John Dean on Giuliani in Georgia indictment: ‘Rudy is going to get destroyed by this’

John Dean, the White House counsel to former President Nixon, predicted a grim fate for former New York City mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, who faces mounting legal fees in addition to what Dean said looks like an “overwhelming” case in Georgia and unresolved issues at the federal level. 

“I think Rudy is going to get destroyed by this. It’s sad but true,” Dean said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Source.” 

“I think he’s in deep trouble. The government’s case looks like it’s overwhelming. His federal issues have not been resolved. Trump could not pardon him in Georgia if, indeed, he is convicted in Georgia,” Dean said.

Rudy Giuliani speaks with reporters as he departs the federal courthouse, Friday, May 19, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

But he added, “I don’t think Trump is going to make it back to the White House. I think people are starting to get a glimmer of what that could be, and they don’t want it.”

Giuliani, who served as former President Trump’s personal attorney, was charged Monday along with Trump and 17 others in the RICO case in Georgia over their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. 

“I doubt that Rudy will [flip],” Dean said, noting that Giuliani understands the law well and is likely to try and poke holes in the RICO case. “It’s only if the government of Georgia can overwhelm him and he realizes he’s going to go down and maybe he can save himself some years by cracking a deal.”

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Dean predicted that a likely outcome for Giuliani, who now faces legal troubles on a vast scale, is to file for bankruptcy and get a court-appointed lawyer to represent him.

“Representing yourself is the worst option, because anyone who represents themself is likely to make bad decisions about that representation,” Dean said when asked what options Giuliani has. “I think Rudy is likely to go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy of some sort. I understand his apartment is on the market. It could raise several million dollars, but he probably has a lot of debt he has to handle immediately, as well. So I think bankruptcy is a potential and maybe a court-appointed attorney.” 

“It has a Shakespearean element about it, although I don’t really think of Shakespeare when I look at Rudy in some of the news clips of him recently. It does have that kind of tragic tale that is being told in front of us, so we’ll have to all watch — and no one wishes him ill, but he’s gotten himself where he is,” Dean said.

Giuliani’s adviser, Ted Goodman, responded to Dean’s remarks by pointing to Dean’s involvement in the Watergate scandal and saying, “It says a lot about a man who celebrates the persecution of others.”

“John Dean is a disgraced attorney who covered up the clumsily executed Watergate burglaries before becoming the prosecution’s star witness in order to save his own skin. Rudy Giuliani’s contribution to society, which includes taking down the mafia, cleaning up in New York City and comforting the nation following 9/11, far surpasses anything John Dean has contributed to the country. It says a lot about a man who celebrates the persecution of others,” Goodman said, in a statement provided to The Hill by Giuliani.

This story was updated at 9:54 a.m. on Aug. 22 to include a statement from Giuliani’s adviser.