After Ford left the White House in 1977,
he justified the pardon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States,
a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision which stated that a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of guilt.
After Ford left the White House in January 1977, he privately justified his pardon of
Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States,
a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision which stated that a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of that guilt.
After Ford left the White House in January 1977, the former President privately justified his pardon of
Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States,
a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision which stated that a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of that guilt.