Judge John Sirica excused Nixon's presence despite the defendants' objections.[255] Congress instructed Ford to retain Nixon's presidential papers—beginning a three-decade legal battle over the documents that was eventually won by the former president and his estate.[256] Nixon was in the hospital when the 1974 midterm elections were held, and Watergate and the pardon were contributing factors to the Republican loss of 49 seats in the House and four in the Senate.[257]

Return to public life
President Jimmy Carter and ex-Presidents Gerald Ford and Nixon meet at the White House before former Vice President Hubert Humphrey's funeral, 1978
In December 1974, Nixon began planning his comeback despite the considerable ill will against him in the country. He wrote in his diary, referring to himself and Pat,

So be it. We will see it through. We've had tough times before and we can take the tougher ones that we will have to go through now. That is perhaps what we were made for—to be able to take punishment beyond what anyone in this office has had before particularly after leaving office. This is a test of character and we must not fail the test.