Neil Mara | Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute | November 18, 2019
After President Donald Trump released a partial transcript of the much-disputed call with Ukraine, Washington Post readers were treated to a story about an almost exact parallel from 45 years ago.
“That time Nixon released doctored transcripts during Watergate,” teased the headline on a Sept. 25 article by Gillian Brockell.
In it, she explored Richard Nixon’s problems when he gave Congress only transcript excerpts of the infamous Oval Office tapes and claimed they exonerated him. Later release of the full tapes showed the opposite, similar to recent testimony by administration officials that seems to upend Trump’s claim that his call transcript shows no quid pro quo in pushing Ukraine to investigate an opponent.
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