Watergate Report Could Become 'Roadmap' for Mueller in Russian Probe - Reports

The US National Archives released a report used by then special prosecutor Leon Jaworski in the Watergate investigation that brought down US President Richard Nixon, and legal analysts believe that this document could serve as a "roadmap" for Robert Mueller in his investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in US election, media reported.

The Watergate scandal erupted in the early 1970s, when the journalists uncovered evidence of Nixon's administration wiretapping of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters and later attempting to cover up the fact. US media and the Democratic Party often compare the lawsuit against Donald Trump's campaign to the Watergate scandal, which also began after the Democrats has filed a lawsuit over a hack at their headquarters.

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Nick Akerman, who served as an assistant prosecutor in Jaworski's team, believes that this report could provide Mueller with a pattern of investigation, in particular, if his team decides that the president had been engaged in illegal actions, but there will not be sufficient authority to seek an indictment or make a case for impeachment, The Washington Post said.

According to the newspaper, Jaworski faced same problems during the Watergate investigation, which Mueller could face as well. Jaworski's team collected necessary evidence, however, the prosecutors had no constitutional authority to charge the acting president. The Congress, by contrast, could have impeached Nixon, but did not have the necessary evidence. As a result, a committee of the House of Representatives obtained access to the evidence collected by the prosecutors, the grand jury approved a "roadmap," and the court authorized the transfer of evidence in a sealed form.

"It’s absolutely an approach he [Mueller] could take — simply giving them the facts, without coming to a conclusion," Akerman said as quoted in the publication.

Mueller is currently leading a probe into Russia's purported meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and whether Trump or his campaign colluded with the Kremlin.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegations of interference and called them absurd. Trump has labeled Mueller's Russia investigation "a witch hunt" and repeatedly stated the probe should not drag any longer because it hurts US-Russia relations and distracts the US government from more important issues.