President Ford

1
President Fords Pardon of Richard M. Nixon
The Complete Story of the Pardon, the Press, and
the Congress

• Jason Phillip Hartmann

2
WATERGATE

• There were five burglars who broke into the
  Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate
  building on June 17, 1972. They were eventually
  linked the Committee to Reelect the President and
  to the highest members of the White House.

3
Resignation

• On August 8, 1974, Richard M. Nixon resigned on
  television.
• Gerald Ford became President of the United States.

4
Policy of Openness

• Ford came into office wanting to create a open
  exchange between the press and the White House.
• He planned to hold press conferences every three
  weeks.
• He moved his press briefings to the Grand Hallway
  of the White House instead of the traditional
  location in front of a blue, imperial looking
  backdrop.
• He hired Jerald terHorst to be his press
  secretary. He was a member of the press and the
  reporters were comfortable with his honesty.

5
Fords First Press Conference

• Ford came into his first press conference with
  high hopes and expectations that he could answer
  questions about the economy, foreign policy, and
  the new directions that he would take the
  country.
• He was asked many questions about the economy
  and foreign policy.
• Ford was asked several questions about Nixon, a
  potential pardon, and what he planned to do with
  Nixons tapes.
• Ford was angry after the press conference
  because he felt the country only wanted to focus
  on Nixon.
• Ford was very intent on healing the nation and
  wanted to shut the book on Nixon for good.

6
Ford Gathers His Staff

• Ford gathered his staff of Philip Buchen, Henry
  Kissenger, Jack Marsh, Robert Hartmann, and
  Alexander Haig to discuss the press conference.
• Ford indicated that he was eager to move the
  country forward and was considering pardoning
  Nixon.
• Haig, Kissenger, and Buchen thought it was a good
  idea.
• Marsh and Hartmann thought the timing was too
  soon.
• Haig Hartmann Marsh Kissinger

7
Buchen, California, and the Tapes

• Fords next move was to have Buchen look into
  the possibility of pardoning Nixon before he had
  been indicted.
• Ford sent Benton Becker to California to settle
  the tapes controversey.
• The result was that Nixon had acess to the tapes
  in a California facility that only he and the
  General Accounting Office had keys to. He was not
  allowed to remove documents.

8
The Pardon

• Thirty days after Nixon resigned Ford gave him a
  pardon for all possible crimes committed while
  President of the United States. The press
  reaction was negative for the Ford White House.
  The leaders of Congress were furious and it
  destroyed Republican candidates in the midterm
  elections.

9
Speculation of a Deal?

• There is speculation that a deal was made between
  Ford and Haig during an August 1, 1974 meeting.
• In this meeting Haig was asking Ford for advice
  on how to advise Nixon.
• Haig brought up the issue of the pardon and Ford
  did not react negatively which leads many to
  believe that Ford had indicated to Haig that he
  was open to the idea.
• There is no evidence of a deal.

10
Press Reaction I

• The three major authors on the Ford pardon are
  Robert Mollenhoff, John Robert Greene, and James
  Cannon.
• Each of these authors indicate that the press
  reaction to the pardon was totally negative and
  that no media outlets supported the pardon.
• This is entirely untrue, these authors
  exaggerate the press reaction because they only
  used the New York Times and Washington Post for
  research.
• These authors also completely ignore the
  international press reaction which was divided.

11
Press Reaction II

• Gerald R. Ford Library Findings
• Press reaction to pardon was negative primarily
  but not totally negative.
• Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Shreveport
  Journal, Charleson News and Courier, and the
  Birmingham News ran favorable stories on the
  pardon.
• International newspapers Fiagro of Paris,
  Aftenpostem of Oslo, Daily Mail of London, Daily
  Express of London, and the Financial Times of
  London all were supportive of the pardon.
• As said before, the Washington Post and New York
  Times were very vocal in their opposition to the
  pardon.

12
Congressional Reaction

• Congress on as a whole was against the pardon.
• Democrats were more vocal than Republicans.
• Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY) called for hearings on
  Fords decision.
• Senators Kennedy, Hart, Mondale, and Ervin were
  the most critical.
• Republican Lowell Weicker (CT) was very opposed
  to the pardon.
• Republican Senator Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania was
  the most high profile Republican to praise the
  pardon.
• Abzug Hart
  Ervin Weicker
  Scott

13
Congressional Reaction II

• Congress also acted by passing Senate Resolution
  401.
• Advised Ford not to pardon any other Watergate
  defendants.

14
Why did Ford pardon Nixon?

• Ford was obsessed with healing the Nation.
• August 28, 1974 Press Conference angered Ford and
  he wanted to clear Nixon out of the picture.
• Ford did not think Americans could focus on
  economy and real issues while hearing about
  Nixons trial.
• Ford had a tendency to get angry and come to
  rushed decisions and forget the consequences.

15
Consequences

• Republicans lost 4 Senate seats and 48 House
  seats in the 1974 midterm elections.
• Negative press from both major papers doomed his
  chances of winning in 1976.

16
Photos

• Picture 1 www.bartleby.com/ 124/nixon.gif
• Picture 2 www.pbs.org/.../ peopleevents/images/ni
  xon.jpg
• Picture 3 images.usatoday.com/
  life/cyber/_photos/nixon-.
• Picture 4 www.americanrhetoric.com/.../
  geraldfordoath.jpeg
• Picture 5 http//www.brooksinternational.com/imag
  es/general_alexander_haig.jpg
• Picture 6 http//bhhs.beverlyhills.k12.ca.us/alum
  s/hall/alumpix/hartmann.jpg
• Picture 7 www.su.edu/marsh/ JackMarsh.jpg
• Picture 8 http//www.student.kuleuven.ac.be/s010
  6687/images/Home-Kissenger.jpg
• Picture 9 www.wbrtv.com/hosts/
  images/haig_ford.jpg
• Pictures 10-14 http//www.senate.gov/general/cont
  act_information/senators_cfm.cfm
• Picture 15 www.nebraskahistory.org/
  images/sites/ford.jpg