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The Saturday Night Massacre was the name given to the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox and the forced resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus by U.S. President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal on the night of Saturday, October 20, 1973. Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor who was appointed by Congress to investigate the events surrounding the Watergate break-in of June 17 , 1972, had earlier issued a subpoena to President Nixon, asking for copies of taped conversations which Nixon had made in the Oval Office as evidence. Nixon initially refused to comply with the subpoena, but on October 19, 1973, he offered what was later known as the Stennis Compromise, asking a SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the United States Congress, smaller than the U. House of Representatives. Together, they compose the legislative branch of the United States government. Seal of the Senate Each state elects two senators throu to review and summarize the tapes for the special prosecutor's office. Cox refused the compromise that evening, and it was believed that there would be a short rest in the legal maneuvering while government offices were closed for the weekend.
However, President Nixon acted to dismiss Cox from his office the next night. He contacted Attorney General Richardson and ordered him to fire the special prosecutor. Richardson refused, and instead resigned in protest. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus to fire Cox; he, too, refused and resigned.
Nixon then contacted the Solicitor GeneralThe United States Solicitor General is the individual tasked with arguing for the United States Government in front of the U. Supreme Court, when the government is party to a case. The Solicitor General works within the United States Department of Justice, Robert BorkRobert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927) is a well-known conservative legal scholar and former judge who advocates an originalist interpretation of the United States Constitution. Robert Bork, in books such as The Tempting of America argues that the Constit, and ordered him as acting head of the Justice DepartmentThe United States Department of Justice DOJ is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice f to fire Cox. Richardson and Ruckelshaus had both personally assured the congressional committee overseeing the special prosecutor investigation that they would not interfere; Bork had made no such assurance to the committee. Bork considered resigning as well, but was persuaded by Richardson that this would leave the Department in chaos. Bork then complied with Nixon's order and fired Cox.
Congress was infuriated by the act, which was seen as a gross abuse of Presidential power. In the days that followed, numerous bills of impeachment against the President were introduced in Congress. Nixon defended his actions in a famous press conference on November 17November 17 is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. November 17 is the 321st day of the year (322nd in leap years), with 44 remaining. Events The Leonids are visible each year around this day. 1292 ( Julian calendar) John Balliol becomes King of Sc, 1973, in which he said, "...in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I should say that in my years of public life that [sic] I've welcomed this kind of examination, because people have got to know whether or not their President's a crook. Well, I'm not a crook!"
The Independent Counsel Act, passed in 1978, was a direct result of the Massacre.
Watergate
