Gerald Ford actually said...
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States by Section 2 of Article II of the Constitution of the United States, Section 2 of Executive Order No. 11803 of September 16, 1974, is hereby amended as follows: By striking out the date 'March 1, 1975,' after the words 'apply for Executive clemency prior to' and inserting in place thereof 'March 31, 1975.'
02/27/1975