why did nixon fire us attorney general ellioty

by Erwin Yundt Sr. Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 9 min read

Richardson had promised Congress he would not interfere with the Special Prosecutor, and, rather than disobey the President or break his promise, he resigned.

Why did Nixon accept the resignation of Attorney General Elliot Richardson?

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.

Who did Nixon fire from the investigation into his campaign?

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.

Who was the Attorney General under Nixon?

The role of attorney general then fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork, who reluctantly complied with Nixon’s request and dismissed Cox. Less than a half hour later, the White House dispatched FBI agents to close off the offices of the Special Prosecutor, Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.

Did Elliot Richardson stand up to Nixon?

^ 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.

What happened to Nixon's attorney general?

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.

Who was the Watergate special prosecutor Nixon was trying to fire in an event that became known as the Saturday Night Massacre quizlet?

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.

What was Nixon blamed for?

Impeachment process against Richard NixonChargesAdopted: obstruction of justice, abuse of power, contempt of Congress Rejected: usurping congressional war powers, tax fraud5 more rows

Why did Nixon accept the resignation of US Attorney General Elliot Richardson quizlet?

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!

What did the night Nixon ordered his attorney general to fire a special prosecutor and attorney general refused to do it become known as quizlet?

When he refused to accept the transcripts of the tapes, Nixon ordered him to be fired in what is called the Saturday Night Massacre.

What Amendment was violated in US v Nixon?

Immediately after this Act was enacted, Richard Nixon filed a lawsuit in a federal district court claiming that the Act violated the principle of separation of powers, the principle of presidential privilege, Nixon's personal privacy, his First Amendment right of association, and further asserted that it amounted to a ...

What did Richard Nixon do?

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. He was a member of the Republican Party who previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961.

Overview

Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and public servant who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate Scandal, and resigned rather than obey President Nixon's order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.

Early life and military service

Richardson was born in Boston, the son of Clara Lee (née Shattuck) and Edward Peirson Richardson, a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. He was a Boston Brahmin, descended from the earliest Puritan settlers in New England .
Richardson attended the Park School in Brookline and Milton Academy in Milton, both in Massachusetts. He then obtained his A.B. degree in philosophy from Harvard College, where he r…

Cabinet career

Richardson had the distinction of serving in three high-level Executive Branch posts in a single year—the tumultuous year of 1973—as the Watergate Scandal came to dominate the attention of official Washington, and the American public at large. He is one of two persons to hold four separate cabinet positions. He served three relatively uneventful years as the Secretary of Health, Education, …

Later life

In 1972, Richardson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from Whittier College. In 1974 Richardson gave the commencement address at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and received an honorary Doctors of Law. In 1980, Richardson received an honorary degree from Bates College. In 1983, Richardson was admitted as an honorary member of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati. In 1984, he ran for the Republican nomination for the U.…

Death

On New Year's Eve, 1999, Richardson died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Boston at the age of 79. Major media outlets, such as CNN, recognized him as the "Watergate martyr" for refusing an order from President Nixon to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.

Author

Richardson was the author of two books. The Creative Balance: Government, Politics, and the Individual in America's Third Century was published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1976. Reflections of a Radical Moderate was published by Westview Press in 1996. Reflections expresses his outlook:
I am a moderate – a radical moderate. I believe profoundly in the ultimate value of human dignit…

Popular culture

An image of Richardson taken by photographer Garry Winogrand is featured on the cover art of rock band Interpol's 2018 album Marauder. Singer and guitarist Paul Banks referred to him as a hero, who "refused to be bullied into going against his personal principles".