John Dean, former Nixon White House counsel and key Watergate figure, spoke at today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing and again drew comparisons between Donald Trump and Richard Nixon.
Dean acknowledged that he’s not testifying as a fact witness, but as someone equipped to provide “a little historical perspective on the Mueller report.”
He said in many ways the Mueller report “is to President Trump what the so-called Watergate roadmap… is to Richard Nixon,” adding that Mueller clearly “provided this committee with a roadmap.”
Dean went through one of the several parallels he’s found between Trump and Nixon––the issue of influencing witnesses with potential pardons.
He concluded by saying that he hopes former White House counsel Don McGahn becomes a “key witness” before the committee, saying he represents the office of the president, not President Trump himself.
Before Dean spoke and Chairman Jerrold Nadler began the hearing, the president swiped at him again:
Can’t believe they are bringing in John Dean, the disgraced Nixon White House Counsel who is a paid CNN contributor. No Collusion – No Obstruction! Democrats just want a do-over which they’ll never get!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 10, 2019 [1]
Twitter had some thoughts:
Somebody is nervous.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) June 10, 2019 [2]
John Dean was the White House Counsel for President Richard Nixon. He played a major role in obstructing justice and trying to cover up Nixon’s crimes during the FBI’s investigation. Sound familiar?
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) June 10, 2019 [3]
No matter how many times you repeat “no obstruction,” it isn’t going to change the fact that there is abundant evidence of your repeated efforts to obstruct justice. The only thing that *might* save you is your ineptitude at it.
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) June 10, 2019 [4]
I can't believe you're whining on Twitter when you should be taking care of the nation's business!
— David Gorski, MD, PhD (@gorskon) June 10, 2019 [5]
The president making sure everyone watches John Dean testify >>> https://t.co/keR2KzE21D [6]
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 10, 2019 [7]
WATCH:
NEW:
"Special Counsel Mueller has provided this committee with a roadmap," says Watergate figure John Dean, before laying out six "illustrative" examples of parallels between Watergate and what's in the Mueller report https://t.co/ZWinWIO0Pu [8] pic.twitter.com/iyP9Yxo05W [9]
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) June 10, 2019 [10]