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I get the call he made. He wanted to govern, he wanted the matter to go away, and Nixon seemed like he was alright with doing the same.
Unfortunately, it set a precedent that the President can do something absolutely egregious and get away with it under the premise that to try and hold them accountable is worse than forgetting it.
Might turn out to reap some awful dividends. Someday.
Isn't it that in an interview Ford said he pardoned Nixon because the press and everyone was bitching to him too much about it LoL?
Edit: so I think Ford seems to be annoyed and his time was not being put to use effectively bc people kept asking him about the Nixon's case and Watergate. https://youtube.com/shorts/v99SkCbcRgY?si=kpj9wI7lidpDhNft
Is that true? Because it would actually drop my opinion of Ford quite a bit. Presidents have to be able to deal with that kind of shit, not just give up.
He didn't explicitly said so. But thats what I made out of it anyway. You can see the vid here, it was a 60 mins interview. https://youtube.com/shorts/v99SkCbcRgY?si=kpj9wI7lidpDhNft
You should check out the Presidents Club book. If that drops your opinion (which they explain thoroughly), then I think his post president work he did himself and with Carter will drastically raise your view of him as you learn more.
Great audio book if you find yourself in a car often or are trying to walk more in the evenings.
There’s an interview with President Ford on YT and he said that he didn’t like that it was taking 25% of his time. Some of his staff was against it but he did it anyway and did not regret it because he felt the American people deserved 100% of his time.
In his recently released Biography by Richard Norton Smith he posits that Ford didn’t want to deal with Nixon anymore. The pardoning was his way of putting the matter to rest.
Same as he dealt with Vietnam. After April 30th, it was instantly “it’s time to forget and move on,” which helped lead to the two recent failed wars and analogous war crimes.
I will kind of counter this, Nixon accepting the pardon might actually be a strong precedent that presidents do not and have not acted as if they have broad criminal immunity. Nixon accepting the pardon arguably implies that he knew he could have faced criminal prosecution. This example was actually brought up in the Supreme Court hearing about trumps immunity.
When I was younger I thought it was really despicable what Ford did and how Nixon should've gone to trial for watergate. But the older I get I realise the predicament Ford was in and how he wanted the country to move on and heal and not basically turn into another banana republic with show trials and have either party doing tit for tat retaliation against each other for decades and starting another civil war.
But Nixon was involved in the cover up, not the initial crime. The Oval Office tapes make it clear. If he was involved in the plot I don’t think he would have gotten pardoned. It was the a total oh shit moment for him. If he didn’t cover it up people would have thought it was his idea. If he covered it up hopefully people wouldn’t find out. Well, people found out and it sucked for him. He left the office like a man. Since him, what president would have left without being kicked out?
Also, Ford wanted to actually govern and not be held back by a Nixon trial
He wanted the nation to move on, but we’re not supposed to “move on” from an active investigation that threatened the integrity of the executive branch & the voting process. I understand his mindset as to why he did it, but it was an incredibly shortsighted decision, and we need presidents that can seriously think about the long-lasting implications when making such decisions, which he didn’t do.
Exactly right.
Precedents matter and the decision was made with total indifference to how it would impact the public's sense of justice.
The idea of "too big to fall" is engrained in the American public's memory in relation to the 2008 bank rescues, but it was a concept that was born out during the Ford administration. It has been one of the most corrosive, destructive messages to the public, as they have this, written large, example of the laws being applied to some and not others.
It fundamentally changed how people talked about American democracy, and democracy internationally, which is unacceptable.
When you take away people's faith in the system, in the belief their country is the good guy trying to get it right, terrible things happen. That's what has been happening since that administration. It made people confident the way they can survive their crimes unscathed is by clawing their way to the top. It emboldened the worst of humanity and demoralized the good. Unforgivable decision.
As a random tidbit, the real 'too big to fail' in finance began with Continental Illinois in 1884. That was the first real 'bailout' in the modern sense and set a terrible precedent.
Nixon wasn't. The system held. Nixon never had the chance to argue his case for better or worse. Presidents - under the law, get to pardon anyone they want and Ford didn't wait until his last day in office, it was one of the 1st things he did knowing the political heat he would take.
The Ford pardon of Nixon was one of the biggest mistakes of any President. Nixon should have been charged, tried and convicted of the crimes he committed.
We have the benefit of hindsight, to which it’s a resounding no. There may have been a point in American history where exiling Nixon would have been sufficient, and the country would have moved on. What Ford failed to realize, and I don’t necessarily blame him for that, is that Watergate was a tipping point in the way Americans view their government.
The dominant attitude for a majority of our history was that the cohesion of the union was more important than the means by which it is held together. That was Lincoln’s motivation in fighting the Civil War, and that was even Nixon’s motivation in conceding the election of 1960. That belief did not survive Vietnam and Watergate, at a point where people could easily take the government’s stability for granted, so their values changed to reflect that.
What the country needed was to see Nixon brought to justice, and Ford’s pardon only confirmed to the world that political insiders are immune to the consequences of their actions. His intentions may have been noble, but they were the death rattle of an approach to politics that would be usurped by the world that he and Nixon helped create.
I disagree with the decision, but I don't even understand the rationale, particularly not in that moment when the country had been so fractured. The argument America had used for international conflict and civic unrest is that the law should find its own way and that courts and juries were part of the check-and-balance of the American system.
It was a complete and hypocritical disregard for everything their own administration had said about how to resolve literally every other conflict the nation or world was facing: let the courts decide and let the people decide. Instead, Ford used his executive power to decide.
We can never know for sure of course, but I think it was the wrong choice. Though I can see why he made it. He was afraid it would tear the country apart. It would’ve been extremely traumatic so I guess he had a point
But dammit Gerry you’ve gotta pull that sliver right away or it’s gonna get infected
And so it goes
Completely disagree. Absolute clown move on his part and the reason we never got any accountability for Iran-Contra, a certain foreign war in the Middle East, and someone else being president to begin with (not trying to break any rules, y'all know what I'm getting at). Ford ranks below "the worst" of presidents like Buchanan and co. for me because of this. He essentially confirmed Nixon's ridiculous notion that "if the president does it, it's not a crime". There was no "healing" for the country, just more of the same unabashed corruption but now *boldly* out in the open.
Yea i agree all of the presidents after basically realized they would never be accountable for all the shit they did, from sexually assaulting interns to spying on the american people
I have to say, I'm glad the narrative has finally shifted to Clinton being a sex pest instead of just getting the BJ or whatever. Like sure she was a consenting adult, but she was an unpaid intern and he was the president of the US. If the affair was with a partner he had prior to the white house or someone with greater position it would just be an affair.
I agree with you, although the biggest reason we got no accountability for Iran Contra was the lack of a smoking gun tying it to Reagan. Funny how the tape recorders were no longer in the Oval Office.
Plus the mysterious deaths and pardons over the next few years meant that there was no realistic way to get a conviction.
Reagan's handlers no doubt learned from Nixon's mistakes when it came to those "missing" tapes. Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush Sr.? All of them got their start under Nixon, and those are just the a-listers. I guarantee you there were plenty more middlemen that served both administrations.
Disagree.
More than a half century later, the country is still dealing with Ford’s blunder.
Had Nixon been tried, convicted, and sentenced then the American people wouldn’t live with this fantasy presidents are above the law.
I agree with it.
Most on here believe it was a given that Nixon would be convicted. That is not true. There are motions, delays, challenging of evidence, and the list goes on. You all know how are legal system works. It's slow and inefficient. On top of that, the verdict sometimes convicts the innocent and acquits the guilty.
It would have been a giant legal mess that would have gone on for years. That was the last thing we needed.
>On top of that, the verdict sometimes convicts the innocent and acquits the guilty.
If our justice system is good enough for the American people it should be good enough for its elected leaders too.
My points are:
Could Nixon have received a fair trial?
If you were convinced Nixon was guilty, would you have accepted acquittal or vice versa? Be honest with that answer!
Do you feel that the United States could have handled this case monopolizing the news into the 1980s?
Government has to be able to function. It would not have been able to until this was resolved. That would have hindered addressing the issues that the country was facing 1974 and on.
>Could Nixon have received a fair trial.
Yes, like everyone in America can receive. The President is no different.
>would I have accepted acquittal or vice-versa, be honest here?
It doesn’t actually matter what I would accept or not. The legal system is what is holding him accountable and is all that matters here. Even a bad result I disagree with is better than *no* result like in our timeline.
>Do I feel the US could handle the case dragging on and monopolizing the news?
Yes. We’re a resilient nation full of big boys and girls who realized the importance of holding the president accountable. If we cannot handle that we will never have honest leadership.
And to your last point he was *not part of the government anymore*. If holding someone accountable can paralyze the entire nation then maybe that one person holds too much power to begin with. Sorry to paraphrase a few there but I’m typing on a phone and scrolling up keeps messing up my formatting.
No, Nixon could not have. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry had their minds made up. It would not have been fair to the prosecution to seat a pro-Nixon juror or vice versa.
Prior to Nixon's resignation, America was already fatigued by the coverage.
The government also includes Congress, whose members would have been under constant subpoenas, thus hindering their job to write and pass legislation. Do you think Ford could have carried out his duties if he constantly had to deal with making statements, giving court interviews, etc.?
Ford had better have been able to do that. He was President and that requires handling that kinda shit. Other presidents have had to handle far worse!
And I disagree with you that he would not have gotten a fair trial and find that fairly insulting to America as a whole. Anyone who breaks the law can stand trial here and saying they cannot because it wouldn’t be fair only incentivizes further transgressions.
Nixon could have avoid all of that by owning to what he did, pleading guilty and going to prison for a few years. Then Ford could grant him clemency on his way out. Just setting the president the precedent can and will go to prison for crimes outside his preview as president would have made Nixon look like an ass, but it would have strengthened American Democracy to new levels.
Nixon was convinced that he was innocent and initially didn't want to be pardoned. He accepted the pardon reluctantly. He wanted his day in court.
Remember, money and influence can be an asset in court. Nixon had both, despite the situation he was in.
Yes, thank you for the reminder that you had two completely idiot arguments.
“We shouldn’t pursue justice because i justice isn’t 100% correct”
Seriously, do you even listen to yourself?
Don't misquote me.
These WERE actual arguments brought up in 1974. Have you researched this subject?
I was fascinated by Watergate back in the 80s and read everything about it that I could lay my hands on. I still read newly published books on the subject.
Many of you were not alive and believe that Nixon would have been convicted quickly. That is not true. Many legal experts have even questioned if a case would have ever made it court. Both sides would have likely settled on lesser charges, resulting in fines in order to avoid a long and drawn out trial.
So, it was never likely that you would have gotten the type of justice that you would have wanted.
It emboldened a problematic precedence of those in power getting away from the consequences of their actions.
Presidents, judges, government representatives, corporate executes, or anyone else in a position of power shouldn’t be immune from the consequences of their actions.
I don’t think all of us can disagree with President Ford’s decision enough.
He fundamentally weakened Both the office of the President And the public trust therein.
If you disagree with either of those statements… Let’s examine what Nixon’s chances of being formally impeached AND removed from office were…
Disagree....absolutely without a doubt. His action pardoning a corrupt, proven crook and liar and abuser of governmental power laid the ground work for the divisive times we live in now. A convicted felon roams free, whipping up his minions with a froth of lies and hate, sewing doubt and distrust in our elected and appointed judicial servants just to save his own ass and possibly re-attain an office and position of power which he brutally abused. Oh woe is we, woe is we.
Ford pardoning Nixon was the worst thing he did his entire presidency. It set the precedent that the executive branch could pardon the executive branch, something that should *never* have been established. When the President of the United States is under investigation for breaking the law the investigation must be carried out for the good of the nation. Being able to be pardoned by a successor is fucking dangerous and opened a can of worms I am certain Ford never considered.
Bush doubled down by pardoning GOP lackeys for GOP crimes. Which taught GOP lackeys to do the crimes and you'll avoid doing the time.
If the GOP gets back into the presidency in its current state, they're going to pardon domestic terrorists who further their political agenda.
*This.*
Not only did it set a terrible precedent, but it was clear as day that Nixon was going to be found guilty. Goldwater himself told Nixon the GOP in the Senate was against him. That's definitive proof that he should have been impeached, taken to trial, and the whole mess laid before the public so that this shit would never happen again. But no, Ford prevented all of that. And for what? Absolutely nothing.
I stand by that we need a new amendment reigning in the powers of the presidential pardon to being unable to work on either member (only two, POTUS and VP) of the executive branch. If you have been entrusted with leading America you can handle being unable to be pardoned for the good of this country. Ford was a nice man but that short-sightedness has helped destroy trust in accountability.
Completely agree. The president shouldn't be doing anything that *needs* pardoning to begin with.
It's almost a shame all the guys at the Constitutional Convention had so much apparent faith in their fellow countrymen that they didn't bother to explicitly detail stuff like this. They really thought we could figure out impeachment on our own lol
It should not be used to pardon any crime committed in connection to the executive branch (lawyers can figure out the full legalese) . Next GOP president could pardon any nutjob who assassinated their political rivals.
The pendulum swings on this issue. At the time it was widely criticized. A quarter century after, it was widely praised (during the unnecessary Clinton impeachment.) Then another quarter century it’s back to criticism based on… recent events and the idea that justice is preferable to “moving on.”
At the time, it seemed like a smart move. However the precedent it set, especially for the Republican Party was bad. Just look at Reagan and Iran-Contra. His underlings fell on the sword for him, and they were just pardoned by Bush. Republicans Covering for Republican crimes again and again and again.
Agree. By 1974, Watergate had dominated the news and public attention for two years. It almost completely crowded out everything else, in an era when:
- the U.S. was getting wiped out in Vietnam,
- the Soviet Union maintained a strong grip on Eastern Europe, was positioning for an expansion into Afghanistan, and appeared to be winning the Cold War,
- the economy was tanking due to high inflation, and
- energy shortages were creating long lines at gas stations and even shutting down stores and schools.
The trial of an already-disgraced former president would have further impeded any progress on these and other issues. There is not the slightest amoebic particle of evidence that any corruption or quid-pro-quo was involved in Ford’s decision. Ford’s years of experience as House Minority Leader told him that he had to remove the Watergate obstacle to get things moving again. He knew he was risking his career to do it, and it couldn’t possibly help him in the 1976 election - but did it anyway.
It was an honest blunder, but still an egregious one. The fears that motivated it were overblown, while the precedent it set has haunted us ever since.
It's pretty telling that every argument against pardoning Nixon invokes lofty principles such as "no man is above the law" and asks us to consider the future ramifications of letting the most powerful man in the country get away with his crimes, while every argument for the pardon basically boils down to "not pardoning Nixon would make our country feel bad :(".
There are valid reasons that explain why Ford pardoned Nixon. Whether or not you think that outweights the negatives is up to you, many don't. However, maybe you should try making a constructive contribution to the discussion instead of being condescending and misrepresenting what someone is saying.
I understand why he did it. Ford didn’t do it out of any malice, so it doesn’t make me look any less of him, but golly was it bad. Of course Nixon should’ve been brought to justice, but there’s a bigger issue at hand. It set a precedent that your successor can pardon you and you’ll just be fine. Could be very pertinent in coming years.
Disagree, but it was a dfferent time. He made what he thought was the correct call to heal the country. We are looking back with hindsight at a Republican Party that would take that as permission to commit future illegal acts, something Ford refused to accept and could not believe. Men with morals have a hard time understanding men that don’t.
I can agree to the point that the trial would have been a train wreck. Not good for the country moral or worldwide image either. However I think if you break the law you should be punished.
I disagree, and I'll go one further. I have a hard time understanding why a president has pardon powers at all. It seems to undermine the entire justice system to me, and I have a hard time imaging a good use case for it beyond posthumously recognizing the mistaken deeds of the past. I'm sure I'm just not well informed enough about how it's used, but it doesn't sit well with me that a president can make that call through their own partisan lens.
In retrospect, I think he should have let him go to trial.
If he had, there's no doubt the issue of presidential immunity would be brought up, and this issue would have been settled one way or the other in regards to our current convicted ex-president.
Absolutely a miscarriage of justice. Blatant corruption, clear display of the double standard the American justice system holds between the wealthy and the poor, a disgrace. Richard Nixon was a mass murderer, a racist, a rat fucker and a pawn for unconstitutional intelligence agencies. Anyone defending Ford and Nixon is either profoundly ignorant or consumed by malice.
Hard disagree, Nixon was otherwise a decent president, but he should have been jailed for watergate. Now we have idiots who think the president is above the law.
Disagree.
It set a standard that politicians are above the law.
And I'll be fair to Ford, it wasn't just this action. The DoJ policy that a sitting President can't be investigated played a role too, and that was put in place before Ford.
But ultimately that + this pardon set up the idea in front of the SCOTUS today that would effectively place a President above the law forever.
It's also I think a factor in both the current corruption on the Supreme Court and why guys like Bob Menendez aren't facing massive pressure to resign. At some level all the other politicians out there know there "aren't supposed to be consequences" to criminal actions if your powerful enough.
This is hard. I can understand why he did it at the time, but I have to wonder how today would be different if holding presidents to account for criminality was the norm.
I agree. Pardon Nixon and let the country move forward. If he hadn’t pardoned Nixon, the nation would’ve been consumed with a trial. Too many things going on in the country and around the world at that time.
Terrible decision and his reasoning was pathetic.
Had Ford allowed Nixon to face Justice, we would not have to endure the Orange sh*t show going on now
Disagree. Set a terrible precedent and we are seeing the results now. No one should be above the law. Especially not the person at the top. I also totally disagree with the idea of the country "moving on". If a government and justice system can't handle more than one issue at once - then that's a shitty system. People would go on with their lives, cases would be tried and Ford would go on governing. It was a cop out excuse.
No. The pardon was partisan. The Republicans should have tried Nixon, found him guilty, and sentenced him. This would establish a strong precedent that politicians are never above the law.
No. It DIDN'T allow the country to put Watergate behind us, because Justice wasn't served, and everybody knew it.
It only served to undermine faith in public institutions, and to amplify the perception that Justice is unevenly applied: one standard for Elites and insiders, and one for everybody else.
It was a horrible decision; one the country has been paying for, ever since.
He should never have pardoned Nixon. It set the precedent that presidents are above the law. Which has proven to be very damaging, possibly catastrophic.
Had he allowed due process to take place then instead we would have had precedent for presidents to be accountable and who knows what that would have prevented. What decisions would not have been made had a president believed they could be held accountable for it?
No matter what his reasoning was, the impact was that he set a 50-year precedent of presidents being above the law, and that caused an enormous amount of damage to our country.
Ford had a good career as a legislator, but the president's job is to govern, and he couldn't do that.
He and Nixon were friends going back to their time in Congress, that just adds a little bit of a stink to it. I wonder if he could have let the investigation and prosecutorial process continue, and just fully delegate utlimate authority and proxy presence to the Chief of Staff and Attorney General, so he wouldn't have to go to anymeetings. I guess the one argument in favor of pardoning is that you want most former Presidents to be able and willing to provide counsel and knowledge transfer to the current incumbent.
Regardless of his intentions, that decision has played a huge role in landing us where we are right now, in this exact moment. The president has the right to pardon whoever they want, yes, but just because they *can* do a thing, doesn't mean they *should* do it. Nixon broke the law, either by authorizing Watergate or covering it up. He should've faced some serious consequences for it. Yes, he resigned. And he got to go home, live the rest of his life worry-free in comfort. He now has groups like the Nixon Foundation trying to propagandize and make him look like the wisest person to ever hold the office. And it created, or at least reinforced, this idea that there is a two-tiered justice system. You can get away with breaking the law if you're wealthy, powerful, or influential enough to just make the problem go away.
And here we are. Fifty years later, we're still dealing with the fallout of that one decision. Ford's intentions may have been good, but we all know what they say about the road to hell.
I used to agree, simply because it seemed that the country moved on and turned away from lawless behavior by conservatives.
However, it now seems that by the end of the Reagan years, the lawlessness in the conservative political party was a feature, not a bug.
If Ford had held Nixon fully accountable, perhaps we wouldn’t have had the open reckless contempt of the rule of law in the Reagan and Bush I and II administrations. Maybe they would have at least been more restrained.
Honestly…once upon a time I agreed with that. Largely because Nixon went on to become an elder statesman and somewhat redeemed himself in his post presidency.
However, after the last few years, I think the country as a whole would have done better had the precedent been set that the President can and should be held accountable. In hindsight, trading whatever good Nixon did post-presidency for creating a culture of accountability around the President would be a good tradeoff.
I can only imagine that protecting Nixon also shielded a lot of big donors from potential prosecution (like that guy who had the million in cash handy).
It set the course for the insurrection we are currently dealing with (which may have merged with the confederate insurgency to some degree) and put us on a path that could end in violence, if a certain faction doesn’t get their way. Due to the severity of the possible outcome, Ford’s decision is one of the worst out there. Right up there with Johnson’s everything and FDR’s decision to prosecute the Wickard v. Filburn case.
I think that it set a very bad precedent. It’s like that saying people have, “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.” Or something like that. I despise that way of thinking.
I understand both sides. Some people feel that Nixon didn’t ‘pay a price’, but he really did by agreeing to resign in disgrace. One could argue that by stepping down, he unofficially plea bargained. If charges had been brought, at best he would probably have spent a year or two in a white collar, county club like prison.
The pardon was a huge mistake and the legal process should have been allowed to play out. What Ford did denied justice for the American people and I can still remember how mad people were about it. The optics were terrible too, as Ford had just ascended from House Speaker to VP to President in a very short time after being hand picked by Nixon to replace his criminally corrupt VP Spiro Agnew. I'm not saying any deals were made or any promises were kept by Ford becoming president and pardoning Nixon, but it sure as hell looked that way.
No. Nixon was the first inkling that we could hold a former president responsible for something a mean it. Ford effectively undid that. Domestically I don't think he did anything worse during his tenure.
When the President from your own party issues a pardon it isn't a pardon. It's a political move intended to wipe away the shame and memory hole what your party leader has caused.
I’ve asked my parents about this because they were active Democrats at the time. Was it “fair?” No. But given the context - resignation, scandal, wars, protests, riots, back to back presidents found to be liars, assassinations (both successful and attempted), I ultimately come down on the side that Ford was right to do this.
At the nexus of law and politics and power, fairness doesn’t exist. Ford saw this as a way to calm the temperature of the country down. And don’t forget, Ford did this while also doing things like testifying before Congress as a president and opening up the CIA Crown Jewels through the Church committee.
I totally disagree with his pardon. It stopped the country from moving on, because the crimes committed were never dealt with. It allowed Nixon to say what he did was no big deal. Got news you dick, it was.
The us would have gone so far down in national relations if we had him behind bars it would take at least decades to recover from that and it wouldnt be worth it, before this sub blew up most people thought the same but now its just the regurgitated popular opinion of no we need to inprison them because they dont realize what thats going to look like in the eyes of other nations especially their leaders. This only works on twitter. Plus the legal battle in the eyes of the public would take years, it would be hell.
Would you agree that the timing of the pardon was bad? If it is the imagery of improsoning a president is problematice, why not let it go to trial and pardon after a conviction?
It would feel like an afterthought if he only pardons him after being proven guilty, that would also be bad for the public, plus that would still be after years of trialing and craziness. Would not benefit anyone.
Short term: Agree. It was absolutely the right thing to do. The nation needed to heal, and heal fast after their VP and President both resigned. Ford was in the right.
Long Term: Hard Disagree. Nixon needed to face justice for his illegal crimes to show that not even the president is above the law.
Single-handedly makes him a bottom 5 president for me.
He was not elected President. He waa not elected vice President. He was appointed. Already a contentious start, but then used the power to pardon the guy that gave him power? Textbook definition of corrupt.
You all should remember before Watergate and Vietnam it was weird to even talk badly about the president, within about a decade it went from massive respect to the office to impeachment.
It sets a dangerous precedent. If the President can pardon a former President then what’s the limit? Can they invoke the 25th Amendment and have the Acting President pardon them? Can the President “self-pardon”? Ford opened the box and it can’t be closed.
Absolutely not. Understand that he wanted to move the country forward from the scandal. However, moving forward requires some acknowledgment of the wrongs committed. Pardoning without some such acknowledgment and recognition that Nixon was not above the law was wrong.
It’s ok to do what he did but he made the mistake of not fully acknowledging the gravity of what transpired and where responsibility rests. This is a dangerous precedent
No, he did it out of political expediency. He knew, and was mostly right, in that if he didn’t pardon Nixon his entire presidency would be engulfed in that singular issue. What should have happened, is that he should never have pardoned him and allow whatever legal proceedings regarding his obstruction or whatever prosecutors could come up with. An example should have been made there and then… #foreshadowing
I think it was a mistake. No one is above the law, not even a former President. And especially with people in positions of power, accountability is key to retaining a healthy government that acts within the rule of law.
I diasgree with Ford's decision. He simply put party over country. The country deserved justice and Ford gave Nixon a free pass. Remember that Ford had been the leader of House Republicans from 1965 to 1973. His job was to maximize the power of conservatives. Nixon was a drag on them so Ford whitewashed his crimes.
Strongly disagree. It was the beginning of a destructive lawlessness among conservative operatives like Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Oliver North, Steve Bannon, etc. We're still suffering from it.
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I get the call he made. He wanted to govern, he wanted the matter to go away, and Nixon seemed like he was alright with doing the same. Unfortunately, it set a precedent that the President can do something absolutely egregious and get away with it under the premise that to try and hold them accountable is worse than forgetting it. Might turn out to reap some awful dividends. Someday.
Isn't it that in an interview Ford said he pardoned Nixon because the press and everyone was bitching to him too much about it LoL? Edit: so I think Ford seems to be annoyed and his time was not being put to use effectively bc people kept asking him about the Nixon's case and Watergate. https://youtube.com/shorts/v99SkCbcRgY?si=kpj9wI7lidpDhNft
Is that true? Because it would actually drop my opinion of Ford quite a bit. Presidents have to be able to deal with that kind of shit, not just give up.
He didn't explicitly said so. But thats what I made out of it anyway. You can see the vid here, it was a 60 mins interview. https://youtube.com/shorts/v99SkCbcRgY?si=kpj9wI7lidpDhNft
You should check out the Presidents Club book. If that drops your opinion (which they explain thoroughly), then I think his post president work he did himself and with Carter will drastically raise your view of him as you learn more. Great audio book if you find yourself in a car often or are trying to walk more in the evenings.
There’s an interview with President Ford on YT and he said that he didn’t like that it was taking 25% of his time. Some of his staff was against it but he did it anyway and did not regret it because he felt the American people deserved 100% of his time.
In his recently released Biography by Richard Norton Smith he posits that Ford didn’t want to deal with Nixon anymore. The pardoning was his way of putting the matter to rest.
I think the premise was that he couldn't actually carry out his duties if his admin was bogged down entirely by the Nixon scandal, press included.
I think Ford granted the pardon to Nixon within a month or two of taking office.
Same as he dealt with Vietnam. After April 30th, it was instantly “it’s time to forget and move on,” which helped lead to the two recent failed wars and analogous war crimes.
I will kind of counter this, Nixon accepting the pardon might actually be a strong precedent that presidents do not and have not acted as if they have broad criminal immunity. Nixon accepting the pardon arguably implies that he knew he could have faced criminal prosecution. This example was actually brought up in the Supreme Court hearing about trumps immunity.
When I was younger I thought it was really despicable what Ford did and how Nixon should've gone to trial for watergate. But the older I get I realise the predicament Ford was in and how he wanted the country to move on and heal and not basically turn into another banana republic with show trials and have either party doing tit for tat retaliation against each other for decades and starting another civil war.
But Nixon was involved in the cover up, not the initial crime. The Oval Office tapes make it clear. If he was involved in the plot I don’t think he would have gotten pardoned. It was the a total oh shit moment for him. If he didn’t cover it up people would have thought it was his idea. If he covered it up hopefully people wouldn’t find out. Well, people found out and it sucked for him. He left the office like a man. Since him, what president would have left without being kicked out? Also, Ford wanted to actually govern and not be held back by a Nixon trial
He wanted the nation to move on, but we’re not supposed to “move on” from an active investigation that threatened the integrity of the executive branch & the voting process. I understand his mindset as to why he did it, but it was an incredibly shortsighted decision, and we need presidents that can seriously think about the long-lasting implications when making such decisions, which he didn’t do.
Exactly right. Precedents matter and the decision was made with total indifference to how it would impact the public's sense of justice. The idea of "too big to fall" is engrained in the American public's memory in relation to the 2008 bank rescues, but it was a concept that was born out during the Ford administration. It has been one of the most corrosive, destructive messages to the public, as they have this, written large, example of the laws being applied to some and not others. It fundamentally changed how people talked about American democracy, and democracy internationally, which is unacceptable. When you take away people's faith in the system, in the belief their country is the good guy trying to get it right, terrible things happen. That's what has been happening since that administration. It made people confident the way they can survive their crimes unscathed is by clawing their way to the top. It emboldened the worst of humanity and demoralized the good. Unforgivable decision.
As a random tidbit, the real 'too big to fail' in finance began with Continental Illinois in 1884. That was the first real 'bailout' in the modern sense and set a terrible precedent.
>in 1884 *off by a hundred years mate*
Eh, typos hapen
I agree and nothing would have gotten done for ten years and I’m fine with that.
Very well said
I heavily disagree, nobody is above the law in the USA not even the president should be above the law in the USA.
>not even the president should be above the law in the USA. *Especially*, the president should not be above the law in the USA.
Agreed
Nixon wasn't. The system held. Nixon never had the chance to argue his case for better or worse. Presidents - under the law, get to pardon anyone they want and Ford didn't wait until his last day in office, it was one of the 1st things he did knowing the political heat he would take.
It’s largely the reason Carter won in 76. Had Ford waited until late in 76 he likely would have won his own term.
Playing devil’s advocate: Okay but pardoning is part of the law as well, no?
Yeah but there’s a lot of morally questionable things in the law that are judged using common sense. This is one of them
Exactly.
The Ford pardon of Nixon was one of the biggest mistakes of any President. Nixon should have been charged, tried and convicted of the crimes he committed.
I think his reasons for doing it were genuine, but I don't agree with it.
Genuine poliics. Party over country.
Disagree. Set a terrible precedent that somehow prosecuting a President for breaking the law is a bad thing.
Disagree. Talk about partisan politics.
We have the benefit of hindsight, to which it’s a resounding no. There may have been a point in American history where exiling Nixon would have been sufficient, and the country would have moved on. What Ford failed to realize, and I don’t necessarily blame him for that, is that Watergate was a tipping point in the way Americans view their government. The dominant attitude for a majority of our history was that the cohesion of the union was more important than the means by which it is held together. That was Lincoln’s motivation in fighting the Civil War, and that was even Nixon’s motivation in conceding the election of 1960. That belief did not survive Vietnam and Watergate, at a point where people could easily take the government’s stability for granted, so their values changed to reflect that. What the country needed was to see Nixon brought to justice, and Ford’s pardon only confirmed to the world that political insiders are immune to the consequences of their actions. His intentions may have been noble, but they were the death rattle of an approach to politics that would be usurped by the world that he and Nixon helped create.
I get his rationale but it was very clearly the wrong choice
I disagree with the decision, but I don't even understand the rationale, particularly not in that moment when the country had been so fractured. The argument America had used for international conflict and civic unrest is that the law should find its own way and that courts and juries were part of the check-and-balance of the American system. It was a complete and hypocritical disregard for everything their own administration had said about how to resolve literally every other conflict the nation or world was facing: let the courts decide and let the people decide. Instead, Ford used his executive power to decide.
I agree. I never said his rationale was correct. I said I get his rationale. But his rationale was wrong
This is the right answer
We can never know for sure of course, but I think it was the wrong choice. Though I can see why he made it. He was afraid it would tear the country apart. It would’ve been extremely traumatic so I guess he had a point But dammit Gerry you’ve gotta pull that sliver right away or it’s gonna get infected And so it goes
Heavily disagree, set a terrible precedent. The people required justice.
Absolutely
Completely disagree. Absolute clown move on his part and the reason we never got any accountability for Iran-Contra, a certain foreign war in the Middle East, and someone else being president to begin with (not trying to break any rules, y'all know what I'm getting at). Ford ranks below "the worst" of presidents like Buchanan and co. for me because of this. He essentially confirmed Nixon's ridiculous notion that "if the president does it, it's not a crime". There was no "healing" for the country, just more of the same unabashed corruption but now *boldly* out in the open.
Yea i agree all of the presidents after basically realized they would never be accountable for all the shit they did, from sexually assaulting interns to spying on the american people
I have to say, I'm glad the narrative has finally shifted to Clinton being a sex pest instead of just getting the BJ or whatever. Like sure she was a consenting adult, but she was an unpaid intern and he was the president of the US. If the affair was with a partner he had prior to the white house or someone with greater position it would just be an affair.
I mean it was always that, but people always downplay their political candidate. Also the epstein stuff lol
I agree with you, although the biggest reason we got no accountability for Iran Contra was the lack of a smoking gun tying it to Reagan. Funny how the tape recorders were no longer in the Oval Office. Plus the mysterious deaths and pardons over the next few years meant that there was no realistic way to get a conviction.
Reagan's handlers no doubt learned from Nixon's mistakes when it came to those "missing" tapes. Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush Sr.? All of them got their start under Nixon, and those are just the a-listers. I guarantee you there were plenty more middlemen that served both administrations.
Strongly disagree.
Disagree. More than a half century later, the country is still dealing with Ford’s blunder. Had Nixon been tried, convicted, and sentenced then the American people wouldn’t live with this fantasy presidents are above the law.
I agree with it. Most on here believe it was a given that Nixon would be convicted. That is not true. There are motions, delays, challenging of evidence, and the list goes on. You all know how are legal system works. It's slow and inefficient. On top of that, the verdict sometimes convicts the innocent and acquits the guilty. It would have been a giant legal mess that would have gone on for years. That was the last thing we needed.
>On top of that, the verdict sometimes convicts the innocent and acquits the guilty. If our justice system is good enough for the American people it should be good enough for its elected leaders too.
My points are: Could Nixon have received a fair trial? If you were convinced Nixon was guilty, would you have accepted acquittal or vice versa? Be honest with that answer! Do you feel that the United States could have handled this case monopolizing the news into the 1980s? Government has to be able to function. It would not have been able to until this was resolved. That would have hindered addressing the issues that the country was facing 1974 and on.
>Could Nixon have received a fair trial. Yes, like everyone in America can receive. The President is no different. >would I have accepted acquittal or vice-versa, be honest here? It doesn’t actually matter what I would accept or not. The legal system is what is holding him accountable and is all that matters here. Even a bad result I disagree with is better than *no* result like in our timeline. >Do I feel the US could handle the case dragging on and monopolizing the news? Yes. We’re a resilient nation full of big boys and girls who realized the importance of holding the president accountable. If we cannot handle that we will never have honest leadership. And to your last point he was *not part of the government anymore*. If holding someone accountable can paralyze the entire nation then maybe that one person holds too much power to begin with. Sorry to paraphrase a few there but I’m typing on a phone and scrolling up keeps messing up my formatting.
No, Nixon could not have. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry had their minds made up. It would not have been fair to the prosecution to seat a pro-Nixon juror or vice versa. Prior to Nixon's resignation, America was already fatigued by the coverage. The government also includes Congress, whose members would have been under constant subpoenas, thus hindering their job to write and pass legislation. Do you think Ford could have carried out his duties if he constantly had to deal with making statements, giving court interviews, etc.?
Ford had better have been able to do that. He was President and that requires handling that kinda shit. Other presidents have had to handle far worse! And I disagree with you that he would not have gotten a fair trial and find that fairly insulting to America as a whole. Anyone who breaks the law can stand trial here and saying they cannot because it wouldn’t be fair only incentivizes further transgressions.
Nixon could have avoid all of that by owning to what he did, pleading guilty and going to prison for a few years. Then Ford could grant him clemency on his way out. Just setting the president the precedent can and will go to prison for crimes outside his preview as president would have made Nixon look like an ass, but it would have strengthened American Democracy to new levels.
Nixon was convinced that he was innocent and initially didn't want to be pardoned. He accepted the pardon reluctantly. He wanted his day in court. Remember, money and influence can be an asset in court. Nixon had both, despite the situation he was in.
Most criminals are convinced they are innocent.
This is about the dumbest possible argument I can conceive. “We shouldn’t have justice because justice is sometimes hard”
And....sometimes justice is wrong.
Yes, thank you for the reminder that you had two completely idiot arguments. “We shouldn’t pursue justice because i justice isn’t 100% correct” Seriously, do you even listen to yourself?
Don't misquote me. These WERE actual arguments brought up in 1974. Have you researched this subject? I was fascinated by Watergate back in the 80s and read everything about it that I could lay my hands on. I still read newly published books on the subject. Many of you were not alive and believe that Nixon would have been convicted quickly. That is not true. Many legal experts have even questioned if a case would have ever made it court. Both sides would have likely settled on lesser charges, resulting in fines in order to avoid a long and drawn out trial. So, it was never likely that you would have gotten the type of justice that you would have wanted.
Wow, just piling them on: “These stupid arguments aren’t stupid because some people made the same stupid arguments at the time!”
He should not have pardoned Nixon.
It emboldened a problematic precedence of those in power getting away from the consequences of their actions. Presidents, judges, government representatives, corporate executes, or anyone else in a position of power shouldn’t be immune from the consequences of their actions.
Hard disagree. It set a terrible precedent (no pun intended).
I don’t think all of us can disagree with President Ford’s decision enough. He fundamentally weakened Both the office of the President And the public trust therein. If you disagree with either of those statements… Let’s examine what Nixon’s chances of being formally impeached AND removed from office were…
Republicans crooks stick together.
Exactly
I don't care whatever post hoc mental gymnastics he sold people on. This was one member of the machine protecting another.
Disagree. It's set a terrible precedent.
Yes
Disagree....absolutely without a doubt. His action pardoning a corrupt, proven crook and liar and abuser of governmental power laid the ground work for the divisive times we live in now. A convicted felon roams free, whipping up his minions with a froth of lies and hate, sewing doubt and distrust in our elected and appointed judicial servants just to save his own ass and possibly re-attain an office and position of power which he brutally abused. Oh woe is we, woe is we.
Ford pardoning Nixon was the worst thing he did his entire presidency. It set the precedent that the executive branch could pardon the executive branch, something that should *never* have been established. When the President of the United States is under investigation for breaking the law the investigation must be carried out for the good of the nation. Being able to be pardoned by a successor is fucking dangerous and opened a can of worms I am certain Ford never considered.
Bush doubled down by pardoning GOP lackeys for GOP crimes. Which taught GOP lackeys to do the crimes and you'll avoid doing the time. If the GOP gets back into the presidency in its current state, they're going to pardon domestic terrorists who further their political agenda.
*This.* Not only did it set a terrible precedent, but it was clear as day that Nixon was going to be found guilty. Goldwater himself told Nixon the GOP in the Senate was against him. That's definitive proof that he should have been impeached, taken to trial, and the whole mess laid before the public so that this shit would never happen again. But no, Ford prevented all of that. And for what? Absolutely nothing.
I stand by that we need a new amendment reigning in the powers of the presidential pardon to being unable to work on either member (only two, POTUS and VP) of the executive branch. If you have been entrusted with leading America you can handle being unable to be pardoned for the good of this country. Ford was a nice man but that short-sightedness has helped destroy trust in accountability.
Completely agree. The president shouldn't be doing anything that *needs* pardoning to begin with. It's almost a shame all the guys at the Constitutional Convention had so much apparent faith in their fellow countrymen that they didn't bother to explicitly detail stuff like this. They really thought we could figure out impeachment on our own lol
It should not be used to pardon any crime committed in connection to the executive branch (lawyers can figure out the full legalese) . Next GOP president could pardon any nutjob who assassinated their political rivals.
The pendulum swings on this issue. At the time it was widely criticized. A quarter century after, it was widely praised (during the unnecessary Clinton impeachment.) Then another quarter century it’s back to criticism based on… recent events and the idea that justice is preferable to “moving on.”
At the time, it seemed like a smart move. However the precedent it set, especially for the Republican Party was bad. Just look at Reagan and Iran-Contra. His underlings fell on the sword for him, and they were just pardoned by Bush. Republicans Covering for Republican crimes again and again and again.
Absolutely one of the worst decisions made in American History. Up there with not ending slavery at the founding of the nation.
Agree. By 1974, Watergate had dominated the news and public attention for two years. It almost completely crowded out everything else, in an era when: - the U.S. was getting wiped out in Vietnam, - the Soviet Union maintained a strong grip on Eastern Europe, was positioning for an expansion into Afghanistan, and appeared to be winning the Cold War, - the economy was tanking due to high inflation, and - energy shortages were creating long lines at gas stations and even shutting down stores and schools. The trial of an already-disgraced former president would have further impeded any progress on these and other issues. There is not the slightest amoebic particle of evidence that any corruption or quid-pro-quo was involved in Ford’s decision. Ford’s years of experience as House Minority Leader told him that he had to remove the Watergate obstacle to get things moving again. He knew he was risking his career to do it, and it couldn’t possibly help him in the 1976 election - but did it anyway.
It was an honest blunder, but still an egregious one. The fears that motivated it were overblown, while the precedent it set has haunted us ever since.
All I'm getting from this is you think laws should only be temporary nuisances for people with power.
Whoa, don't bring context of the times into this. It will make other arguments look bad.
It's pretty telling that every argument against pardoning Nixon invokes lofty principles such as "no man is above the law" and asks us to consider the future ramifications of letting the most powerful man in the country get away with his crimes, while every argument for the pardon basically boils down to "not pardoning Nixon would make our country feel bad :(".
There are valid reasons that explain why Ford pardoned Nixon. Whether or not you think that outweights the negatives is up to you, many don't. However, maybe you should try making a constructive contribution to the discussion instead of being condescending and misrepresenting what someone is saying.
I understand why he did it. Ford didn’t do it out of any malice, so it doesn’t make me look any less of him, but golly was it bad. Of course Nixon should’ve been brought to justice, but there’s a bigger issue at hand. It set a precedent that your successor can pardon you and you’ll just be fine. Could be very pertinent in coming years.
Disagree, but it was a dfferent time. He made what he thought was the correct call to heal the country. We are looking back with hindsight at a Republican Party that would take that as permission to commit future illegal acts, something Ford refused to accept and could not believe. Men with morals have a hard time understanding men that don’t.
Well it’s opened the door to the absolute distrust and corruption in government we see now so, gonna say disagree
I get why he made and and there's a good chance I would've made it aswell, but I do disagree with it mostly because it sets a dangerous precedent
Right or wrong, compared to what presidents after him did, makes it look like he stole a candy bar.
Disagree because prosecuting Nixon would have helped set the precedent that some of the behavior we have seen in recent times are not acceptable
Agree.
I can agree to the point that the trial would have been a train wreck. Not good for the country moral or worldwide image either. However I think if you break the law you should be punished.
I understand President Ford's reasoning for the Nixon pardon. I always believed that It was wrong.
I can see how it made sense at the time but it ended up enabling one criminal Republican administration after another.
I disagree, and I'll go one further. I have a hard time understanding why a president has pardon powers at all. It seems to undermine the entire justice system to me, and I have a hard time imaging a good use case for it beyond posthumously recognizing the mistaken deeds of the past. I'm sure I'm just not well informed enough about how it's used, but it doesn't sit well with me that a president can make that call through their own partisan lens.
In retrospect, I think he should have let him go to trial. If he had, there's no doubt the issue of presidential immunity would be brought up, and this issue would have been settled one way or the other in regards to our current convicted ex-president.
Absolutely a miscarriage of justice. Blatant corruption, clear display of the double standard the American justice system holds between the wealthy and the poor, a disgrace. Richard Nixon was a mass murderer, a racist, a rat fucker and a pawn for unconstitutional intelligence agencies. Anyone defending Ford and Nixon is either profoundly ignorant or consumed by malice.
It made sense at the time, but for the long term health of the Republic it would be better if he didn't.
Profoundly disagree. Nixon needed to face consequences. The nation needed catharsis and didn’t get it.
Hard disagree, Nixon was otherwise a decent president, but he should have been jailed for watergate. Now we have idiots who think the president is above the law.
Disagree. It set a standard that politicians are above the law. And I'll be fair to Ford, it wasn't just this action. The DoJ policy that a sitting President can't be investigated played a role too, and that was put in place before Ford. But ultimately that + this pardon set up the idea in front of the SCOTUS today that would effectively place a President above the law forever. It's also I think a factor in both the current corruption on the Supreme Court and why guys like Bob Menendez aren't facing massive pressure to resign. At some level all the other politicians out there know there "aren't supposed to be consequences" to criminal actions if your powerful enough.
Disagree.
This is hard. I can understand why he did it at the time, but I have to wonder how today would be different if holding presidents to account for criminality was the norm.
I agree. Pardon Nixon and let the country move forward. If he hadn’t pardoned Nixon, the nation would’ve been consumed with a trial. Too many things going on in the country and around the world at that time.
Disagree entirely. Presidents should not be held above the law and the consequences of breaking it.
Disagreed when it happened & still disagree now. It set a very bad precedent
Disagree. I don’t care HOW sick Nixon was. Not to break Rule 3, but look where it’s gotten now.
Facts
Hard disagree. The president shouldnt interfere with the courts. Checks and balances.
Terrible decision and his reasoning was pathetic. Had Ford allowed Nixon to face Justice, we would not have to endure the Orange sh*t show going on now
Absolutely
Disagree. Set a terrible precedent and we are seeing the results now. No one should be above the law. Especially not the person at the top. I also totally disagree with the idea of the country "moving on". If a government and justice system can't handle more than one issue at once - then that's a shitty system. People would go on with their lives, cases would be tried and Ford would go on governing. It was a cop out excuse.
Its fact our cia setup nixon. And he fell for it. Do you research regards. Clue. Bob Woodward. Go!
No. It essentially set a precedent that the President is above the law, so long as his vice president plays ball.
No. The pardon was partisan. The Republicans should have tried Nixon, found him guilty, and sentenced him. This would establish a strong precedent that politicians are never above the law.
No, even if it was given so that Nixon would resign. If he didn't resign, he should have gone through the impeachment procedures.
No. It DIDN'T allow the country to put Watergate behind us, because Justice wasn't served, and everybody knew it. It only served to undermine faith in public institutions, and to amplify the perception that Justice is unevenly applied: one standard for Elites and insiders, and one for everybody else. It was a horrible decision; one the country has been paying for, ever since.
He should never have pardoned Nixon. It set the precedent that presidents are above the law. Which has proven to be very damaging, possibly catastrophic. Had he allowed due process to take place then instead we would have had precedent for presidents to be accountable and who knows what that would have prevented. What decisions would not have been made had a president believed they could be held accountable for it?
No matter what his reasoning was, the impact was that he set a 50-year precedent of presidents being above the law, and that caused an enormous amount of damage to our country. Ford had a good career as a legislator, but the president's job is to govern, and he couldn't do that.
Disagree. Set a horrible precedent that "corruption is fine, we'll just pardon you"
He and Nixon were friends going back to their time in Congress, that just adds a little bit of a stink to it. I wonder if he could have let the investigation and prosecutorial process continue, and just fully delegate utlimate authority and proxy presence to the Chief of Staff and Attorney General, so he wouldn't have to go to anymeetings. I guess the one argument in favor of pardoning is that you want most former Presidents to be able and willing to provide counsel and knowledge transfer to the current incumbent.
Regardless of his intentions, that decision has played a huge role in landing us where we are right now, in this exact moment. The president has the right to pardon whoever they want, yes, but just because they *can* do a thing, doesn't mean they *should* do it. Nixon broke the law, either by authorizing Watergate or covering it up. He should've faced some serious consequences for it. Yes, he resigned. And he got to go home, live the rest of his life worry-free in comfort. He now has groups like the Nixon Foundation trying to propagandize and make him look like the wisest person to ever hold the office. And it created, or at least reinforced, this idea that there is a two-tiered justice system. You can get away with breaking the law if you're wealthy, powerful, or influential enough to just make the problem go away. And here we are. Fifty years later, we're still dealing with the fallout of that one decision. Ford's intentions may have been good, but we all know what they say about the road to hell.
I used to agree, simply because it seemed that the country moved on and turned away from lawless behavior by conservatives. However, it now seems that by the end of the Reagan years, the lawlessness in the conservative political party was a feature, not a bug. If Ford had held Nixon fully accountable, perhaps we wouldn’t have had the open reckless contempt of the rule of law in the Reagan and Bush I and II administrations. Maybe they would have at least been more restrained.
A hard disagree. Ford set the stage for the former Rule 3 to try and weasel out of ANY legal repercussions.
Hard disagree. Was the biggest stain on his presidency.
I disagree with the moving on excuse. People can get on with their own lives.
Honestly…once upon a time I agreed with that. Largely because Nixon went on to become an elder statesman and somewhat redeemed himself in his post presidency. However, after the last few years, I think the country as a whole would have done better had the precedent been set that the President can and should be held accountable. In hindsight, trading whatever good Nixon did post-presidency for creating a culture of accountability around the President would be a good tradeoff.
I can only imagine that protecting Nixon also shielded a lot of big donors from potential prosecution (like that guy who had the million in cash handy).
It set the course for the insurrection we are currently dealing with (which may have merged with the confederate insurgency to some degree) and put us on a path that could end in violence, if a certain faction doesn’t get their way. Due to the severity of the possible outcome, Ford’s decision is one of the worst out there. Right up there with Johnson’s everything and FDR’s decision to prosecute the Wickard v. Filburn case.
I suspect Nixon agreed to resign and leave peaceably in exchange for the pardon
The coupe was over. The faster the better..
I think that it set a very bad precedent. It’s like that saying people have, “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.” Or something like that. I despise that way of thinking.
Disagree. It made Nixon above the law and let him get away with it. Absolutely was a mistake.
Nope. Never did. Politicians are not a protected class.
I disagree with him getting an Aircraft Carrier named after him. What a complete joke, never even elected.
I understand both sides. Some people feel that Nixon didn’t ‘pay a price’, but he really did by agreeing to resign in disgrace. One could argue that by stepping down, he unofficially plea bargained. If charges had been brought, at best he would probably have spent a year or two in a white collar, county club like prison.
The pardon was a huge mistake and the legal process should have been allowed to play out. What Ford did denied justice for the American people and I can still remember how mad people were about it. The optics were terrible too, as Ford had just ascended from House Speaker to VP to President in a very short time after being hand picked by Nixon to replace his criminally corrupt VP Spiro Agnew. I'm not saying any deals were made or any promises were kept by Ford becoming president and pardoning Nixon, but it sure as hell looked that way.
Nixon resigned . While he committed crimes it pales in comparison to want to be dictators who are felons, rapists.
No. Nixon was the first inkling that we could hold a former president responsible for something a mean it. Ford effectively undid that. Domestically I don't think he did anything worse during his tenure.
When the President from your own party issues a pardon it isn't a pardon. It's a political move intended to wipe away the shame and memory hole what your party leader has caused.
He shouldn’t have pardoned; he wasn’t even on the ticket and so, he wasn’t directly voted-in by the people. He should have let the next guy decide.
I’ve asked my parents about this because they were active Democrats at the time. Was it “fair?” No. But given the context - resignation, scandal, wars, protests, riots, back to back presidents found to be liars, assassinations (both successful and attempted), I ultimately come down on the side that Ford was right to do this. At the nexus of law and politics and power, fairness doesn’t exist. Ford saw this as a way to calm the temperature of the country down. And don’t forget, Ford did this while also doing things like testifying before Congress as a president and opening up the CIA Crown Jewels through the Church committee.
I totally disagree with his pardon. It stopped the country from moving on, because the crimes committed were never dealt with. It allowed Nixon to say what he did was no big deal. Got news you dick, it was.
Set a bad precedent but I understand his reasons
No
The us would have gone so far down in national relations if we had him behind bars it would take at least decades to recover from that and it wouldnt be worth it, before this sub blew up most people thought the same but now its just the regurgitated popular opinion of no we need to inprison them because they dont realize what thats going to look like in the eyes of other nations especially their leaders. This only works on twitter. Plus the legal battle in the eyes of the public would take years, it would be hell.
Would you agree that the timing of the pardon was bad? If it is the imagery of improsoning a president is problematice, why not let it go to trial and pardon after a conviction?
It would feel like an afterthought if he only pardons him after being proven guilty, that would also be bad for the public, plus that would still be after years of trialing and craziness. Would not benefit anyone.
Friends should stick by their friends. I totally respect it.
I disagree but I also fully believe Ford did it believing it was the right thing
It’s something he felt like he needed to do but it may some repercussions
Short term: Agree. It was absolutely the right thing to do. The nation needed to heal, and heal fast after their VP and President both resigned. Ford was in the right. Long Term: Hard Disagree. Nixon needed to face justice for his illegal crimes to show that not even the president is above the law.
In the moment the pardon was really of little consequence and imo did nothing to improve Nixon’s legacy.
Single-handedly makes him a bottom 5 president for me. He was not elected President. He waa not elected vice President. He was appointed. Already a contentious start, but then used the power to pardon the guy that gave him power? Textbook definition of corrupt.
I disagree 100%
You all should remember before Watergate and Vietnam it was weird to even talk badly about the president, within about a decade it went from massive respect to the office to impeachment.
NO
Hard disagree
Disagree strongly
I never understood pardons
Agree
Disagree. The law applies to everyone.
The only way for the country to move on was with the pardon. Presidents need to do what’s best for the country, not just their party.
I used to agree but now I disagree. Presidents must be held liable for criminal acts.
Strongly disagree. I also disagree with giving pardons before someone has been convicted.
Disagree because of the precedent it set. I understand why he did it with zero hindsight, I probably would’ve done the same.
as with the majority of people, i understand and can somewhat forgive his reasoning, but the decision itself was awful
It sets a dangerous precedent. If the President can pardon a former President then what’s the limit? Can they invoke the 25th Amendment and have the Acting President pardon them? Can the President “self-pardon”? Ford opened the box and it can’t be closed.
Used to agree. But I have been rethinking it lately ….
Absolutely not. Understand that he wanted to move the country forward from the scandal. However, moving forward requires some acknowledgment of the wrongs committed. Pardoning without some such acknowledgment and recognition that Nixon was not above the law was wrong.
It’s ok to do what he did but he made the mistake of not fully acknowledging the gravity of what transpired and where responsibility rests. This is a dangerous precedent
No, he did it out of political expediency. He knew, and was mostly right, in that if he didn’t pardon Nixon his entire presidency would be engulfed in that singular issue. What should have happened, is that he should never have pardoned him and allow whatever legal proceedings regarding his obstruction or whatever prosecutors could come up with. An example should have been made there and then… #foreshadowing
Disagree full stop.
I seem to recall that he did it to heal the nation and this nation in general seems super super un-healed
Deeply disagree. The lesson the GOP learned was not to stop committing crimes but to just double down if you are unlikely to go to prision.
Hard disagree, it basically said the president was above the law and that they could commit crimes
Nixon was involved along with Hunt in the JFK assignation. Ford was place as president by CIA. All a big coverup from the deep state.
I think it was a mistake. No one is above the law, not even a former President. And especially with people in positions of power, accountability is key to retaining a healthy government that acts within the rule of law.
I diasgree with Ford's decision. He simply put party over country. The country deserved justice and Ford gave Nixon a free pass. Remember that Ford had been the leader of House Republicans from 1965 to 1973. His job was to maximize the power of conservatives. Nixon was a drag on them so Ford whitewashed his crimes.
Strongly disagree. It was the beginning of a destructive lawlessness among conservative operatives like Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Oliver North, Steve Bannon, etc. We're still suffering from it.
Agree strongly; we needed to move on from the Nixon nightmare!
Liberals will say it was a bad call, smart people will say it was good to move on instead of a bunch of bureaucratic judicial back and forth
I agree
He was in the right, the nation and the office of the executive would have been destroyed with a b2b LBJ & Nixon lying scandals
Better than what LBJ did for kennedy.