ELLIOT RICHARDSON
Name: Elliot Lee Richardson
Born: 20 July 1920 Boston, Massachusetts
Died. 31 December 1999 Boston, Massachusetts
Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer
and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and
Gerald Ford. He was a prominent figure in the Watergate Scandal, having refused
an order from Nixon to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
As of 2008, Richardson is the only individual to serve in four Cabinet-level
positions within the United States government: Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare from 1970 to 1973, Secretary of Defense from January to May of 1973,
Attorney General from May 24 to October 1973, and Secretary of Commerce from
1976 to 1977.
Richardson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He obtained his undergraduate
degree from Harvard University, where he resided in Winthrop House, and
graduated cum laude in 1941.
In 1942, following the outbreak of World War II, Richardson entered the combat
medical corps in the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. He participated in the June 6,
1944 Normandy Invasion, where he carried a legless man to safety under enemy
fire.
He was among the first troops of the "Big Ivy" to come up Causeway No. 2 from
Utah Beach which had been under fire from German artillery at Brécourt Manor. He
was among the many that noticed the guns ceasing their firing after (unbeknown
to him), paratroopers of the 101st under Dick Winters had knocked them out.
After Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers was published, he wrote to Winters
and thanked him.
He continued on in the war in Europe with the 4th Infantry Division and received
numerous decorations, including the Purple Heart medal. He was discharged in
1945 with the rank of first lieutenant.
In 1947, he graduated with a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he became
an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
After his graduation from Law School, Richardson clerked for Appeals Court Judge
Learned Hand, and then for Justice Felix Frankfurter of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Richardson then served as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts from 1959 to 1961, and
was later elected the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and Attorney General
of Massachusetts.
Richardson had the nearly-unique distinction of serving in three high-level
Executive Branch posts in a single year --the tumultuous year of 1973-- as the
Watergate Scandal came to dominate the attention of official Washington, and the
American public at large.
Having served three relatively uneventful years as the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare for a popular sitting President, few would suspect the
pivotal role Richardson would play in the chaos that would soon ensue.
Richardson was appointed United States Secretary of Defense on January 30, 1973.
When President Nixon selected Richardson as Secretary, the press described him
as an excellent manager and administrator, perhaps the best in the cabinet. In
his confirmation hearing, Richardson expressed agreement with Nixon's policies
on such issues as the adequacy of U.S. strategic forces, NATO and relationships
with other allies, and Vietnam.
Although he promised to examine the budget carefully to identify areas for
savings, and in fact later ordered the closing of some military installations,
he cautioned against precipitate cuts. As he told a Senate committee, "Significant
cuts in the Defense Budget now would seriously weaken the U.S. position on
international negotiations—in which U.S. military capabilities, in both real and
symbolic terms, are an important factor." Similarly, he strongly supported
continued military assistance at current levels. During his short tenure,
Richardson spent much time testifying before congressional committees on the
proposed FY 1974 budget and other Defense matters.
Richardson would serve as Secretary of Defense for only a few short months,
before becoming Nixon's Attorney General, a move that would soon put him in the
Watergate spotlight.
In October 1973, after just five months as Attorney General, President Nixon
ordered Richardson to fire the top lawyer investigating the Watergate scandal,
Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused the order and resigned from
the Nixon administration. President Nixon subsequently asked Richardson's second-in-command,
Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to carry out the order. But he also
refused and tendered his resignation. The third in command, Solicitor General
Robert Bork, also planned to resign but Richardson persuaded him not to in order
to ensure proper leadership at the Department of Justice during the crisis.
Bork carried out the President's order, thus completing the events generally
referred to as the Saturday Night Massacre.
Just prior to the resignation of Vice-President Spiro Agnew, Richardson was
portrayed as a cartoon figure with Agnew and Nixon on the cover of TIME magazine
dated October 8, 1973. Agnew was quoted as saying: "I am innocent of the
charges against me. I will not resign if indicted!"
During the Administration of President Gerald Ford, Richardson served as
Secretary of Commerce from 1976 to 1977, and as ambassador to the United Kingdom.
In 1980 Richardson received a L.H.D. from Bates College. In 1984, he ran for the
Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Paul Tsongas. He
was defeated in the GOP primary by Ray Shamie, who lost the general election to
John F. Kerry. Richardson was a moderate-liberal Republican, and his defeat at
the hands of the very conservative Shamie was seen as symbolizing the decline of
the moderate wing of the GOP, even in a section of the country where it was
historically strong.
In the late 80s and early 90s, Richardson was associated with the Washington, D.C.
firm of Hadley, Milbank, Tweed and McCloy, of which John J. McCloy was a
founding partner. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Richardson was the attorney for
Inslaw, Inc., an American software company which alleged that their software had
been pirated by the U.S. Justice Department.
In 1994 Richardson backed President Bill Clinton during his struggle against
Paula Jones' charge of sexual harassment. In 1998, he received the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
On December 31, 1999, Richardson died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Boston,
Massachusetts, at the age of 79. Major media outlets, such as CNN, recognized
him as the "Watergate martyr" for refusing an order from President Nixon to fire
special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
Name: Elliot Lee Richardson
Born: 20 July 1920 Boston, Massachusetts
Died. 31 December 1999 Boston, Massachusetts
Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer
and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and
Gerald Ford. He was a prominent figure in the Watergate Scandal, having refused
an order from Nixon to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
As of 2008, Richardson is the only individual to serve in four Cabinet-level
positions within the United States government: Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare from 1970 to 1973, Secretary of Defense from January to May of 1973,
Attorney General from May 24 to October 1973, and Secretary of Commerce from
1976 to 1977.
Richardson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He obtained his undergraduate
degree from Harvard University, where he resided in Winthrop House, and
graduated cum laude in 1941.
In 1942, following the outbreak of World War II, Richardson entered the combat
medical corps in the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. He participated in the June 6,
1944 Normandy Invasion, where he carried a legless man to safety under enemy
fire.
He was among the first troops of the "Big Ivy" to come up Causeway No. 2 from
Utah Beach which had been under fire from German artillery at Brécourt Manor. He
was among the many that noticed the guns ceasing their firing after (unbeknown
to him), paratroopers of the 101st under Dick Winters had knocked them out.
After Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers was published, he wrote to Winters
and thanked him.
He continued on in the war in Europe with the 4th Infantry Division and received
numerous decorations, including the Purple Heart medal. He was discharged in
1945 with the rank of first lieutenant.
In 1947, he graduated with a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he became
an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
After his graduation from Law School, Richardson clerked for Appeals Court Judge
Learned Hand, and then for Justice Felix Frankfurter of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Richardson then served as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts from 1959 to 1961, and
was later elected the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and Attorney General
of Massachusetts.
Richardson had the nearly-unique distinction of serving in three high-level
Executive Branch posts in a single year --the tumultuous year of 1973-- as the
Watergate Scandal came to dominate the attention of official Washington, and the
American public at large.
Having served three relatively uneventful years as the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare for a popular sitting President, few would suspect the
pivotal role Richardson would play in the chaos that would soon ensue.
Richardson was appointed United States Secretary of Defense on January 30, 1973.
When President Nixon selected Richardson as Secretary, the press described him
as an excellent manager and administrator, perhaps the best in the cabinet. In
his confirmation hearing, Richardson expressed agreement with Nixon's policies
on such issues as the adequacy of U.S. strategic forces, NATO and relationships
with other allies, and Vietnam.
Although he promised to examine the budget carefully to identify areas for
savings, and in fact later ordered the closing of some military installations,
he cautioned against precipitate cuts. As he told a Senate committee, "Significant
cuts in the Defense Budget now would seriously weaken the U.S. position on
international negotiations—in which U.S. military capabilities, in both real and
symbolic terms, are an important factor." Similarly, he strongly supported
continued military assistance at current levels. During his short tenure,
Richardson spent much time testifying before congressional committees on the
proposed FY 1974 budget and other Defense matters.
Richardson would serve as Secretary of Defense for only a few short months,
before becoming Nixon's Attorney General, a move that would soon put him in the
Watergate spotlight.
In October 1973, after just five months as Attorney General, President Nixon
ordered Richardson to fire the top lawyer investigating the Watergate scandal,
Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused the order and resigned from
the Nixon administration. President Nixon subsequently asked Richardson's second-in-command,
Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to carry out the order. But he also
refused and tendered his resignation. The third in command, Solicitor General
Robert Bork, also planned to resign but Richardson persuaded him not to in order
to ensure proper leadership at the Department of Justice during the crisis.
Bork carried out the President's order, thus completing the events generally
referred to as the Saturday Night Massacre.
Just prior to the resignation of Vice-President Spiro Agnew, Richardson was
portrayed as a cartoon figure with Agnew and Nixon on the cover of TIME magazine
dated October 8, 1973. Agnew was quoted as saying: "I am innocent of the
charges against me. I will not resign if indicted!"
During the Administration of President Gerald Ford, Richardson served as
Secretary of Commerce from 1976 to 1977, and as ambassador to the United Kingdom.
In 1980 Richardson received a L.H.D. from Bates College. In 1984, he ran for the
Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Paul Tsongas. He
was defeated in the GOP primary by Ray Shamie, who lost the general election to
John F. Kerry. Richardson was a moderate-liberal Republican, and his defeat at
the hands of the very conservative Shamie was seen as symbolizing the decline of
the moderate wing of the GOP, even in a section of the country where it was
historically strong.
In the late 80s and early 90s, Richardson was associated with the Washington, D.C.
firm of Hadley, Milbank, Tweed and McCloy, of which John J. McCloy was a
founding partner. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Richardson was the attorney for
Inslaw, Inc., an American software company which alleged that their software had
been pirated by the U.S. Justice Department.
In 1994 Richardson backed President Bill Clinton during his struggle against
Paula Jones' charge of sexual harassment. In 1998, he received the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
On December 31, 1999, Richardson died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Boston,
Massachusetts, at the age of 79. Major media outlets, such as CNN, recognized
him as the "Watergate martyr" for refusing an order from President Nixon to fire
special prosecutor Archibald Cox.