James Clapper: 'Watergate Pales' In Comparison To Russia Scandal

Alana Horowitz Satlin

As the public learns more about the investigation into President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, politicians and media figures have begun to liken the scandal to Watergate. But former National Intelligence Director James Clapper took the comparison a step further.

“I lived through Watergate,” he said. “It was a scary time.... I have to say, though, I think you compare the two that Watergate pales really in my view compared to what we’re confronting now.”

Clapper was addressing Australia’s National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday local time.

The former spy chief has been critical of Trump in the past, hitting back at the commander in chief’s claim that former President Barack Obama’s administration spied on his campaign. Trump has been unable to provide any proof that such surveillance occurred.

Clapper also took issue with Trump’s attacks on U.S. intelligence agencies, calling the president’s decision to fire FBI director James Comey “egregious and inexcusable.”

“I am very concerned about the assault on our institutions coming from both an external source ― read Russia ― and an internal source, the President himself,” Clapper said, according to a transcript of his speech. “Russia embarked on a campaign to interfere with our presidential election which was unprecedented in its directness and aggressiveness.”

Comey, who was leading the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, is due to testify in front of the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday.

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Since a tie that long can get caught in one&rsquo;s zipper, it&rsquo;s considered a fashion faux pas. Of course, so is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-tie-inauguration-scotch-tape_us_58837f78e4b0e3a735693611">holding a tie together with tape,</a> something Donald Trump has also done on numerous occasions.
University of Massachusetts psychology professor Susan Krauss Whitbourne speculates Trump wears his ties so long to either <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/whats-really-behind-those-long-trump-ties_us_58eb9e68e4b0ea028d568b45">call attention to his genitalia</a> or take the focus away from his protruding gut.
But a&nbsp;new Twitter page,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/trumpsties?lang=en" target="_blank">@TrumpsTies</a>,&nbsp;isn&rsquo;t psychoanalyzing why the president&rsquo;s ties are so long. It&rsquo;s just taking his&nbsp;bizarre style choice to its obvious extreme.
The page's creator is a Chicago-based graphic artist hobbyist who doesn't want his name tied to the Twitter page.&nbsp;He insists it's not because he's afraid of being targeted by Trump trolls -- he just doesn't want his own identity to distract from the project.
The page's creator is a Chicago-based graphic artist hobbyist who doesn't want his name tied to the Twitter page. He insists it's not because he's afraid of being targeted by Trump trolls -- he just doesn't want his own identity to distract from the project.
The creator&nbsp;considers his edited photos&nbsp;of Trump's fashion choices&nbsp;to be "a Rorschach test of satire."
The creator considers his edited photos of Trump's fashion choices to be "a Rorschach test of satire."
"People who are pro-Trump think it's cute," the creator said. "Anti-Trump people think it's funny, but less cute and more poignant."
"People who are pro-Trump think it's cute," the creator said. "Anti-Trump people think it's funny, but less cute and more poignant."
Although Trump and some of his followers tend to shout "fake news" when&nbsp;they read or hear something they don't like about the president, the man behind @TrumpTies says there can be no argument about the president's taste in fashion.<br /><br />"He wears his ties too long," the creator said. "That's factual."
Although Trump and some of his followers tend to shout "fake news" when they read or hear something they don't like about the president, the man behind @TrumpTies says there can be no argument about the president's taste in fashion.

"He wears his ties too long," the creator said. "That's factual."
The color of the tie doesn't matter, the creator said. What's important is how Trump is reacting to the other person in the photo. "But it's funny, how the tie becomes a character," he said.
The color of the tie doesn't matter, the creator said. What's important is how Trump is reacting to the other person in the photo. "But it's funny, how the tie becomes a character," he said.
The Twitter page has only been around since February, but has nearly 25,000 followers. The creator admits to hoping circumstances might change so he doesn't have to follow Trump's ties through two presidential terms.<br /><br />"Even four years is a long time," he said.
The Twitter page has only been around since February, but has nearly 25,000 followers. The creator admits to hoping circumstances might change so he doesn't have to follow Trump's ties through two presidential terms.

"Even four years is a long time," he said.
Now maybe someone can focus on Trump's other ties -- the ones with Russia.
Now maybe someone can focus on Trump's other ties -- the ones with Russia.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.