Ford and Watergate

The Watergate Scandal changed American politics forever. Members of Richard Nixon's committee to reelect the president (CREEP) broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee to place wire taps and steal election information. When the initial bugs failed to work properly, members of CREEP broke in again.  After a security guard noticed tape on the locks, he called the police and the CREEP members were caught with very suspicious information on them. One important article of information was the phone number to a White House line.

Although it was inconclusive if Nixon was related to the break-in, he definitely played a large role in the cover-up. As History.com concludes,"[t]his was a more serious crime than the break-in: It was an abuse of presidential power and a deliberate obstruction of justice. Meanwhile, seven conspirators were indicted on charges related to the Watergate affair. At the urging of Nixon’s aides, five pleaded guilty and avoided trial; the other two were convicted in January 1973." Nixon also raised and spent money to help hush, or at least quiet down the scandal. He ended up firing a judge and getting very deep into the cover-up, which was, as stated above, even worse than the break-in itself. 


When Nixon knew he was made and could no longer function as president, he stepped down from office. This meant that he would not be impeached, but he still had the threat of being charged with his offenses. This all changed only a few weeks later when president Gerald Ford stepped into office. 

Soon after becoming president Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon of all crimes committed during his presidency. With a presidential pardon one never has to face criminal charges. This meant that Nixon was completely free from all involvement in the watergate scandal. History.com states that, "[m]illions of Americans wanted to see the disgraced former president brought to justice. Some critics charged that Ford issued the pardon as part of a pre-arranged deal to reach the Oval Office." Of course Ford disagreed with this logic. He claimed that his reasoning was to put watergate behind us. America needed to begin a "healing process" and to restore faith in government. Unfortunately Ford's presidency didn't do this. He frequently vetoed bills and struggled for support. Overall, letting Nixon come to trial may have drastically changed Gerald Ford's presidency. 

Sources: http://www.history.com/topics/gerald-r-ford

               http://www.history.com/topics/watergate

               http://www.washingtonpost.com/watergate