On September 8, 1974, Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for all crimes committed while in office. There has been controversy over whether he should have or not. Timothy Noah, former Slate staffer and author of Why Pardoning Nixon Was Wrong, believes he should not have pardoned Nixon. Noah gives many reasons as to why pardoning Nixon was wrong. The main reason is that it set a bad precedent. Ford did not actually know what he was pardoning Nixon for. When you are pardoning somebody, it is probably a good idea to know what you are pardoning him for. Because Nixon was pardoned, we really do not know what would have happened if he even had stood trial. If he did, future presidents would quickly learn that they are not above the law. …show more content…
Presidents are not above the law, so that does not give the right for Nixon to be relieved of his crimes. If Nixon would have gone to trial, future presidents would have learned that. Instead, presidents can get away with crimes and other presidents can pardon those who have committed crimes. Even if Ford had not pardoned Nixon, there is question as to whether he would have stood trial or not. Jaworski states that he would have “replied in the negative” if asked if he thought Nixon would receive a fair trial (Cannon). With that in mind, Nixon might not have stood trial. Although, Richard Ben-Veniste, a former employee of Jaworski, states that Jaworski believed Nixon’s fall from presidency was enough punishment (Ben-Veniste). This leads me to believe Jaworski was in favor of Nixon and did not want to see him go to trial. Unfortunately, even if you do not want someone to go to trial, it is the right thing to …show more content…
Before Nixon resigned, Alexander Haig, chief of staff, proposed an offer to Ford. He said that Nixon would leave if Ford were to guarantee him a pardon. Ford’s answer was that he would think about it. He later phoned Haig and said, “No deal.” Yet, the next day Ford told somebody he would and a month later he did (Woodward). Obviously, the pardon was not Ford’s idea, it was Nixon’s. This is also why it was wrong. At the time, Ford was also concerned about Nixon’s state of health. Woodward states that they were much closer friends than anybody realized (Woodward). Just because they were friends should not justify giving Nixon a pardon. Committing a crime is bigger than a friendship, especially when you are president. His health should not have played a factor, either. Since when does a criminal being ill stop a prosecution? Plus, he was not really that sick considering he lived for another 20 years (Noah). I honestly believe Nixon might have been playing it up so Ford would grant him the pardon and that is not
This testimony led to the fight for the tape recordings from the House Judiciary Committee, the House believed that these could help uncover his role in the Watergate Scandal. The public was having an increase in suspicion of Nixon because of his vigorous effort to defend the tapes. After the Supreme Court’s rejection of Nixon's executive privilege, there were over 700 white house files, 19 presidential conversations, and over 42 additional tapes taken, but the biggest suspicion was the eighteen and a half minute silent gap in a conversation with Mr.Haldeman in 1972. Nixon later in court lies about the $25,000 check given to Bernard Barker, saying that he is probably a “bum” and definitely did not receive the money from CREEP, even though the check was directly traceable to the committee. On May 10, 1989 the House of Representatives adopted 3 Articles of impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors, with the first two articles charging Nixon with giving false testimony before the grand jury and the third article with bringing disrepute on the Federal judiciary. These charges placed on the highest position in American society is disastrous and leads to a distrust in government within the American people.The fact that Nixon was granted a full pardon and was acquitted of all of the charges makes Americans lose hope in the American Judicial System and makes people question the “role of the
Richard Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal left no doubt to his involvement of being impeached. During the Nixon Administration, he was able to prevent colleges from being gender biased and allowing both male and female to have equal opportunity and receiving financial aid as well as competing in sports. He was able to establish the Environmental Protection Agency. He also worked to create a relationship between the U.S and the Middle East. Unfortunately, even with all of the accomplishments, he was able to have, everyone will remember Richard Nixon as the president who was involved in the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal left an asterisk by his legacy while being in the office, the results left him with having to resign and with him facing criminal charges as well, the Scandal became well known to the public in the summer of 1974. Through my essay, I will discuss why I am intrigued by the Watergate scandal, and discuss what if Richard Nixon never got caught on the audio tape?
Everything about Trump's pardon of Joe Arpaio, a former police sheriff in Arizona, was considered highly unorthodox. Arpaio did not meet any of the Department of Justice’s guidelines for a pardon: he has not been convicted for at least five years, he had shown no guilt or regret for the crimes he committed, and Arpaio had not even applied for a pardon at the Office of Pardon Attorney. Only one day before the pardon was issued, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that Trump would follow a "thorough and standard process" in considering the pardon for the former Arizona sheriff. That process requires seven layers of review and a background check conducted by the FBI. The President’s constitutional power to "grant reprieves
Gerald Ford’s biggest win over the public's hearts was the pardon of Nixon. In 1974, President Gerald Ford issued a proclamation that gave Richard Nixon a pardon for all of his crimes, past and present. A lot of people disagreed with the pardon of Nixon. However, having Ford issue a proclamation for Nixon came with a price. In exchange for the proclamation, Nixon must resign, thus letting Nixon became president. Nixon and Ford’s very close relationship was one of the reasons Ford issued the proclamation. He felt that the pardon would make Nixon’s family and the entire country a better place. Since a lot of controversy was made towards Nixon’s pardon, Ford did not win the 1976 presidential election. Gerald Ford was the first president to testify
The first reason that Chuck should have pleaded guilty is because he had become a better man. He had previously accepted Christ into his life, and he was a devote follower. He had attended different Bible studies, and he noticed the change within him and throughout his life. His wife had always been a Christian, but she had not been as devote, or animate about it. Now she too, was attending the
It is amazing to know how a person’s reputation is important! It is interesting to know how many important people can easily lose their reputation. Senator Richard Nixon did something unique after being accused of stealing money from a campaign fund. This accusation was heard everywhere and General Dwight Eisenhower was about to make a decision in dropping Nixon from his choice for Vice President. Richard Nixon then delivered a thirty minute speech instead of trying to clear his name in going to interviewers and journalists; the speech Richard Nixon gave, saved his career and it also took him beyond congress. It is good to hear that his speech worked and making his speech the top sixth speeches of the 20th century. Probably Richard Nixon and his family went through hard and difficult times throughout the accusation but Richard Nixon and his family was very strong to overcome it.
Nixon. It was clearly a ‘painful decision’ for the Tribune's editors, most of whom know the president personally” (1974, May 14). This statement is based on the fact that the Chicago Tribune’s Editorial was calling for the president to leave the office due to the Watergate affair. What was also mentioned was the fact that most if not all of the editors knew the president personally, and it appears that they were all on board to quickly to impeach the president. Dean Burch goes on to report, mostly in Nixon’s defense, that the president faces many decisions every day that affect all the lives in America, and he made the correct decision to open a full investigation into the Watergate scandal. One key question is also brought up: “Did Richard Nixon do wrong?” (1974, May 14). From reading this article it appears that the writer was looking at what the president was thinking and doing as a whole, not just speculate and ridicule him on just one topic. The article also references that “Like all good presidents, he is not perfect” (1974, May 14), by that statement if is clear that there were many other aspects of the situation that was not being recognized by the Chicago Tribune.
In the election of 1972, Nixon won by over sixty percent of the votes and won all states except Massachusetts against George McGovern (“The History Place…”). This is one of the biggest landslides in U.S. Presidential election history. In January 1973, Richard Nixon’s approval rating was sixty-seven percent, which is relatively high compared to current president Barack Obama’s forty-seven percent and many other Presidents before him (“The History Place…”). Therefore, he had a great reputation and was in the highest possible position, the leader of the free world, just like Father Flynn was in his parish. Richard Nixon also had a very positive relationship with members of the White House. For example, members of the White House were caught breaking in and violating the law to get President Nixon re-elected (“The History Place…”). Abuse of power comes from a high reputation that is unquestioned.
Born in 1913 in Yorba Linda, California, Richard Milhouse Nixon was raised in a Quaker home with his four brothers, mother and father. His family led a docile life by abstaining from all dancing, swearing, drinking and other common Quaker practices (Barron 12). Financially, the family struggled and he could not afford to attend Harvard University even with a full-ride scholarship. Instead, Nixon enrolled at Whittier College, a popular Quaker college close to home (Barron 39). Nixon began dominating all of his academics and it was at Whittier where he began to shape his future political career.
Honestly I happen to believe that every president has their flaws. President Nixon was not the first president whose integrity was questioned for discerning and being dishonest. He sure wasn’t the last president that was called into questioning regarding being untruthful. These activities still and will continue, not only for presidents but for the current presidential candidates that we currently have. For example, Hilary Clinton, is currently under investigation for being untruthful about her emails and has a chance of being indicted. Our current president Obama is often caught up in political scandals. President Bush was often blamed for 911 and lied about many of the graphic details of Iraq. After terrorist activities of September 11, 2001
Richard Nixon's presidency is one of the most examined, analyzed and discussed, yet least understood, of all the American administrations in history. While many factors still remain to be discovered, and many mysteries are left to be resolved, we need to do the best that we can to make sense of this secretive president of our past and his era. He is the one American figure about whom very few people don't have strong feelings for. Nixon is loved and hated, honored and mocked . The term 'Watergate', labeled by Congress in 1974, stands for not only the burglary, but also for the numerous instances of officially sanctioned criminal activity and abuses of power as well as the obstruction of justice that preceded the actual break-in.
Richard Nixon, though created a large credibility gap within the US, he accomplished a lot for the country. He served five years in the presidential office as a republican (1969-1974), and he was the only president to resign from office in history. Although through his presidency he had accomplished many things, such as creating revenue sharing, ending the draft, and creating anticrime laws, he still had a rough time rebuilding his reputation after many assumptions of corruption in his office. Though he never admittedly pledged guilty to his crimes of taking government funds for his own personal gain, there was proof that he was. After the Watergate scandal, the American people set their mind to believe what the proof led to, so Nixon’s
Nixon on the other hand, looked off camera and made eye contact with the four news correspondents instead of engaging his real audience, the American people watching at home. This was negatively perceived by those watching as Nixon shifting his gaze to avoid eye contact.
Supreme Court ruled that Nixon was being unconstitutional. This is undoubtedly true due to the
The impact of the scandal led to his resignation. He had to choose between resigning and getting impeached. He preferred the first. He was going to be impeached for three major violations. They were violation of constitutional oath, prevented, obstructed, and impeded administration of justice, and concealed those responsible of prison. However he avoided them by resigning and also getting a pardon from the next president-Gerald Ford.