--- title: James Clapper: Watergate 'Pales' in Comparison to Trump description: James Clapper questioned Trump's pro-Russian stance, saying his sharing of intelligence with Russia "reflect either ignorance or disrespect" canonical: https://time.com/4808685/trump-russia-watergate-james-clapper/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-07T09:24:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T05:18:00.011Z article:section: Politics og:title: James Clapper: Watergate 'Pales' in Comparison to Trump og:description: The former U.S. spy chief said Trump's pro-Russian stance was "problematic" og:url: https://time.com/4808685/trump-russia-watergate-james-clapper/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57865ebec0da2c7b/6988d08f196cf4b17d040775/gettyimages-689402354.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Meet the Press - Season 70 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: James Clapper: Watergate 'Pales' in Comparison to Trump twitter:description: The former U.S. spy chief said Trump's pro-Russian stance was "problematic" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57865ebec0da2c7b/6988d08f196cf4b17d040775/gettyimages-689402354.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watergate 'Pales' in Comparison to Trump's Russia Scandal, Former U.S. Spy Chief Says > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Colin Packham / Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## Colin Packham / Reuters Jun 7, 2017 9:24 AM UTC  Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in Washington, D.C., May 28, 2017. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in Washington, D.C., May 28, 2017. William B. Plowman—NBC NewsWire/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images by [Colin Packham / Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## Colin Packham / Reuters Jun 7, 2017 9:24 AM UTC (SYDNEY) — The Watergate scandal pales in comparison to events in Washington surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump and alleged links between his campaign and Russia, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Wednesday. Clapper questioned Trump’s continued pro-Russian stance, saying his sharing of intelligence with Russia “reflect either ignorance or disrespect, and either is very problematic”. “I think if you compare the two that Watergate pales, really, in my view, compared to what we’re confronting now,” Clapper told reporters in Canberra, Australia’s capital. The break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington in 1972, and subsequent cover-up, brought down former Republican U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1974. Clapper’s appearance in Canberra comes before highly anticipated testimony by sacked FBI director James Comey before the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday. The committee is examining whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian officials to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Trump in May removed Comey as director of FBI, despite a U.S. Justice Department probe into contacts between presidential aides and Russia, raising the specter of political interference in the investigation. Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” and said there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia. Clapper said it was “inexplicable” that Trump continued his pro-Russia stance despite evidence Moscow sought to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “His subsequent actions, sharing sensitive intelligence with the Russians and compromising its source, reflect either ignorance or disrespect and either is very problematic,” said Clapper. Trump disclosed highly classified information about a planned Islamic State operation to Russia’s foreign minister in an Oval Office meeting in May, two U.S. officials have said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4808685/trump-russia-watergate-james-clapper/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4808685/trump-russia-watergate-james-clapper/"},"headline":"Watergate 'Pales' in Comparison to Trump's Russia Scandal, Former U.S. Spy Chief Says","datePublished":"2017-06-07T09:24:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:18:00.011Z","description":"James Clapper said Trump's continued pro-Russian stance was \"problematic\"","url":"https://time.com/4808685/trump-russia-watergate-james-clapper/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57865ebec0da2c7b/6988d08f196cf4b17d040775/gettyimages-689402354.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Colin Packham / Reuters"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57865ebec0da2c7b/6988d08f196cf4b17d040775/gettyimages-689402354.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Meet the Press - Season 70","caption":"Meet the Press - Season 70","creditText":"William B. 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