Comeys firing isand isntlike nixons saturday night. Dubbed the saturday night massacre, the political drama that unfolded on october 20, 1973, pitted a president against the justice department. The administration is in the midst of its own take on the saturday night massacre, with trump pushing sessions, rosenstein, mccabe, and, most importantly, mueller out. The saturday night massacre was a key event in this. Nixons infamous saturday night massacre, the firing of special prosecutor archibald cox, after nixon had to force can 2 top officials who refuse to fire cox.
Trumps saturday night massacre is already happening the. Did not realize that nixons resignation came over 9 months after the saturday night massacre. Oktober 1973 zum sogenannten saturday night massacre. Originally published in the britannica book of the year. Borks posthumous book tells of nixons promise after saturday night massacre. But the house judiciary committee did not approve its first article of impeachment until july 27th the following year more than nine months after the saturday night massacre when it charged nixon with obstruction of justice. The announcement of the presidents decisions came at 8. A fascinating insider account by solicitor general robert bork, suddenly promoted to acting attorney general of the justice department, to do the dirty work of the saturday night massacre, of which he opposed. What we can learn from nixons saturday night massacre. The saturday night massacre doesnt refer to a killer president donald trump saturday night live sketch or steve bannon impersonation although some of those skits did slay.
Nixon then fired richardsons assistant, william ruckelshaus, when he too refused to fire cox. Haldeman haldeman was nixons chief of staff and was also involved in the watergate scandal. One of the most controversial episodes of the watergate scandal, the socalled saturday night massacre came on october 20, 1973, when embattled president richard nixon fired special. The events culminating in the saturday night massacre, one of the most dramatic moments in american political history, impart a lesson that remains crucial for those who value our constitutional system. Attorney general elliot richardson, and deputy attorney general william ruckleshaus. The search for an analogue to the saturday night massacre is alluring to both the media and trumps detractors because its much easier to cover a single, major event like a massfiring than a. Not everyone blasted trumps decision to fire yates. Saturday night massacre started trending on twitter with more than 29,000 tweets, as did monday night massacre. The saturday night massacre occurred on a saturday occurred in libra, the zodiac sign of law and order. President richard nixon ordered attorney general elliot richardson to fire special prosecutor archibald cox.
It is only when public servants of great integrity such as archibald cox, elliot richardson and william ruckelshaus stand up in times. Acting attorney general sally yates was fired by president trump on monday. Alexander haig, archibald cox, bill ruckelshaus, elliot richardson, nixon, robert bork, saturday night massacre, watergate its post 5 in our series on the watergate crisis, and here we come to the most shocking part of the entire event, which is the. Cnns randi kaye takes a look back at whats become known as the saturday night massacre that erupted as the nation was in the throes of watergate. Without going into all the details, on october 20, 1973, president nixon attempted to. The skies were cloudy and cool and a light rain was falling over some areas. Elliot lee richardson july 20, 1920 december 31, 1999 was an american lawyer and.
For some, sally yates firing resembles saturday night. The saturday night massacre was a significant and large personnel change amount white house officials during the nixon administration. The saturday night massacre that wasnt the atlantic. Why trump cant get a saturday night massacre rolling. Neal prosecutor all the presidents men book, film the final days book, film dick 1999 film mark felt. Borks posthumous book tells of nixons promise after saturday. One of the most controversial episodes of the watergate scandal, the socalled saturday night massacre. Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately. What a saturday night massacre casualty says about the. An attack by president nixon on his own justice department came with grave consequences. The saturday night massacre and millions of other books are available for.
Despite these unsettling signs, may 19, 1780 started out as a typical, if not gloomy, morning. Why did the saturday night massacre trouble americans. Richardson and fired deputy attorney general william b. Justice department resigned rather than fire special prosecutor archibald cox, who was investigating the watergate scandal. The firing of richardson, ruckelshaus, and cox was immediately dubbed the saturday night massacre by the press. Friends with interests in those areas, or who were simply fans of snl, were lobbied hard by me to read it. His book confirms the axiom that our ignorance of history makes us libel our own times.
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce, said marx. Nixon abolished the office of special watergate prosecutor archibald cox, and accepted the resignation of attorney general elliot l. The attorney general resigns and congress files 21 resolutions calling for. History of the night by jorge luis borges throughout the course of the generations men constructed the night. The popular name saturday night massacre refers to a series of events that took place in the. Comey also brought to mind for many the socalled saturday night massacre.
Jeffrey frank compares richard nixons saturday night massacre with donald trumps firing of james comey, the director of the f. It was this energy that pushed the department of justice responses to do the right thing even if it required the personal sacrifice of several individual careers. Journalist james andrew miller and television critic tom shales compiled the definitive oral history of saturday night live in 2002, a book that was nothing short of a masters program in comedy, writing and stagecraft, as well as the business of tv. Saturday night massacre hardcover february 26, 1976 by john armour author. For more forgotten stories from history, subscribe. Cox was finally removed by solicitor general robert bork, though a federal district. This presidency contained the essential elements of a tr. Following an order from the president, bork fired cox, his first assignment as acting attorney general. Inspired by classic website wwwf grudge match, saturday night massacres is where the borders between reality and pop culture go fuzzy. Nixon fired watergate prosecutor archibald cox in what becomes known as the saturday night massacre. The saturday night massacre that wasnt president trump reportedly tried to fire special counsel robert mueller in junea move that underscores his volatility, and his drive to undermine the.
From the ousting of vice president spiro agnew to the discharge of the watergate special prosecutor, an event known as the saturday night massacre, saving justice offers a firsthand, insider account of the whirlwind of events. Hopefully, you are at least somewhat familiar with the saturday night massacre. By late this evening, some public reaction was already visible at the white house. With the saturday night massacre, nixon miscalculated. In 1973, the saturday night massacre was part of president nixons watergate crisis and now the term is being used to describe trumps immigration order chaos as well. The nixon presidency was extraordinary, noteworthy and forlorn. F ortytwo years ago tonight was the saturday night massacre, the beginning of the end for the nixon administration. The saturday night massacre was really about firing the attorney general when nixon was the target of an investigation and was actively obstructing justice, bernstein told cnns don lemon. Richard nixon as machiavelli himself fires anyone who does not follow through with his executive orders as interpretations of the national interest g. Ruckelshaus, the deputy attorney general, resigned rather than carry out the order, and cox was finally dismissed by a compliant solicitor general, robert bork.
The massacre stemmed from an inquiry into the notorious june 1972 breakin at the water. Saturday night massacre 1973 in april 1973 in the midst of the growing watergate scandal, there was a major reshuffling of nixon administration posts due to the resignations of white house chief of staff h. A brief history of previous palestine peace deals and their failure. George will robert bork was a remarkable american patriot. In announcing the plan friday night, the president ordered cox to make no further effort to obtain tapes or other presidential documents. Watergate and other scandals to be known as the saturday night massacre, nixon ordered attorney general elliot richardson to fire cox, and richardson resigned rather than comply. William ruckelshaus, bob woodward, jill winebanks and others speak at an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the saturday night massacre. Nixon then ordered deputy attorney general william ruckelshaus to fire cox. What really happened on october 20, 1973 by james kirkpatrick davis available from rakuten kobo.
The saturday night massacre actually sped up nixons. This weekend marks the 45th anniversary of the saturday night massacre, when richard nixon purged legal officials from the justice. What was the saturday night massacre and why do we care. Saturday night is the intimate history of the original saturday night live, from its beginnings as an outlaw program produced by an unruly band of renegades from the comedy underground to a tv institution that made stars of john belushi, bill murray, chevy chase, gilda radner, jane curtin, laraine newman, garrett morris, joe piscopo and eddie murphy.
On publication day of my memoir of richard nixons white house, president trump fired fbi director james comey. The resulting public firestorm, which became known as the saturday night massacre, marked the beginning of the end of the nixon presidency. In the october 1973 saturday night massacre, bork became acting u. Opinion a saturday night massacre veteran offers trump. The system fails, a former member of the watergate special prosecutors team says now.
Saturday night massacre united states history britannica. The man who brought down the white house 2017 film v t e. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. The saturday night massacre portion of the watergate scandal is summarised by ask history what was the saturday night massacre. The popular name saturday night massacre refers to a series of events that took place in the united states on the evening of saturday, october 20, 1973, during the watergate scandal. The attempted saturday night massacre in june 2017 shows that donald trump hasnt destroyed every check on presidential power just yet. Ruckelshaus and attorney general elliot richardson were both fired the night of oct. Crowds of young people gathered at the northwest gate, some shouting antinixon slogans. Trumps infuriated reaction to the fbis search of his lawyers office, the media crackled with speculation that the president would fire either special counsel robert mueller, deputy attorney general rod rosenstein, or attorney general jeff sessions, or perhaps all three together. For cox, the saturday night massacre was about more than his job or an attempt by a president to cover up illegal activity it was a critical moment where the united states could lose its rule of law, observing, whether we shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for congress and ultimately the american people. An amazing perspective of one of political historys most critical moments the title saving justice means just that. Watergate was a tabloidlike time in american history that involved president richard nixon.
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