William Saxbe, final Nixon attorney general, dies at 94

WASHINGTON - William Saxbe, who served as the fourth and final attorney general under Richard Nixon and resisted the president's late attempts to derail the Watergate investigation, has died. He was 94.

He died Tuesday at his home in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, The Associated Press reported, citing his son, Charles.

The Republican senator from Ohio became known for his quotable bluntness during a political career that included five years in the Senate, 13 months leading the Justice Department and two years as U.S. ambassador to India.

Nixon selected Saxbe to be attorney general in December 1973, as the Watergate scandal was nearing its dramatic conclusion. Nixon had declared himself "not a crook" and ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor.

When Richardson refused, Nixon forced Richardson to resign, creating an opening at the helm of the Justice Department. Nixon's selection of Saxbe, a senator with friends in both parties, assured the politically weakened president a smooth confirmation process.

Nixon "was getting goofy" and sending unreasonable demands through his chief of staff, Alexander Haig, and counsel, J. Fred Buzhardt, Saxbe wrote in his 2000 autobiography, "I've Seen the Elephant."

"Almost from day one as attorney general, I received calls from Haig or Buzhardt that Nixon wanted me to shut down the Watergate investigations," Saxbe wrote. "He wanted me to use the FBI to probe the Central Intelligence Agency, which he blamed for all his problems." Saxbe said he resisted Nixon's efforts to sic the FBI on the CIA.

In later years, Saxbe turned down invitations to attend the opening of Nixon's presidential library in 1990 and Nixon's funeral in 1994.

"He had lied to me, as he had lied to everyone else, and he tried to involve me in his lies," Saxbe wrote. "I never can forgive him for that."