#deep-state — Trump Fail

The Trump Justice Department Is Relitigating Watergate — Opening a Review of Whether the Prosecutors Who Brought Down Richard Nixon Committed "Misconduct," and Recasting the Most Thoroughly Proven Presidential Crime in American History as a "Deep State" Plot Against an Innocent Man — in a Transparent Bid to Delegitimize Accountability Itself and Lay Groundwork to Excuse Trump; a Member of the Committee That Voted to Impeach Nixon Called It "Beyond Stupid"

In early October 2026, it was reported that the Trump Justice Department has opened a preliminary review of whether the Watergate special prosecutors — the ones who held Richard Nixon accountable in the 1970s — committed misconduct. The review follows a presentation by Geoff Shepard, a former Nixon aide and longtime Watergate revisionist who argues the prosecutors violated defendants' rights and that Nixon was treated unfairly. The purpose is not subtle. It is the latest move to recast Nixon as a victim of the "deep state," and to yoke his case to Trump's: Vice President JD Vance has said that "how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it's not all that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump." In other words, if Watergate can be reframed as a frame-up, then so, by extension, can every investigation of Trump. Elizabeth Holtzman — who as a member of the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon — called the effort "just beyond stupid and beyond absurd," because to believe Nixon was railroaded, "you'd have to say that everybody was duped — that the Republicans were duped, that the Supreme Court was duped, that everybody was duped except this guy and Trump." Watergate is not a contested historical question. It is the best-documented presidential crime in American history, ended by Nixon's own tape-recorded voice. Using the Justice Department to pretend otherwise is not scholarship. It is the weaponization of law enforcement against the historical record, in the service of the current president.

Trump Put His Housing Official — Who Had No Security Clearance, No Intelligence Experience, and Asked If He Could Take the Presidential Daily Brief Home — in Charge of 18 Spy Agencies, Then Told Him to Mass-Fire Intelligence Workers: He's Fired 50+ Officials, Plans to Cut 300-400 from the Counterterrorism Center Built After 9/11, and Even Republicans Say "We Don't Need a Weaponized DNI"

Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte — who had no security clearance, no intelligence experience, and previously ran the Federal Housing Finance Agency where he filed criminal referrals against Trump's political enemies for alleged mortgage fraud — began mass-firing intelligence officials on July 2, sending termination notices to over 50 career intelligence professionals. Pulte has ordered staff to identify 300-400 employees for dismissal from the National Counterterrorism Center, the operations floor built after 9/11 where CIA, FBI, and ODNI personnel monitor active terrorist threats. He was appointed after Tulsi Gabbard resigned as DNI in May, citing her husband's cancer diagnosis. Trump had nominated Jay Clayton as permanent DNI but then sabotaged his own nominee's confirmation hearing, canceling it hours before it was scheduled and conditioning it on Congress passing the SAVE Act voter ID bill — which the Senate has rejected twice. This caused FISA Section 702 surveillance authority to lapse for the first time in history, as Democrats refused to reauthorize it with an unvetted acting DNI. Senator Mark Warner revealed Pulte asked to take the Presidential Daily Brief home — "the most classified information" in government — and "didn't even know" that was against the law. In his only briefing at ODNI, Pulte asked what level security clearance he had and whether he got a government plane. At FHFA, Pulte filed criminal referrals against Senator Adam Schiff, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, AG Letitia James, and Rep. Eric Swalwell — all Democrats — using Palantir AI tools to search mortgage records of Trump's perceived opponents. Trump told Pulte he could declassify "whatever" he wants. Senate Majority Leader John Thune: "We don't need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there." A former intelligence official: "This is a fantasy. It only hurts U.S. national security, and it's helpful to Russia, China, and Iran." Another: "It would be like me taking over a hospital and firing dozens of surgeons in a matter of days." Rep. Jim Himes: "If he just starts willy-nilly firing people, it is going to increase the probability that there is a terrorist attack inside the United States." Gabbard had already cut ODNI by 30% — over 500 staffers. Pulte is cutting deeper. The agency created to prevent another 9/11 is now being dismantled by a man who didn't know he couldn't bring classified documents to his house.