John McCain Says Trump Scandals Have Reached ‘Watergate Size And Scale’

The senior senator from Arizona, John McCain, said this week that the Trump administration scandals had reached Nixonian standards of comparison. Speaking at the International Republican Institute’s Freedom Awards on Tuesday, Sen. McCain addressed the issue of the growing scope of various scandals within the Trump administration and noted that “we’ve seen this movie before.”

Mother Jones reported this week that Sen. John McCain, while giving a speech as an honoree of the International Republican Institute, stated that President Donald Trump’s growing scandal problem had gained Watergate proportions, and then he likened the ongoing revelations to the footfalls of a centipede.

“I think we’ve seen this movie before,” McCain said.

“I think it’s reaching a point where it’s of Watergate size and scale, and a couple of other scandals that you and I have seen. It’s a centipede that the shoe continues to drop.”

The senator’s remarks came shortly after it had been reported that President Trump had approached former FBI director James Comey in February and requested that he drop the investigation that was ongoing against National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, where it was being alleged that the former U.S. Army lieutenant general may have been compromised in his dealings with Russian operatives during the presidential campaign. Flynn resigned on February 13 after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his interactions with those Russian contacts.

The latest revelation in the continuing investigation into the possible Russian connection came in a memo from the former FBI director himself. It was just another bombshell following the surprise firing of Comey on May 9, an action that the White House at first claimed had nothing to do with the Russia election tampering scandal or the undisclosed meetings with Russian officials. But in an interview with NBC News‘ Lester Holt, President Trump told Holt that he had fired James Comey over “this Russia thing.”

Amid suggestions from Republicans and Democrats, not to mention the media, that the president could be charged with obstruction of justice for interfering in an ongoing FBI investigation, the controversies kept coming. Trump admitted he had asked Comey if he was under investigation and had been assured that he was not, while Comey associates came forward to insist that the FBI director would have not have responded to the question. And then there was the tweeted threats from the president directed at Comey that he, Trump, was in possession of “tapes” of their conversations.

The terms “Trump” and “impeachment” have become a headline staples of late as well.

While at the awards ceremony, Sen. McCain was asked by former Face The Nation anchor Bob Schieffer if he had any advice for Trump. McCain said that it would be best if the president was to “get it all out.”

“It’s not going to be over until every aspect of it is thoroughly examined and the American people have made a judgment. The longer you delay, the longer it’s going to last.”

The Watergate scandal, once Congress began its investigations, rolled on until it was disclosed that President Richard Nixon had been involved in the cover-up of a crime. He resigned as president rather than face the impeachment trials that were headed his way after the House of Representatives approved three articles of impeachment against him in July, 1974.

President Trump is currently on an international tour.

James Comey is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on May 29. Of the topics to be discussed, Comey is expected to be questioned on the now notorious “Comey memo” and if President Trump actually did ask him to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn.

McCain, who has been a vocal opponent of several of Trump’s positions, said at the time of Comey’s firing that he was “disappointed” in the president’s decision.

“I have long called for a special congressional committee to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 election,” Sen. McCain said, according to The Hill. “The president’s decision to remove the FBI Director only confirms the need and the urgency of such a committee.”

[Featured Image by Amel Emric/AP Images]