Forum, Aug. 26, 1974

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An Amnesty for Citizen Nixon?

To the Editors:

There is nothing to be gained by further punishment of former President Nixon. He has already suffered enormously, and our society would not benefit from prolonged vindictiveness.

If the public believes that equal justice is violated by prosecution of the underlings and immunization of the alleged No. 1 conspirator, however, then either the former President should be prosecuted or immunity should be extended to all Watergate defendants now caught up in the criminal justice system.

The Watergate episode has vindicated our faith in the collective wisdom of the American people. Public pressure has helped force several vital developments in the case, from the appointment of Leon Jaworski to the collapse of congressional support for the President and his ultimate resignation. Now the public must also determine the Nixon immunity question. It is not a problem that should be dumped solely on Mr. Jaworski. After a period of contemplation, the Congress should gauge public sentiment and advise the special prosecutor.

Politically, it's a no-win situation for the Congress, similar to the impeachment vote prior to the last tapes revelations. But the problem must be faced. An appropriate attitude for Jaworski would be: "I'm going to proceed with the criminal investigation of Ordinary Citizen Nixon until I hear differently from the Congress." In that way, even congressional inaction will represent acquiescence with a course of prosecutorial conduct.

Unfortunately, unfairness is bound to result. Last year not a single witness who admitted giving money to former Vice President Agnew was indicted, because the Justice Department believed it would be grossly unfair to prosecute one-half of the bribery conspiracy while pardoning the other half. It is too late to be as consistent now in Watergate.

The problem shouldn't be decided immediately, in this time of high emotion, but studied soberly and determined on the basis of what best serves the national perception of fairness and justice.

William D. Ruckelshaus

Washington, D.C.

The writer was Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. until Oct. 13,1973, when, in the "Saturday Night Massacre," he was fired by Richard Nixon for refusing to sack Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox.

A Gross Insult to Justice

That our country has had to go through the agonies of the recent months is depressing, and yet how fortunate that the very circumstances once again bring to the forefront the basic rights our Constitution guarantees. There comes a time when the only way an unwholesome situation can be treated is by facing it and proceeding through the appropriate legal system if we want to retain our individual rights as well as law and order. Now that President Nixon has resigned rather than subject this country to the trauma of a trial in the Senate, to want to go even further and offer amnesty or "off the record" equivalents would be a gross insult to our system of justice.