Donald Trump’s new criminal indictment in Georgia includes allegations “much bigger than Watergate”, according to former Nixon White House counsel John Dean.
Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about Mr Trump’s indictment, he said: “It’s much bigger than Watergate. It’s of a whole different dimension. It goes to the very foundation of democracy.
“Nixon abused some powers. He exceeded his authority when he shouldn’t. But he wasn’t taking on the basics of the country. So this is very different and much more serious.”
Watergate was the infamous political scandal that engulfed former Republican president Nixon’s administration in the ’70s.
Mr Dean’s comments come after Mr Trump and 18 allies were indicted in Georgia on Monday over their alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, with prosecutors using a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power.
The nearly 100-page indictment details dozens of alleged acts by the ex-president or his allies to undo his defeat, including beseeching Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; harassing a state election worker who faced false claims of fraud; and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors favorable to Mr Trump.
“The indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result,” Willis told a late-night news conference.
If convicted on all charges, Mr Trump faces 71 years in prison – and state charges, unlike federal, cannot be pardoned by a president.
Other defendants include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and a Trump administration Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark.
The indictment bookends an avalanche of criminal cases against the Republican frontrunner — four in five months, each in a different city.
That would be daunting for anyone, never mind someone like Mr Trump who is simultaneously balancing the roles of criminal defendant and presidential candidate.
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