Historian finds another similarity between the Trump and Nixon impeachment scandals: 'Wildly misleading' transcripts

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published 30 October 2019

Is it 1974 all over again?

The Trump administration hopes not, but Kevin M. Kruse, a historian at Princeton University, pointed out some similarities between the current impeachment inquiry and how the Nixon administration handled Watergate.

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It's relevant because the Trump administration released a rough transcript of President Trump's phone call in July with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The perception was that the White House was trying to confront the accusations of corruption head-on, but there was always a risk it could backfire. Some people likely think that's what happened yesterday when Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman reportedly testified before Congress that the White House's reconstructed transcript omitted critical words and phrases, including a mention of former Vice President Joe Biden.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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