Schmidt:
The History Channel (This Day in History) posted an article this morning that had some interesting parallels to today's society.
It was on this day in 1974 that Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon in order to end the national divisions over Watergate. Widely condemned at the time, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in 2001 presented its 2001 Profiles in Courage Award to Ford for the 1974 pardon, citing his love of country over his political career.
Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only eight months before. In a political scandal independent of the Nixon administration’s wrongdoings in the Watergate affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was charged with income tax evasion and political corruption.
Once Trump is out of office, he is going to facing a whole litany of charges on both the state and federal level. It's POSSIBLE a future president could pardon him for some of those charges, but I think it's highly unlikely. It would please the MAGA crowd, but they are in a distinct minority in the country.
The other link to today is Spiro T. Agnew, who was forced to resign due to exactly the same crimes that Trump is committing.
During the 1968 presidential campaign, Agnew initially played the centrist, pointing to his civil rights record in Maryland. As the campaign developed, he quickly adopted a more belligerent approach (just like Trump) with strong law-and-order rhetoric, a style which alarmed the party's Northern liberals but played well in the South. John Mitchell, Nixon's campaign manager, was impressed, some other party leaders less so. Senator Thruston Morton described Agnew as an "asshole. Agnew's comments outraged many, but Nixon did not rein him in, since right-wing populism had a strong appeal in the Southern states.
Starting in 1969, Agnew started attacking intellectuals, whom he called the effete snobs. Agnew thus put into words feelings that many Republicans and conservatives had long felt about the news media. Television network executives and commentators responded with outrage. Julian Goodman, president of NBC, stated that Agnew had made an "appeal to prejudice ... it is regrettable that the Vice President of the United States should deny to TV freedom of the press". Frank Stanton, head of CBS, accused Agnew of trying to intimidate the news media, and his news anchor, Walter Cronkite, agreed. The speech was praised by conservatives from both parties, and gave Agnew a following among the right.
So if you are wondering where Trump got his ideas about "fake news", you'll need to go back about 50 years.
(Eventually, the conservatives got their very own network. The Fox News Channel (FNC) is an American basic cable and satellite news television channel that was founded by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1996. Roger Ailes appointed himself as permanent CEO of the news operation in 2001. FNC (along with MSNBC) was created as a Republican-centered alternative to CNN. In January 2002, the ratings of the channel surpassed top-rated CNN to become the #1 news cable channel. The network has since maintained its #1 cable rating as of 2019 with increasing viewership and international access helping it became a subject of controversy.)
In early 1973, when news of Agnew's bribes became public, he initially took the position that sitting vice presidents could not be indicted, * citing as precedent an 1826 investigation of vice president John Calhoun. Eventually, Agnew entered into negotiations for a plea bargain, but eventually resigned because he felt that he could not get a fair trial.
* (The Justice Department today applies the same logic to presidents, which is why Robert Mueller did not indict Trump on 10 obstruction charges).
Agnew submitted a formal letter of resignation to the Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, and sent a letter to Nixon stating he was resigning in the best interest of the nation. Nixon responded with a letter concurring that the resignation was necessary to avoid a lengthy period of division and uncertainty, and applauding Agnew for his patriotism and dedication to the welfare of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiro_Agnew
A month or so, "the Mooch" predicted that Trump would resign in March of 2020. By that time, the House of Representatives will have completed their multitude of investigations, and Trump may feel compelled to resign in the best interest of the nation.