Gerald R. Ford Foundation nixed award for Liz Cheney over Trump fears, board member claims

A former White House photographer to President Gerald R. Ford has resigned from the Grand Rapids foundation named for the late president, claiming its trustees nixed an award for former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney in part over fears of retribution if Donald Trump were to be reelected this fall.

Famed photographer David Hume Kennerly, in a Tuesday letter first reported by Politico, said the board of trustees three times rejected Cheney's nomination for the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service after others chosen for the award had declined it.

"It was a painful decision to resign from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, but necessary," Kennerly tweeted Wednesday. "I hope more people around the country will follow @Liz_Cheney's example and speak out about the threat to our democracy. Time to step up."

Kennerly, in the letter, slammed his fellow board members, accusing the leadership of being "cowed by a demagogue" and calling the executive committee's decision not to award Cheney, a Republican and fierce Trump critic, "inexplicable."

He asked what Ford would have done were he in the boardroom with them, saying, "I believe he would have stood alongside Liz Cheney strongly, proudly and publicly," and would have adopted a "'damn the torpedoes' approach as he proceeded to do the right thing."

The Ford medal was established by the board of trustees in 2003, according to the foundation's website, to recognize "outstanding public contributions by individuals who reflect the qualities demonstrated" by the 38th president during his career, including strength of character, integrity, trustworthiness, fidelity to principles in decision making, sound judgment, decisiveness during periods of crisis, determination in the face of adversity, diligence and self-confidence.

Gleaves Whitney, executive director of the Ford Presidential Foundation, in a statement, defended the decision not to award the 2024 medal to Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming and a Gerald R. Ford Foundation trustee since 2021.

Whitney said the executive committee was guided by legal counsel and concluded that "it was not prudent" to award the 2024 Ford medal to Cheney since she was a possible contender for an independent presidential bid at the time.

"At the time the award was being discussed, it was being publicly reported that Cheney was under active consideration for a presidential run by (the independent group) No Labels," Whitney said in a statement obtained by The Detroit News.

"Exercising its fiduciary responsibility, the executive committee concluded that giving the Ford medal to Cheney in the 2024 election cycle might be construed as a political statement and thus expose the Foundation to the legal risk of losing its nonprofit status with the IRS."

The bipartisan No Labels organization announced last week it would not field a presidential candidate this year after failing to attract a high-profile centrist candidate to take on Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden.

In a later statement, Whitney added that the Ford and Cheney families have been close for five decades, and that the foundation was "honored" to have Liz Cheney join the board of trustees, on which she continues to serve in good standing. 

"Not only that, Liz Cheney meets all the criteria the Ford Presidential Foundation medal signifies — courage, integrity, and passion to serve the American people," Whitney said Wednesday night.

"The Foundation's decision not to give Congresswoman Liz Cheney the 2024 Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service is not a reflection on her but on the law governing nonprofits. The Foundation's action this year in no way precludes her from serious consideration to receive the medal in a future year."

Tax-exempt organizations, such as charities, churches and private foundations, are "absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office," according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The National Council of Nonprofits warns on its website that if the IRS finds a charitable nonprofit engaged in partisan campaign activities, "regulations mandate that the charitable nonprofit will lose its tax-exempt status," though it's unclear how often this law is enforced.

Whitney, who was chief speechwriter for former Gov. John Engler, did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment by The News. Multiple members of the board of trustees didn't respond Wednesday to calls for comment.

'The historical irony'

Kennerly, a foundation trustee since 2008, in his letter, criticized Whitney's explanation, saying a "key reason" that Cheney's nomination was turned down was "agita" about what might happen if Trump were reelected and some members' fears the IRS would target the foundation's tax-exempt status.

"The historical irony was completely lost on you. Gerald Ford became president, in part, because Richard Nixon had ordered the development of an enemies list and demanded his underlings use the IRS against those listed. That’s exactly what the executive committee fears will happen if there’s a second coming of Donald Trump," Kennerly wrote.

"Did LT Gerald Ford meet the enemy head-on because he thought he wouldn’t get killed? No. He did it despite that possibility. This executive committee, on the other hand, bolted before any shots were fired.

"You aren’t alone. Many foundations, organizations, corporations, and other entities are caught up in this tidal wave of timidity and fear that’s sweeping this country," Kennerly added. "I mistakenly thought we were better than that."

Kennerly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who covered the 2016 election for CNN, credited Cheney for still standing "out there on the front lines of freedom vigorously defending our Constitution and democratic way of life."

Past recipients

Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, is among the past recipients of the Ford medal. He was President Ford's chief of staff.

Other recipients of the Ford medal include individuals from both sides of the political aisle, including former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Colin Powell, the late House Speaker Tip O’Neill, the late Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, the late U.S. Rep. John Dingell, the late Sen. Carl Levin and former President Jimmy Carter, who defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential election.

Liz Cheney joined the foundation's board in 2021 for a three-year term after her father retired from the panel after 40 years. The unanimous vote to select Cheney as a trustee in 2021 followed the vote by House Republicans to remove Cheney from her post as the No. 3 Republican over her repeated criticisms of Trump.

Cheney has long spoken out about Trump's sway over participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington and has called out lies about what happened that day.

She helped lead the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 that found that Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and failed to act to prevent or stop rioters from attacking the Capitol and responding police.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Cheney, saying on social media last month that she should be prosecuted and "should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”

Trump is facing a four-count federal indictment over his role on Jan. 6, allegations that he conspired to defraud Americans over his 2020 election defeat and obstructed the official proceeding in Congress to certify the vote for Biden. The Supreme Court is weighing Trump's claim that he should be immune from prosecution.

Cheney posted in response to Trump: “Hi Donald: you know these are lies.”

“If your response to Trump’s assault on our democracy is to lie & cover up what he did, attack the brave men & women who came forward with the truth, and defend the criminals who violently assaulted the Capitol,” Cheney said in one post last month, “you need to rethink whose side you’re on. Hint: It’s not America’s.”

A Cheney representative did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

mburke@detroitnews.com

Associated Press contributed.