Watergate’s 50th anniversary and similarities to the January 6 attack on the Capitol

June 17 marks the 50th anniversary of Watergate, who finally ended Richard Nixon’s presidency. The anniversary coincides with the sessions of the House of Representatives for the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The mysteries of both issues continue.

Is there yet to be uncovered any indisputable fact that would directly implicate Donald Trump in attacking the Capitol? Or have we already seen them in the call he made to supporters to come to Washington “to fight like never before”, or when he said out loud what he thought of Vice President Pence – one of the few people who opposed by the close circle of conspirators convinced around him – that “perhaps he should be buried, as the crowd of protesters demanded”?

And from the Watergate era the question of why Nixon was tempted to engage in illegal political action has remained unanswered. He was sure of victory to be re-elected, when persons, connected with his electoral team, entered as thieves in the offices of the Democratic Party, as today 50 years ago and were caught.

His role in covering the Watergate incident and subsequent attempts to obstruct justice forced Nixon, two years after the incident, to step down. He resigned, to avoid safe dismissal from trial in the Senate. Three Republican leaders from Congress convinced him there was no other way out.

Unlike Nixon, Trump was desperate, having clearly lost the 2020 election, as he urged his people – lawyers, aides, as well as violent supporters on the Capitol – in an effort to change the election results and keep it going. him on duty. Few in his party urged Trump to publicly admit defeat.

Watergate is the American presidential scandal with which everyone else is compared. He ousted a president from power. However January 6 was the event where blood was shed.

Watergate had a strong political influence. Dozens of Republicans lost the congressional election in 1974. This time around, the Republican Party is expected to do well in November.

Michael Dobbs, author of “King Richard: Nixon and Watergate – An American Tragedy,” says the system worked in Watergate’s case because Congress, the courts and the press did their job to denounce the chain of criminal activity that had taken place. which forced Nixon to resign.

“The system was put to the test then,” he says, “but today it is under a much more difficult test.”

When the Senate committee on the Watergate affair held its historic hearings in May 1973, the public was also concerned about the economy, high inflation, and at that time one of the biggest stock market shocks occurred.

But the Americans watched intently as it was the spectacle of a president who was slowly but surely sinking into shame.

The hearings of January 6, to date, are not about discovering new facts, but about those that have already been revealed, during the months of methodical work.

For Mr. Dobbs, the evidence of Trump’s direct involvement in planning, or inciting, the January 6 riots, with the intent of overturning the election result, must be irrefutable.

The challenges for the January 6 investigation and prosecution are “the ambiguous nature of Trump’s statements from a legal point of view,” he said. “His statements can be interpreted in different ways.”

In publishing evidence previously recorded by Trump’s close associates, the commission of inquiry has exposed the extent to which some, or many, in Trump’s circle knew that his allegations that the election had been stolen were a hoax. Even his daughter Ivanka Trump was not believing this.

The Watergate case committee, made up of four Democrats and three Republicans, was set up by unanimous vote in the Senate. The House committee on the events of January 6, by contrast, was formed by a vote of 222 in favor and 190 against. Only two Republicans, who are now members of the Commission, voted in favor of his appointment.

As Trump openly and publicly stated his claims, Nixon acted privately, or thought he was acting privately. It was the White House recording system that Nixon had installed himself that betrayed him when the Supreme Court forced Nixon to hand over the recording tapes.

In a June 23, 1972 conversation, six days after illegally entering Democratic Party offices, White House Chief of Staff HR Haldeman was heard urging Nixon to tell the FBI to “drop the investigation.” about the event, before the bureau followed in the footsteps of the crime, which was devised in the White House.

“Okay, okay,” says Nixon. “Stay strong.”

That was the indisputable proof, which undermined even that support that was left to Nixon’s Republican party.

All these years later, it is still unknown which person gave the order to enter the Democratic Party offices in the Watergate complex. There is no evidence that Nixon was directly involved, but there is also no ambiguity as to the fact that he tried to cover up the scandal and acted illegally.

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