Why did president ford pardon former president nixon? question 10 options: secretary of state henry kissinger believed that it would to ease tensions in vietnam all of these president ford was concerned that former president nixon would lead an uprising if he was not pardoned dragging out watergate questions was distracting country from present issues

President Ford pardoned former President Nixon because he thought that dragging out Watergate questions was distracting country from present issues.

On August 9, 1974, after just nine months as Vice President, Ford was named President of the United States after the resignation of then President Richard Nixon, as a result of the Watergate Scandal. During his tenure, he tried to recover the nation's confidence in the government, which had been marred by the event. But one of his first and most controversial acts was to promulgate Nixon's pardon of all the federal crimes he had committed while in office. This pardon was signed by Ford 48 hours after assuming the Presidency. It was effective on September 8, 1974, through the Presidential Proclamation 4311 issued by President Ford, giving Nixon full and unconditional forgiveness for any crime he may have committed against the United States, while he was president. In a televised broadcast by national network Ford justified the Proclamation, qualifying this pardon as one of the best interests of the country.

The indult to Nixon generated strong controversies. Critics scoffed at the move, calling it "a corrupt bargain" that had been negotiated between the two, arguing in turn that the pardon was a token of gratitude on the part of Ford to Nixon.

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