Worse Than Watergate

Watergate has long been the standard by which other political scandals are judged. Commentators use the suffix “-gate” and talk about how contemporary events mirror those that occurred during the Watergate investigation.

But the country is now confronted with a presidential scandal that presents an unprecedented danger to American democracy and national security. Evidence that has been released—by the White House no less—shows that President Donald Trump abused his authority to attempt to extort a foreign country to intervene in the 2020 election. And recent reporting shows that he withheld vital military aid to Ukraine as part of his unlawful pressure campaign.

While Trump’s actions follow the basic arc of President Richard Nixon’s misconduct—abusing authority to attack political opponents followed by a desperate cover-up attempt—there is a critical difference. Trump’s misconduct is worse because it involves an effort to pressure a foreign country to interfere in American democracy, undermining our national security.

View the complete October 3 article by Sam Berger on the Center for American Progress website here.