Richard Nixon convicted on charges of bribery, tax evasion and money laundering during his tenure as governor of Maryland. Believing his first choice, John Connally, would not be confirmed by Congress, Nixon chose Gerald Ford, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, to replace Agnew. One researcher suggests Nixon effectively disengaged from his own administration after Ford was sworn in as Vice President on December 6, 1973. On November 17, 1973, during a televised question-and-answer session with the press, Nixon said, "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything
Inauguration of Gerald Ford presidency was established in 1789, it was the first to take place because the incumbent had resigned from office. Ford had become Vice President on December 6, 1973, after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Thus, when he succeeded Nixon, Ford became the first (and to date only) person to have held both the office of Vice President and President without having been elected to either. In a televised Oval Office speech on August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon, who was facing impeachment proceedings