Ex-Nixon White House counsel John Dean said he would be “honored” to be considered an enemy of President Trump.
Dean spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday after Trump called Dean a “loser” after Dean likened Trump’s conduct during the Russia investigation to the Watergate scandal during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
“I’m honored to be on his enemies list,” Dean said. “I was able to make Nixon’s at the end, and so I’m pleased that I’m on Trump’s, given my feelings about the threat he is to this country.”
Dean was intimately involved in the Watergate cover-up, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and served four months in prison for his role. His testimony to the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973 contributed to Nixon’s resignation.
Cooper asked the former counsel if he ever imagined being back to testify under oath nearly 46 years later.
“One of the reasons that I did what I did back during Watergate was the thought that this will never happen again,” Dean said. “And one of the reasons I’ve had a knot in my stomach, one of the reasons I’m on CNN, is because I’m deeply troubled by the presidency we’re living with.”
Dean has remained in the public eye in recent years as a vocal critic of Trump. He appeared before the panel to shed light on some of the key details of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Republican lawmakers attempted to undercut his credibility, but Dean’s retorts earned laughter from the crowd.