On this day in history, President Gerald Ford granted former President Richard M. Nixon an unconditional pardon “for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.”
The pardon exempted Nixon from indictment for, among other things, his role in the cover-up of the Watergate burglary. He issued a statement saying that he could now see he was “wrong in not acting more decisively and more forthrightly in dealing with Watergate.”
President Ford said that he based his decision to pardon Nixon on the consideration in part on he thought Nixon and his family had suffered enough.
You can read the full text of President Ford’s pardon here.
Legal Legacy 
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