Watergate: Impeachment In The United States

The Presidential power to pardon people for the crime they have been convicted off is something that is used by the President to gain political support and leverage. It has normally been used by the President to help their friends and political allies. In many cases, the President goes pardon crazy on his last day in office; pardoning people left and right for future political support. This power is granted to the President under Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. It states that the President “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” However, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this to include all the powers of clemency, giving the President
This scandal was about how Richard Nixon sent people into the Democratic National Committee headquarters, at the Watergate office complex, so he could information that would possibly help him for the upcoming election(which he didn’t really need because he won by a landslide). Perhaps the most controversial of all the pardons, President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon in attempt to quell the spirit of disharmony and distrust that was growing rapidly in the United States of America because of this scandal that became known as Watergate. Many people believe that this incident was a vile miscarriage of justice that should never have happened and that this is just another glaring example of the Republicans trying to subvert American democracy. However, Ford’s reason for pardoning Nixon was not of “the ultimate fate of Richard Nixon”, but his “concern is the immediate future of this great country.”(Ford,
He could use it to gain political support or in Bill Clinton’s case, money for campaigns and funds. I think this power in some cases help the county; Ford’s pardon helped eased the pain the country was feeling because of the shocking cover up. However, it does stir up emotions from the American public and can turn into nasty propaganda and slander in the news. I feel this power should be limited to a certain extent. The President should be given a limit on how many pardons per term it could use; 40 pardons for the four years in office he has is what I think should be the maximum amount should be. I feel that if we limit the number of pardons the President can use, then he would use them a lot more wisely. The President always cares about the well being of the country before his own needs to a certain extent, so I feel that he will in fact use them more wisely if the number of pardons were limited. I think that it should be that the President only pardons people for the benefit of the people, like in Nixon’s case. Nixon’s pardon was critical for America moving forward, because without it there would have been a major trial which would create a feeling of chaos. Many people would feel unsafe at the thought that the President could and would commit a crime. Forgiveness heals any problem, and in Nixon’s case, forgiveness was needed and given. The Presidential pardon power has the ability to