Why did Nixon accept the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson? Richardson refused to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson was involved with the break-ins at the Watergate Complex.
Richard Nixon also fired the person investigating his presidential campaign. On the night of Saturday, October 20, 1973, President Nixon ordered Cox’s firing. However, the person with authority to dismiss Cox, Nixon’s Attorney General Elliot Richardson, refused to carry out the order. Instead, Richardson resigned.
^ Lewis, Neil A. (January 1, 2000). "Elliot Richardson Dies at 79; Stood Up to Nixon and Resigned In 'Saturday Night Massacre'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 20, 2001. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
Nixon believed Richardson was going to testify against him. Richardson leaked sensitive information to reporters. It is the first choice. Richardson refused to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
After his tenure as U.S. Attorney General, he served as chairman of Nixon's 1972 presidential campaign. Due to multiple crimes he committed in the Watergate affair, Mitchell was sentenced to prison in 1977 and served 19 months.
Terms in this set (12) The Saturday Night Massacre refers to U.S. President Richard Nixon's orders to fire independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, which led to the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20, 1973, during the Watergate scandal.
December 31, 1999Elliot Richardson / Date of death
On October 20, 1973, Solicitor General Bork was instrumental in the "Saturday Night Massacre" when President Richard Nixon ordered the firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox following Cox's request for tapes of his Oval Office conversations.
Why did Nixon accept the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson? Richardson refused to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. You just studied 2 terms!
When he refused to accept the transcripts of the tapes, Nixon ordered him to be fired in what is called the Saturday Night Massacre.
Which best describes one impact of the Watergate scandal on the nation? The court system was changed to allow a president to be charged with a crime.
Leon JaworskiAppointed byRobert BorkDeputyHenry S. Ruth Jr.Preceded byArchibald CoxSucceeded byHenry S. Ruth Jr.11 more rows
Bork's nomination precipitated contentious debate. Opposition to his nomination centered on his perceived willingness to roll back the civil rights rulings of the Warren and Burger courts, and his role in the Saturday Night Massacre during the Watergate scandal.
Definition of bork (Entry 2 of 2) transitive verb. slang. : to cause (something, such as an electronic device) to stop working properly : break If your data's backed up, it won't be the end of the world if a rogue Windows update or nasty bit of malware borks your computer.— Brad Chacos — see also borked.
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.
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.
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.
citizens supported impeaching Nixon, with 44% in favor, 43% opposed, and 13% undecided, with a sampling error of 2 to 3 per cent.
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, ...
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.
U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately.
Continuing Cox's investigation, Jaworski did look at broader corruption involving the White House.
After Richardson submitted his resignation, the President directed Ruckelshaus to dismiss Cox. When Ruckelshaus refused to carry out the President’s directive, he also was “discharged,” Ziegler said. The President’s letter to Bork said Ruckelshaus resigned. Mr. Nixon then directed Bork to carry out the instruction.
Richardson told the President in his letter that he was resigning with “deep regret.”. He explained that when named Attorney General “you gave me the authority to name a special prosecutor.”.
The President’s letter to Bork said Ruckelshaus resigned. Mr. Nixon then directed Bork to carry out the instruction. Bork did so in a two-paragraph letter to Cox, in which he said that at the instruction of the President he was “discharging you, effective at once, from your position as special prosecutor, Watergate special prosecution force.”. ...
Before taking action, Ziegler said, the President met with Richardson to instruct him to dismiss Cox, but Richardson felt he could not do so because it conflicted with the promise he had made to the Senate, Ziegler said. After Richardson submitted his resignation , the President directed Ruckelshaus to dismiss Cox.
Beginning about 8 p.m., Richardson spent an hour or so calling “relatives, friends and associates,” Hushen said. White House aides, visibly shocked by the developments, argued that when direct quotations from the presidential tapes are released they will restore confidence in the President.
The President discharged Cox because he “refused to comply with instructions” the President gave him Friday night through the Attorney General, Ziegler said. Furthermore, Ziegler said, the office of special prosecutor was abolished and its functions have been turned over to the Department of Justice. The department will carry out the functions of ...
At the Justice Department, where there were repeated requests by newsmen to interview Richardson and Ruckelshaus, department spokesman John W. Hushen said they had “no desire to come out and talk to newsmen.”. Hushen quoted Bork: “All I will say is that I carried out the President’s directive.”.
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.
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.
Fortunately, Attorney General Richardson's resignation letter is easily searchable on Google. In his letter, he explains that he made several commitments and pledges not to interfere with the work of a Special Prosecutor.
The attorney general (AG) is an appointed position whose occupant serves at the pleasure of the president (POTUS, for some reason). AGs and similar officeholders will sometimes use a threatened resignation as a way to underline the complete unacceptibility of a proposed course of action.