WASHINGTON — Philip Buchen, who served as White House counsel for former President Gerald Ford and helped Ford with his pardon of Richard Nixon, has died of pneumonia. He was 85.
Buchen, a longtime law partner of Ford's, also served as a trusted aide on Ford's vice presidential staff. One of Ford's first actions after he succeeded Nixon as president was to appoint Buchen as counsel and elevate the position to Cabinet level.
Buchen delivered to Ford an influential memo written by a Nixon aide that strongly argued for clemency. And he did the legal footwork to determine whether Nixon could be pardoned and outlined the language of the pardon.
"Philip Buchen was one of my dearest friends for over 50 years," Ford said in a statement. Buchen, who died Monday, is survived by his wife of 54 years, Beatrice, a son and a daughter.