Gerald Ford became President during a difficult time in American history. With Richard Nixon resigns after the Watergate scandal American’s did not trust the government anymore, foreign policy and the economy. Faced with all of those challenges Ford did protect the US constitution. In 1972 burglars were arrested inside the Democratic National Committee office in Washington, DC. These individuals were believed to be connected in Richard Nixon’s reelection, they had been caught trying to wiretap phones and steal documents. As a result, Nixon had tried to cover up the incident by bribing the individuals and stop the FBI from investigating. In 1974 these events had become known to light Gerald Ford had immediately pardoned Nixon for the …show more content…
The presidential pardoning is clarified in Article II, section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, which states the president “shall have the power to grant reprieves and pardon offenses against the United States, except cases of impeachment.” Even though Richard Nixon was not impeached that still did not give Gerald Ford the right to pardon him instead to let the legal process take its course. Nixon most likely would not get a fair trial the president would still have the ability to do a under those circumstances after the legal proceedings had been complete. Gerald actually had weakened his constitutional authority by emphasizing his moral obligation. The US needed someone to take charge and do what was right. Congress may not have agreed with the decision either in Envisioning Presidency states “ A large presidential branches makes it more difficult for presidents ensure that their preference are being followed by their underlings from