Bob Woodward: There is 'overwhelming' evidence implicating Trump in a 'criminal conspiracy'

Over the weekend, Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein penned a piece for the Washington Postarguing that America's founders, including George Washington, anticipated people like Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.

Woodward and Bernstein have been talking more about Watergate in the lead-up to the hearings by House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

Woodward told MSNBC's Morning Joe on Tuesday that it is important to look at the levels of corruption through the Watergate lens because, up until that point in history, there had never been a president rising to that level of criminality.

"I agree with Congressman Raskin completely," said Woodward. "I think the evidence is overwhelming that Trump and the people around him were involved in a criminal conspiracy. And as we know, it is a crime to obstruct or attempt to subvert the lawful business of government. I mean, there's no ambiguity in the law. If you bear with me, I wrote down some of the things that actually the Supreme Court has held about somebody who tries to interfere with the necessary, lawful functions of government."

RELATED: 'There was a plan': NYT's Haberman says goal of Jan. 6 hearings will be 'proving a conspiracy'

He explained that it's clear from the Constitution that on Jan. 6th the certification had to happen.

"What the Supreme Court has held, going back 100 years, that it is a crime if there's deceit, craft, treachery, dishonesty, misrepresentation, overreaching and overt acts," said Woodward. "This is exactly what Trump and these people have done. The task the Jan. 6 Committee has, I think, they're going to have to present new evidence to convince people, because lots of people are not convinced of this, that this was a crime. I think many more are. So, they have a monumental task. It's going to be riveting."

Woodward also said the committee's findings will put new pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"Let's look forward. I think the question is, what's the legacy going to be for this committee I think in a much more interesting and important way, what is the legacy going to be of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has to make some critical decisions," said Woodward. "Do they bring criminal charges against anyone for this insurrection? What do they do about Trump?"

He explained that for the Justice Department, for Merrick Garland and for Joe Biden, the legacy will come back to the response in the wake of the hearings.

"Is there justice in the Biden presidency?" Woodward asked. "We could spend a long time arguing about whether it would be folly to indict Trump and these people who were involved. There's an argument that it would be folly not to indict them. There's a lot hanging for Garland, for Biden and this committee and Trump."

Meanwhile, he said, Trump is down at Mar-a-Lago raising money, and scoring more cash than any other Republican will in the 2024 GOP primary.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen told Raw Story that his appearance on the CNN documentary special for the 50th Anniversary of Watergate was important in connecting the dots of government corruption then and now.

See the interview clip below or at this link.

Bob Woodward on Merrick Garland's decisions over trumpwww.youtube.com