Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was rather reserved in his testimony before Congress, and in his most recent appearance his comments were nearly drowned out by the strong interest in hearing from former acting attorney general Sally Yates. This week, Clapper is on the far side of the planet, speaking before Australia’s National Press Club. Oddly enough, he sounds louder from there.
The former US director of national intelligence James Clapper says events in Washington now are more serious than the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, and that it is imperative investigators get to the bottom of the Trump administration’s links with the Putin regime.
Clapper is right. Trump’s attempts to suborn Comey, Coats, and Pompeo (at a minimum) far exceed the level of interference that eventually drove Nixon from office. He’s also right that it’s extremely important that we understand the details of Russian involvement in the 2016 election—interference that went far beyond hacking into email accounts and spreading stories through social media—as well as learn the truth about connections between Trump and Russia.
But while the “why” of Trump’s actions is important, it’s not necessary. In fiction, the motive behind a crime is the primary factor, because fiction is attempting to tell a good story. In real life, motive is far less valuable. the evidence of the crime itself is all that’s required. If no one, anywhere, ever understands why Donald Trump chose to obstruct the FBI’s investigation into Michael Flynn, that would be a tragedy. But it shouldn’t prevent moving forward with impeachment. Because you don’t need to understand the motive if you understand the crime.
And there is one person who clearly understands that what Donald Trump did was wrong—Donald Trump.
Here’s what happened in the moments before Trump tried to lean on James Comey.
When the meeting ended, Mr. Trump told those present — including Mr. Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions — to leave the room except for Mr. Comey.
And here’s what happened just before Trump tried to get Coats and Pompeo to interfere with the FBI.
As the briefing was wrapping up, Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
In both cases Donald Trump cleared the room except for those he directly attempted to enlist in his obstruction. This action alone clearly indicates that Trump knew he was asking them to engage in something that was improper.
Clapper’s Watergate statement in Australia is far from the first time the analogy has been drawn between Nixon’s attempt to get the CIA to halt an FBI investigation, and Trump’s multiple attempts to do the same.
Last month, following reports that Mr. Trump had asked former FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, told CBS News' Bob Schieffer that Mr. Trump's saga of controversy was reaching a "Watergate size and scale."
But with the revelation of events with Coats and Pompeo, we’ve greatly jumped that scale.
"So the question is: How long can these assaults go on and the institutions not be irrevocably damaged? I honestly can't say," Clapper said.
The question is really how much Trump has damaged all of our institutions already.