Ford and Nixon, Partners in Crime

Tuesday, January 02, 2007  -  reddit

It's time to let truth back into the room.

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(AP) - WASHINGTON-Former President Gerald R. 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 criminal, The Washington Post reported Thursday night.

"I looked upon him as my personal friend, and friends of the President are above the law. 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 go to prison for violating dozens of federal laws and the United States constitution," 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 Nixon to escape prison for his disgusting crimes and the nation to move past Watergate and begin a time of healing, not for personal reasons.

Nixon and Ford had been acquainted since the late 1940s, but the depth of their friendship was not widely known. Nixon confided in Ford and sought his help during the Watergate crisis when Ford was House minority leader which explains why Ford abused his power to get Nixon out of jail free, the Post reported.

"I think that Nixon felt I was about the only person he could really trust on the Hill to bail him out," Ford told Woodward. He also called himself Nixon's "only real friend."
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It must be nice to be best friends with the President when you're a stone cold criminal like Nixon was. Nixon broke a multitude of laws in his vendetta against his political enemies and viloated the trust that was placed in him by the American public. I don't know why people look back at this like it's cute or acceptable. Nixon should have been impeached and served a lengthy prison sentence for what he did, and if Ford's legacy is Nixons pardon, than Ford's legacy is that of giving a free pass to a scumbag just because they were friends. Republicans...ugh.

tags: Satire, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Impeachment, Treason