Watergate’s John Dean on Sunday said President Donald Trump likely doesn’t have a clue what White House Counsel Don McGahn told Special Counsel Robert Mueller during 30-plus hours of testimony, and also reveled in Trump’s comments calling him a “rat.”
“I doubt you have ANY IDEA what McGahn has told Mueller,” Dean tweeted in response to an earlier Twitter thread from Trump ripping The New York Times for its report on McGahn cooperating with Mueller’s investigation.
“Also, Nixon knew I was meeting with prosecutors, b/c I told him. However, he didn’t think I would tell them the truth!”
Mueller is looking into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election. He is also investigating whether Trump obstructed justice last year when he asked then-FBI Director James Comey to stop his investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Dean, the former White House counsel to President Richard Nixon, was a key witness for prosecutors in the Watergate scandal after pleading guilty to one count of obstruction of justice. McGahn, according to the Times, spoke extensively about Comey's firing and the president's repeated pushing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to claim oversight of the special counsel despite his recusal.
Trump in his tweet singled out Dean, saying the NYT story implied McGahn must be a “John Dean type ‘RAT.’”
The president also said he urged McGahn to speak with Mueller.
"I allowed him and all others to testify - I didn’t have to," Trump tweeted. "I have nothing to hide and have demanded transparency so that this Rigged and Disgusting Witch Hunt can come to a close."
Dean said the president's attempt at villainizing him could be perceived as a warning to the rest of his staff.
“He might be trying to give a warning to others on his staff – don’t go in and tell the truth or I will tarnish you, I’ll attack you,” Dean told CNN’s Ana Cabrera.
“He likes to use pejoratives and name calling, it’s his sort of standard operating procedure. I’m frankly delighted to be on his enemies’ list, if I’ve made it that far.”
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