why did nixon fired attorney general

by Mr. Junius Hintz DVM 5 min read

Who ordered Cox to be fired as Attorney General?

Apr 30, 2014 · Did Richard Nixon make the statement I am not a crook? Yes, on November 17, 1973.As the evidence mounted in the Watergate investigation by Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, Nixon had Cox fired,...

Who was Nixon's Attorney General in 1968?

Nixon Forces Firing of Cox; Richardson, Ruckelshaus Quit ... White House spokesman Ronald L. Ziegler said, and he was fired. Ruckelshaus said he resigned. ...

What did Richard Nixon do to fire Archibald Cox?

This showed the public that Nixon was not to be trusted, and society began to view him in a different light. Nixon chose to resign from office on August 9, 1974 because he wished to not be impeached. This means that he might have been charged with crimes.

Was the 1973 dismissal of Richard Nixon illegal?

Oct 21, 1973 · In the most traumatic government upheaval of the Watergate crisis, President Nixon yesterday discharged Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and accepted the resignations of Attorney General Elliot L ...

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Who did Nixon try to fire?

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

What did Nixon do that led to his resignation?

Nixon's resignation was the culmination of what he referred to in his speech as the "long and difficult period of Watergate", a 1970s federal political scandal stemming from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate Office Building by five men during the 1972 presidential ...

What did Nixon refuse to do with the tapes from his office?

President Nixon initially refused to release the tapes, putting two reasons forward: first, that the Constitutional principle of executive privilege extends to the tapes and citing the separation of powers and checks and balances within the Constitution, and second, claiming they were vital to national security.

Did Richard Nixon get a presidential funeral?

27 April 1994Richard Nixon / Date of burial

Who blew the whistle on Watergate?

Daniel EllsbergBornApril 7, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.EducationHarvard University (AB, PhD) King's College, Cambridge Cranbrook SchoolsEmployerRAND CorporationKnown forPentagon Papers, Ellsberg paradox13 more rows

When did Nixon agree to turn over only some of the Watergate?

President Nixon agreed to turn over only some of the Watergate tapes to the special prosecutor when the prosecutor's case against Nixon was heard by the Supreme Court. Explanation: The Watergate scandal was a scandal raised against President Nixon during and after the 1972 Presidential Election.

What did they steal in Watergate?

Frank Wills, a security guard, discovered clues that former FBI and CIA agents broke into the offices of the Democratic Party and George McGovern months before the election. These people listened to phone lines, and secret papers were stolen.

Who was Richard Nixon's attorney general?

Nixon. John Newton Mitchell (September 5, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was an American lawyer, the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon, chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns, and a convicted criminal. Prior to that, he had been a municipal bond lawyer and one of Nixon's closest personal friends.

Who was the Attorney General of the United States during Nixon's presidency?

John Newton Mitchell (September 5, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was an American lawyer, the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon, chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns, and a convicted criminal. Prior to that, he had been a municipal bond lawyer and one of Nixon's closest personal friends.

Why was Mitchell in prison?

Due to multiple crimes he committed in the Watergate affair, Mitchell was sentenced to prison in 1977 and served 19 months. As Attorney General, he was noted for personifying the "law-and-order" positions of the Nixon Administration, amid several high-profile anti-war demonstrations.

What did Mitchell believe?

He advocated the use of wiretaps in national security cases without obtaining a court order ( United States v. U.S. District Court) and the right of police to employ the preventive detention of criminal suspects. He brought conspiracy charges against critics of the Vietnam War, likening them to brown shirts of the Nazi era in Germany.

How long was Mitchell in jail?

The sentence was later reduced to one to four years by United States district court Judge John J. Sirica. Mitchell served only 19 months of his sentence at Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery (in Maxwell Air Force Base) in Montgomery, Alabama, a minimum-security prison, before being released on parole for medical reasons.

What did Nixon order Mitchell to do?

Near the beginning of his administration, Nixon had ordered Mitchell to go slow on desegregation of schools in the South as part of Nixon's " Southern Strategy ," which focused on gaining support from Southern voters. After being instructed by the federal courts that segregation was unconstitutional and that the executive branch was required to enforce the rulings of the courts, Mitchell began to comply, threatening to withhold federal funds from those school systems that were still segregated and threatening legal action against them.

Who was Nixon's campaign manager?

Nixon campaign manager. In 1968, with considerable trepidation, John Mitchell agreed to become Nixon's presidential campaign manager. During his successful 1968 campaign, Nixon turned over the details of the day-to-day operations to Mitchell.

It was necessary to maintain the independence of the Special Prosecutor

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.

It Sounded Better

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.

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Overview

John Newton Mitchell (September 15, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was an American convicted criminal, lawyer, the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon and chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns. Prior to that, he had been a municipal bond lawyer and one of Nixon's closest personal friends.

Early life

Mitchell was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Margaret (McMahon) and Joseph C. Mitchell. He grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. He earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law and was admitted to the New York bar in 1938. He served for three years as a naval officer (Lieutenant, Junior Grade) during World War II where he was a PT boat commander.
Except for his period of military service, Mitchell practiced law in New York Cityfrom 1938 until 1…

New York government

Mitchell devised a type of revenue bond called a "moral obligation bond" while serving as bond counsel to New York's governor Nelson Rockefellerin the 1960s. In an effort to get around the voter approval process for increasing state and municipal borrower limits, Mitchell attached language to the offerings that was able to communicate the state's intent to meet the bond payments while not placing it under a legal obligation to do so. Mitchell did not dispute when as…

Political career

In 1967, the firm of Caldwell, Trimble & Mitchell, where Mitchell was lead partner, merged with Richard Nixon's firm, Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, & Alexander. Nixon was then officially in "political retirement" but was quietly organizing a return to politics in the 1968 Presidential Election. Mitchell, with his many contacts in local government, became an important strategic confident t…

In 1967, the firm of Caldwell, Trimble & Mitchell, where Mitchell was lead partner, merged with Richard Nixon's firm, Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, & Alexander. Nixon was then officially in "political retirement" but was quietly organizing a return to politics in the 1968 Presidential Election. Mitchell, with his many contacts in local government, became an important strategic confident t…

Committee to Re-elect the President scandal

John Mitchell's name was mentioned in a deposition concerning Robert L. Vesco, an international financier who was a fugitive from a federal indictment. Mitchell and Nixon Finance Committee Chairman Maurice H. Stans were indicted in May 1973 on federal charges of obstructing an investigation of Vesco after he made a $200,000 contribution to the Nixon campaign. In April 1974, both men were a…

Watergate scandal

In the days immediately after the Watergate break-in of June 17, 1972, Mitchell enlisted former FBI agent Steve King to prevent his wife Martha from learning about the break-in or contacting reporters. While she was on a phone call with journalist Helen Thomasabout the break-in, King pulled the phone cord from the wall. Mrs. Mitchell was held against her will in a California hotel room and forci…

Death

Around 5:00 pm on November 9, 1988, Mitchell collapsed from a heart attack on the sidewalk in front of 2812 N Street NW in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C., and died that evening at George Washington University Hospital. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, based on his World War II Naval service and his cabinet post of Attorney General.

In popular culture

• John Randolph had an uncredited role in the 1976 film All the President's Men as the voice of John Mitchell.
• Mitchell's archival footages are shown in Slow Burn.
• He was portrayed by E. G. Marshall in Oliver Stone's 1995 film Nixon.