Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein: 'Donald Trump has lied like no president in my lifetime'

'Follow the money, yes, but follow the lies as well,' Mr Bernstein says

Veteran reporter Carl Bernstein speaks at the 2017 White House Correspondent's Dinner (Getty)

One of the veteran journalists who broke the Watergate scandal has said that Donald Trump “has lied as no president...in my lifetime has, day in and day out.”

Carl Bernstein, known for his investigation into the Richard Nixon-era scandal with Washington Post colleague Bob Woodward, was speaking to CNN about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that had taken place the night before.

Mr Trump was not present at the dinner, usually a roast of the administration featuring a comedian and a speech by the president as well.

The only other president to skip the dinner was Ronald Reagan, who was absent because he was recovering in hospital after being shot in 1981.

In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon’s administration tried to cover up their involvement in the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC - leading to proceedings to impeach Mr Nixon, who eventually resigned.

And at the Correspondents’ Dinner, Mr Bernstein seemed to compare the Watergate scandal and lack of transparency of the Nixon presidency to the current administration.

“Almost inevitably, unreasonable government secrecy is the enemy and usually the giveaway about what the real story might be,“ he said.

On CNN, Mr Bernstein had a piece of advice for fellow journalists: “as I said in that address to the correspondents' dinner last night: follow the money, yes, but follow the lies as well.“

This year’s dinner featured comedian was Hasan Minhaj, a regular on satire news program The Daily Show.