Former Director of U.S. national intelligence James Clapper said that the Trump-Russia scandal has become more serious than the Watergate scandal.

While speaking at the National Press Club in Australia on Wednesday, he continued: "Then President-elect Trump disparaged the Intelligence Community's high-confidence assessment of the magnitude and diversity of the Russian interference by characterizing us as 'Nazis'. This was prompted by his and his team's extreme paranoia about, and resentment of, any doubt cast on the legitimacy of his election."

James Comey controversy: "Apart from the egregious, inexcusable manner in which it was conducted, this episode reflected complete disregard for the independence and autonomy of the FBI, our premier law enforcement organization."

Clapper's final message, before Comey's testimony tomorrow: "It is absolutely crucial for the United States, and for that matter for the world, for this presidency, for the Republicans, for the Democrats and for our nation at large, that we get to the bottom of this."