Discussing the historic indictment of former president Donald Trump, presidential historian Michael Beschloss told Joy Reid an amazing story about Democratic and Republican leaders having grounds for impeachment and indictment of a former president before, but declined to pursue it because they feared the downfall of the country. The president: Ronald Reagan during the Iran-Contra scandal:
I hate to pull these historical figures out of my hat, but I once talked to Howard Baker, who was Reagan’s chief of staff at the time [of the Iran-Contra scandal] … and I said to Howard Baker, “Y’know given the things Reagan did in Iran Contra–and there were big investigations and people were taken to the court and suffered penalties–how was it that there was never a discussion of indicting reagan or impeaching him. And Howard Baker said, I spoke to Democratic leaders in the Congress–I’m quoting Baker–and we decided that the country could not go through another Nixon experience where you’re endangered of a president being impeached and possibly sent to prison, so we just agreed among ourselves that this will never go that far.