BOVARD: Ford’s expansive use of the pardon helped pave the way for George H.W. Bush’s Iran-Contra pardons which largely demolished the investigation of Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh. On Christmas Eve 1992, Bush pardoned six Reagan administration officials for their roles in Iran-Contra,

Nixon resigned because he knew that he would be demolished in a Senate trial. But President Gerald Ford compounded the damage from Nixon’s presidency when he issued a sweeping pardon of his predecessor that practically condemned future generations of Americans to being governed by lawless presidents.  --Jim Bovard

Nixon’s Resignation and America’s Impunity Democracy https://t.co/gSyjpO0W3B via @libertarianinst

— St. Michael, the Archangel (@aveng_angel) August 13, 2024

August 8 was the fiftieth anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Unfortunately, that anniversary spurred little reflections or lamentations on how lawless the federal government has become in the subsequent half-century.

Aside from his Watergate abuses, Nixon was guilty of illegally invading a foreign country (Cambodia), perpetuating the war in Vietnam for political purposes and his 1972 reelection campaign, violating the rights of tens of thousands of Americans with the illegal FBI COINTELPRO program, sanctioning CIA violence and subversion around the globe, and many other offenses. Nixon also created Amtrak. 

Nixon resigned because he knew that he would be demolished in a Senate trial. But President Gerald Ford compounded the damage from Nixon’s presidency when he issued a sweeping pardon of his predecessor that practically condemned future generations of Americans to being governed by lawless presidents.

Ford’s rationale for the pardon deserves a place in the pantheon of American political bullshit. In his televised announcement of the pardon, Ford declared that, if Nixon were put on trial, “the credibility of our free institutions of government would again be challenged at home and abroad.” Ford also claimed that prosecuting Nixon would banish “the tranquility to which this nation has been restored by the events of recent weeks” after Nixon resigned. But Ford’s action made it easier for subsequent presidents to disturb “tranquility” and practically everything else.

Many people assume that President Ford pardoned Nixon only for Watergate. In reality, Ford’s pardon was so sweeping—forgiving Nixon for any and every possible crime he may have committed—that it would have exempted Nixon even from charges of genocide, 

“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.”

Continue reading this excellent piece by James Bovard.

Find more by Bovard on Nixon here.

Find Bovard's books here.

Last Rights: The Death of American Liberty https://t.co/yBWhGdSQQH via @amazon

— St. Michael, the Archangel (@aveng_angel) August 13, 2024

MARTIN ARMSTRONG: [John Bolton] is always willing to send American boys to their deaths but sought a deferment for himself

Thank you to Martin Armstrong's "Americans Usurping American Foreign Policy & Assassinations for Regime Change." 

Let’s make this very clear about Bolton. John Bolton was a fervent supporter of the Vietnam War, yet he managed to avoid combat through a student deferment followed by enlistment in the Maryland Air National Guard. He is always willing to send American boys to their deaths but sought a deferment for himself. Bolton openly supported the United States’ interference in other countries under his philosophy that, somehow, we have the right to carry out regime changes worldwide. That is precisely what got JFK assassinated by the CIA because they were engaging in regime change, assassinating leaders, and he wanted to terminate the CIA.  --Martin Armstrong

I can tell you that when Regan was elected, the Republicans were beside themselves. When I asked: What’s the problem? They said: “You don’t understand!” They explained that they would have to “train” him because he was a “governor” and not one of them from the swamp. The Neocons tried their best to prevent Reagan from even meeting with Gorbachev. They told him “You can never trust a Russian!” 

Had Reagan listened to the Neocons, the Berlin Wall would never have fallen. The Neocons simply converted their hatred of communists into hatred of all Russians.

When I went to dinner at Mar-a-Lago in March 2020, Trump said he wanted to pull the troops out of Afghanistan because he was tired of writing letters to their families claiming that their child died for God and country. As I said, he asked what we were doing there. I got to see that Trump was human and was concerned for the soldiers who were dying only because of the Neocons, like John Bolton. Bolton constantly wanted to convert the United States into an imperial power that dominated the entire world with his endless wars. This is why Russia and China see us as a vile “imperialistic” world power assassinating leaders and overthrowing governments – regime change.   

These UNELECTED Neocons abuse the power of the United States and turn the world against us.

Let’s make this very clear about Bolton. John Bolton was a fervent supporter of the Vietnam War, yet he managed to avoid combat through a student deferment followed by enlistment in the Maryland Air National Guard. He is always willing to send American boys to their deaths but sought a deferment for himself. Bolton openly supported the United States’ interference in other countries under his philosophy that, somehow, we have the right to carry out regime changes worldwide. That is precisely what got JFK assassinated by the CIA because they were engaging in regime change, assassinating leaders, and he wanted to terminate the CIA. Just look at Project Northwoods, where they tried to kill Americans and blame it on Cuba to justify an invasion. These Neocons are a threat to the United States and will sacrifice your children as well as you to win this game of power.  

Questions remain about Nixon and Watergate despite four decades of literature from historians, journalists, academics, and politicians. Who ordered the break-in at the DNC headquarters on June 17, 1972? What was erased from the infamous 18 ½ minute gap? How much did Nixon know about the cover-up? But more importantly, what most people do not know is that Nixon, who had confronted the CIA and told the direction “I know who killed JFK” when he left office, Nixon REFUSED to accept Secret Service protection and hired his own security out of his own pocket. Interesting. Perhaps Nixon knew far more than the government ever allowed to be said in public.