Trump and Putin, behind the scenes

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But experts think that there are some ways in which Comey's firing could be bigger than Watergate, and it hinges on Trump's reasoning behind his decision to remove Comey. Glenn Carle, a former CIA clandestine services officer and national security expert, said that if Trump fired Comey over his anger toward the FBI's probe into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, that would be "catastrophic."  "Watergate was huge, but it was based on a criminal charge. Trump firing Comey during the Russia investigation is borderline betrayal" and a critical threat to national security if it's based on the Russia probe, Carle told Business Insider.

Richard Painter, who was the chief ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush, also expressed suspicion toward Comey's firing and said that the move on Trump's part was an abuse of presidential power. "We cannot tolerate this — for the president to be firing people who are investigating him and his campaign and its collusion with the Russians,"

Painter told Rolling Stone. "It's a lot worse than Watergate," he said. "Watergate was a third-rate burglary. It was purely domestic in nature. This situation involves Russian espionage, and we've got to find out who is collaborating." "We didn't have to worry about treason in the Watergate situation," Painter later told CNN.

Experts: Comey's firing could be 'bigger than Watergate' - Business Insider