Ford: Nixon Friendship Affected Pardon

[DoYouEverWonder]

December 28, 2006

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, The Washington Post reported Thursday night.

"I looked upon him as my personal friend. 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," 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 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, the Post reported.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-ford-nixon,0,2789807.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

So Ford put his loyalty to a friend above his loyalty to his country. Now 30 years later, we are still paying for Ford's poor judgment and decisions.