GOP Rep Claims Nixon Was ‘Framed’ As Trump’s DOJ Probes Watergate ‘Weaponization’ Against Ex-Prez

Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) offered a revision of Watergate history, claiming former President Richard Nixon was “framed” and “couped out of office” over a “fake” scandal that ultimately forced him to step down.

Watergate began with the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters and expanded into an investigation of the Nixon administration’s efforts to cover up its connections to the burglary. After White House tapes ultimately revealed Nixon’s role in the scheme, the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment. Losing support in the Senate, Nixon resigned in August 1974 before the full House could vote.

Moore was speaking Thursday at the Grand Strategy Summit in Washington, D.C., an event hosted by the Richard Nixon Foundation.

“Richard Nixon was absolutely couped out of office and was framed,” the Republican congressman told the audience. “All of this was fake, and we now know more about the deep state and its power and its ability to literally change things at the top.”

Moore then went on to invoke President Donald Trump, adding:

President Trump faced this in his first term with the fake Russia collusion hoax and all that, but an interesting aspect of this, as it relates to Richard Nixon, he knew all of this. He knew it, and he stayed quiet about it because he didn’t want to erode the confidence of the American people in our system of governance and our institutions.

The remarks come as the Justice Department is taking a fresh look at the Watergate investigation more than 50 years later. According to The Wall Street Journal, DOJ officials are conducting a preliminary review of allegations that prosecutors committed misconduct while investigating Nixon, after former Nixon aide and Watergate revisionist Geoff Shepard presented his case to the department’s internal watchdog. A DOJ spokeswoman stressed that Shepard’s presentation does not amount to a formal investigation.

Moore’s comments are part of a broader push among conservatives to recast Watergate and Nixon’s downfall. As NBC News reported in 2025, figures including Christopher Rufo, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and Michael Knowles have promoted versions of the argument that Nixon was targeted by the “deep state,” prosecutors, or the media — often drawing parallels between his experience and Trump’s.

Watch above on C-SPAN.

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