William Ruckelshaus, Who Quit in 'Saturday Night Massacre,' Dies at 87
Source: NY Times
William D. Ruckelshaus, who resigned as deputy attorney general rather than carry out President Richard M. Nixons illegal order to fire the independent special Watergate prosecutor in the constitutional crisis of 1973 known as the Saturday Night Massacre, died on Wednesday at his home in Seattle. He was 87.
... A lawyer and political troubleshooter, Mr. Ruckelshaus twice headed the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as its founding administrator from 1970 to 1973 under Nixon, and from 1983 to 1985 under President Ronald Reagan. He won praise for laying the new agencys foundations, and later for salvaging an E.P.A. that had strayed from its mission and lost the confidence of the public and Congress
...For many Americans, however, the deeds of Mr. Ruckelshauss varied career were all but eclipsed by his role in the events of a single night in the autumn of 1973, as the political dirty tricks and cover-up conspiracies of the Watergate scandal closed in on his boss, the beleaguered President Nixon.
...The dismissals, all on Saturday, Oct. 20, labeled the Saturday Night Massacre by news media, set off a firestorm of protest across the country. Some 300,000 telegrams inundated Congress and the White House, mostly calling for Nixons resignation. The outcry was so ferocious that the White House said within days that it had decided to surrender the tape recordings after all...
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/us/politics/william-ruckelshaus-dead.html
KT2000
(20,544 posts)that attested to his moral compass and integrity. They don't make Republicans like that anymore.
Response to BeyondGeography (Original post)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
Judi Lynn
(160,219 posts)hlthe2b
(101,730 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(48,790 posts)NCjack
(10,279 posts)Hekate
(90,202 posts)BumRushDaShow
(127,330 posts)Didn't realize he was still around. He was probably endlessly shaking his head seeing history repeat.
R.I.P.
cstanleytech
(26,087 posts)guy did to Nixon.
Miigwech
(3,741 posts)murielm99
(30,657 posts)RIP
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,112 posts)A principled Republican.
Kid Berwyn
(14,652 posts)Mr. Ruckelshaus stood up and did the right thing.
Thank you, Sir!