pardon of Richard Nixon
E31370
The pardon of Richard Nixon was President Gerald Ford’s controversial 1974 decision to grant his predecessor a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed while in office during the Watergate scandal.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
historical event
→
political event → presidential pardon → |
| announcedBy |
Gerald Ford
→
|
| announcedVia |
televised address
→
|
| appliesToCrimes |
crimes committed or may have been committed while in office
→
federal crimes → |
| appliesToOffice |
President of the United States
→
|
| appliesToPeriod |
Richard Nixon’s presidency
→
|
| authorOfBookDiscussingEvent |
Gerald Ford
→
|
| branchOfGovernment |
executive branch of the United States government
→
|
| city |
Washington, D.C.
→
|
| constitutionalBasis |
Article II of the United States Constitution
→
|
| context |
aftermath of the Watergate scandal
→
|
| controversial |
true
→
|
| country |
United States
→
|
| criticizedFor |
denying a full public accounting in court of Nixon’s actions
→
undermining the principle that no one is above the law → |
| date |
1974-09-08
→
|
| effect |
ended possibility of federal criminal prosecution of Richard Nixon for Watergate-related offenses
→
prevented indictment of a former U.S. president on federal charges related to Watergate → |
| followedBy |
Gerald Ford’s testimony before a House Judiciary subcommittee
→
|
| grantedBy |
Gerald Ford
→
|
| grantedTo |
Richard Nixon
→
|
| justifiedBy |
Gerald Ford’s desire to move the country beyond Watergate
→
|
| languageIncludes |
full, free, and absolute pardon
→
|
| legalForm |
full pardon
→
unconditional pardon → |
| legalInstrument |
Presidential Proclamation 4311
→
|
| location |
White House
→
|
| mediaCoverage |
extensive national media coverage
→
|
| motiveAsStatedByFord |
avoid prolonged national division over Watergate
→
national interest → |
| politicalImpactOn |
Gerald Ford
→
|
| possibleEffect |
contributed to Gerald Ford’s defeat in the 1976 presidential election
→
|
| precededBy |
Watergate investigations
→
resignation of Richard Nixon → |
| publicReaction |
decline in Gerald Ford’s approval ratings
→
widespread criticism → |
| reason |
Watergate scandal
→
|
| recordedIn |
Federal Register
→
|
| subjectOf |
United States v. Nixon public debate
→
debates over accountability for presidential misconduct → historical analysis of executive power → |
| subjectOfBook |
A Time to Heal
→
|
| supportedBy |
some commentators as an act of statesmanship
→
|
| uniqueCharacteristic |
first time a U.S. president pardoned a former president
→
|
| year |
1974
→
|
Referenced by (1)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Gerald Ford administration
→
|
majorEvent |