Story highlights Richard Nixon ordered Watergate special prosecutor to be fired in 1973

Trump critics call for appointment of special prosecutor to investigate alleged dealings between Trump campaign and Russia

(CNN) The "Saturday Night Massacre" was one of the most dramatic turns of events in the Watergate scandal -- the political drama that rocked the United States in the 1970s and led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

President Nixon and the Attorney General's office were locked in a political standoff over Nixon's refusal to comply with orders to release recordings of White House conversations.

Richard Nixon, left, and Archibald Cox, right.

Nixon ordered the firing of Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox. But Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy William Ruckelshaus resigned rather than comply with the order. Cox was eventually fired by the US solicitor general.

Critics of President Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey see similarities between Cox's firing decades ago and Trump's action on Tuesday.

The Trump administration, critics say, is trying to undermine the FBI's investigation into allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, just as Nixon tried to stop lawmakers from learning the truth about his role in the Watergate scandal.