Special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's intervention in the 2016 election was "more damning" to President Donald Trump than the Watergate report was to former President Richard Nixon, according to former White House counsel John Dean.
In an interview on CNN's "The Lead," Dean said Attorney General William Barr's handling of the Mueller report was "very disappointing."
"One of the post-Watergate norms was that attorney generals did not serve as the president's personal counsel," he said, adding: "And Mr. Barr today violated all the norms that have been established post-Watergate and took us back into Nixonian-type operations."
Dean said called the Mueller report "devastating."
"I looked on my shelf for the Senate Watergate Committee report. I looked at the Iran/Contra Report," he said. "I also looked at the Ken Starr report . . . I've read all of those. And in 400 words, this report from the special counsel is more damning than all those reports about a president. This is really a devastating report."
And while the Justice Department concluded evidence in the report was insufficient to establish obstruction of justice, Dean said he thought the violation was clear.
"This is clear obstruction," Dean declared. "The obstruction statute is an endeavor statute, as well as actual overt action. If you endeavor to obstruct – and there is much evidence here of endeavor – you violated the obstruction statue."
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