Donald Trump is escalating his condemnation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state, calling the email fallout worse than Watergate.
“This looks like Watergate on steroids, frankly,” Trump said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday.
Clinton has increasingly come under scrutiny for her use of a private email server during her tenure leading the State Department, a practice that has come under scrutiny from federal officials. Clinton finally turned over her email server to the Justice Department last week, after resisting suggestions that she should do so for months.
Federal officials have yet to find that Clinton discussed any classified information through her private email, though officials have flagged some emails for further review. Clinton and her aides have repeatedly insisted that Clinton did not break any laws and never shared any classified information through her email.
Bob Woodward, who with Carl Bernstein exposed the Watergate scandal, has not gone as far as Trump’s comparison, but said Monday that “in a way it reminds me of the Nixon tapes.”
The Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon after he tried to cover up his administration’s involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s office in the Watergate complex in Washington. The scandal even involved the Supreme Court, which forced Nixon to turn over White House audio recordings.
In his wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Trump, who opposes same-sex marriage, also suggested that gay marriage is a settled issue after the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.
“Some people have hopes of passing amendments, but it’s not going to happen. Congress can’t pass simple things, let alone that. So anybody that’s making that an issue is doing it for political reasons. The Supreme Court ruled on it,” Trump said.
He also said he has attended a gay wedding, that of Broadway theater owner Jordan Roth.
And if securing the Republican nomination doesn’t pan out for Trump, don’t expect the brash billionaire to consider the No. 2 post. Trump suggested he wouldn’t be interested in becoming vice president.
“I just don’t think it would be good for them, I don’t think it would be good for me. It’s a great position, a very important position. I just think in that position, perhaps they could do something different than me. And that’s not to minimalize the position,” Trump said.