alternatehistory.com

Throughout the rest of 1973 and 1974, the Watergate Investigations continued. It was revealed that a taping system was in the Oval Office of the President and on October 20th, 1973 Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson resigned in protest, as did Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Solicitor General Robert Bork eventually carried out the order to fire cox. The episode would be known as the "Saturday Night Massacre." Transcripts of the President's recordings as well as the tapes themselves, after the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Nixon's claims of executive privilege to not release the tapes were void. With this and with the Smoking Gun tapes, Republican Congressional Leaders along with Senator Barry Goldwater met with Nixon to tell him that Congressional support for him was no longer there for him to survive Impeachment and Conviction in the Senate. On August 8th, 1974, in a televised address, Richard Nixon announced his resignation to the Country, marking the first time a President resigned. The resignation would be effective at noon the next day.