Donald Trump told a conservative radio host on Thursday that if elected, he would fire special counsel Jack Smith. “within two seconds”. It’s hard to hear that without remembering how another Republican president, Richard Nixon, tried the same maneuver as a last-ditch effort to avoid complying with a special prosecutor’s subpoena for what turned out to be incriminating tapes. Nixon’s directive to fire then-Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox led to the “Saturday Night Massacre” when Nixon’s attorney general and deputy attorney general resigned rather than carry out Nixon’s order.

But Trump may have come up with a plan to avoid the messy Nixon-era optics of multiple resignations.

In November 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel and authorized him to conduct two investigations. The first covered possible crimes by Trump in connection with his attempts to retain the power of the presidency after losing the 2020 election, while the second concerned possible crimes related to his retention of classified documents in Florida. As a result of this appointment, Smith indicted Trump on four counts of crimes allegedly committed on and around January 6, 2021, and 40 counts of classified documents.

It’s no surprise, then, that Trump has attacked Smith since his appointment and is now promising to fire Smith as one of his first acts if elected to a second term.

Not being a student of history, Trump may not know that a president can’t fire a special counsel — at least not directly. Only the attorney general can fire a special advocate. That’s why in 1973, when Nixon wanted to shut Cox down, he ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to do it. Richardson refused and immediately resigned. Nixon then turned to his deputy attorney general, William Ruckelshaus, and ordered him to fire Cox. Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned. Nixon then switched to type no. 3 at the Department of Justice, Attorney General Robert Bork and ordered it to fire Cox. Bork did, though a court would later rule that the shooting was illegal.

Trump thought twice before firing a special counsel. During Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Trump considered asking Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller (Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from overseeing the investigation). But his White House counsel, Don McGahn, has threatened to resign, and even staunch Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham have warned that “any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency.”

This time, however, Trump may have a scheme to ensure a Justice Department official does his dirty work. ABC News recently reported that Trump’s transition team has none other than Judge Aileen Cannon on the short list to be Trump’s attorney general. NBC News and MSNBC have not confirmed the reportwhich cited “sources familiar with the matter.” But Cannon’s appeal to Trump is obvious because she might be just the person Trump could rely on to fire Smith.

Cannon was nominated to the federal bench by Trump (and confirmed after lost the 2020 election). When the FBI seized classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate, Trump filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the seizure. Cannon was appointed to preside over the litigation, and her decision to appoint a special master in the matter effectively halted the criminal investigation. When the Justice Department appealed, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Cannon not once but twice for abuse of judicial discretion.

After Smith indicted Trump for crimes including illegal retention of classified material, obstruction of justice, and violation of our nation’s espionage laws, the lawsuit was unfortunately assigned to Cannon. After protracted months, she dismissed the charges against Trump, concluding that the special counsels were unconstitutional. Cannon made this ruling despite the fact that special advocates and special prosecutors have been used in the criminal justice system dating back to the 1800s and every judge and court that has ever heard the matter has ruled that they are legal and constitutional.

It’s fair to say Trump hit the jackpot by putting Cannon in charge and dismissing his criminal record. He certainly thinks so: While Trump has relentlessly and often viciously criticized virtually every other judge presiding over his criminal and civil cases, he has effusively praised Cannon at every turn.

Now, the kicker: Let’s say Trump nominates Cannon to be attorney general and she is confirmed by the Senate. Trump probably won’t even have to tell Cannon to fire Smith, because he essentially already has. Trump could avoid the “Saturday Night Massacre” disaster that was part of Nixon’s downfall.

Trump’s promise to fire Smith is a final warning to voters that he is corrupt with pride and enthusiasm. Should voters return him to office, he will no doubt again be willing to use the powers of that office to evade criminal responsibility. And given that the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling has given Trump a blueprint for how to do it continue to evade criminal responsibility, it is not hyperbole to conclude that in the upcoming election the health of American democracy is on the line.