General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If you are over 60, or studied Watergate at length...Does this feel like Watergate ? [View all]grantcart
(53,061 posts)Unfortunately this is completely different than Watergate.
After the initial revelations of crimes being committed there were two substantial actions that forced it to a level of bipartisanship that doesnt exist now.
The first was that Judge Sirica rejected the negotiated pleas for the burglars that were caught (and were being paid to keep quiet). He imposed provisional 40 sentences and said that he would only review them when the prisoners revealed what was really going on.
James McCord sent a letter to Judge Sirica explaining that John Dean was orchestrating a cover up and that payments were being made so that people would keep quiet.
Dean decides to go to the prosecutor and get a good deal and gives minute by minute details of the crimes and the cover up but everything is stalled into a he said, he said dispute against the President.
Butterfield is called in and in an astonishing 5 minutes of testimony explains to everyone that all of the conversations by the President were recorded and the all confirm with a high degree of accuracy Deans testimony.
The fact is that cover ups usually work well at least against criminal prosecution. Libby held the line in the cover up against Cheney and they didnt get anyone to flip against New Jersey Governor Christie, who everyone including the President knows, ordered the bridge closing.
The biggest difference was that there was a Special Prosecuting Attorney that kept the investigation going. The SPA act no longer exists and this Justice Department is not going to investigate itself, or this Administration.
A more likely outcome of this is that the Republicans will tire of having Trump around their neck and they will depose him using the 25th Amendment.