It’s still early days for the Trump-Russia
Scandal. Not surprisingly, the public is confused by this slowly unfolding
Keystone Kops catastrophe. Many are increasingly befuddled by the complexity of
the case and its similarity, if any, to Watergate.
First up is the naming issue. We’re a few
months into this mess and we still don’t have a descriptive, commonly-accepted shorthand
for it. Although Kremlingate and the Trump Tower Scandal are worthy nominees, I
suggest we stick with the Trump-Russia Scandal for now.
As
for the investigation itself, much like Watergate, it’s difficult to keep track
of all of the players and the various bodies looking into the matter. Given how
difficult it is to stay current, I suggest that we develop a simple tool to
help us determine how far we are into this scandal, something I call the
Watergate-O-Meter.
The Watergate-O-Meter is a handy measuring
device which, at a glance, tells you how the Trump-Russia Scandal compares to
Watergate. Using a scale of zero to ten, let’s see where we’ve been already:
January
1, 2015
It’s early on in the Republican nomination
race. Donald Trump has not declared and has only hinted that he’ll jump in.
Given his past history, however, the mere fact that’s he’s involved suggests a
Watergate-type scandal is a possibility.
Watergate-O-Meter reading: 1
June
16, 2015
Trump descends the escalator at Trump
Tower to announce his candidacy. His innate incompetency and his inexplicable
popularity immediately suggest a likely political scandal of some sort in the
future. Watergate-O-Meter reading: 2
November
8, 2016
Trump wins the election. The shocking
result leads to further speculation that something fishy happened. Watergate-O-Meter
reading: 3
December
9, 2016
American intelligence agencies reveal
their findings that Russia acted covertly to damage Hillary Clinton’s election
chances by leaking DNC documents. No Republican documents were leaked and the
Trump campaign belittles the agencies by saying they were the same ones who
said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Watergate-O-Meter
reading: 4
May12,
2017
The FBI and Congress have been
investigating Russian interference in the election. President Trump has already
fired National Security Advisor Michael Flynn for lying about contacts with the
Russians. Three days ago, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey and said his
decision had nothing to do with Russia. Two days ago, he met with the Russians
and gave them highly classified information. Yesterday he revealed that he did
fire Comey because of the Russia investigation and today he hints that he taped
his conversations with Comey. Watergate-O-Meter reading: 6
June
16, 2017
Rumors abound that Trump wants to fire
Special Counsel Robert Mueller. His Attorney General has already recused himself
and his Deputy Attorney General has made it clear that he won’t fire Mueller.
Media references to the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973 are common. Today Trump
reveals that he is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice. Watergate-O-Meter
reading: 7
September
7, 2017
Donald Trump, Jr. is interviewed by a
Senate committee about his June meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan with a
Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. It is also revealed that his
father’s lawyer reached out to the Kremlin during the presidential campaign for
help in building a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Watergate-O-Meter reading: 8
As events progress, the facts and findings
are likely to become even more complex but the Watergate-O-Meter will be able
to quickly keep you up to date. When the reading hits nine or ten, it’s
probably time to start paying serious attention.
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