Robert Bork: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Person
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| name        = Robert Bork
| image      =
| alt        =
| caption    =
| birth_date  = <!-- {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} -->
| birth_place =
| death_date  = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place =
| nationality = USA
| other_names =
| known_for  = obeyed [[President Nixon]] and fired [[Special Watergate Prosecutor]] [[Archibald Cox]]
| occupation  = politician, lawyer, law professor
}}
'''Robert Bork''' was an [[American people|American]] lawyer and professor of law, who served as [[Solicitor General (U.S.)|Solicitor General]] under [[POTUS|President]] [[Richard Nixon]].<ref name=HistoryNixonSaturdayNightMassacre/>
 
==Political career==
 
When Nixon thought he might be [[Efforts to impeach Richard Nixon|facing impeachment]] he called on his [[Attorney General (U.S.)|Attorney General]] [[Elliot Richardson]] to fire [[Special Prosecutor]] [[Archibald Cox]].<ref name=HistoryNixonSaturdayNightMassacre/>  Richardson refused, and resigned on principle.  Nixon then called on the next official in line, Deputy Attorney General [[William Ruckelshaus]] to fire Cox.  Ruckelshaus followed Richardson's example, and also refused, and resigned on principle.
 
As Solicitor General Bork was the next official in line to have the authority to fire Cox, and he agreed to do so.<ref name=HistoryNixonSaturdayNightMassacre/>
 
Nixon appointed Bork acting Attorney General.<ref name=HistoryNixonSaturdayNightMassacre/>
 
In November of 1973, DC Judge [[]] had ruled Bork's firing of Cox improper, and Bork appointed [[Leon Jaworski]] to replace him as SSpecial Prosecutor.<ref name=JaworskiAppt/>  Nixon appointed [[William B. Saxbe]] as his next Attorney General.
 
In 1987 President Ronald Reagan appointed Bork to the [[SCOTUS|Supreme Court]].<ref name=FederalImpeachmentGerhardt/>  However, news that the Reagan administration had illegally traded with Iran to provide arms to the [[Contras]] in [[Nicarauga]] had politically weakened Reagan.  Although a [[Efforts to impeach Ronald Reagan|motion in the House to impeach Reagan]] failed to pass, according to [[Michael J. Gerhardt]], author of ''[[The Federal Impeachment Process]]'' the House motion encouraged [[United States Senator|Senators]] to not confirm Bork.
 
Bork's memoirs were publishe posthumously.<ref name=Yahoo2013-03-01/>  ''[[ABC News]]'' reported Bork wrote that Nixon had secretly promised he would be appointed to the Supreme Court, if he fired Cox.
 
==Academic career==
Bork was a professor at the [[Ave Maria School of Law]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]] and the [[Tad and Diane Taube Distinguished Visiting Fellow]] at the [[Hoover Institution]]; and a Distinguished Fellow at the [[Hudson Institute]] and the [[American Enterprise Institute]].
 
==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=FederalImpeachmentGerhardt>
{{cite   
| url        =
| title      = The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis
| author      = Michael J. Gerhardt
| publisher  = University of Chicago Press
| year        = 2000
| page        = 137
| isbn        = 9780226554839
| archiveurl  =
| archivedate =
| accessdate  = 2022-12-19
| url-status  = live
| quote      = The grumblings among Democrats about possibly trying to impeach President Reagan after some of the early revelations about the Iran-Contra affair quickly turned into awareness of his weakened position and helped to fuel the partisanship that plays a part in the Senate's rejection of Robert Bork's nomination to replace Justice Lewis Powell on the Supreme Court and Judge Douglas Ginsburg's forced withdrawal from his nomination to take the same seat.
}}
</ref>
 
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</ref>
 
<ref name=Yahoo2013-03-01>
{{cite news
| title = Bork: Nixon Offered Next High Court Vacancy in '73
| url = https://news.yahoo.com/bork-nixon-offered-next-high-court-vacancy-73-215747517.html
| publisher = [[ABC News]]
| via = [[Yahoo! News]]
| date = 2013-02-25
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130301231021/http://news.yahoo.com/bork-nixon-offered-next-high-court-vacancy-73-215747517.html
| archive-date = 2013-03-01
}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130301231021/http://news.yahoo.com/bork-nixon-offered-next-high-court-vacancy-73-215747517.html mirror]
</ref>
 
<ref name=HistoryNixonSaturdayNightMassacre>
{{Cite web
| url=https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-saturday-night-massacre
| title=What Was the Saturday Night Massacre?
| author = Evan Andrews
| access-date=2021-03-04
| website=HISTORY
}}
</ref>
 
<ref name=JaworskiAppt>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/02/archives/nixon-names-saxbe-attorney-general-jaworski-appointed-special.html
| title = Nixon Names Saxbe Attorney General; Jaworski Appointed Special Prosecutor
| author = John Herbers
| work = [[The New York Times]]
| date = 1973-11-02
| access-date = 2022-08-02
}}
</ref>
}}

Revision as of 15:30, 19 December 2022

Robert Bork
Occupation politician, lawyer, law professor
Known for obeyed President Nixon and fired Special Watergate Prosecutor Archibald Cox

Robert Bork was an American lawyer and professor of law, who served as Solicitor General under President Richard Nixon.[1]

Political career

When Nixon thought he might be facing impeachment he called on his Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox.[1] Richardson refused, and resigned on principle. Nixon then called on the next official in line, Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. Ruckelshaus followed Richardson's example, and also refused, and resigned on principle.

As Solicitor General Bork was the next official in line to have the authority to fire Cox, and he agreed to do so.[1]

Nixon appointed Bork acting Attorney General.[1]

In November of 1973, DC Judge [[]] had ruled Bork's firing of Cox improper, and Bork appointed Leon Jaworski to replace him as SSpecial Prosecutor.[2] Nixon appointed William B. Saxbe as his next Attorney General.

In 1987 President Ronald Reagan appointed Bork to the Supreme Court.[3] However, news that the Reagan administration had illegally traded with Iran to provide arms to the Contras in Nicarauga had politically weakened Reagan. Although a motion in the House to impeach Reagan failed to pass, according to Michael J. Gerhardt, author of The Federal Impeachment Process the House motion encouraged Senators to not confirm Bork.

Bork's memoirs were publishe posthumously.[4] ABC News reported Bork wrote that Nixon had secretly promised he would be appointed to the Supreme Court, if he fired Cox.

Academic career

Bork was a professor at the Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Tad and Diane Taube Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute and the American Enterprise Institute.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Evan Andrews. What Was the Saturday Night Massacre?.
  2. ↑ John Herbers (1973-11-02). Nixon Names Saxbe Attorney General; Jaworski Appointed Special Prosecutor. The New York Times.
  3. ↑
    Michael J. Gerhardt. The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis. University of Chicago Press, copyright [[{{{date}}}]].

  4. ↑ Bork: Nixon Offered Next High Court Vacancy in '73, ABC News, 2013-02-25. mirror
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