign afterward, but was persuaded by Richardson and Ruckelshaus to stay on for the good of the Justice Department.

What was Nixon's compromise?

On Friday, October 19, 1973, Nixon offered what was later known as the Stennis Compromise – asking the infamously hard-of-hearing Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi to review and summarize the tapes for the special prosecutor's office.

Did Nixon fire Ruckelshaus?

Initially, the Nixon White House claimed to have fired Ruckelshaus, but as an article published the next day by The Washington Post pointed out, "The letter from the President to Bork also said Ruckelshaus resigned", catching Nixon lying.

Why did Nixon resign?

Nixon's presidency succumbed to mounting pressure resulting from the Watergate scandal and its cover-up. Faced with almost certain impeachment and conviction, Nixon resigned. In his posthumously published memoirs, Bork said Nixon promised him the next seat on the Supreme Court following Bork's role in firing Cox.

Who was the attorney general of the United States during WWII?

Levi served as attorney general (President Bush) from Jan. 14, 1975 to Jan. 20, 1977. He was born in Chicago, IL (May 9, 1942) and attended the University of Chicago and Yale University. During WWII, he served in the DOJ Anti-Trust Division. Before being named AG, he was served in various leadership roles at the the Univeristy of Chicago, being named president in 1968. He was also a member of the White House Task Force on Education, 1966 to 1967. Died March 7, 2000.

What is the job of the Attorney General?

The US Attorney General (AG) is the head of the US Department of Justice and is the chief law enforcement officer of the US government. These are the Attorney Generals from 1960 to 1980.

Who was Nixon's attorney general?

Nixon then appointed Elliot Richardson, his secretary of defense, to succeed Kleindienst as attorney general. He gave Richardson open-ended authority to “make all decisions bearing on the prosecution of the Watergate case and related matters.".

Who was fired from the Nixon administration?

However, the person with authority to dismiss Cox, Nixon’s Attorney General Elliot Richardson, refused to carry out the order. Instead, Richardson resigned.

Why did Nixon erase the tapes?

Most plausible, according to Drew, is Ehrlichman's allegation that Nixon personally erased the tapes, presumably because they contained yet more discussion of a cover-up. Three days after the tapes’ existence became known to the public, Nixon resigned from the presidency.

Who fired Cox after the Stennis compromise?

After the failure of the Stennis Compromise, Nixon ordered Richardson to dismiss Cox. Richardson refused and resigned, as did his deputy, Ruckelshaus. Bork ultimately was the one to fire Cox.

Who was fired from the Watergate scandal?

One of the most controversial episodes of the Watergate scandal, the so-called “Saturday Night Massacre” came on October 20, 1973, when embattled President Richard Nixon fired Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and accepted the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus.

Who fired Cox?

On October 20, 1973, in an unprecedented show of executive power, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox, but both men refused and resigned their posts in protest.

Who was the first woman to lead a major political party?

Hillary Clinton accepts Democratic nomination, becoming first woman to lead a major U.S. political party. Nixon’s attack on his own Justice Department came with grave consequences. More than 50,000 concerned citizens sent telegrams to Washington, and 21 members of Congress introduced resolutions calling for Nixon’s impeachment .

Who was Archibald Cox?

Archibald Cox, a Harvard law professor and former U.S. solicitor general, was tapped to investigate the incident in May 1973. He soon clashed with the White House over Nixon’s refusal to release over 10 hours of secret Oval Office recordings, some of which implicated the president in the break-in. On October 20, 1973, in an unprecedented show ...