John Dean

John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938 in Akron, Ohio, USA) was White House Counsel to U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 to April, 1973. As White House Counsel he became deeply involved in the Watergate scandal cover up, even referred to as "master manipulator of the cover up" by the FBI.{{fn|1}}, and went on to become the star witness of the Watergate prosecution.

"Master manipulator" to star witness

On February 28, 1973 Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding his nomination to replace J. Edgar Hoover as Director of the FBI. Armed with newspaper articles indicating the White House had possession of FBI Watergate files the committee chairman, Sam Ervin, questioned Gray as to what he knew about the White House obtaining the files. With almost no provocation, and in a hearing not even related to Watergate, Gray stated he had given reports to Dean and had discussed the FBI investigation with Dean on many occasions. Gray's nomination failed and now Dean was directly linked to the Watergate cover up.

Related Topics:
February 28 - 1973 - L. Patrick Gray - Senate Judiciary Committee - J. Edgar Hoover - Sam Ervin

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On March 23 the Watergate burglars were sentenced with stiff fines and jail time, Dean hired an attorney and began his cooperation with Watergate investigators on April 6.

Related Topics:
March 23 - April 6

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On April 22 Nixon requested Dean put together a report with everything he knew about the Watergate matter and even invited him to take a retreat to Camp David to do so. Coupled with his sense of distance from Nixon's inner circle, "The Berlin Wall" of advisors H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Dean sensed he was going to become the Watergate scapegoat and refused. Nixon fired Dean on April 30, the same date he also announced the resignations of Haldeman and Ehrlichman.

Related Topics:
April 22 - Camp David - H.R. Haldeman - John Ehrlichman - Scapegoat - April 30

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On June 25 Dean began his testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee in which he implicated many administration officials, including himself, Nixon fundraiser and former Attorney General John Mitchell, and Nixon himself. He was the first administration official to accuse Nixon of direct involvement with Watergate and the resulting cover up in press interviews as well as his testimony. Such testimony against Nixon, while damaging to the president's credibility, had little impact legally, as it was merely his word against Nixon's. Nixon vigorously denied all accusations against him that he authorized a cover up, and Dean had no proof beyond various notes he had taken in his meetings with the president. It was not until the existence of secret White House tape recordings was made public and those tapes could be analyzed that Dean's accusations were proved.

Related Topics:
June 25 - Senate Watergate Committee - Attorney General - John Mitchell

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