Chapter+5

Chapter 5 -

**__July 23, 1973__**

On July 23, 1973 President Nixon paved the way for a major constitutional confrontation after refusing to hand over tapes revealing presidential recordings. The refusal of the tapes led to Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox’s subpoena for the tapes on council J. Fred Buzhart. The tapes talked about the crimes and who was in charge of keeping them undisclosed. This dispute caused disappointment in many members that worked in the White House and Congress. Nixon was trying to cover up his actions and was very uncooperative working with the investigators leaving the Supreme Court with control of this crime. The conversation that President Nixon was trying to keep concealed contained direct conversations between the president and his assistants concerning the Watergate break-ins and their plan to hide the crime. Nixon however claimed that these documents contained only conversations regarding different issues in the White house. He was trying to screen any wrong-doing from getting to the public without lying. Although Deputy Press Secretary Warren stated that Nixon had not heard the tapes prior to the accusations other sources said he started listening to them in June. Nixon continued to deny requests for a meeting with Ervin, explaining that the tapes included a wide range of topics that could be interpreted in a number of different ways which could have a negative result. He then went on saying that in order to genuinely understand them other tapes and documents would have to be disclosed compromising secret information. This led to a huge confrontation of Nixon vs. Congress and the Supreme court to reveal the confidential information involving the president.

// "I deeply regret that this situation has arisen, because I think that the Watergate tragedy is the greatest tragedy this country has ever suffered. I used to think that the Civil War was our country's greatest tragedy, but I do remember that there were some redeeming features in the Civil War in that there was some spirit of sacrifice and heroism displayed on both sides. I see no redeeming features in Watergate." // -Committee Chairman, Sen. Sam Ervin

**__October 20, 1973__**

The Saturday Night Massacre occurred on October 20, 1973, when President Nixon ordered both attorney general of the United States Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. Both refused the order and subsequently were forced to resign. He later had Solicitor General Robert Bork fire him by assuming the post of acting head of the Justice Department. It would be the beginning of Richard Nixon’s downfall.

//How it Began:// After the June 17, 1972 Watergate break-in and more clues proving President Nixon was part of the break-in, Alexander Butterfield, one of Nixon’s aide’s, told the Senate committee investigating Watergate that the president has been recording tapes in the oval office of all the meetings he has had in there. The congress and special prosecutor Archibald Cox jumped asked the president to hand over all the tapes that were recorded and see if the President really was part of this scandal. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the White House and the President for all of the recorded tapes from the oval office. When Cox offered a deal with the president to hand over the tapes he continued to refuse. He then made a deal with Cox which include Democratic Senator John Stennis of Mississippi listening to, and write down a report on each recording. Seeming like a legitimate plan Cox refused because Stennis was notably hard of hearing. Of course Cox refused this plan. This subsequently led to Nixon then ordering Cox to be fired. After both Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus refused to Nixon got General Robert Bork to fire him. This action became know as the Saturday Night Massacre because these actions took place on Saturday night when government offices were close. Nixon strategically chose this day to avoid publicity. His actions however led to an outcry throughout the public and would become the start of President Nixon’s decrease in popularity in the country.

// -Cox // ||
 * "W// hether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people." //



-Nixon ||
 * "...In all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I can say that in my years of public life that 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! I've earned everything I've got."