Why was archibald cox fired

When Cox rejected this approach, Nixon ordered him fired. Solicitor General Robert Bork then agreed to fire Cox. Nixon eventually conceded, relinquishing the tapes to the new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski. Cox served as the chairman of Common Cause, a nonprofit lobbying organization focused on campaign finance reform that helped secure the decision in Buckley v. Valeo upholding much of the Federal Election Reform Act of This article was originally published in Howard Leib is an intellectual property and entertainment attorney, an educator and a consultant with his own practice in both New York City and Ithaca, NY.

He offers a full range of legal services, with specialties in entertainment, corporate, trademark and copyright law, including litigation.

Gormley, Ken. Nixon had ordered Richardson to fire Cox, but he refused and resigned, as did Ruckelshaus when Nixon then asked him to dismiss the special prosecutor. Bork agreed to fire Cox and an immediate uproar ensued. This series of resignations and firings became known as the Saturday Night Massacre and outraged the public and the media.

Two days later, the House Judiciary Committee began to look into the possible impeachment of Nixon. The Watergate scandal involved the bungled burglary of the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.

It was eventually learned that the cover-up went all the way to the White House; President Nixon, facing impeachment, resigned from the presidency in August But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! It was the first American victory in the event since On October 20, , Muammar al-Qaddafi, the longest-serving leader in Africa and the Arab world, is captured and killed by rebel forces near his hometown of Sirte. As soon as the D. District Court opened on Monday morning, Lacovara asked the court to order the FBI to refrain from interfering with the investigation, and it immediately agreed.

The entire staff returned to work later that day. That was October 22, One month after that, Nixon resigned. The dominant emotion was sadness. Sadness for our country. We want to hear what you think about this article.

Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters theatlantic. Richardson refused and resigned, as did his deputy, Ruckelshaus. Bork ultimately was the one to fire Cox. The reaction to the events was furious.

It was a major turning point in the scandal, and helped make impeachment feel like a real possibility. They continue:. The newspapers carried banner headlines. Within two days, , telegrams had arrived in the capital, the largest concentrated volume in the history of Western Union.

Deans of the most prestigious law schools in the country demanded that Congress commence an impeachment inquiry. By the following Tuesday, forty-four separate Watergate-related bills had been introduced in the House. Twenty-two called for an impeachment investigation. Nixon wanted the investigation kicked to Henry Petersen, the assistant attorney general for the criminal division. Jaworski only agreed to accept if Nixon would agree that he and the White House could be sued for evidence if they came to an impasse in the investigation.

Jaworski eventually had to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, but in a unanimous ruling on July 24, , the Court mandated the White House release the subpoenaed tapes.

The White House finally complied, and on August 5 they released what became known as the "smoking gun" recording , in which Haldeman and Nixon, days after the break-in, discuss using the CIA to hamper the FBI's investigative efforts. The minutes are believed to include a conversation between Nixon and Haldeman about the Watergate arrests.

Rose Mary Woods, Nixon's secretary, claimed that she accidentally erased the portion, but due to how the taping system worked, it would have been almost physically impossible to do so.

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. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding.