“Jerry Ford acted in accord with what he sincerely felt were the best interests of the country; that there was no secret quid pro quo with Nixon for a pardon in return for resignation; and that Ford, a compassionate man, was moved by the palpable suffering of a man who had lost so much.”. Richard Nixon’s Resignation Letter and Gerald Ford’s Pardon. He served as the deputy assistant to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. [9] His former press secretary, Ron Ziegler, sat with him alone for hours each day. [4] In 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to Ford for his pardon of Nixon. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. Ford was the ninth vice president to succeed to the presidency intra-term, and he remains the most recent to do so. Stuyvesant had hoped to resist the English, but he was an unpopular ruler, and his Dutch subjects refused to rally around him. A federal pardon in the United States is the action of the President of the United States that completely sets aside the punishment for a federal crime. Ronald Louis Ziegler was the 11th White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President, serving during United States President Richard Nixon's administration. Put yourself in the middle of historical decisions made by President Gerald R. Ford. CASH, Anthony Joseph Jr. (AKA) James Shea and John Shea, DICKSON, Stella Mae (AKA) Stella Mae Irwin, HOUSE, Shirley Vera (AKA) Shirley Vera Paxson, IRWIN, Stella Mae (AKA) Stella Mae Dickson, KERR, Arnold Creevy (AKA) Arnold Creevy Peterson, PAXSON, Shirley Vera (AKA) Shirley Vera House, PETERSON, Arnold Creevy (AKA) Arnold Creey Kerr. President Ford announcing his decision to pardon former-president, sfn error: no target: CITEREFNixon_Library,_Post_Presidency (, List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the President of the United States, "President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4311, Granting a Pardon to Richard Nixon", "Ford Pardons Nixon – Events of 1974 – Year in Review", "Five myths about presidential pardons ,", "For Ford, Pardon Decision Was Always Clear-Cut", "Ford Testimony on Nixon Pardon – C-SPAN Video Library", "Sitting presidents and vice presidents who have testified before congressional committees", "Americans Grew to Accept Nixon's Pardon", "The Legal Aftermath Citizen Nixon and the Law", "Sen. Ted Kennedy crossed political paths with Grand Rapids' most prominent Republican, President Gerald R. Ford", "Nixon, Richard – Pardon: Wire Service Stories", National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, Education for All Handicapped Children Act, Vladivostok Summit Meeting on Arms Control, President Gerald R. Ford Jr. Boyhood Home, 1948 United States House of Representatives elections, Republican Party presidential primaries, 1976. Events from the year 1974 in the United States. Ford wanted the country to move past the turmoil of the Watergate scandal and focus instead on important issues facing the nation, such as unemployment, inflation, and conflict. Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S. 79 (1915), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that: A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed. The enormous scandal quickly took the name of the building in which the crime took place, the Watergate. It is the private though official act of the executive magistrate, delivered to the individual for whose benefit it is intended.... A private deed, not communicated to him, whatever may be its character, whether a pardon or release, is totally unknown and cannot be acted on. The purpose of the speech was for Nixon to announce that he was resigning from office due to the Watergate scandal. 1145 17th Street NW In an attempt to move the country forward, Ford decided to grant Nixon a full pardon—absolving the former president of any crimes associated with his time in the Oval Office. After the five perpetrators were arrested, the press and the U.S. Justice Department connected the cash found on them at the time to the Nixon re-election campaign committee. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the oath of office. Criminal prosecution was still a possibility both on the federal and state level. The historic D-day invasion of Normandy, France, was a turning point in World War II, but it was just the initial assault in a massive operation that liberated Western Europe... Read more, National Archives Foundation700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20408-0001202-357-5946, History Speaks: Race and Reform in America, Featured Document Display: Never Forget: Remembering the Holocaust, 50 Years Ago: Government Stops Investigating UFOs. Investigation into the break-in exposed a trail of abuses that led to the highest levels of the Nixon administration and ultimately to the President himself. A year later, Nixon himself resigned the presidency and Gerald Ford became the 38th President of the United States. Although the U.S. and Soviet occupations were supposed to be temporary, the ...read more, On September 8, 1863, at the Second Battle of Sabine Pass, a small Confederate force thwarts a Federal invasion of Texas at the mouth of the Sabine River on the Texas-Louisiana border. Privacy Notice |  Nixon v. General Services Administration, 433 U.S 425 (1977), is a landmark court case concerning the principle of presidential privilege and whether the public is allowed to view a President's “confidential documents”. Jerald Franklin "Jerry" terHorst was an American journalist who served as the 12th White House Press Secretary during the first month of Gerald Ford's presidency. Critics derided the move and claimed a "corrupt bargain" had been struck between the men: that Ford's pardon was granted in exchange for Nixon's resignation, elevating Ford to the presidency. On the evening of August 8, 1974, President Nixon addressed the nation and announced his intention to resign. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. He didn't identify the staff members and he made it very clear that he wasn't recommending any one option over another. [24] In presenting the award to Ford, Senator Ted Kennedy said that he had initially been opposed to the pardon of Nixon, but later stated that history had proven Ford to have made the correct decision. No words can describe the depth of my regret and pain at the anguish my mistakes over Watergate have caused the nation and the presidency, a nation I so deeply love, and an institution I so greatly respect. The President’s resignation letter is addressed to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who initialed it at 11:35 a.m. On September 8, 1974, the new President, Gerald Ford, issued a full pardon to the former President for any offenses he “has committed or may have committed.” Even before President Nixon’s resignation, speculation had swirled around the possibility that the new President might pardon him, but at the time and later in his memoirs, President Ford strongly denied that there was any “deal” to trade a pardon for a Presidential resignation. This article is part of a series about Richard Nixon: Birthplace; 1946 U.S. House election; 1950 U.S. Senate election "Checkers speech" Vice President of the United States. Richard Nixon was granted a “full, free and absolute pardon” by his successor as president, Gerald Ford. Benton Becker "Gerald Ford's First 100 Days" March 10, 2010 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library Ann Arbor, Michigan. The pardon became one of the most controversial aspects of the Watergate scandal. Witnesses testified that the president had approved plans to cover up administration involvement in the break-in, and that there was a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office. Nixon, contacted by Ford emissaries, was initially reluctant to accept the pardon but then agreed to do so. Nixon had resigned as increasing evidence connected him to a burglary at Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. The 38th United States president, Ford has the distinction of being the first, and to date the only person to serve as president without being elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency. To celebrate National Inventors’ Day, learn about Marjorie S. Joyner and her groundbreaking permanent wave machine, an innovation that revolutionized the time-intensive task of curling or straightening women’s hair. And that was the principle reason for my granting of the pardon,” he told Representative Elizabeth Holtzman. Watergate reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward had vehemently opposed the pardon after Ford went on national television on September 8, 1974, to announce it. Ford's first press secretary and close friend Jerald terHorst resigned his post in protest after the pardon. Ford, however, insisted on a statement of contrition; Nixon felt he had not committed any crimes and should not have to issue such a document. [9] Congress had funded Nixon's transition costs, including some salary expenses but reduced the appropriation from $850,000 to $200,000. to release from responsibility for a crime or other offense. The Nixon pardon was a pivotal moment in the Ford presidency. The presidency of Gerald Ford began on August 9, 1974, when Gerald Ford became President of the United States upon the resignation of Richard Nixon from office, and ended on January 20, 1977, a period of 895 days. Ford previously served as the 40th vice president of the United States from December 1973 to August 1974. The storm caused so much destruction on the Texas coast that reliable estimates of the number of victims are difficult to make. Finally, Nixon acknowledged Becker’s argument about what the Supreme Court decision meant. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Terms of Service |  Russian soldiers discovered thousands of sick, dying, and dead prisoners when they entered the complex of concentration camps, forced labor camps, and a killing center abandoned by the... Read more. Exactly one month after Nixon announced his resignation, Ford issued the former president a “full, free and absolute” pardon for any crimes he committed while in office. [11] [12] [13]. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Courageous: Ford knew the decision would be unpopular. She or he will best know the preferred format. A member of the Republican Party, Nixon previously served as the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961, having risen to national prominence as a representative and senator from California. The Watergate affair was a national trauma—a constitutional crisis that tested and affirmed the rule of law. After five years in the White House that saw the conclusion to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, he became the only president to resign from the office. Throughout the investigation, the administration resisted its probes, which led to a constitutional crisis. The Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974, ordered that the Administrator of General Services obtain President Richard Nixon’s presidential papers and tape recordings. Acting Pardon Attorney, (Preferred) Email: USPardon.Attorney@usdoj.gov, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue - RFK Main Justice Building I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must." On this subject, Ford wrote: Haig emphasized that these weren't his suggestions. Ford faced the reality that his controversial decision would elicit negative public and political responses and likely cost him votes in the 1976 presidential election.