Congressman Donalds, SWFL man connected to Watergate discuss Jan. 6 public hearings

The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was carefully planned to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and former President Donald Trump was at the center of it all, according to the House select committee.

Eight people from Southwest Florida were arrested for their roles in the riot.

On Thursday night, the House select committee will outline the results of an investigation into former President Trump’s leadership groups, security failures, the delayed military response, and police.

They will also be discussing violent domestic extremism and the role of social media in the attack.

President Trump insisted again on Thursday morning that the election was stolen.

Thursday’s hearings are reminiscent of another watershed political event: the 1973 Watergate hearings.

WINK News sat down with a Sanibel man who was counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor nearly half a century ago.

According to Philip Lacovara, a lot has changed since the Watergate hearings.

In addition to working for the lead prosecutor in Watergate, Lacovara also successfully argued the Nixon tapes case in front of the Supreme Court.

He has a lot of experience with presidents, politics, and congressional hearings.

WINK News asked him what we can expect from the public Jan. 6 hearings.

“This was the biggest day of the Watergate hearings yet,” said Lacovara.

In 1973, everyday Americans were captivated, glued to their screens, as the Watergate hearings unfolded.

Lacovara watched along with a unique perspective. He served as counsel to Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski.

“What’s remarkable is that the current circumstances, in my view, are much more serious and severe, even than the Watergate debacle,” Lacovara said.

It’s 2022 now, and Lacovara lives in Lee County. He’ll watch another congressional hearing investigating another American president.

“It’s a little bit like the phrase that a republican senate leader asked him during the Watergate hearings. What did the president know? And when did he know it?” said Lacovara.

Despite the parallels, Lacovara said a lot’s changed in the last 49 years, from politics to partisanship.

“It was the Republicans in the senate who forced President Nixon to resign. By contrast, President Trump’s defenders have been trying to shield him from any consequences for what may be shown to be his role in the Jan. 6 events,” said Lacovara.

That’s why Lacovara believes that, unlike in 1973, these congressional hearings won’t change anything.

“I think there’s a point on an important point, and it is important for history to record what happened,” said Lacovara.

He fears people will forget that people died.

Another big difference between Jan. 6 and Watergate, Lacovara said, is the media.

He does not expect these hearings to captivate in the same way the Watergate ones did, and many of those who do tune in, he said, will do so only to listen to commentators affirm what they already believe.