Trump's inner circle gets stark reminder of what happened to Nixon's loyalists

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner is warning Donald Trump's inner circle to study the fate of Richard Nixon's lieutenants — and to remember that proximity to power was no shield from prison.

Kirschner, a 30-year prosecutor turned legal analyst, told viewers Wednesday that the loyalists embedded across Trump's second-term government should look closely at the Watergate ledger.

"After the Watergate scandal, 48 of Richard Nixon's goons were convicted of crimes and 30 of them went to prison," Kirschner said. "But you know what? Before they got caught, before they were prosecuted, before they were held accountable, they thought they were untouchable."

Nixon was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, and never faced criminal prosecution, but his aides were not so lucky. Among those convicted were Attorney General John Mitchell, White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and domestic affairs adviser John Ehrlichman — three of the most powerful officials in the administration.

The warning landed days after Trump's Justice Department unveiled a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" to compensate Trump allies who claim they were unfairly prosecuted by the Biden administration. The fund was announced on Monday as part of a settlement of Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal defense lawyer, signed off on the deal. Time reported that Blanche framed the fund as "a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress."

House Democrats have filed an amicus brief calling the arrangement a "specter of corruption unparalleled in American history."