Pelosi says Trump's actions 'so much worse' than Richard Nixon
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. DEMOCRATIC HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, SAYING:
"What the president did was so much worse than even what Richard Nixon did."
In the midst of impeachment hearings, U.S. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday drew a line between the 45 president and the 37th.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON, SAYING:
"I had no prior knowledge of the Watergate break-in. I neither took part in nor knew about any of the subsequent cover-up activities."
Richard Nixon, whose name has become synonymous with scandal for many Americans, resigned in 1974 after the House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment against him.
He stepped down before the House of Representatives could vote to impeach him.
He is only U.S. president to have resigned from office.
And on that issue, Pelosi compared him favorably to Trump.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. DEMOCRATIC HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, SAYING:
"But at some point Richard Nixon cared about the country enough to recognize that this could not continue."
After resisting calls from her own party, Pelosi last month announced that the House Intelligence Committee would begin formal impeachment hearings.
Trump has derided the impeachment hearings as a sham.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:
"Impeachment to me, that's a dirty word."
But Sunday isn't the first time comparisons have been drawn between Trump and Nixon.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR ALLAN LICTHMAN, POLITICAL HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SAYING:
"Donald Trump stonewalling makes Richard Nixon look like a minor league player.
Professor Allan Lichtman is political historian at American University.
He told Reuters that Trump's efforts to block members of his administration from cooperating with the hearings go further than anything Nixon did.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR ALLAN LICTHMAN, POLITICAL HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SAYING:
"It's much much worse. And so the recourse for the House (of Representatives) is yes, you can go to court. That'll take forever. But, you can vote an article of impeachment like the one leveled against Richard Nixon for contempt of Congress."
If the House votes to impeach Trump, the matter moves to the U.S. Senate, where Republicans in control of that chamber show little appetite for removing the Republican president.
But even if Trump survives impeachment, all this is playing out in an election year.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR ALLAN LICTHMAN, POLITICAL HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SAYING:
"When the investigations of Richard Nixon started, his approval rating was 67 percent. The revelations drove it down to 25 percent. So, public revelations can move public opinion."
