Former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks and historian Michael Beschloss reminisced, comparing Donald Trump's behavior and legal woes to that of former President Richard Nixon.
"If Jill and her colleagues on the Watergate special prosecution force had gotten to indict Nixon as they wanted to do, and Ford had not pardoned him 30 days after Nixon left office, Nixon might at least have gone to the brink of a trial and then fingerprinted, been indicted, seen going into court," said Bechloss. "Maybe the trial might have begun. If that had happened, if Nixon had been that close to prison, as I think Jill and I agree he would have been, in such a circumstance, Donald Trump might not have been so reckless about breaking the law as president and as an ex-president."
Wine-Banks agreed, noting that at the time, she was fighting to prosecute Nixon regardless of the idea of him being a sitting president and then as a former president.
"We were unable to do that. Even though Donald Trump is a person with no shame and no recognition or value to the laws, I do think that the reality of Nixon having been held accountable might have sent a message to him that would have had him under control, would've had him listening to his lawyers who said, you can't do these things. It would have made a difference. Do I think it makes Nixon look like a choir boy? No. I often think it is worse because I did not feel that democracy was at stake during Watergate. I feel democracy is at stake now."
She continued, saying that one of the largest problems around this issue is that the Fox networks and social media networks allow for an alternate reality to exist, and millions of people ultimately believe in lies.
"We had 60 cases thrown out. There was no fraud in the election," she said. "But people still believed the election was stolen because Donald Trump says it loud and says it often. It goes to your first segment tonight about what has to happen to the Supreme Court and whether we can let them keep getting away with throwing out the past when during the confirmation, stare decisis, yes, we all believe in precedent. And then they just ignore it. So, I think we have a lot to accomplish in terms of democracy."
Hasan recalled Roger Ailes starting Fox because he saw what happened to his boss, Nixon, and never wanted it to happen again to another Republican.
Finally, Hasan asked about the Florida case and whether it is possible for Trump to get a fair trial before a jury of his supporters.
"Let me start with your latter point which is, is there going to be a hung jury?" Wine-Banks said. "That is a risk in Florida. There is no question that, in particular, in Ft. Pierce, which is heavily red, that there could be a hung jury. There is no way that there will be an acquittal. I say that because jurors take very seriously the guidance from the judge that says you must judge on the evidence in this courtroom. Based on what is already publicly known about the evidence. The case is very strong. And there are cases in New Jersey, waiting to happen. I can't imagine based on the tape that there won't be an indictment in New Jersey for showing a classified document to a person without security clearance. So, I think there is more to come from classified documents."
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