John Dean: Trump indictments over 2020 election ‘much bigger than Watergate’

John Dean, former President Nixon’s White House counsel, said Monday night that former President Trump’s latest indictment in Georgia over efforts to overturn the 2020 election is “much bigger than Watergate.”

Dean made the comment on CNN, when asked by anchor Kaitlan Collins whether he sees echoes of the Nixon-era scandal in the Georgia indictment.

“It’s much bigger than Watergate,” said Dean, who gave key congressional testimony during the Nixon scandal. “It’s of a whole different dimension. It goes to the very foundation of democracy. Nixon abused some powers, he exceeded his authority when he shouldn’t, but he wasn’t taking on the basics of the country.” 

The indictment from a Georgia grand jury against Trump and a group of 18 co-defendants marks the fourth criminal case brought against the former president since April.

The case in Georgia includes a wide range of charges, with a total of 41 counts against the 19 defendants, including racketeering and conspiracy to commit election fraud, among other charges. Trump faces 13 counts related to making false statements and impersonating a public officer.

The indictment comes after a years-long investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) into efforts by Trump and allies to intervene with the state’s 2020 presidential election results — while also arranging a group of 16 Georgia residents to serve as fake electors and claim he actually won the state, not Joe Biden.

“[Willis] didn’t just charge him, she threw the book at him,” Dean said on CNN, calling the 98-page indictment “a very impressive document.” 

Dean noted that five of the co-defendants charged in Georgia’s indictment — Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark and Kenneth Chesebro — also appear to be five of the six unindicted and unnamed co-conspirators listed in the federal indictment against Trump over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

“That’s the sort of thing during Watergate that was worked out in advance,” Dean said. “So I think I understand why Fani did not want to address whether she talked to Jack Smith or not, because I think they’re in conversation right now, because they are stepping on each other’s toes.”