View source for Saturday Night Massacre

{{Short description|Resignations during the Watergate scandal}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Watergate|Events}}

The "'''Saturday Night Massacre'''" was a series of resignations over the dismissal of [[Special counsel|special prosecutor]] [[Archibald Cox]] that took place in the [[United States Department of Justice]] during the [[Watergate scandal]] in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What Was the Saturday Night Massacre?|url=https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-saturday-night-massacre|last=Andrews|first=Evan|website=HISTORY|date=December 4, 2013 |access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref> The events followed the refusal by Cox to drop a [[subpoena]] for the [[Nixon White House tapes]] at President [[Richard Nixon]]'s request.

During a single evening on Saturday, October 20, Richard Nixon ordered [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Elliot Richardson]] to fire Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General [[William Ruckelshaus]] to fire Cox; Ruckelshaus refused, and also resigned. Nixon then ordered the third-most-senior official at the Justice Department, [[Solicitor General of the United States|Solicitor General]] [[Robert Bork]], to fire Cox. Bork carried out the dismissal as Nixon asked.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Elving |first1=Ron |title=A Brief History Of Nixon's 'Saturday Night Massacre'|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/10/21/659279158/a-brief-history-of-nixons-saturday-night-massacre|website=NPR.org|date=October 21, 2018 |access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref> Bork stated that he intended to resign afterward, but was persuaded by Richardson and Ruckelshaus to stay on for the good of the Justice Department.<ref name="Yahoo">{{cite news|date=February 25, 2013|title=Bork: Nixon Offered Next High Court Vacancy in '73|work=Yahoo! News|agency=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|url=https://news.yahoo.com/bork-nixon-offered-next-high-court-vacancy-73-215747517.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301231021/http://news.yahoo.com/bork-nixon-offered-next-high-court-vacancy-73-215747517.html|archive-date=March 1, 2013}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last1=Noble|first1=Kenneth B.|date=1987-07-02|title=Bork Irked by Emphasis on His Role in Watergate|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/02/us/bork-irked-by-emphasis-on-his-role-in-watergate.html|access-date=2020-05-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The political and public reactions to Nixon's actions were negative and highly damaging to the president. The [[impeachment process against Richard Nixon|impeachment process against Nixon]] began ten days later, on October 30, 1973. [[Leon Jaworski]] was appointed as the new special prosecutor on November 1, 1973,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1988&dat=19731101&id=q00iAAAAIBAJ&pg=2082,4677|title=Attorney General, Prosecutor Picked|work=[[The Argus-Press]]|date=November 1, 1973|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and on November 14, 1973, [[United States district court|United States District Judge]] [[Gerhard Gesell]] ruled that the dismissal had been illegal.<ref name= noble/><ref name="Bork pp. 104">''[[Ralph Nader|Nader]] v. Bork'', 366 F. Supp. 104 (D.D.C. 1973)</ref> 

The Saturday Night Massacre marked the turning point of the Watergate scandal. The public, while increasingly uncertain about Nixon's actions in Watergate, were incensed by Nixon's seemingly blatant attempt to end the Watergate probe. [[United States Congress|Congress]], having largely taken a wait-and-see approach regarding Nixon's role in the scandal, quickly turned on Nixon and initiated impeachment proceedings that would end in [[Richard Nixon's resignation speech|Nixon's resignation]].

==Origin of the phrase==
The actual origin of the phrase is unknown; it first appeared in writing two days after the events, in a ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' article by [[David S. Broder]] on October 22, but even in that article, Broder writes that the events were already "being called" the Saturday Night Massacre. In a 2017 article in ''The Washington Post'', Amy B. Wang attributed the phrase to humorist [[Art Buchwald]], based on the recollection of [[Sally Quinn]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Amy B. |date=May 12, 2017 |title=Who coined 'Saturday Night Massacre'? A birthday party at a YMCA may hold the key. |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/05/12/how-a-washington-post-humorist-became-connected-to-the-saturday-night-massacre/}}</ref>

==History==
U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson had appointed Cox in May 1973 after promising the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] that he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the events surrounding the break-in of the Democratic National Committee's offices at the [[Watergate complex|Watergate Hotel]] in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972. The appointment was created as a career reserved position in the Justice Department, meaning it came under the authority of the attorney general, who could only remove the special prosecutor "for cause", e.g., gross improprieties or malfeasance in office. Richardson had, in his confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate, promised not to use his authority to dismiss the Watergate special prosecutor unless for cause.<ref name="Discovery">{{cite AV media|date=1994 |title=Watergate|volume=2: ''The Conspiracy Crumbles''. Episode 4: Massacre|publisher=Discovery Channel|oclc=37028979|medium=VHS}}</ref>

When Cox issued a [[subpoena]] to Nixon, asking for copies of [[Nixon White House tapes|taped conversations]] recorded in the [[Oval Office]], the president refused to comply. On October 12, 1973, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] upheld the subpoena, rejecting Nixon's claims of [[executive privilege]].<ref>''Nixon v. Sirica'', 487 F.2d 700 (D.C. Cir. 1973)</ref> On Friday, October 19, Nixon offered what was later known as the [[Stennis Compromise]]—asking the infamously [[Deafness|hard-of-hearing]] Senator [[John C. Stennis]] of [[Mississippi]] to review and summarize the tapes for the special prosecutor's office. Cox refused the compromise that same evening, and it was believed that there would be a short rest in the legal maneuvering while government offices were closed for the weekend.<ref name="Discovery"/>

[[File:Archibald Cox 04989v.jpg|thumb|right|[[Archibald Cox]]|294x294px]]

However, on the following day (Saturday), Nixon ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused and resigned in protest. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned.<ref name="Discovery"/>

Nixon then ordered the Solicitor General of the United States, [[Robert Bork]], as acting head of the Justice Department, to fire Cox. Both Richardson and Ruckelshaus had given personal assurances to Congressional oversight committees that they would not interfere, but Bork had not. Although Bork later claimed he believed Nixon's order to be valid and appropriate, he still considered resigning to avoid being "perceived as a man who did the President's bidding to save my job".<ref name=":0" /> Nevertheless, having been brought to the White House by limousine and sworn in as acting attorney general, Bork wrote the letter dismissing Cox.<ref name= noble>{{cite news|last1=Noble|first1=Kenneth B.|title=New Views Emerge of Bork's Role in Watergate Dismissals|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/26/us/new-views-emerge-of-bork-s-role-in-watergate-dismissals.html?src=pm|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 26, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Nixon Fires Cox; Richardson Quits|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nCtcAAAAIBAJ&pg=1370,1527272|work=[[The Vindicator]] |location=Youngstown, Ohio |date=October 21, 1973}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Initially, the Nixon White House claimed to have fired Ruckelshaus, but as an article published the next day by ''The Washington Post'' pointed out, "The letter from the President to Bork also said Ruckelshaus resigned", catching Nixon lying.<ref name=Kilpatrick>{{cite news |last=Kilpatrick |first=Carroll |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/102173-2.htm |title=Nixon Forces Firing of Cox; Richardson, Ruckelshaus Quit |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=October 21, 1973 |access-date=October 2, 2009}}</ref>

The night he was fired, Cox's deputy prosecutor and press aides held an impassioned news briefing and read the following statement from him, "Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people [to decide]."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Oelsner|first1=Lesley|title=Cox Office Shut on Nixon's Order|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/21/archives/cox-office-shut-on-nixons-order-fbi-agents-impound-files-and.html|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 21, 1973}}</ref>

On November 14, 1973, federal district judge [[Gerhard Gesell]] ruled firing Cox was illegal absent a finding of extraordinary impropriety as specified in the regulation establishing the special prosecutor's office.<ref name= noble/><ref name="Bork pp. 104"/> Congress was infuriated by what it saw as a gross abuse of presidential power—as were many Americans, who sent an unusually large number of [[Telegraphy|telegrams]] to the White House and Congress in protest.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120718162705/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KBIuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jn8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3099,1866772&dq=western-union&hl=en "Record Numbers Jam Western Union"]. McClatchy Newspapers Service and UPI. ''[[The Modesto Bee]]'' (Modesto, California). p. A2. "Western Union today reported a record 71,000 telegrams received in its Washington office about the firing [of] Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in the first 36 hours ..."</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120713154116/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KBIuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jn8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4505,1866748&dq=ray-taylor&hl=en "You Can Cheaply Wire (Cable) the White House"]. ''[[The Modesto Bee]]'' (Modesto, California). October 22, 1973. p. A2. "... special flat rate for public opinion messages to Washington, D.C. ... up to 15 words, can be sent by dialing 1-800 ... $1.25 charge for the telegram is then billed to the calling person's telephone number ..."</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hMofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wdcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=694,3954202&dq=telegrams&hl=en "Impeachment Mail Floods Congress"]. ''Gadsden Times'' (Gadsden, Alabama). October 24, 1973. p. 2. "... Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., had 270 telegrams for impeachment and about a dozen against it with telephone calls more evenly divided in sentiment. Sen. John G. Tower, R-Tex., reported 275 telegrams against Nixon, 16 for him;..."</ref>

[[File:NYTimes Saturday Night Massacre Front Page.gif|thumb|left|Front page of ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 21, 1973, announcing the dismissal of Cox and the departure of Richardson and Ruckelshaus]]

Less than a week after the Saturday Night Massacre, an Oliver Quayle poll for NBC News indicated that, for the first time, a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] of U.S. citizens supported [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeaching]] Nixon, with 44% in favor, 43% opposed, and 13% undecided, with a sampling error of 2 to 3 percent.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kJNYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VvgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2407,2360158&dq=oliver-quayle&hl=en "Poll Shows Many for Impeachment"]. Associated Press. ''Spokane Daily Chronicle''. October 23, 1973. p. 14. "... shows 44 per cent favored impeaching Nixon. Forty-three per cent opposed impeachment and 13 per cent were undecided, according to the poll…built-in sampling error of 2 to 3 per cent ..."</ref>

==Impact and legacy==
[[File:Jaworski Newcombe (cropped).jpg|thumb|217x217px|[[Leon Jaworski]]]]
Nixon felt political pressure to allow Bork to appoint a new special prosecutor, and Bork, with Nixon's approval, chose [[Leon Jaworski]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Herbers |first=John |date=1973-11-02 |title=Nixon Names Saxbe Attorney General; Jaworski Appointed Special Prosecutor |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/02/archives/nixon-names-saxbe-attorney-general-jaworski-appointed-special.html |access-date=2022-12-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://verdict.justia.com/2017/06/30/summary-analysis-nixon-tapes-case-still-governs-important-aspects-executive-privilege-today |title=A Summary and Analysis of the Nixon Tapes Case That Still Governs Important Aspects of 'Executive Privilege' Today |date=June 30, 2017 |first=Vikram David |last=Amar |author-link=Vikram Amar |publisher=[[Justia]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/18/a-political-volcano-just-erupted-is-the-us-on-the-brink-of-the-next-watergate |title='A political volcano just erupted': is the US on the brink of the next Watergate? |first=Stanley |last=Cloud |date=April 18, 2018|work=The Guardian |quote=At least 22 impeachment resolutions were quickly introduced in the House, along with 12 bills and resolutions ... calling for the appointment of a new special prosecutor.}}</ref> There was a question whether Jaworski would limit his investigation to the Watergate break-in or follow Cox's lead and look into other corrupt activities, such as those involving the "[[White House Plumbers]]".<ref>[[Rowland Evans|Evans, Rowland]]; [[Robert Novak|Novak, Robert]]. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W-INAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_2wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7215,609213&dq=saturday-night-massacre&hl=en "Nixon Hoping Jaworski Will Drop Plumber Probe"]. ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]''. November 6, 1973. p. 6.</ref> Continuing Cox's investigation, Jaworski did look at broader corruption involving the White House.<ref>Evans, Rowland; Novak, Robert. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p6BWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tOcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5183,2652094&dq=saturday-night-massacre&hl=en "Jaworski: In Cox's footsteps"]. ''[[The Free Lance–Star]]'' (Fredericksburg, Virginia). November 19, 1973. p. 4.</ref>

While Nixon continued to refuse to turn over the tapes, he agreed to release transcripts of a large number of them. Nixon said he did so partly because any audio pertinent to national security would have to be [[redaction|redacted]] from the tapes. There was further controversy on November 7 when an [[Nixon White House tapes#18½-minute gap|18½-minute portion]] of one tape was found to have been erased. Nixon's personal secretary, [[Rose Mary Woods]], said she had accidentally erased the tape by pushing the wrong foot pedal on her tape player while answering the phone. Later forensic analysis determined that the tape had been erased in several segments—at least five, and perhaps as many as nine.<ref>[[Adam Clymer|Clymer, Adam]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150527231832/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/09/us/national-archives-has-given-up-on-filling-the-nixon-tape-gap.html "National Archives Has Given Up on Filling the Nixon Tape Gap"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. May 9, 2003. Archived from the [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/09/us/national-archives-has-given-up-on-filling-the-nixon-tape-gap.html original] on September 1, 2010.</ref>

Nixon's presidency succumbed to mounting pressure resulting from the Watergate scandal and its cover-up. Faced with almost certain impeachment and conviction, Nixon resigned.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elving |first=Ron |date=2024-08-09 |title=Half a century ago, Nixon became the only president to resign |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/08/09/nx-s1-5068704/nixon-resign |access-date=2025-02-15 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>

In his posthumously published memoirs, Bork said Nixon promised him the next seat on the Supreme Court following Bork's role in firing Cox. Nixon was unable to carry out that promise, but President [[Ronald Reagan]] [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|nominated Bork]] for the Supreme Court in 1987; his nomination nevertheless failed in the Senate.<ref>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301231021/http://news.yahoo.com/bork-nixon-offered-next-high-court-vacancy-73-215747517.html|archive-date=March 1, 2013|title=Bork: Nixon Offered Next High Court Vacancy in '73|url=https://news.yahoo.com/bork-nixon-offered-next-high-court-vacancy-73-215747517.html|agency=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|publisher=[[Yahoo! News]]|date=February 25, 2013}}</ref>

The [[Ethics in Government Act]] of 1978 was a direct result of the Saturday Night Massacre.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Nixon effect: how Richard Nixon's presidency fundamentally changed American politics|last=Schoen|first=Douglas E.|author-link=Douglas Schoen|publisher=Encounter Books|year=2016|isbn=978-1594038006|location=New York|pages=284|oclc=891619019}}</ref>

After [[2025 U.S. Department of Justice resignations|six senior Justice Department officials resigned]] following the [[United States Department of Justice|DOJ]] order to [[Investigations into the Eric Adams administration|dismiss all federal charges]] against [[New York City]] mayor [[Eric Adams]], some compared the resignations to the Saturday Night Massacre, calling the 2025 resignations the "Thursday Night Massacre".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Luc |date=February 13, 2025 |title=Trump DOJ's order to drop Eric Adams case sparks mass resignations |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/manhattan-us-attorney-sassoon-resigns-after-request-drop-eric-adams-case-2025-02-13/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250315191342/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/manhattan-us-attorney-sassoon-resigns-after-request-drop-eric-adams-case-2025-02-13/ |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=February 13, 2025 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleisher |first=Gabe |date=20 February 2025 |title=The Thursday Night Massacre: Why Top Prosecutors Resigned Rather Than Drop This Case |url=https://thepreamble.com/p/the-thursday-night-massacre-why-top |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316031602/https://thepreamble.com/p/the-thursday-night-massacre-why-top |archive-date=16 March 2025 |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=ThePreamble.com |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Presidency of Richard Nixon}}

[[Category:1973 in American politics]]
[[Category:1973 in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Cabinet reshuffles in the United States]]
[[Category:October 1973 in the United States]]
[[Category:Political terminology of the United States]]
[[Category:Resignations from the United States Department of Justice]]
[[Category:United States Department of Justice]]
[[Category:Watergate scandal]]