Following reports that President Donald Trump asked then-FBI Director James Comey to put a halt to the investigation into ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, there have been more and more rumblings about impeachment and “obstruction of justice.”

So, naturally, a CNN discussion was held this afternoon comparing the situations surrounding Richard Nixon during Watergate and Trump today. After former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean explained that the biggest similarity was the inability to get Nixon to accept the seriousness of the scandal until it was too late, anchor Brooke Baldwin turned to another former White House lawyer.

With Richard Painter first talking about Republicans questioning why Comey didn’t raise any red flags about the Flynn issue when it happened, he shifted to comparing Nixon and Trump, and did not have kind words for Trump.

“The broader picture, however, is that this is about Russian espionage inside the United States,” the former George W. Bush ethics lawyer stated. “That’s a big difference with Nixon. Nixon may have been a crook, but at least he was our crook. He wasn’t a Russian agent!”

After noting Nixon’s tough stance on communism and Russian expansionism, Painter continued to hammer away at the notion that Trump is colluding with the Russians and in the midst of a coverup.

“It’s a serious threat to our country from a foreign power and the administration continues to engage in a coverup,” Painter exclaimed. “And I don’t think it’s in the interest of the Republicans. I’ve been a Republican for 30 years. There’s no way that I would want to see the Republican Party stand up for covering up for Russian espionage.”

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Justin Baragona on Twitter: @justinbaragona

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