Richard Ben-Veniste Image by Getty Images

By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 10, 2017

Former Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste called President Trump’s firing of James Comey “darkly reminiscent” of the so-called “Saturday Night Massacre,” the evening in October 1973 when President Nixon fired the man investigating him.

Ben-Veniste, who drew the comparison in an interview with the Forward, is far from the first to connect President Trump’s firing of Comey to Nixon’s dismissal of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. But Ben-Veniste, whose continued investigation of the Watergate coverup after Cox’s firing helped lead to Nixon’s resignation, highlighted not the firing itself, but the public outrage that followed.

Nixon “managed to focus attention on the Watergate coverup investigation, in a way in which the American public had not itself focused prior to firing Archie Cox,” Ben-Veniste said. “The firing of [Nixon’s] principal investigator was shown to be another act of obstruction of justice, one that backfired miserably against President Nixon, since a new special prosecutor was soon appointed as a result of a firestorm of adverse public opinion.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

That new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, continued Cox’s work.

At the time of the “Massacre,” when both the Attorney General and his deputy resigned in protest of Cox’s firing, Ben-Veniste was second-in-command of Cox’s task force working on investigating the Watergate coverup. In a 2010 interview, he described the immediate aftermath of Cox’s firing as “the closest thing to a coup I have ever seen in this country.”

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount