Former advisor to President Ford speaks on the pardon of Richard Nixon

Benton Becker was the leading operative behind President Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon.

James Dickson | AnnArbor.com

Shortly after taking office, President Ford requested the assistance of Becker, a Washington, D.C. attorney, in navigating the pardon process. Ford met Becker in 1967 when the attorney was investigating a case of congressional corruption and had worked closely with him in the past.

Of all the issues Ford faced upon taking office, resolving the Nixon question loomed largest. Ford found himself uniquely positioned to end the long drama on whether or when Nixon would face prosecution for obstruction of justice in the Watergate break-in.

By Sept. 2, 1974, less than a month after taking office, Ford had made up his mind. The question was no longer whether to pardon Nixon - but how and under what circumstances.

Two questions remained: Could a pardon be issued before any charges were filed? And does the president have the right to issue a blanket pardon absolving a would-be defendant of whatever charges he may face?

Becker's research revealed no impediments in either case, according to his written account of the pardon. The pardon could proceed.

Becker said Ford then dispatched him to Nixon's ranch in San Clemente, Calif., to hammer out the details. Ford had three goals in mind, according to Becker: a deed of trust to sign over his presidential papers and recordings to the federal government, a statement from Nixon accepting the pardon - presidential pardons can be, and have been, declined - and an understanding from Nixon that acceptance of the pardon is an admission of guilt.

Becker said he managed to achieve all three over the course of the weekend in early September 1974.

But it didn't come easily, Becker said. After arriving by plane in San Clemente, Becker was greeted by Nixon aide Ronald Ziegler.

"President Nixon will make no statement of admission of complicity in return for a pardon from Jerry Ford," Ziegler said, according to Becker.

And the law seemed to be on Nixon's side. The former president wanted to retain his papers. Attorney General William Saxbe, a Nixon appointee, issued an opinion that the papers were Nixon's personal property in holding with the traditions of the time. (Since Herbert Hoover, it had also been a common practice for presidents to sign over their papers to the National Archives and Records Administration.)

Becker said he disagreed, arguing presidential papers were the property of the federal government, not of the man who held office. At stake was about 46 million papers and 950 reels of tape. Nixon eventually signed them over to the General Services Administration with a presidential deed of gift.

Now Nixon's public papers can be found online via the Richard Nixon Foundation.

Ford's decision to pardon Nixon brought on a firestorm of criticism from the media and from political opponents who used the pardon as proof that America needed new leadership. The decision to give the announcement on a Sunday morning was particularly galling to the media.

It certainly cost Ford at the polls.

Becker wouldn't go so far as to say the pardon cost Ford the 1976 presidential election, but did say he'd seen figures that the pardon cost Ford about 5 percent of the votes he might have gotten without it. Carter beat Ford by a margin of 50 percent to 48 percent.

But history has looked kindly on Ford's decision. Even those who believe Nixon should have been punished now say it was more important for the country to move past Nixon and past Watergate.

Even outspoken critic Ted Kennedy came around. In 2001, Kennedy and his niece Caroline, JFK's daughter, awarded President Ford the Profile in Courage Award for the Nixon pardon.

As the late Kennedy said at the 2001 ceremony:

"I was one of those who spoke out against his action then. But time has a way of clarifying past events, and now we see that President Ford was right. His courage and dedication to our country made it possible for us to begin the process of healing."

James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com.