Perhaps but if Nixon allowed Lavelle to take the fall for Nixon’s decision then bashing is in order.
According to the article, that's apparently what happened:
[The Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records] added: "It is clear the White House, the Department of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff all possessed evidence which, if released, would have exonerated him."
Well, as everybody knows, Nixon was no saint. If Nixon really made this General a scapegoat to cover his a$$, then he deserves to be bashed.