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Unbeknownst to Ford, the first link in the chain was the infamous Watergate break-in. Early on the morning of June 17, 1972, five Cubans were caught in a burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington; two others had been arrested not long afterwards and charged with supervising the break-in. At first it seemed "penny-ante," but when two reporters from the Washington Post began to investigate they discovered that among those involved in the burglary were former employees of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (soon popularly called CREEP). At least one of them worked in the White House itself. In addition, they had been paid for the break-in from a secret fund of the reelection committee, controlled by staff members at the White House. Public interest in the disclosures was not great in the beginning, and few questioned President Richard M. Nixon when he said that neither he nor his staff had anything to do with "this very bizarre incident." 2 Nixon sailed through his bid for re-election. His opponent, Democrat George McGovern, won the electoral votes of only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. The White House Connection Early in 1973, however, the Watergate burglars went on trial, and under unyielding prodding from federal judge John Sirica, one of the defendants, James W. McCord, agreed to cooperate with both the grand jury and a special Senate investigating committee.3 McCord’s testimony resulted in a torrent of admissions, and for months a procession of White House and campaign officials exposed questionable or illegal actions. One of those was a member of the president’s inner circle, White House counsel John Dean. Dean leveled charges against President Nixon himself. It seemed clear that there had been abuses of power involving both the White House staff and the Nixon campaign committee. There were the White House "plumbers," under the direction of John Ehrlichman, whose mission had been to investigate and harass political opponents through illegal wiretaps, intercepted mail, and burglaries.4 Illegal campaign contributions had been "laundered" in Mexico and used to support a variety of "dirty tricks" against Democratic presidential candidates and to pay for other activities aimed at sabotaging the campaigns of Nixon’s opponents. Then there was the Watergate break-in itself. Part of a million dollar security and intelligence-gathering plan called Operation Gemstone, some claimed it had been initiated by Dean, while others placed the blame on Attorney General John Mitchell.5 Though it seemed clear that Nixon neither planned nor approved the burglary in advance, there was more and more evidence that he had been involved to some degree in a cover-up, although after the fact. "No Contest" Meanwhile, Nixon’s vice president, Spiro Agnew, had his own problems. He was accused of having accepted bribes and kickbacks while governor of Maryland. In exchange for an agreement on the part of the Justice Department not to further prosecute the case, he plea-bargained, admitting "nolo contendere" (no contest) to a lesser charge. Shortly thereafter, he resigned. 6 Gerald Ford explained how he heard about the decision that would change his life. About two days before the Agnew story broke, Nixon invited him to come down to the Executive Office Building for a talk. He had known Nixon since January 1949, when Nixon, then a congressman, had welcomed him as a "freshman" representative from Grand Rapids to the House. Now, during a ninety-minute conversation, they reminisced about their long friendship, mutual friends, and goals they’d shared within their party over the years. Ford got a phone call telling him to get back to the House floor for a roll-call vote. As he arrived, two of his House colleagues grabbed him by the arm and said, "Agnew’s resigning!" Then Ford understood the timeliness of his visit to the president. Nixon was considering him as the next vice president.7 With an overflow crowd
of cabinet members, the leaders and committee powers of Congress,
White House staff, and prime-time television networks, Nixon nominated
Gerald R. Ford as vice president of the United States at the White
House on October 12, 1973. Ford was the first person to be nominated
under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, ratified in 1967, which, among
other things, provided for filling vacancies in the vice presidency.
After a reception at the White House, the Fords left for their
home across the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia–under
guard by the Secret Service for the first time. In the politically
charged environment of Watergate and the Agnew scandal, Gerald
Ford, too, wanted Congress to have no doubts about his qualifications.
He told his advisors, "Hold nothing back," and, according
to historian James Cannon, "directed his lawyer, his accountant,
his banker, his doctor, his peers in the House, his personal friends,
and his brothers to put everything on the record."11 At the
end of the investigation, the FBI had interviewed more than a
thousand people, producing a report of 1,700 single-spaced pages.
In accepting their responsibility for choosing someone for the
vice presidency, the congressional committee members collected
more information about a public official than had ever been known
about any person in or out of American public office.12 Ford was
confirmed. Even then, many on Capitol Hill understood that they
had chosen not only the vice president, but perhaps the future
president as well. On December 6, 1973, Ford took the oath of
office in the House chamber, using a Bible given to him by his
oldest son, while his wife looked on. A few days after the
Supreme Court decision, after weeks of hearings, the House Judiciary
Committee voted three articles of impeachment, charging Nixon
with obstruction of justice in the Watergate case, with violating
the rights of certain citizens with regard to the administration
of justice, and with unconstitutionally denying the Committee’s
subpoenas. "Be ready for a change in your life." That was Alexander Haig’s advice to Gerald Ford on August 1, when he talked with him the first time about the "smoking gun." He outlined what White House lawyers saw as the president’s options in the wake of the damaging tapes, mentioning, for example, that Nixon could actually pardon himself and resign. Then, as Ford remembered it, "Finally, Haig said that according to some on Nixon’s White House staff, Nixon could agree to leave in return for an agreement that the new president–Gerald Ford–would pardon him." Ford listened to all of the suggested options, including that one, but as he said, "I did not urge Haig to do anything to get Nixon to resign. That was his choice."18 Perhaps it was, but Ford’s close personal advisor, Bryce Harlow, told the vice president that if he became president, "There must not be any cause for anyone to cry ‘deal’ if you have to make that decision [a pardon], or any mystery about your position now that you know what Haig . . . [has] told you."19 Harlow’s reasoning weighed on Ford. Thinking back on his conversations with Haig, and the implications suggested by other advisors as well as Harlow, Ford decided he needed to clarify with Nixon’s chief of staff exactly what his position was. The next day, he called Haig at the White House. To be sure his message would be clear, he had written it out, and read it to the chief of staff over the phone: "I want you to understand that I have no intention of recommending what the president should do about resigning or not resigning, and that nothing we talked about yesterday afternoon should be given any consideration in whatever decision the president may wish to make." Haig’s reply: "You’re absolutely right."20 At 4:00 p.m. on August
5, 1974, the White House released the transcript of the June 23
tape, along with a 1,000-word statement by Nixon attempting
to justify his actions in the Watergate cover-up. Despite the
explanation, Nixon understood that once the transcript became
public, he could not escape the anger throughout the land. Moreover,
an important Republican leader, Senator Barry Goldwater, had given
him the count. In the Senate, Nixon had just six senators who
would vote against an impeachment conviction. As Goldwater said,
"It’s finished." On the morning of August 6, Nixon
met with his cabinet, and in an atmosphere that seemed surreal,
tried to conduct business as usual. George Bush, in attendance
as the chairman of the Republican National Committee, could not
bear to hear a mundane discussion of inflation problems continue,
as if it were a normal meeting. Raising his hand, he stated bluntly,
"Mr. President, you have to resign."21 It hit
like a ton of bricks.
Then Nixon switched
the conversation to the protocol of transitions, even this one.
He had a plan well in mind. He and his family would go to the
East Room to say good-bye to the staff and the cabinet. After
that, they would walk directly through the diplomatic entrance
of the White House to the helicopter. From Andrews Air Force Base
they would fly in Air Force One for San Clemente, their
home. Nixon suggested that the Fords walk with them to the helicopter.
The president wanted to know where Ford planned to be sworn in.
Ford said he had decided not to go to Capitol Hill–it might
seem too much like a celebration. Nixon told him he could be sworn
in at the White House. "I’ll be gone before noon,"
he said.24
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