DEMS/GOP/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump and his critics actually agree on something. If a column he read in a magazine is correct, he wrote on Twitter on Thursday [5-17-18], ‘this is bigger than Watergate!’ Never mind that he was thinking of something different than his adversaries when they use the same phrase. Mr. Trump was referring to what he deems a deep-state conspiracy to get him. His detractors are referring to the various scandals swirling around Mr. Trump. Watergate has long been the touchstone for modern American scandal, the mountain of misconduct against which all others are judged. In the 44 years since Richard M. Nixon resigned, virtually every political investigation has been likened to the one that brought down a president, the suffix ‘gate’ applied to all sorts of public flaps, no matter how significant or trivial. But rarely has the comparison been as intense and persistent as during the 16 months since Mr. Trump took office — a comparison deployed by both sides in hopes of shaping the narrative of wrongdoing. What started out as an inquiry into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election has mushroomed into questions of perjury, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, abuse of power, illicit spying, hush money, tax fraud, money laundering and influence peddling.”
-Peter Baker, “‘Bigger Than Watergate’? Both Sides Say Yes, but for Different Reasons,” The New York Times online, May 17,2018