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Closing the Chapter on Watergate Wasn't Done Lightly
Within a month of taking office in 1974, President Gerald R. Ford granted former president Richard Nixon "a full, free and absolute pardon." Ford was unprepared for the public outcry.
(Associated Press)
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"You can't do that," Marsh repeated. It would look like a quid pro quo for Nixon's resignation.
Alarmed, Marsh went to see Hartmann. Together, the two went to talk with Ford, who then told them about his late-night phone call to Haig saying no deal.
Hartmann and Marsh both told Ford there had to be no connection between a Nixon resignation and a possible pardon. They urged Ford to talk to former Nixon White House counselor Bryce Harlow.
Harlow persuaded Ford to place a second call to Haig to explain that he had no intention of recommending what President Nixon should do about resigning or not resigning.
Afterward, Hartmann, Marsh and Harlow had a drink together. They celebrated and declared that they had forced Ford to dodge a bullet.
Making Up His Mind
On Friday, Aug. 9, 1974, Nixon resigned.
Ford held his first news conference on Aug. 28, and a third of the questions were about Nixon. To Ford, though, it felt more like 90 percent. He feared that without a pardon, Nixon and Watergate would haunt his presidency for years.
"My mind is 99 percent made up," Ford told Haig, Hartmann, Marsh and former law partner Phil Buchen in the Oval Office two days later.
Marsh was deeply worried. He went to see Ford during his lunch in a study off the Oval Office.
"Questions are going to be raised about a deal," Marsh said.
Ford stopped eating. "Jack," he said, "I know exactly where you're coming from, and I have thought of that, and there was no deal."
Custody of the Tapes
Ford called in longtime friend and former Justice Department lawyer Benton Becker to determine exactly what a president's pardon powers were prior to someone's indictment and conviction, and to determine what should be done with Nixon's papers and tapes.
