President Gerald Ford believed he did the right thing when in 1974 he pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, of any criminality connected to the cover-up of the Watergate scandal that had forced ...

On Oct. 17, 1974, forty-nine years ago today, President Gerald Ford made an historic appearance before Congress to testify about his pardon of former President Richard Nixon, which he had issued ...

WASHINGTON - Fifty years ago, newly installed President Gerald Ford simply got tired of questions about the legal fate of resigned predecessor Richard Nixon. So, on Sept. 8, 1974, Ford went ahead ...

WASHINGTON - Fifty years ago, newly installed President Gerald Ford simply got tired of questions about the legal fate of resigned predecessor Richard Nixon. So, on Sept. 8, 1974, Ford went ahead and ...

On September 8, 1974 — 50 years ago today and 31 days after he took office — the newly minted President Gerald Ford announced that he would issue a full pardon for Richard Nixon, the disgraced ...

The most notable use of the presidential pardon was probably when 38th President Gerald Ford pardoned 37th President Richard Nixon in 1974 two years after the Watergate scandal. But that was not ...

Gerald Ford (left) speaks as President Richard Nixon looks on in October 1973. Eleven months later, after Nixon resigned and Ford became president, he pardoned Nixon. | STR/AFP via Getty Images ...

A portrait of Richard Nixon comes down, and a photo of the new president, Gerald Ford, goes up at the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, Germany, on Aug. 9, 1974, after Nixon resigned.

Despite his earnest desire to undo Nixon’s legacy, Ford’s pardon was itself an assertion of the imperial presidency. That’s because the pardon is an inherently Caesarean implement.

What Ford’s Pardon of Nixon Means (and Doesn’t Mean) for Trump Feb. 20, 2023 President Richard Nixon and Vice President Gerald Ford in the Oval Office in 1973.

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images and PixabayGet more news and opinions in the twice-daily Beast Digest newsletter. Don’t miss the next big story, sign up here.President ...