Burlington author and historian Garrett Graff's book, "Watergate: A New History," which was published in February, examines some previously unknown details about the downfall of former President Richard Nixon.
During this episode of Vermont Edition, he speaks with host Connor Cyrus about how that scandal of the 1970s compares with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the resulting congressional hearings.
While Graff points out some similarities of the two eras, he also says it is too early to know if the events of Jan. 6 will lead to change or another attempted insurrection. "We don't know whether we are in the beginning, the middle or the end of Donald Trump's effect on America and our politics," he said. "I was writing about Watergate 50 years later, and it looks pretty different to us now than the series of events that America thought that it lived through from 1972 to 1974. ... It's too soon to know whether Jan. 6 is going to be seen as a turning point or as a warning that was ignored."
