The Pardon

“Toobin’s thought-provoking and strenuously argued account proves instructive and timely in the wake of the fusillade of troubling pardons issued by Trump and Joe Biden… . Toobin’s blow-by-blow account of the machinations undertaken on Nixon’s behalf is riveting.” —The Washington Post “Toobin’s latest is the book for our tempestuous times… . well researched and highly readable, a master class on a power wielded by presidents for more than 200 years.” —The Guardian “A compulsively readable, minute-­by-minute account of how President Gerald Ford reached his decision in 1974 to pardon his disgraced predecessor, Richard Nixon, for the crimes uncovered during the Watergate scandal.” —Foreign Affairs “In some ways, Toobin’s book is impeccably timed… .But The Pardon isn’t primarily about Trump or Biden… . Most of his book is given over to recounting what was—at least until recently—’the most controversial presidential pardon in American history’: Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon… . Toobin offers a granular narrative [and] admirably weaves all these threads together.” —The New York Times “Jeffrey Toobin makes a convincing case that Ford’s pardon of President Nixon set the stage for unchecked presidential power… . The road to Trump begins, in some moral sense, with the absolution of Nixon.” —The Atlantic “With rich reporting and fresh insight, Jeffrey Toobin has woven together a splendid narrative about political power and mercy. The Pardon brilliantly illuminates a momentous decision in American history, and shows how it continues to reverberate today.” —David Grann, #1 bestselling author of The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

Jeffrey Toobin is the longtime CNN legal commentator and the author of ten books. His notable works include:

• The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
• The Run of His Life: The People vs. O.J. Simpson
• Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism
• American Heiress
• The Oath
• Too Close to Call
• A Vast Conspiracy

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, he lives with his family in New York.