Editing Archibald Cox (section)

===Terms of engagement===
Cox was at Berkeley on May 16, 1973, when Secretary of Defense Elliot Richardson, President Nixon's nominee for attorney general, called him to ask if he would consider taking the position of Special Prosecutor in the [[Watergate scandal|Watergate affair]].{{sfn|Gormley|1997|pp=231–232}} Cox had woken up that morning, the day before his 61st birthday, without hearing in his right ear (a condition his doctor would tell him a few days later was permanent),{{sfn|Gormley|1997|pp=237, 239–240}} which dampened his enthusiasm for the job—the sensing of which, perhaps, increased Richardson's willingness to make concessions to obtain Cox's consent. Richardson, for his part, was getting "desperate" according to his aide John T. Smith.{{sfn|Gormley|1997|p=236}} It was clear that the Senate would make the appointment of a Special Prosecutor a condition of Richardson's confirmation.{{efn|Nixon's previous attorney general, [[Richard Kleindienst]], had resigned at the request of the president (together with chief of staff [[H. R. Haldeman]] and Nixon counsel [[John Ehrlichman]]) on the same day that White House counsel [[John Dean]] was fired as part of Nixon's attempt to get out front of the scandal publicly.{{sfn|Kutler|1990|pp=318–319}} In hindsight it was probably a mistake to create a vacancy at Justice. No one was then calling for Kleindienst's resignation, but once he resigned the perception was fixed that two attorneys general in a row (the first being John Mitchell) had been tainted with Watergate allegations. Even Senate Republicans now called for the appointment of a Special Prosecutor by a resolution that received unanimous Senate consent. Now that a new attorney general had to be confirmed, Senate Democrats had the leverage to make the appointment of a Special Prosecutor inevitable.{{sfn|Emery|1994|pp=351–356}}}} Richardson's staff had prepared a list of 100 candidates. Richardson did not recall how many he had contacted before Cox.{{sfn|Kutler|1990|pp=329–330}} Richardson satisfied Cox's concern over independence over two days of phone conversations,{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} and Richardson reduced it to writing.{{Explain|date=July 2020}}

The resulting "compact" was extraordinary even under the circumstances. The scope was "all offenses arising out of the 1972 election … involving the president, the White House staff or presidential appointments." It was thus not limited to Watergate. The assumption of responsibility for a case was left to the discretion of the Special Prosecutor, who also had sole discretion to decide "whether and to what extent he will inform or consult with the attorney general" on any matter being investigated. The White House thus lost its access to the investigation. In addition, the Special Prosecutor was granted the right to discuss his findings and progress with the press at his discretion. Finally, Cox could be dismissed only by Richardson and only for "extraordinary improprieties"—a standard virtually impossible to meet.{{sfn|Emery|1994|p=357}} The importance of the selection to Richardson's confirmation was highlighted by the fact that he brought Cox along to his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democratic Whip Senator [[Robert Byrd]] asked Cox if he needed broader authority. Cox replied that he already had "the whip hand." Cox said that the only restraint the president or the Justice Department had over him was to fire him. He also vowed that he would follow the evidence even if it led "to the oval office."{{sfn|Kutler|1990|p=331}} Richardson was confirmed.