That would bring up a lot of weird legal issues. There were questions about Gerald Ford having the ability to pardon Nixon, when Nixon hadn't been charged with any crimes. It was moot, because no one pursued charges. Essentially, Ford actually said, "Don't bother bringing charges, because I'll pardon him, even if he's found guilty."
So, the ability of a president to pardon crimes before a person is charged is still an open question. In the world where law matters, a grand jury could have still recommended charges, Nixon could have been convicted, and Ford would have had to issue an actual pardon, rather than the threat of a pardon he used to explain why no one was pursuing Nixon after he was removed from office.
Obama also couldn't pardon Brennan for crimes committed after the date of the pardon.
Slide: after the revelation that "deep throat" was FBI Deputy Director Mark Felt, it was obvious that Woodward and Bernstein were functioning as stenographers, rather than reporters, and that the Washington Post was functioning as the propaganda arm of the FBI.
The deep state had Nixon out of office, and they didn't want public legal proceedings that might damage the narrative.
Slide: after the revelation that “deep throat” was FBI Deputy Director Mark Felt, it was obvious that Woodward and Bernstein were functioning as stenographers, rather than reporters, and that the Washington Post was functioning as the propaganda arm of the FBI.
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Now it’s the entire MSM that acts as the propagana arm of the Deep State.