If elected, Biden could face a Fordian dilemma over a possible presidential pardon

The allegations that have swirled around Trump World since 2016 are many and varied: money laundering, abuse of power, campaign finance violations, cover-ups, bank fraud, tax fraud, insurance fraud, and yes, even private email accounts.

Democrats’ eagerness to see Trump prosecuted and punished has grown as his messes mount. During a virtual town hall in May, a voter asked Joe Biden if he would commit “to not pulling a President Ford” and pardoning Trump “under the pretense of healing the nation.”

The gentleman referred to the first and worst controversy of Gerald Ford’s 29-month presidency – his pardon of Richard Nixon. Upon replacing his disgraced boss in August 1974, Ford famously said “our long national nightmare is over.” The Watergate scandal had consumed the nation for two years. The new president faced a recession, double digit inflation, a global energy crisis and trouble in the Middle East. He wanted a unified country behind him.

But the opening question of his first news conference told Ford the ghosts of Watergate weren’t going anywhere. Helen Thomas of UPI asked if he might use his pardon power to protect Nixon from prosecution. Unprepared, Ford gave a tentative answer that prompted seven more related questions. He finished the conference convinced that the press would hound him about a pardon throughout the long process of prosecuting Nixon.

Ford was also convinced that a citizenry polarized by Watergate would never move past the scandal before his predecessor’s fate was decided. He announced a full pardon for Nixon on September 8, just 30 days after his swearing-in.

Reaction was swift and intense. Angry calls jammed the White House switchboard. Ford’s press secretary resigned in protest. Congress rebelled. Liberals smelled quid pro quo. Even conservatives who believed a pardon was inevitable thought the timing stank.

Joe Biden could be forgiven if he had flashbacks of the uproar when he was asked about hypothetical pardons for Trump. He had a front row seat that summer as a 31-year-old senator. He saw how quickly the tide can turn against a well-liked and respected former member of Congress. In Ford, he saw one who embraced the same role of healer that he himself aspires to.

We don’t know if Biden agrees with his town hall supporter that Ford’s effort to heal the nation was a pretense. But we do know Biden still had his front row seat when the 38th president began to be vindicated. Before Ford left office, Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill praised him as “the right man at the right time who was able to put our nation back together again.”

Biden’s questioner at the town hall got the answer he wanted. The candidate pledged not to pardon Donald Trump. Chances are it will never matter. Only federal cases are subject to presidential pardons, and those against Trump could drag on for years.

Yet a sequel to Ford’s experience is not impossible. For the second time in 50 years, a genial man with a common touch could reach the White House by way of the Senate and vice presidency and face a dilemma involving a reviled predecessor.

The pressure would be tremendous, as it was in 1974. “No man is above the law” is a darn good argument in America. For many, it was sincere; for others, window dressing for vengeance. President Ford spoke and acted from the heart – we must close this sad chapter and move on. His absolutism began and ended with love of country.

President Biden will revisit that pledge from last May if the good of his country ever depends on it.

Michael Smith is a freelance opinion writer in Georgetown, Kentucky.