Friday, February 24, 2017

As Calls Grow to Impeach Trump, Former Nixon Counsel John Dean Sees "Echoes of Watergate"


President Trump has been in office for only 36 days, and there is already a growing chorus of voices calling for his impeachment. This comes as CNN and The New York Times report White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus sought unsuccessfully to have the FBI refute news reports that Donald Trump’s campaign advisers were in frequent contact with Russian intelligence agents ahead of November’s election. The allegations have drawn comparisons to former President Richard Nixon’s 1972 discussion with aides who used the CIA to push the FBI away from investigating the Watergate burglary that later led to his resignation. We speak to someone who has been at the center of the unraveling of a presidency and a vote for impeachment: President Richard Nixon’s White House counsel, John Dean. He is the author of several books, including "The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It," "Conservatives Without Conscience" and "Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches."