“Now, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon 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.”
http://watergate.info/1974/09/08/text-of-ford-pardon-proclamation.html
I would have thought the writer would have written this differently and referred to it as “reelection” of Nixon...Its important to know for those not keeping up, that he was RE-ELECTED after the break in.
“”Even after the Watergate break-in, Richard Nixon’s legal woes were not this grave at this stage of the 1972 election.””