[WATERGATE]. COX, Archibald (1912-2004). Typed Letter Signe...

[WATERGATE]. COX, Archibald (1912-2004). Typed Letter Signed, Cambridge, MA, September 27, 1974. Addressed “Mr. Jim Rogan” on “Law School of Harvard University” stationery with Harvard’s watermark. Approximately 279 x 214 mm. In this letter, Cox, the Watergate Special Prosecutor (who also was President Kennedy’s Solicitor General) discusses President Gerald Ford’s controversial pardon of President Richard Nixon: “Since you wrote your letter, President Ford had pardoned former President Nixon. I am afraid that his action will serve to keep Watergate in the front of public controversy much longer than would have happened if the normal processes of justice had been allowed to prevail…” Cox, a dedicated and principled legal scholar and public servant, was appointed the Watergate Special Prosecutor in May of 1973 to investigate the allegations of wrongdoing by the White House in the Watergate affair. Nixon privately considered the appointment of a Special Prosecutor as unwanted, and would eventually fire Cox and his staff on October 20, 1973, in what would become to be known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.” This action by Nixon backfired horribly, prompting such a backlash by Congress and the public, that Nixon was eventually compelled to resign. Ford famously pardoned Nixon, a deeply unpopular action, which would eventually cost Ford re-election. The recipient of this letter, James Rogan (b. 1957), is a former congressman and is currently serving as a judge of the Superior Court of California.