The Anniversary of the Saturday Night Massacre

October 14, 2024

This weekend marks the anniversary of the “Saturday Night Massacre”—when Nixon found himself backed up to the proverbial wall of justice by one stunning revelation after another from the Senate Watergate hearings and the Office of Special Prosecutor, a judge who would not bow to politics, and the U.S. Court of Appeals saying unequivocally that a president was not immune from the law. Desperate to keep his involvement in the cover-up hidden, Nixon reacted with vengeance. But this time—people of integrity held firm and told him No. And this power grab would cost him.

It had to do with nine tapes.

There had been many shocking disclosures over the summer—about campaign dirty tricks and abuse of presidential power to go after political “enemies” and journalists—but these three were the most pivotal and explosive:

Convicted Watergate burglar, James McCord, an ex-FBI agent directly connected to the Committee to Re-elect the President, confessed that he and the other burglars had been pressured to stay silent and perjure themselves to protect higher-ups.

Former White House counsel John Dean admitted to the cover-up, including that he had informed the president of his and other high-level aides’ obstruction of the Senate and DOJ investigation with clandestine hush money payments, and that Nixon’s response had been that he knew where a million dollars could be found to continue buying the burglars’ silence.

A decorated Air Force fighter pilot who’d served briefly as White House deputy assistant, Alexander Butterfield, shared that Nixon had secretly taped all Oval Office conversations. Which meant Dean’s allegations could be corroborated—or proven false.

The Senate Watergate Committee immediately asked for those tapes and Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox subpoenaed nine his team of lawyers and investigators deemed relevant to Watergate. Judge Sirica ordered the White House comply. But Nixon refused to turn them over, claiming executive privilege and national security concerns.

And that’s where the curtain opens on an infamous weekend.

This photo spread in TRUTH, LIES, AND THE QUESTIONS IN BETWEEN tells the story (right click on the photo---or if you're on a Mac, press control and left click---to open it in a new tab for a full picture view!) :