effect on American history...branches of government. Nixon attempted to stop the investigation by firing Cox, leading Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus to resign. This “Saturday night massacre” of Justice Department officials did not, however, stem the flow of damaging revelations, confessions, and indictments.
significance in Watergate Scandal...to investigate the Watergate affair, Nixon refused to comply, offering to provide summary transcripts instead. Cox rejected the offer. Then, in a series of episodes that came to be known as the Saturday Night Massacre, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox, and Richardson resigned rather than comply. Nixon then fired Richardson’s assistant, William Ruckelshaus, when......would be sought. Cox rejected the proposal, and on October 20 the president ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire the special prosecutor. In an event that became known as the “ Saturday Night Massacre,” both Richardson and William D. Ruckelshaus, the deputy attorney general, resigned rather than carry out the order, and Cox was finally dismissed by a compliant...
Saturday Night Massacre
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