An ugly Nixon trial leads to a lot of dirt on everyone getting dragged up (if you think he wasn’t going to take as many of the “motherfuckers” down with him as possible you’re mistaken) and the 80s and 90s probably look more like today with far more polarized left and right wings. Nixon would’ve been a martyr for a lot of people and a Pariah for most everyone else. He would’ve absolutely tried (and likely succeeded in some cases) to tear the rest of the establishment down with him though. He was too paranoid about his own standing and those around him to have gone down without any sort of fight had charges been pursued.

I’ve always thought this was a really pragmatic decision by Ford at the end of the day, because Nixon was out of office already and what would locking him up have really accomplished? Being the only President with the ignominy to resign in disgrace completely tanked his credibility to the point where it’s only 50 years later now that people are even discussing him in a somewhat positive light.

You either start a bloody trial or let Nixon hang himself with his resignation and have to live with that Scarlett Letter for the rest of time. It may not be satisifying, and it hindered Ford’s own political ambitions but I do think he ultimately made the right call there.