The Saturday Night Massacre was a series of events on the evening of Saturday, October 20, 1973, during the Watergate scandal in the United States. 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 official 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 court later ruled that the dismissal was illegal, and a new special counsel appointed.
who was fired or forced to resign in the massacre
Attorney General Elliot Richardson Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus special prosecutor Archibald Cox