Ford’s pardon of Nixon created a bad precedent

Most of former President Trump’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination have given full-throated support for him in his current criminal travails, even saying they would pardon him if he is convicted of any – or all – of the 90-something charges.

The notion that a president could be pardoned for criminal offenses would have been unthinkable at one time. But the precedent for doing so — which helps fuel the blessing given to a Trump pardon by his GOP opponents — occurred about a half century ago.

On a September Sunday in 1974, President Gerald R. Ford issued a “full, free and absolute” pardon to his predecessor, Richard M. Nixon.

The pardon took place within a month of Nixon’s resignation and the corresponding elevation of Ford.

The pardon shared the news cycle with another event of epic proportions that day: Daredevil Evel Knievel’s highly-vaunted motorcycle leap across the chasm of the Snake River Canyon in Idaho.

The stuntman heavily promoted his plan to traverse a span of the river at the bottom of the gorge, in a souped-up rocket-powered motorcycle. It was the kind of “can’t miss” event that attracted a great deal of attention,

He plunged into the river 500 feet below, due to what was deemed to be a parachute malfunction, although he suffered only minor injuries and continued his daring events until his death in 2007.

But as Evel was preparing for his leap that Sunday morning, Ford was engaged in preparation of another sort: Putting the final touches on the pardon that he issued to the prior occupant of the White House. In so doing, Ford explained that he made the decision to pardon Nixon while Watergate criminal cases were swirling.

The pardon was issued unilaterally by Ford under his constitutional authority in Article II.

Ford’s pardon was criticized at the time, which prompted him to make an unprecedented appearance before a congressional panel to deny that there was any deal made between him and Nixon, who had resigned a month earlier, on August 9th.

His public explanation quelled some of the critics, and over time it was seen as a somewhat heroic gesture, earning plaudits from many, including the Profile in Courage Award given by the family of one of Ford’s other predecessors, John F. Kennedy.

But that recent adulation for Ford’s pardon of Nixon looks foolish in retrospect. By failing to hold Nixon accountable for his wrongdoing, Ford created a precedent that allows many Trump supporters to maintain that he should not be subject to criminal prosecution or penalties for his actions, no matter how improper.

And now a would-be tyrant is plotting a return to the White House, promising vengeance on his perceived foes, and a recently-expressed pledge to “jail” his political opponents.

Had Nixon suffered the fate of other common criminals, including a guilty verdict and jail time, we’d have a template for future presidents who break the law and are afforded the same rights as every other citizen — no more, no less.

Ford’s pardon contributed to the current climate of impunity. Trump’s main GOP rivals promptly raised their hands when asked at the recent GOP debate about whether they would support him for president, even if he were to be convicted.

Many of them have already promised a pardon if they make it to the Oval Office.

Had Ford not pardoned Nixon and won plaudits for doing so, it’s possible many in the GOP would be less inclined to promise a pardon for Trump, were he to be convicted.

The notion that Trump has floated in the past that he has the “authority” to pardon himself would also be laughable, were it not for the template derived from Ford’s pardon of his predecessor.

Call it an Evel precedent.

This column was originally published in the Minnesota Reformer.