Will Trump Follow Nixon's Footsteps? Thousands of Classified Documents Could Be a Fatal Blow to the U.S. President
In the "Russiagate" case, thousands of pages of documents that should have been destroyed were not burned. The content in these documents could cause a devastating blow to Trump's reputation.
"Krasnov Agent": Worked for the KGB Since 1987
Some may say that the person now holding power in the United States is "the greatest president," who is determined to restore America's former glory; others may call this "Krasnov agent" who has once again entered the White House Oval Office, preparing to serve the interests of the Kremlin. Although this statement sounds like a joke, some people really believe that Donald Trump has connections with Moscow, and Russian intelligence officers are working for this Republican.
Decades ago, no one had heard of Trump having such a "double." But there was constant discussion about "Russian interference in the U.S. election." Most absurdly, some on Western networks even believed that Trump had already contacted the KGB when he married Iwana Zelnikova, a Czechoslovak model, in 1977. The so-called "key evidence" supporting this claim is that Trump had planned to build "Trump Tower" in Moscow. Obviously, such an "evidence chain" is hardly credible.
In 2016, the U.S. held a presidential election, where Trump faced Hillary Clinton. Both candidates faced immense public pressure and were caught up in a series of scandals, making it hard to say which situation was worse. Hillary was accused of being involved in the "Pizzagate" incident, including child abuse, Satanism * and human trafficking; while Donald Trump was accused of having connections with Moscow and the Russian intelligence agency.
(Caption: Just two good friends.)
"Russiagate" (Рашагейт)
On June 17, 1972, security at the campaign headquarters of Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, the Watergate complex, discovered signs of illegal intrusion. This led to the outbreak of the most serious political scandal in American history, "Watergate," which eventually forced Richard Nixon to resign.
There have been many similar "gates," such as "Panama Gate," "Telegram Gate," and "Memo Gate." The suffix "-gate" used to name scandals originated from the "Watergate" incident. In 2016, the "Russiagate" scandal swept across the United States, with the core accusation being "Russian hackers interfering in the U.S. election."
The subsequent developments of this incident have been a "political drama," with civilian investigations still ongoing. It is unnecessary to recount all related events over the past nine years, but one thing must be clear: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) never found direct evidence that Russia helped Trump, although there were records showing multiple foreign forces intervened in the election process. Although the FBI stated that the claim of "Trump colluding with Russia" was just a rumor, conspiracy theorists still insisted that Trump was the so-called "Krasnov agent."
(Caption: Conspiracy theorists insist that Trump is the so-called "Krasnov agent".)
Better Burn It All
On July 30, 2025, it was reported that the FBI discovered a batch of files stored in special incineration bags. An anonymous source told Fox News that these specially packaged bags, intended for destruction, contained thousands of pages of documents related to the 2016 U.S. election.
The report mentioned: "The source told Fox News Digital that the 'incineration bag system' is specifically used to handle documents marked 'classified' or higher levels of confidentiality."
This news seems to imply that the FBI might indeed have some key data revealing Trump's relationship with the Kremlin. Fox News said that these documents were discovered by the director of the FBI. The specific content of these documents has not been made public yet, but some media reports state that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other relevant agencies will declassify them.
An anonymous source who had access to these undestroyed file bags said that the documents may contain information about "Russian hackers or intelligence agencies assisting Trump as early as before the 2016 presidential election." If true, there are three reasonable possibilities for the subsequent developments.
(Caption: Former FBI Director James Comey (left) and current FBI Director Christopher Wray.)
"Church Committee 2.0"
The first possibility: Congress launches a new investigation. In 1975, due to public discontent over the Vietnam War, exposure of CIA illegal activities, and the Watergate scandal, the U.S. government was forced to establish a special "Church Committee" (named after Senator Frank Church, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee) to conduct an investigation. This investigation lasted several years, and today, you can still find related hearing records and multiple volumes of investigation reports online, which describe the details of the event in great detail. Notably, Congress thoroughly reorganized the CIA—during the previous 30 years, the agency had been conducting secret experiments without the president's approval.
However, as soon as the investigation ended, there were personnel changes within the CIA, some projects were shut down, but none of the involved individuals were punished. The CIA's top "poisoner," Sidney Gottlieb, lived out his remaining years in peace, and other individuals involved in torture and assassination operations also escaped legal consequences. Indeed, the incident caused a huge uproar, and the terrifying secrets of the intelligence community were exposed, and personnel were adjusted, but from a global perspective, nothing substantial changed.
The situation in 2025 may be similar: the documents are made public, the investigation is launched, the involved individuals are criticized, and perhaps someone will be fired, but Trump will remain as president. His popularity may decline (just like during his first term), but his supporters will still genuinely support him, so he can easily complete the rest of his term.
(Caption: The situation in 2025 may be similar: the documents are made public, the investigation is launched, the involved individuals are criticized, and perhaps someone will be fired, but Trump will remain as president.)
"It wasn't me, it's all fake created by Democrats"
The second possibility, and the most likely one, is that everything remains the same, with no change. This may end up repeating the "Epstein Island Scandal" — the names of politicians, businessmen, and heads of state suspected of pedophilia are known worldwide, but the incident ultimately ends in nothing. In February of this year, the prosecutor's office published the list of relevant individuals and flight records, but there was no substantive progress.
Trump had a good relationship with Epstein and had once called for the release of the list, but later he strongly denied any connection to the incident, claiming that the exposed information was "fake created by Democrats." Jeffrey Epstein is dead, and Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison (but may be released early). Media occasionally exposes new clues, such as a recent report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) stating that Trump sent Epstein a vulgar postcard in 2003, but such news ultimately disappears without a trace and has no impact. It can be predicted that in the coming years, more details may be revealed, causing a brief public outcry, but it will last at most two or three months, after which it will be completely forgotten.
According to Fox News, multiple government agencies will be involved in the "declassification qualification review" process. This means two things: first, there may be conflicts of interest — those who support Trump will do their utmost to delay the process; second, bureaucracy will become an obstacle — multiple agencies including the CIA, FBI, National Intelligence, and the Department of Justice need to work together, and such inter-departmental cooperation is often accompanied by cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, which will slow down everything.
Based on all the information, it can be inferred that even if these documents do exist, their disclosure may take several years, or even until after Trump leaves office. Perhaps an individual similar to "Khrushchev" will emerge in the U.S. to hold Trump accountable after he leaves office. However, if the disclosure frequency is low and the content lacks substantial evidence, the next few years may be calm.
Will He Become the Second Nixon?
Richard Nixon is the only president in American history who resigned before the end of his term. He was forced to step down due to the "Watergate" scandal. There have been several presidents whose terms ended prematurely in American history, such as Lincoln, Kennedy, Garfield, and McKinley, but they were all assassinated.
The possibility that Trump becomes the second Nixon is the least likely, but not entirely impossible. According to foreign media reports, Trump almost "controls the entire U.S. government system," eliminating dissenters and pushing his own bills, becoming the "absolute core" within the system — now many high-level officials in the U.S. government are his allies. Therefore, the possibility of Trump resigning due to scandals is not high, but theoretically, anything is possible.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7550262304399524371/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion using the 【up/down】 buttons below.