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The Through Line Between Nixon's Pardon And GOP Candidates Vowing To Pardon Trump. [1]

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Date: 2023-07-30

So journalists and TV pundits are finding some obvious parallels between Richard Nixon’s pardon and the rush of some reporters and House GOP members to get Trump a “Get Out of Jail Free” card (a pardon) for his many indictments. However, there is at least one similarity between Gerald Ford pardoning Nixon over the Watergate Scandal and Trump’s multiple “criming” (I think this was a term used by Jill Wine-Banks on MSNBC). First, Ford lied his ass off about why he really pardoned Nixon. Second, many of the GOP presidential candidates push multiple lies about Trump’s crimes and the need to pardon him. Sadly, Ford’s lie is hardly ever mentioned by the media or TV pundits. It is my opinion that basing a pardon on a lie has corrupted our democracy.

Did you all know that Gerald Ford admitted on his death bed that he pardoned Nixon because he just didn’t want to send his good friend to prison?

Former President Gerald Ford acknowledged in an interview last year that his long personal friendship with Richard Nixon did indeed play a role in his decision to pardon the disgraced former president, The Washington Post reported. "I looked upon him as my personal friend. And I always treasured our relationship. And I had no hesitancy about granting the pardon, because I felt that we had this relationship and that I didn't want to see my real friend have the stigma" of standing trial, Ford told Post reporter Bob Woodward. Ford's remarks, which he asked not be released until his death, add to the rationale for pardoning Nixon a month after he resigned as president in 1974. Ford had claimed that he issued the pardon to allow the nation to move past Watergate and begin a time of healing, not for personal reasons.

I rarely see this mentioned by any journalists or TV pundits. Ford insisted that trying Nixon over his Watergate crimes would further divided the country. I was only a teenager at the time, but I remember my Dad didn’t beleive that BS for a second. My Dad along with many other Americans believed there was a “secret deal” between Nixon and Ford that lead to Nixon’s pardon.

It was in December of 1973 that Agnew finally made a deal with prosecutors. Agnew would resign the vice presidency to avoid corruption charges. Seems Agnew took bribes while serving as governor of MD.

Now, who do you think Nixon turned to in the moment of need?

"I think that Nixon felt I was about the only person he could really trust on the Hill," Ford told Woodward. He also called himself Nixon's "only real friend." "Anytime you want me to do anything, under any circumstances, you give me a call, Mr. President," Ford told Nixon during a May 1, 1973, telephone call, in which the embattled president told the Michigan congressman he was being abandoned by fair-weather friends on Capitol Hill.

Both Nixon and Ford had a friendship since the 1940’s. And the above quote is from one of those many Nixon White House tapes. Therefore, why not pick Gerald Ford as your new vice president!

Nixon called it quits on August 9th, 1974. And from the get go, Ford told his staff to do research on presidential pardons.

Concerned by the number of questions regarding President Nixon that came up during his first press conference on August 28, President Ford asked his White House Counsel Phil Buchen to quietly look into legal precedents for Presidential pardons. Benton Becker, a lawyer who had been involved in preparing for Ford’s Vice Presidential confirmation, assisted with the research. President Ford also talked to several key aides: Chief of Staff Alexander Haig, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Counsellors Robert Hartmann and Jack Marsh. Due to the sensitivity of the topic the discussions were a closely held secret. After considering all of the research and opinions gathered, on September 7 Ford made the decision to pardon the former President. On Sunday, September 8, 1974, President Ford addressed the nation from the Oval Office to announce his decision to “grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed.” President Ford noted in his remarks that the pardon reflected both his Presidential responsibilities and his personal beliefs. Shortly after the announcement former President Nixon released a statement accepting the pardon. Although such a statement wasn’t required President Ford felt it was very significant. By resigning and accepting the pardon, Nixon was publicly acknowledging his guilt in the Watergate cover up.

Look at how long it took for Ford to pardon Nixon. Literally just a month. And he had the gall to say he was doing it for the greater good of the country.

Because the pardon was based upon high mindedness and the greater good, Ford thought that he would get credit for Nixon’s pardon. It didn’t turn out that way. Many like my Dad wanted to see Nixon at least face a trial. But before an indictment could come calling for Nixon, Ford pulled the rug out from any prosecution.

One of the reasons that Ford lost the 1976 Election was because of his pardon of Nixon.

But the lie that Ford did something “right for the country” is still around today. Ford died in December of 2006. And CBS News did cover that Ford admitted in on tape that he just couldn’t send his good buddy to prison. But this went down the memory hole.

You will find some historians like Michael Beschloss who do directly link the Nixon pardon to Donald Trump. Beschloss has clearly stated that Ford’s pardon said to the world, “It’s OK for presidents to be above the law.” And history since has proven that point (Reagan’s Iran-Contra Scandal, George H.W Bush sliding out of that same scandal, and George W. Bush with torture of terrorists and the Iraq War). There is as through line between the Nixon’s crimes and Trump’s.

Look at all the “reasons” given by GOP presidential candidates who have vowed to pardon Trump or at least think about it:

Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on the possibility of him issuing a pardon for former President Trump that he does not believe having “an almost 80-year-old former president” serve time in prison is in the country’s interest. DeSantis said during an interview on Megyn Kelly’s podcast, looking at the example of then-President Ford pardoning former President Nixon over Nixon’s role in the Watergate scandal, that the move caused Ford to receive some backlash, but it allowed the country to move forward. “I’m going to do what’s right for the country. I don’t think it would be good for the country to have an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison. It doesn’t seem like it would be a good thing,” he said.

You mean it wouldn’t be good for your electoral chances if you said, “No way!” on a Trump pardon. I got a news flash for you Ron. You have no chance of becoming president because people don’t like you. Besides, didn’t you notice what happened to Gerald Ford?

Vivek Ramaswamy

That was a relatively modest response put next to the one from longshot GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who said that if he was elected he would pardon Trump. In a statement late Thursday, the 37-year-old biotech executive echoed Trump’s criticism of the special prosecutor, saying there were “two tiers of justice,” with Trump subject to a different standard than President Joe Biden. “It would be much easier for me to win this election if Trump weren’t in the race, but I stand for principles over politics. I commit to pardon Trump promptly on January 20, 2025 and to restore the rule of law in our country,” he said.

Two tiers system of justice. Restore the rule of law. This is from the “ideas” guy in the Republican Party. No, this is what other Republican operatives used to describe Ramaswamy.

Francis Suarez

Mayor Francis Suarez, the most recent candidate to join the 2024 GOP presidential race, says that if elected he would use the pardon power to "heal" the country, but it's still early to be talking about clemency. "If I became president, one thing I would look at as president is using the pardon power to heal the country and that, by the way, doesn't go for one party; goes for both parties," Suarez said in an interview on MSNBC on June 16.

This is another Republican who has never read a history book.

The rest of the group are squishes on pardoning Trump, at least right now. I think come Iowa Caucus time that most other candidates will be on the Trump pardon band wagon. However, there is one person who has the power of the pardon, and when he was asked about pardoning Trump, President Biden did this:

Now, I suppose there might be some check list of questions that a reporter has, but as President Biden would say, “C’mon Man!” And this would be his gentle way of saying, “That’s a stupid fuckin’ question.”

I am speculating here — This means I have no proof for anyone wanting to pick nits! — But I imagine that President Biden will be gratefully relieved when he is reelected and Trump is in prison. I know I will be, as will many other Americans. As for the rest of the Villagers and Trump supporters, I don’t care if they feel abused by reality.

Pardons are for those deserving of mercy, not for criminal sociopaths. And Nixon may have accepted that pardon, but he NEVER really admitted to doing anything wrong. If you don’t believe me, just look at those old Frost interviews with Nixon.

If we had sent Nixon to prison, I believe that we might have never had Trump. Would Trump have risked prison by running for president? Trump may be an idiot when it comes to history, but he could see that no president suffered any real accountability. Look at how Trump is acting now. He was president, and in his mind it means he is a king.

You don’t send kings to prison.

And Ford’s pardoning of Nixon declared any president who commits a crime is not to be punished. It’s for the country’s sake that presidents are above the law, at least according to Ford. But Ford knew he was spreading a lie, and Ford’s lie corroded our democracy. And here we are with Trump.

We have Gerald Ford to thank for this.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/30/2184077/-The-Through-Line-Between-Nixon-s-Pardon-And-GOP-Candidates-Vowing-To-Pardon-Trump

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