Pardon of Richard Nixon

Pardon of Richard Nixon

The pardon of Richard Nixon was issued by President Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974. Ford granted to Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president. Critics derided the move and claimed that the pardon was one of the major reasons that Ford lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter.

About Pardon of Richard Nixon in brief

Summary Pardon of Richard NixonThe pardon of Richard Nixon was issued by President Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974. Ford granted to Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president. The pardon covered Nixon’s actions during the Watergate scandal. Critics derided the move and claimed that the pardon was one of the major reasons that Ford lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter. In his 1979 autobiography, A Time to Heal, Ford wrote about a meeting he had with White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig before Nixon’s resignation. Haig told Ford that some of Nixon’s staff suggested that Nixon could agree to resign in return for an agreement that Ford would pardon him. Ford eventually agreed and granted Nixon a pardon that ended any possibility of an indictment in the U.S.

in the future. Nixon then released a statement: I was wrong in not acting more decisively in dealing with Watergate. No words can describe the depth of my regret and pain my mistakes have caused the nation and the presidency, a nation I love, and an institution I so deeply respect and so greatly respect,\” said Nixon. Historians believe that Ford’s pardon was granted in exchange for Nixon’s resigning, elevating Ford to the presidency. The pardon was a pivotal moment in the presidency of Ford, and historians believe that the controversy was one major reason that the president lost the election in 1976 to Carter. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon of Nixon was in the best interests of the country.