John Dean Interview: Inside the Nixon Administration & Watergate Scandal

John Dean details his time as the White House counsel chair in the Nixon administration, becoming the “desk officer” on Watergate, and having one on one meetings with Richard Nixon. He discusses the Pentagon Papers, being on the wrong side of the law, and Nixon’s resignation.
John Wesley Dean III was born on October 14, 1938 in Akron, Ohio. After graduating from the Staunton Military Academy in Virginia he went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree at The College of Wooster in Ohio in 1961. He then attended Georgetown University Law Center and received his Juris Doctor in 1965. He obtained a junior associate position at the Washington law firm of Welch & Morgan upon his graduation from Georgetown. Dean served as chief minority council for the Judiciary Committee in the United States House of Representatives from 1966 to 1967. He then spent the next two years as Associate Director of the National Commission on Reform of Federal Criminal Laws before working as an Associate Deputy Attorney, General Office of Criminal Justice, and Department of Justice, between 1969 and 1970. On July 9, 1970, Dean became Counsel to President Richard Nixon until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal and his subsequent testimony to Congress as a witness. His guilty plea to a single felony in exchange for becoming a key witness for the prosecution ultimately resulted in a reduced sentence. Barred from practicing law due to his conspiracy conviction, Dean worked as an investment banker, lecturer, author, and political commentator.
From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary “The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee,” about one of America's most influential and celebrated newspaper editors, who found himself at the center of many of the 20th Century's most seismic storms, including: World War II, John F. Kennedy, Watergate and the fall of Richard Nixon.
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John Dean, White House Counsel, 1970-1973
Interviewed By: John Maggio
Interview Date: February 15, 2017
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:10 Starting in the Nixon Administration
01:53 Wanting to work in the Nixon administration
02:38 First Impressions of Nixon
03:40 Nixon vs. the press
07:01 Advising Nixon on Watergate
07:58 The Pentagon Papers
12:45 The Watergate break-in
15:42 The Watergate scandal
19:52 Unraveling the Watergate web
23:59 The slush fund
25:08 Watergate and The Washington Post
26:42 The Watergate cover-up
30:28 The pre-election coverage of Watergate
32:38 Watergate after the election
35:51 Investigating the White House
38:22 All the President’s Men
39:20 The loss-frame theory
41:47 A cancer on the presidency
45:44 The FBI investigation
47:17 Fact-checking the Post’s coverage
48:57 Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt’s failed operation
50:06 Nixon’s response to scandal
51:10 Spying on the Post
53:34 Interviewing the grand jury
54:14 The scapegoat
57:31 Surrendering to the legal system
58:15 Defendants and deals
01:01:15 The Watergate story explodes
01:02:54 The Post got it right
01:04:58 Nixon’s Enemies List
01:06:17 Auditing Nixon’s enemies
01:07:19 Nixon’s resignation
01:09:28 Ben Bradlee’s lasting legacy
© Home Box Office and Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

[@caringfamily8132]

Well done interview. John Dean's recollection of facts is pretty awesome. Comparing his testimony now to 50 years ago, little, if anything, has changed. Timeless!

[@butterflygirl2285]

IMO - Watergate looks tame to what is going on now in D.C. On second thought, things were probably just as corrupt, but without the internet, and modern technology, the average person was out of the loop. It was a lot easier for the "big boys" to pull scams off. In hindsight what was done to Martha Mitchell is tragic.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

I’ve watched more than a few videos of Dean speaking and testifying about Watergate. This one is about as good as it gets. I like the no-audience format with no interviewer asking questions on camera.

[@meidassecondsoprano150]

Mr. Dean has done an invaluable service to history over the years beginning with his testimony before the Watergate Committee in the House which was amazing in its accuracy once the existence of the tape recordings became known even to him. He has spoken numerous times over the years to members of the Virginia State Bar along side Bob Woodward in Continuing Legal Education Seninars on Legal Ethics that have been excellent.

[@manp1039]

one of the valuable things i think he addresses is how humans can be manipulated into doing things that they would never consider doing.. but how under certain environmental conditions they are volnerable. There is a mentalist Derren Brown (see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derren_Brown ) from England that has done some documentaries on this topic.. I think it has something to do with "conditioning".. and starting out with small things and accelerating to more extreme in small steps. I think that G. Gordon Liddy was psycho.. and may have been programmed as a child and young adult.. perhaps even with the purpose to cause harm to the government of the USA. I have heard G. Gordon Liddy interviews.. and i don't think he can be trusted. I wonder if he had been programmed during the 1930s and early 40s when Hitler was in power.. perhap even covertly? I believe he had a german nanny whom taught him and programmed him??

[@charleshendrix232]

Dean was just as guilty as Hunt and Liddy. He saved his own butt and sent them to jail

[@jamesmastrian1077]

Dean is no hero Nixon hardly is guilty of anything as bad as Bush Sr or his son. Or the presidents that came after them. Reagan did awful things and was able to just say meh I guess I lied sorry kids lmao Nixon was doing things that no other president would consider doing just think if we could hear Bush Jr conversations in the white house or on air force one or whatever else pff he'd make Nixon look like a boy scout

[@Sam-nm8tx]

Thank God Nixon was gonna try to make him the scapegoat because he would have stayed complicit with the crimes against democracy

[@LisaSERGEEV-bo3wg]

Mr. Dean has done an invaluable service to history over the years beginning with his testimony before the Watergate Committee in the House which was amazing in its accuracy once the existence of the tape recordings became known even to him. He has spoken numerous times over the years to members of the Virginia State Bar along side Bob Woodward in Continuing Legal Education Seninars on Legal Ethics that have been excellent.

[@mariaandharold]

Back in 1991 when CBS & other media came out with 20th Watergate anniversary documentaries, the general feeling (including myself) for John Dean was far from being positive. But no one could deny that his account of events was impeccable & truthful when the tapes were later released. Now, when I compare how he used his experience for teaching (public, colleagues, youngs budding lawyers with WH ambition, etc) to Gordon Liddy who never expressed a gram of remorse or concern abt the seriousness of what he has done, I can see the difference in moral / ethical fiber btw the 2 individuals. I was astouned to hear in this interview that Liddy was a lawyer, but never saw anything wrong in his spy games. Today, I listen to John Dean who obviously learned from his mistakes & tries to prevent anyone else to make the same mistakes. I truly have a great respect (if not, admiration) for his insight & his courage to share his background.

[@bryansimmons8008]

My own opinion of Dean has made a similar journey. I was once an admirer of Liddy and thought badly of John Dean. Those opinions have reversed over the years.

[@mariaandharold]

if I may add, I am not warming up to Liddy, but I am warming up to his point of view. The government then felt trapped with the threat of terrorist attacks (& possibly civil war) by opponents to the Vietnam war & they felt they had to do whatever was needed to prevent such threats. That being said, it does not excuse Liddy's wrongdoings in the scope of pure political gain, i.e. Nixon's reelection. Liddy publicly critizised Dean for "betraying the President". After Dean reviewed the WH tapes where it was plainly said not to discuss certain plans of action with him b/c they knew ahead of time he would counsel the President against them, I do appreciate Dean's point of view that if the WH staff got themselves in such trouble, why would he feel responsible for defending / protecting them ?

[@katherenewedic8076]

liddy reeks of mental illness and Mitchell had his wife kidnapped and drugged. geez. street people have more ethics than these guys.

[@robertl.fallin7062]

@bryansimmons8008 I remember the first news accounts with Mr. Dean and I thought how easy it is to get caught up in affairs beyond your control. I have always thought Mr. Dean was an honest and very decent man.

[@meidassecondsoprano150]

Exactly. It is very difficult for any of us to make a terrible mistake that isn’t a federal crime affecting our democracy and deal with the repercussions in private and learn from it. To change so fundamentally in how one views one’s failures to act lawfully and act so responsibly to teach others about what not to do in an era of mendacity and corruption is unique.

[@davidgoetz2576]

What a great interview. Dean is so articulate and frank. Riveting.

[@jamesdrynan]

The story of how Woodward met Mark Felt and how that relationship fueled the Watergate investigation is fascinating. It's also informative to have the main players being interviewed decades later. Dean was savvy enough to know he would be sacrificed as the scapegoat and testified to prevent that from happening.

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

You believe that story about Woodward and Felt’s relationship?

[@aliciathompson7721]

I am fascinated with Mr. Dean photographic memory. It’s work well for him. I had the pleasure of watch him speak at the 59th St. Y. I’ve read his books which are so important in history. Thank you Dean for your service.

[@meidassecondsoprano150]

I have respect for this man.

[@loveaodai100]

This is totally awesome and I thank all involved especially John Dean for this post. I was in college when this unfolded but honestly speaking I never got into the details back then as it all seemed to bore me at the time. All I remember was the names of the main players being mentioned constantly to the point of irritation. Some years later I came to realize how interesting the entire matter really was including how the pieces of the puzzle were put together. A bit like 9-11… if one comes back to KZbin to search the subject after an absence there will inevitably be some new videos and new insight. And so too with Watergate including this interview. I can see the point of the lower drama in real life compared with the film “All the Presidents Men” but at the same time given the stakes and the level of power of the individuals involved I still think that at least internally there was extreme drama within the minds of the players especially as people began to face realities. I grew up in New York City where I was as the hearings and ultimate ultimate resignation took place. As bad as things were there still seemed to be a logic to the function of the government. While still functioning the American government seems to be now operating without logic having been largely taken over by far out branches of the left and right not to mention the media and its lobby. Now nearly 70 years old and having nothing to do with politics I find myself having having lived half my life in Vietnam where I remain watching the events of America unfold from afar. With the lobby so powerful I doubt that things can be changed and just hope that if the original intentions of the founding fathers comes to cease that the replacement doesn’t forget the older population…

[@ralphschneider9283]

Mr, Dean has a great memory, enjoy his recollections, I was 17 years old at the time of Watergate hearings. On vacation with my family in Hawaii at the time. Amazing television !

[@Aristotelezz]

Really great interview!

[@yaraviera4444]

Thanks for sharing this story

[@Henrycrun1959]

A brilliant man. One of the few who told the truth.

[@ckSport3000]

I watched this interview months ago, now watching again, Thanksgiving 2023. I really enjoy Mr. Dean's perspectives, particularly, because at his age he is so forthright and honest, even or especially about his own mistakes and shortcomings. .. Curtis, 57, retired Navy and life long Reagan Republican . (and a proud NEVER Trump person)

[@barney6888]

When the senate hearings were on, I was visiting a good friend in S.S. Marie. I was always self centered and a loner. My friend wanted to go and engage in activities, tennis, etc, but not me. I was glued to John Dean testifying about all the goings-on in the White House. Sorry about that John!

[@irenegewinner8193]

Thank you, John, for listening to your better angels.

[@NGC6144]

Chuck Colson had a sign in his office that read "If you have them by the balls. their hearts will follow." Dean realized Lady Justice was about to reach out for his family jewels. It wasn't on account of his "better angels."

[@danieleskridge3180]

@@NGC6144 “If you’ve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.” That’s originally Theodore Roosevelt’s quote.

[@opaulamorgan4265]

John Dean's memory is remarkable, he also kept notes which included dates of conversations which served him well during the watergate hearings.

[@user-gn7ff6ov8y]

I think most of the commentors here need to go and read a good book on Watergate ( Watergate A new History) to see how self serving and sanitized Dean's views are. He was knee deep in the cover up and enjoyed the power. He is not as innocent as he portrayed himself. Most of the Watergate prosecutors were shock at how the press turned Dean into a hero. As one prosecutor said : "You can always depend on John Dean's venality"

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

It would be nice to hear Alexander Butterfields story too. Great vlog on Dean.

[@aliciathompson7721]

I am looking at the Watergate tapes from first to last. I very much enjoy Mr. Dean photographic memory at work. I saw All the Presidents Mens at the NY Public Library and I was amazed listening Bernstein and Woodward. We have Mr. Dean’s book & Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Woodward’s books. Thank you for sharing because this has been living history. I’ve learned so much.. It’s been an asset since we witnessing the Trump Trails that’s far worse. I thank the Washington Post for their diligence today and giving us a road maps of current events. Fascinating! Thank you.

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

The Washington Post is all partisan now. People have changed

[@tonil.476]

I missed listening to Mr. Dean. I once quoted Dr Samuel Johnson to him, saying “There is no problem the mind of man can create that the mind of man cannot solve.” And surely enough Mr. Dean helped this country with his sage advice. I love him.

[@justflem1]

We are fortunate Dean has such a clear and unbiased memory of the events. Just about every other player is dead. I’m confident Woodward and Bernstein embellished the storyline in their book - and continue to do so. Give credit where credit is due - Liddy was the mastermind behind this fiasco from day one (Ellsberg office break in)

[@TT_1221]

He's aged very well indeed. It might be the result of a clear conscience!

[@GlobalDrifter1000]

Very interesting

[@cwmiller2006]

I've always been interested in the history of Watergate. At the time back in the early to mid 70s I was a teenager in Jr High. I can remember vividly the summer of 72 (73?) When the hearings were going on. My older brother was home from College and a bunch of his buddies were all sitting around watching Mr. Dean's testimony and the high drama of it all. I also remember watching Nixons resignations speech. Years later I read All the Presidents Men and saw the movie which is one my all time favorite movies. This is a great interview of Mr. Dean, I really believe he got caught up in the moment and just lost perspective of it all. I couldn't imagine having all that pressure especially at such a relatively young age. It's also amazing to me how keystone cops it all was and how insane Liddy and Hunt and the Plumbers were. Anyhow I think Mr. Dean has paid his debt to society and hopefully he can live out the rest of his years knowing he did his best to clear his name.

[@mawangdwei3866]

Why not play the interview straight through without the edits? What are you omitting?

[@NGC6144]

My dog ate my homework... The Devil made me do it... And now The Loss-Frame theory.

[@andreaziz5499]

This relevation is so informative about the Nixon tricky erra

[@nathanieldrain907]

Liddy was cray-cray.

[@kevinbrennan-ji1so]

Erhlichman too. And both were hotheads. It's amazing the two didn't strangle each other.

[@marywebber854]

So interesting.

[@christophergargaro959]

Just listening to Dean recall some of the things Liddy was planning and going to do makes me chuckle. Thankfully some of the more insane plans weren't implemented but Liddy was quite the character. I remember even on one of the tapes Nixon said to Haldeman "Who is the fellow? Liddy? I mean, he's nuts..." to which Haldeman responds offhand "...he is...". 🤣

[@philipcunningham4125]

Theres a great book that covers Deans role in Watergate: its called watergate a new history by Graff. Excellent book at sunming up the whole thing

[@softballhumanoid]

Liddy was certifiable. That he became a staple of right-wing media in his later years tells us a lot about why American politics looks the way it does today.

[@skunktinkle243]

by comparison, the recent lunacy on the left makes liddy come off like gerald ford …

[@softballhumanoid]

@@skunktinkle243 Uh, no.

[@skunktinkle243]

@@softballhumanoid there is a great section in woodward’s book finals days which has nixon compiling a huge list of previous administration abuses, in some cases far worse than anything he did. his lawyer advised against it saying it was “whataboutism.” a great line in oliver stone’s film nixon has nixon telling an aide to “follow the money,’ suggesting that all these student protestors were being funded by communists. the line seemed funny in the 90s but is unbelievably prescient today. but john dean is right when he says that nixon should have declared national security reasons rather than simply executive privilege for not turning over tapes.

[@davemacnicol8404]

"i wanted to be loaded with at least some law" You sure are loaded, sir.

[@jefolson6989]

Dean made a career out of Watergate. I imagine he thought his life was over at the time and that he would be reviled and hated. He parlayed it to a lifetime of writing books and speaking engagements . But damm! Doesn't he get sick of talking about it?

[@internetstrangerstrangerofweb]

Well watergate is an extremely significant historical event for the United States. Someone who was directly involved in it honestly has a duty to inform the public.

[@jefolson6989]

@@internetstrangerstrangerofweb exactly. Dean could have sunk into obscurity, as he was unemployable. He found ways to cash in, which I admire. I have much respect for John Dean. We have hearings all the time regarding crimes that are more serious. It now normalized. No one cares. Watergate was a huge scandal. I don't think it would be now. It would be denied, witnesses wouldn't show up , they would stall until its replaced in the news by a new scandal. Nixons GOP did the right thing and stood with the law. They didn't lie for Nixon like they do Trump.

[@erichaynes7502]

I'm pretty sure he has no other choice, no other way to make a living. Being a full on rat has it's privileges'.

[@opaulamorgan4265]

It was a "turning point" in his life, self reflection, and led him to a different career.

[@opaulamorgan4265]

@@erichaynes7502I think your comment is disgusting! Name-calling when you haven't been in the situation yourself! After Watergate John Dean became an investment banker, lecturer and author!

[@mariahenrich9602]

Funny. What's happened in this country over the past 8 years makes watergate look like a child's tea party.

[@merrim7765]

Not actually true "no one was following" Watergate pre-election. My friends were in high school -- first time to vote -- we knew & were following & asking, "but what about Watergate?!" In the midwest, not the beltway

[@morpher44]

7:14 "re: didn't know what he knew". The choice of Hunt to do dirty tricks for CREEP (plumbers) intersects with the JFK assassination and "the whole bay of pigs thing". Nixon would have known about the JFK assassination because Nixon was in Dallas the night before in his role as lawyer for Pepsi -- or so he claims. Also, the interest in Ted Kennedy may have been because he was a political rival, but also could have been Nixon's paranoia with respect to a Kennedy trying to find out what happened to his brothers. In terms of democracy, Nixon is yet again another candidate that is completely OK with cheating to win -- as was Ronald Reagan (arms for hostage deal), with G H W Bush right there helping this effort and then becoming president himself. Clinton cheating the system by allowing CIA drug running thru his state while he was governor. GW Bush possibly cheating in Florida (and other places). Trump trying to do a coup after he lost the election and refusing to do a clean transition of power. It seems the USA is a horrible example of democracy because each presidential candidate seems OK with cheating to win or to otherwise lie to the American people to our faces about wars (e.g. Pentagon Papers proving we were lied to from Truman to Nixon about the Vietnam War). Even JFK cheated -- probably with Nixon also cheating in that race.

[@roquefortfiles]

G Gordon Liddy seems like the kind of guy who needed to have his ass kicked.

[@kdd3925]

Liddy was out of his mind. He really thought a lot of himself. Even at the time it all happened, people knew he was way out there.

[@randolphgarcia3494]

BRIEF BLOG: I AM A (RET) FBI EMPLOYEE LIVING IN SF, CA. (NON-AGENT STATUS). I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE, THAT THE BU IN THE PAST HAS HIRED SEVERAL FOLKS WHO NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIRED TO BEGIN WITH. THEIR MENTAL FACULTIES & GENERAL BEHAVIOR HAS BEEN BIZAARE TO SAY THE LEAST. FORMER FBI AGENT G GORDON LIDDY IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A MAN WHO NEVER SHOULD HAVE WORKED ATTHE FBI OF ALL PLACES-HE WAS A DAMN WHACK JOB! LOOK AT THE END RESULT! BOTTOM LINE: LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES & NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES NEED TO EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION IN THEIR HIRING PRACTICES.

[@psmith9789]

Old money always comes out well. They cover each others back.

[@butterflygirl2285]

I am not understanding: what do you mean exactly?

[@tilesetter1953]

Are you talking about Dean?

[@djpalindrome]

I don’t trust John Dean farther than I can throw him

[@mikekenney1947]

I, like many have spent decades in disbelief of the wanton nature of Watergate. Dean is essentially a truth teller, but fails miserably on the issue of what the Burglars were looking for. It is still the essential unanswered question. Fishing doesn’t cut it, not with this level of consequence. Liddy is out of control clearly, but the green light is dependent on some risk/reward evaluation and Dean knows who and what and why of that process. The terrible fact was that Hunt wanted hush money. For what? Don Segretti? Not hardly. Dean wants it to remain a mystery. If it’s Hunt and Liddy we’re in Dallas territory. Nixon says, “tell them at CIA, this is just going to open up that whole Cuban thing, and we know they don’t want that.” Haldeman will later say that whenever Nixon said “Cuban thing,” he was talking about the Kennedy assassination. Hunt, Nixon and George Bush were all in Dallas on Nov 22 1963 and have openly and repeatedly denied it. Nixon would use his knowledge of the “Cuban thing” to secure a pardon from Warren Commissioner, Gerald Ford. Dean knows this including the inevitable scapegoating, but still sells Watergate as a crazy accident. You know who else knew about what the burglars were looking for? John Dean’s wife, Maureen. Her roommate had been a notorious madam of a call girl ring that contemporaneously ran out of the Watergate, and was frequented by Democratic politicians. You know who else knew the target of the Burglars(all with Cuban, CIA, and Alpha 66 connections)? Deep Throat, Mark Felt

[@hanshans8612]

Maureen was a call girl as well.

[@loungelizardsounds]

19:52 What does he mean by that comment? Referring to Liddy's suggestion at being shot?

[@loungelizardsounds]

I find it unbelievable that someone like Liddy's got anywhere near conducting any official operations. Everything I read indicates he was patently a massive risk. The other thing for me is using someone of the stature of McCord (senior security head) to conduct operational work and get his hands dirty.

[@wynnkidsnannylorivance4111]

I knew Liddy from a distance when I worked in DC. I'm not saying he's all bad, but I will say that it doesn't surprise me to hear of the ideas he had.

[@Applecompuser]

Some I question. They went after the Post’s TV licenses. Who knows what else was tried.

[@jameswebb8273]

Plumbers have feelings too, you know.

[@thachhuynh5462]

Isn’t it nice if the current republican party still have guys like him with spines

[@yaraviera4444]

History always repeat itself I saw the movie but as this gentleman describes what was the Watergate it most be awful..something really bad..

[@chel3SEY]

"Not unresponsible for that happening", "we have not by accident turned over everything..." Classic double negative weasel words. In plain English he means he WAS responsible and he DELIBERATELY didn't over documents.

[@Meine.Postma]

Good story teller. I do not believe everything he says though

[@jo-lynnhodgson6363]

He was not aware of everything that went on.

[@tarmbruster1]

Well, he was a “little old lady.” (chuckle)

[@kevinbrennan-ji1so]

I like and respect John Dean greatly. However, he's just too nice of a human being to really grasp the fullness of what Nixon was doing, was aware of, and was capable of doing. When Liddy told him to 'just let me know what street corner you want me to go to and you can take me out', that was indicative of how Nixon's inner circle operated. For him to say, "I don't think Nixon could hurt people or threaten people physically" - cripes, John, Nixon ran the 5412 Committee for 8 years. Did he think they were playing Patty-Cake with all those countries they upended and leaders who were assassinated? Where did he think the idea of the 'firebomb the Brookings Institute' came from? Nixon was a schemer without conscience. That 5412 Committee led to the JFK Assassination, then LBJ's Vietnam War, then Nixon and his dirty tricksters, then to the 'Reagan Revolution' (where some of the same players were involved in Iran-Contra) and finally to MAGA. There no longer is a GOP. It's a bunch of rotten people (scoundrels and elitists leading a bunch of cultish sheep) with rotten intentions which have gotten us to where we are now.

[@ralphschneider9283]

Ok, Mr, Dean isnt the worst. Seems like a pleasant man. Sorry for my previous comments. Who I am I to judge my fellow man.

[@Dr.Pepper001]

I don't know what you said, but he was a gutless wonder who spilled the beans on Nixon in hopes of saving his ass from prison. He went anyway.

[@judykinsman3258]

A man with integrity.

[@mikejewpants4099]

Men with integrity do not call the director of the IRS and instruct him to audit political enemies. It is a felony and a horrible thing to do.

[@charleshendrix232]

He was behind all the shenanigans and all the hush money. Integrity?

[@David-sw2rj]

He didn't have full integrity until he was in legal jeopardy.

[@charleshendrix232]

@@David-sw2rj He was knee deep. He was largely behind the scheme to make Hunt and Liddy look like they were blackmailing the President. Hunt could make a legitimate argument at least that he was an Agent of a special intelligence unit created by the Executive and that agent’s families were taken care of when they were captured. Dean decided that they would pay the money to Hunt’s wife, and speak only to her, which clearly looked like a hush money op or blackmail, and not compensation to an employed Agent. Dean’s scheme failed, and he decided to turn on everyone and save his hide. They were all breaking the law, but I hate when only the low level guys get hammered and the rats get deals.

[@crimony3054]

48:30 My dad told them if they came back to the house he'd have them killed. But I think he was just preparing them for the potential problems they were creating for themselves by knocking on peoples' doors unexpectedly. An exaggeration, but not a fabrication.

[@riff2072]

Informer.

[@robertewing3114]

Was it Watergate that inspired a Czech to write the words murky business Chamberlain Was it Watergate or just an inability to think reality Czech? What made England a far-away country of which he knew nothing? Was it something Chamberlain said?

[@MRVISTA-wz7vj]

Seems like a smart guy that got w the wrong ppl

[@joaquinpraveenvishnu8509]

Riveting!

[@brendaniell1765]

My family own alot of properties in Whittier and my second cousin was and head of the Bar and my grandmother mothers last name was Hunt and they been in Whittier in the 20s and i know that they lied about her and we own a high end clothing store my Aunt name Robertas in the william penn in which burn 🔥 down by the now corrupt historical hotel owner the Hoovers whos was the cheif of police of Whittier held me captive and 25 years later the cheifs brother also attorney commits 80 million in fraud on elderly women in which our properties are taken by the city and ive bern through hell for more then 25 years all my human rights violation.

[@allHeueldingse]

paani ghaat via japunnese nihaun via doctor strangya supraskaya

[@christopherdelgaudio9484]

Please tell me Nixon was not this stupid please!

[@JeffSkilling69]

He wasn't. John Dean likes to suck himself off

[@celebs007]

Weasel

[@geekmeee]

The Bible tried to warn us “…man is a liar.”

[@robertewing3114]

The meaning being the mind tells lies, the heart tells the truth. Nixon said he allowed his heart rule his mind too much but it is an obscure language, the heart only knows the truth, the heart does not make decisions. He regretted not thinking more clearly and objectively. He simply failed to be Neville Chamberlain, and not least because he only knew about Gladstone, Truman and Ike.

[@randallanthony1794]

The man that caused watergate and saved himself

[@davidwell686]

I wonder what Mr Dean thinks about Mr. Biden when compared to Mr. Nixon.

[@jburgett45]

@David Well. I wonder what you are “what abouting” about?

[@davidwell686]

@@jburgett45 Curious what Mr. Dean thinks about Mr. Biden's behavior in office when compared to Mr. Nixon.

[@TheMrSuge]

@@davidwell686 He is hyper critical about Trump's criminal behaviour as president, as well as his post-presidency, I am not aware that Dean has ever stated that Biden has ever committed a crime.

[@davidwell686]

Mr. Dean seems silent about discussing Biden.

[@thecaptain9697]

Disloyal to Nixon!

[@katherenewedic8076]

he knows a few things that he's not admitting to, and seems to under play the crime as relating to the post reporting. and for what he doesn't know, it does not mean that it did not happen

[@inkdry101]

The mastermind behind Watergate and turned on all others.

[@TheMrSuge]

He told the "others" that they were committing crimes and needed to stop & come clean. That's not exactly "turning" on them

[@KevinBalch-dt8ot]

I think John Dean only cares about John Dean. I would not believe a word he says.

[@1999glock]

I have spent 20 years studying Watergate and all of the players. The one common denominator by virtually all involved on both sides, is that John Dean was a consumate liar. John Dean, Carl Bernstein and to a slightly lesser degree Bob Woodward have made fortunes selling books about Watergate. The Nixon haters place Dean on a pedestal as a pillar of honesty and courage. He was anything but.

[@JoseFernandez-qt8hm]

Liddy is still right....

[@tedtimothy9074]

I never liked Dean. I just don't trust him. I think he really lucked out when he married Mo.

[@TheMrSuge]

You simply sound jealous. Is that why you don't like him ?

[@TheMrSuge]

@@jameswebb8273 He's not stating facts; just opinion. He doesn't trust Dean is an opinion, as in he lucked out marrying Mo.

[@fourdoorglory5945]

No Nixon fan here, but I’ve never really trusted Dean. I think he was more complicit in the coverup than he wants to admit. Why did’t he go to the FBI or other entity and blow the top off the scandal? Instead this convicted felon kept his mouth shut until he copped a plea, testified, served a whopping 4 months in prison, then wrote books and lectured the rest of his life profiting from his crimes.

[@SECRETARIATguy224]

Oh knock it off. Nixon spent a whopping ZERO months in jail. He was trying to throw Dean under the bus.

[@fourdoorglory5945]

@@SECRETARIATguy224 Nixon presided over the cover up and maintained all the tapes to prove it. The 70’s were a different era…today he would have found himself in jail

[@KP-zy1ke]

Hes such a liar

[@TheVaga9]

What a weasel, dropped a dime on his fellow conspirators then slime's his way out!!

[@jameswebb8273]

Absolutely right, though I'd say a worm rather than a weasel!

[@fairfaxcat1312]

Dean lost all credibility when, after investing so heavily in the Watergate story from which he profited handsomely, he called the George W. Bush Administration “worse than Watergate.” And of course he titled a book with the phrase.

[@internetstrangerstrangerofweb]

Well he’s not wrong dude 😂 the Bush administration was totally incompetent and hellbent on using fear of future terror attacks as US foreign policy. Not to mention how the economy tanked in 2008 because of him, or Katrina, or, yknow, how there is actual evidence that he fabricated the presence of WMDs in Iraq into existence, and his trend of complaisance later lead to the proliferation of ISIS

[@ssb1056]

To you perhaps but Bush is a mass murderer

[@davidevans8691]

Part of the liberal echo chamber.

[@JeffSkilling69]

Nixon did nothing wrong

[@TayDays1128]

If money laundering, spying, free speech & press censorship, obstruction of justice, election interference, domestic terrorism, prolonging and illegally expanding the vietnam war is "nothing", then he did plenty of it.

[@grantsapain]

Biden makes Nixon look like a choirboy...

[@Jasper7182009]

Troll. ….

[@grantsapain]

@@Jasper7182009 Nixon NEVER took money from America's enemies. Apparently, Biden doing so isn't a problem for you. The DNC is the biggest cartel in America...

[@Rocks_Dad]

If Dean had of simply played ball with Nixon and been his scapegoat, he would have been pardoned and then been taken care of financially by RNC backers for the rest of his life. He was just saving his own butt. Nothing really that dignified in any of it. It all was silly and should have never happened.

[@SECRETARIATguy224]

Pardoned and taken care of financially by RNC backers for the rest of his life? May I remind you that Liddy's sentence was commuted by Carter and that his 40k fine wasn't paid by any "RNC backers"? Ford didn't pardon him. Why would he have pardoned Dean?

[@pillettadoinswartsh4974]

John is still making excuses for Nixon. He's obviously lying at certain points of this interview. And still has it in for the Post. More childishness from a Republican.

[@GunRunner3]

I had preconceived notions about John Dean before I started watching this video. I have to honestly say that within five minutes Dean lived up to all my expectations. I didn't once hear Dean call President Nixon by that title or even refer to him as Richard or Mister Nixon, and by his attitude I wouldn't trust John Dean to bring me a paper clip. He's every bit as slimy, defensive and dishonest sounding as I've been led to believe. Other members of the White House staff were not near as hateful and spiteful when interviewed as John Dean. He is a major stain on history, a very treacherous and a very small man.