Saturday 20 October 2018

whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for congress and ultimately the american people

Tonight forty-five years ago, the Saturday Night Massacre occurred in the Nixon White House when US Attorney General Elliot Richardson refused the direct order to dismiss special prosecutor Archibald Cox, charged with investigating the Watergate scandal. Richardson resigned rather than interfere in the proceedings of the probe which advanced the deputy to the top lawyer position, William Ruckelshaus, who also refused to concede to the president’s wishes and was fired. Turning to the person in the fourth highest post in the Justice Department, Solicitor General Robert Bork, Nixon with some reluctance had his command obeyed. This display accrued for the first time a majority (though still very polarised) in favour of impeachment and Nixon two weeks later announced his intention to resign in lieu of being fired the following August