Rep. Zoe Lofgren claimed President Trump’s actions were worse than Watergate because he “used a foreign power” to try to sway the 2020 election.
The California Democrat, who was on the staff of the House Judiciary Committee during President Richard Nixon’s impeachment, told ABC This Week, that Trump’s actions were more severe that Nixon’s because he involved foreign powers.
“Well, the Nixon case, he used presidential powers to influence improperly the election. He covered it up using the FBI, the CIA. He abused his power and was voted articles of impeachment as a consequence,” she explained. “In the case of President Trump, not only has he abused his power to improperly put his thumb on the scale for the election, he used a foreign power to do it, and that really hits all of the buttons that the founding fathers were concerned about.”
She referenced Trump’s request that Ukraine look into Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden to see if there were conflicting interests between his role as vice president and his son’s high-paying job on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma. She claimed this was to tip the scales in 2020, while Republicans argue there was a good reason to investigate the Bidens for corruption.
Lofgren brushed off the point made by Republicans that Trump did not demand a quid pro quo because he turned over the aid without an investigation into Biden.
“Well, the aid was suspended for a while. As a matter of fact, people died while it was suspended. But he did use that power to get that end, and it’s not over. I mean, he is using agents to get improper things done to try to tar his opponent and Rudy Giuliani, his agent, is in Ukraine meeting with KGB-trained people today,” she said. “This is an ongoing threat to the national security.”
She claimed Trump has tried to “pervert the national interests” for personal gain.
Lofgren, 71, has been a member of Congress since 1995, where she also played a role in President Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
