<P> The Saturday Night Massacre was a series of events which took place in the United States on the evening of Saturday , October 20 , 1973 , during the Watergate scandal . U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire independent special prosecutor 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 Robert Bork , to fire Cox . Bork considered resigning , but did as Nixon asked . The political and public reaction to Nixon 's actions were negative and highly damaging to the president . A new special counsel was appointed eleven days later on November 1 , 1973 , and on November 14 , 1973 , a court ruled that the dismissal had been illegal . </P>
<P> The Saturday Night Massacre was a series of events which took place in the United States on the evening of Saturday , October 20 , 1973 , during the Watergate scandal . U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire independent special prosecutor 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 Robert Bork , to fire Cox . Bork considered resigning , but did as Nixon asked . The political and public reaction to Nixon 's actions were negative and highly damaging to the president . A new special counsel was appointed eleven days later on November 1 , 1973 , and on November 14 , 1973 , a court ruled that the dismissal had been illegal . </P>
who was fired in the saturday night massacre
who was fired in the saturday night massacre
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox