WASHINGTON – Fifty years back, President Gerald Ford, feeling overwhelmed by the constant inquiries regarding the legal status of his predecessor Richard Nixon, took decisive action.

On September 8, 1974, Ford granted Nixon a pardon, sparking a significant political and legal reaction that continues to resonate today, especially during Donald Trump’s era.

Some legal experts believe Nixon’s lack of prosecution for the Watergate scandal set a precedent that emboldened future presidents, particularly the unconventional Trump.

“Had Richard Nixon faced conviction, it might have discouraged future leaders from pushing legal boundaries,” noted Barb McQuade, a former federal prosecutor during the Obama administration and now a law professor at the University of Michigan.

Furthermore, Nixon’s pardon influenced a recent Supreme Court ruling that grants presidents immunity from legal actions classified as “official.” McQuade commented: “We are now in a situation where, when a president acts, at least in the realm of official conduct, it’s considered lawful.”

As Trump approaches sentencing for the New York hush money case and faces additional trials related to the 2020 election, Nixon’s pardon by Ford remains a persistent theme in American legal and political discussions.

“We will undoubtedly continue to hear about the Ford pardon,” remarked Richard North Smith, a biographer of Ford.

A “Full, Free, and Absolute Pardon”

Immediately after Ford assumed office on August 9, 1974, following Nixon’s resignation, he was bombarded with questions regarding Nixon’s legal situation.

Ford, wishing to move past Nixon and the Watergate scandal, chose to issue a pardon even without an official indictment against Nixon. He remarked, “You can’t pull off a bandage slowly.”

If not for the pardon, Nixon would have gone to trial on charges of obstruction of justice connected to the cover-up of campaign misconduct, including the infamous 1972 break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters located at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.

Ford was concerned about Nixon’s chances of receiving a fair trial and worried that a trial could deepen national divisions. This concern postponed the possibility of such a trial for decades, now only resurfacing with Trump’s scheduled trial in New York City in 2024.

“It may take months, if not years, before Richard Nixon could receive a fair jury trial,” Ford explained when he issued a “full, free, and absolute pardon” for Nixon.

The announcement caught the political landscape by surprise when it was made on a Sunday morning.

Some critics, including members of his own Republican party, suggested that Ford’s actions were influenced by his own political ambitions, fearing that a Nixon trial could jeopardize his chances for re-election. They even speculated about a potential “deal” between Ford and Nixon, an allegation Ford categorically denied during his Congressional testimony.

Then-Senator Walter Mondale from Minnesota, who would later become vice president and a Democratic presidential candidate, questioned the transparency of the pardon, saying, “We may never know the specific acts Mr. Nixon is being pardoned for,” implying that some details might always remain obscure.

“Without the legal proceedings, we might never fully understand Mr. Nixon’s involvement in the most significant political scandal in American history, although the pardon itself suggests his direct participation,” Mondale stated at the time.

Ford’s press secretary, Jerald terHorst, resigned due to the controversy over the pardon, which also played a part in Ford’s defeat in the 1976 presidential election against former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.

Over time, however, many came to view Ford’s decision in a more positive light. In 2001, he received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

“President Ford led the nation during a critical moment, making a challenging decision to heal a fractured country, which many believe cost him the presidency,” announced Caroline Kennedy, president of the Kennedy Library Foundation.

Ford also always maintained that by accepting the pardon, Nixon was acknowledging his guilt.

The Pardon and Trump

The discussions around Ford’s pardon have resurfaced as Trump gets ready for sentencing in the hush money case.

McQuade, who wrote “Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America,” remarked that “we will never know how things could have turned out” if Ford hadn’t pardoned Nixon and he had faced a Watergate trial.

However, she noted, “it seems reasonable to assume that President Trump felt encouraged by the absence of consequences for apparent criminal behavior.”

When Ford granted the pardon, he mentioned that Nixon accepting it equated to an admission of guilt. This interpretation is now challenged due to a Supreme Court ruling that provides presidents immunity from prosecution for their “official” actions.

As the Supreme Court addressed this issue, various legal experts contended that Nixon’s pardon indicated that presidents can indeed be prosecuted for illegal activities, making the pardon unnecessary.

In her dissent regarding the immunity case, Justice Sonia Sotomayor referenced the Ford instance, stating that “the history of our nation reflects a shared understanding, held by both Presidents and the Justice Department, that former Presidents are subject to criminal law for their official actions.”

She warned that the court’s decision in the Trump case could create a situation where a president becomes a “king above the law.”

Legal expert Jeffrey Toobin, author of the upcoming book “The Pardon: Nixon, Ford and the Politics of Presidential Mercy,” believes the Supreme Court’s ruling could shield future presidents from facing consequences. “The essence of the pardon was that ex-presidents could be prosecuted,” Toobin stated. “Now, that’s uncertain.”

Bradley P. Moss, a lawyer focusing on national security, observed that previously, “I always thought the Ford pardon served as a reminder that no one, including the president, is beyond the law.”

Currently? “The legacy of the Ford pardon is that the legal foundation the public relied on back then is outdated and now deemed incorrect by the Supreme Court,” Moss explained.

Nixon once infamously remarked, “when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal,” Moss recalled.

“As illustrated by Donald Trump’s legal victory at the Supreme Court,” he added, “Richard Nixon’s perspective appears legally valid, and the necessity of the Ford pardon is now in question.”

A Continuing Legacy

If Trump secures another term as president, analysts predict he may be able to dismiss or evade ongoing legal challenges.

In the event of a loss in the election, some commentators propose that President Joe Biden, or possibly President Kamala Harris, could issue a pardon to Trump for the sake of national unity.

Smith, author of “An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford,” noted that the 38th president believed he was acting rightly regarding the pardon.

“He certainly wished for it to remain a unique event in American history,” Smith commented. “He never anticipated the circumstances we find ourselves in today.”