GOP Rep Claims Richard Nixon Was 'Framed' for 'Fake' Watergate Scandal — As He Compares Historic Incident to Backlash Against Trump
Rep. Riley Moore believes Watergate is 'fake.'
Oct. 1 2026, Published 7:55 p.m. ET
Rep. Riley Moore that claimed that Richard Nixon was "framed" and "couped out of office" over a "fake" Watergate scandal, and he compared the former president's resignation to what he called the "fake Russia collusion hoax" against President Donald Trump, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Moore, a West Virginia Republican, spoke at the Richard Nixon Foundation's Grand Strategy Summit in Washington. The remarks came the same day The Wall Street Journal reported that Justice Department officials are reviewing whether Watergate prosecutors committed misconduct, a look the department says is not a formal investigation.
GOP Rep Claims Richard Nixon Was 'Framed'
Rep. Riley Moore believes the deep state removed Richard Nixon.
"Richard Nixon was absolutely couped out of office and was framed," Moore told the audience as part of his bombshell claims. "All of this was fake, and we now know more about the deep state and its power and its ability to literally change things at the top."
He then turned to Trump.
"President Trump faced this in his first term with the fake Russia collusion hoax and all that, but an interesting aspect of this, as it relates to Richard Nixon, he knew all of this. 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 declared.
Moore added that "the truth is now out there," and that people feel "a bit more liberated to talk about Richard Nixon and what an amazing president he was."
Watergate Timeline
Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon one month after he resigned.
The Watergate scandal began with the June 17, 1972, break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex.
Investigators traced the burglary to Nixon's reelection campaign, and the inquiry widened to a cover-up inside the White House. A June 23, 1972, tape, released on Aug. 5, 1974, captured Nixon discussing a plan to use the CIA to block the FBI's investigation.
The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment, and Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974, before the full House voted. President Gerald Ford then pardoned him the next month.
DOJ Hears Presentation From Former Nixon Aide
Moore's comments come as the DOJ is looking into Watergate.
Former Nixon aide Geoff Shepard, a longtime critic of the prosecution, recently gave a two-hour presentation at department headquarters.
A department spokeswoman said the Office of Professional Responsibility declined Shepard's request to open an investigation in 2022. He was invited to present because of his scholarship, she said, and "that presentation does not constitute an investigation."
Richard Nixon's Legacy Has Drawn Renewed Interest
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JD Vance also believes the deep state took down Nixon.
On June 25, Vice President JD Vance told an audience at the Nixon Library that if Watergate happened now, it would be "like a 12-hour news story."
He also said the "deep state" that "took down Richard Nixon" was "not all that different" from the institutions that "tried to do" the same to Trump in his first term.
