Bob Woodward, who shared a Pulitzer Prize with Carl Bernstein in 1973 for their reporting of the Watergate scandal, analyzed the current impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump against his experience with the inquiry and eventual resignation of former President Richard Nixon.
Woodward, in a wide-ranging interview with WGBH News' Jared Bowen on Monday, said that the biggest difference between the two impeachment proceedings is that the scope of the inquiry into Trump is currently much narrower than it was with Nixon.
"Watergate was such a large series of illegal activities orchestrated by Nixon — wiretapping reporters, campaign of espionage and sabotage against the Democrats. Clearly illegal, well-funded with campaign money covertly. And then an organized cover up, again where they paid people hundreds of thousands of dollars to not tell the truth and obstruct justice," said Woodward, who is an associate editor at The Washington Post.
The House inquiry into Trump, though, is largely focused on Ukraine, and whether the president withheld military aid in exchange for an investigation into the family of a political rival, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Woodward called Trump's dealings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, "mind boggling and clearly a misuse of presidential power," but questioned whether focusing on Ukraine will build a convincing case for removal.
"The question is, when you look at it through the eyes of how the Constitution works, what is the Senate going to do when Trump is impeached or charged? And is there enough here to cause some 20 Republicans to break ranks and join the Democrats to remove Trump from office?" Woodward said, adding that by all accounts, the inquiry has yet to convince Senate Republicans to break with Trump, who denies doing anything improper.
Woodward, whose most recent book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," was published in September, also spoke to his knowledge of Trump's temperament and the current climate inside the White House.
"I think it's very tense, and I think it's it's full of stress," Woodward said. "He doesn't like the impeachment inquiry. He doesn't like them looking, trying to get his taxes, trying to call all the people who work for him, which he is resisting."
"One thing you learn about Trump: He's a fighter. He, in fact, loves to fight. He seeks combat," Woodward said. "And so, we're in a fight. And it, quite likely, next year is just going to be a bloody year because the country is divided."
