United States Watergate Special Prosecutor

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The United States Watergate Special Prosecutor was the independent legal authority appointed to investigate the Watergate scandal and related abuses of power in the Nixon administration.


Statements (44)
Predicate Object
instanceOf independent counsel
legal office
special prosecutor
appliesToJurisdiction federal government of the United States
appointedBy Elliot Richardson
United States Attorney General
conflictWith Richard Nixon administration
country United States
createdAs independent legal authority
dissolvedInYear 1978
establishedInYear 1973
hasDuty investigate abuses of power in the Nixon administration
investigate the Watergate scandal
prosecute crimes arising from the Watergate scandal
hasFirstHolder Archibald Cox
hasHolder Archibald Cox
Charles Ruff
Henry Ruth
Leon Jaworski
historicalContext post-Watergate reforms in U.S. government oversight
independenceFrom Department of Justice day-to-day control
White House
influenced later independent counsel statutes in the United States
investigated Watergate break-in
abuse of presidential power
campaign finance abuses
cover-up of the Watergate break-in
legalBasis regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Justice
mandate conduct a full and thorough investigation of the Watergate affair
prosecute federal crimes uncovered in the Watergate investigation
notableEvent Saturday Night Massacre
notableHolder Archibald Cox
Charles Ruff
Leon Jaworski
officeLocation Washington, D.C.
oversaw prosecution of Watergate-related defendants
partOf Watergate investigation
relatedTo United States Department of Justice
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
reportedTo United States Attorney General
United States Congress
significantOutcome evidence leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon
indictment and conviction of several Nixon administration officials
timePeriod 1973–1978

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
John Dean ("Watergate prosecutors")
cooperatedWith
Joseph Montoya ("Watergate scandal investigation")
participatedIn
Archibald Cox
positionHeld
Archibald Cox ("Office of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force")
servedIn

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