Garrett Graff on the unlearned lessons of Watergate

Fifty years ago, a burglary took place at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. What seemed like a petty crime spiraled into a conspiracy and coverup that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon. A half century later, the echoes of that scandal still reverberate as Congress investigates the alleged crimes and coverups of another president, Donald Trump.Vermont author Garrett Graff reexamines the scandal that would shape all others in his new book, Watergate: A New History. Graff is a journalist and historian who has spent nearly two decades covering politics, technology and national security. He has served as editor of Politico and Washingtonian magazines, and he has contributed to Rolling Stone, New York Times, CNN and numerous other media. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller, “The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11,” and “The Threat Matrix: Inside Robert Mueller’s FBI and the War on Global Terror.” Graff is currently the director of cyber initiatives for The Aspen Institute.“Watergate is the most fascinating story ever told of how power unfolds in Washington, because no single institution —  the media, the Justice Department, the House, the Senate — is able to force Richard Nixon from office,” Graff says. “Instead, it's this incredibly complex relationship of checks and balances … that is required in order to force a corrupt and criminal president from office."Unlike today, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress played a role in policing the Nixon presidency in order to maintain the balance of power, Graff says. "The Republican Party sort of had a sense of outrage that was not in evidence in either of the Trump impeachments.”Graff is concerned that the country has not learned the lessons of Watergate. “I think we are headed for a deeply grave crisis in our democracy. And it's not at all clear to me that America has the wherewithal or the courage to avoid that future right now.”