Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) used a Thursday appearance at the Nixon Foundation’s annual Grand Strategy Summit in Washington to argue that President Richard Nixon was unjustly removed from office, asserting that he was “absolutely couped out of office” and “framed” during the Watergate scandal.
Moore, a freshman lawmaker, tied his remarks to what he described as growing evidence of a “deep state” capable of altering outcomes at the highest levels of government. “We now know more about the deep state and its power and ability to literally change things at the top,” he said.
The congressman also praised Nixon for keeping silent about what he knew, suggesting the former president prioritized public trust over self-defense. “An interesting aspect of this as it relates to Richard Nixon — he knew all of this,” Moore said. “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.”
Moore’s comments follow a Wall Street Journal report that the Justice Department has opened a review into whether the special prosecutor’s office committed misconduct during its investigation of the 1972 break-in at the Watergate Hotel. The review, according to people familiar with the matter, could revive long-standing allegations that Nixon was treated unfairly.
Former Nixon aide Geoff Shepard, who has spent decades arguing that Watergate was a plot to conceal the identities of Nixon’s Democratic donors, was reportedly invited by a senior DOJ official to present his findings at department headquarters. Shepard’s claims have gained renewed attention amid the Trump-era scrutiny of federal law enforcement.
Moore drew a direct parallel between Nixon and former President Donald Trump, who he said “faced this in his first term with the fake Russia collusion hoax and all that.” The lawmaker’s comparison echoes a broader Republican narrative that both presidents were targeted by politically motivated investigations.
However, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 2020 report found significant contacts between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the 2016 election. The report concluded that “Russia and other countries took advantage of the Transition Team’s inexperience, transparent opposition to Obama Administration policies, and Trump’s desire to deepen ties with Russia, to pursue unofficial channels through which Russia could conduct diplomacy,” making the transition “open to influence and manipulation.” That report followed a 22-month investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the media for its coverage of the Russia probe, claiming in 2019 that the “Radical Left Wing Media” was “knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong.”
Moore’s remarks at the Nixon Foundation event signal that some Republicans are increasingly willing to challenge the conventional historical narrative of Watergate. The DOJ review and Shepard’s presentation could fuel further debate over the legacy of the 37th president and the integrity of the institutions that investigated him. As the party grapples with its own battles over executive power and federal law enforcement, Nixon’s case is being recast by some on the right as a cautionary tale of government overreach.
