preview

Why Ford Should Not Have Pardoned Nixon

Decent Essays

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

Get Access