Trump’s Nixon moment?

U.S. President Donald Trump‘s dramatic decision to sack Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief James Comey hardly escapes comparisons with the 1973 “Saturday Night Massacre”. On October 20 that year, Richard Nixon fired Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor investigating Watergate, after he subpoenaed the President for copies of White House tapes. The decision triggered immediate storm inside his own Cabinet as two top law enforcement officials – Attorney-General Elliot Richardson and his deputy William Ruckelshaus – quit the government instead of obeying their boss.

Nixon may have thought then that he could save his presidency by removing a defiant prosecutor, but his action actually deepened the Watergate crisis which led to his eventual impeachment a year later. Since then, no American President has dismissed a top law enforcement official conducting an investigation which has a direct bearing on him, until Mr. Trump’s decision. Mr. Comey had been heading an investigation to find if there was collusion between Mr. Trump’s campaign team and the Russian government. Unlike Nixon, Mr. Trump appears to have the support of his Cabinet members. The Justice Department, headed by his close ally Jeff Sessions, stands firmly behind him. Further, unlike Cox, Mr. Comey is not a special prosecutor designated to probe any scandal involving the President. The White House says his dismissal was over Mr. Comey’s handling of the Clinton e-mail leaks, and has nothing to do with the Russia probe. Still, Mr. Trump’s decision could have far-reaching consequences both on the ongoing investigation and his presidency.

LINKED TO ‘RUSSIAGATE’: The order comes at a time when ‘Russiagate’ is widening – just hours before Mr. Comey was fired, former Acting Attorney-General Sally Yates testified before a Senate Committee that she had warned Mr. Trump that the credentials of Michael Flynn, his initial pick for National Security Advisor, may have been compromised by his links with Russia. This only reinforces the theory that Mr. Trump is wary of the FBI probe, and it is not a secret that Mr. Comey is beyond his direct control. Further, in a short dismissal letter, Mr. Trump said: “…I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation…” The “investigation” Mr. Trump here refers to is the same ‘Russia connection’ his administration officials are trying to de-link from the dismissal decision, showing how entangled they are in ‘Russiagate’.

Also, Mr. Trump may have thought that his decision could get support from sections of the Democrats particularly upset with Mr. Comey’s handling of the Clinton e-mails, which they think cost her the presidency. However, the Democrats were the first to blast the “Nixonian” decision, and asked for setting up of a special prosecutor to probe the Russia link. If Mr. Trump doesn’t agree to that, suspicions about the real reason behind Mr. Comey’s ouster will only increase. If he does, ‘Russiagate’ will continue to haunt him. Either way, Mr. Trump has just made the crisis worse, like Nixon did by firing Cox.