John Dean calls Georgia case against Trump 'much bigger than Watergate,' predicts Meadows will flip

John Dean, White House counsel to former President Richard Nixon, told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Monday night that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had not just charged former President Donald Trump with criminally conspiring to overthrow the 2020 election in her state, "she threw the book at him," and her indictment is "a very, very impressive document."
This case "is much bigger than Watergate, Kaitlan, it's of a whole different dimension," Dean said. "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, whereas Trump wanted to stay in office, he wanted to use Georgia and abuse Georgia as part of that plan, and so this is very different and much more serious and much more troubling."
But the Georgia indictment will be a complicating factor in special counsel Jack Smith's similar but narrower federal case, Dean added. "That's the sort of thing during Watergate that was worked out in advance." He said Willis and Smith are probably "in conversation right now, because they are stepping on each other's toes." As an example, he pointed to Mark Meadows, Trump's final White House chief of staff, who is one of the 19 defendants indicted in Georgia but barely mentioned in Smith's case.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"It appears, in that indictment, that [Meadows is] a cooperating witness," Dean said. "If he's being charged in Georgia, that might cause some reluctance, or certainly taint his testimony as to what he'd be willing to testify to in the federal case." It's "very likely" some of Trump's codefendants in Georgia "will flip, and they just wanted to see the indictment, and they've seen it now, and it's not pretty," he added. Assuming Meadows is cooperating in Smith's case, "I think he'll probably find a solution to get out of the Georgia case, too."
If Meadows and other Trump codefendants reach plea deals with Willis, that would help solve a problem other CNN legal analysts pointed out Monday night. "You cannot try 19 defendants [together], and you're certainly not going to try them on this kind of indictment with these allegations in six months," as Willis proposed, former U.S. Attorney Michael Moore said. "That's not going to happen."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - free trade, judicial pushback, and more
By The Week US
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushback
Cartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
By The Week US
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipe
The Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
By The Week UK
-
El Salvador's CECOT prison becomes Washington's go-to destination
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republicans and Democrats alike are clamoring for access to the Trump administration's extrajudicial deportation camp — for very different reasons
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court takes up Trump birthright appeal
Speed Read The New Jersey Attorney General said a constitutional right like birthright citizenship 'cannot be turned on or off at the whims of a single man'
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Court slams Trump, senator visits Ábrego García
Speed Read The case 'should be shocking not only to judges' but all Americans with an 'intuitive sense of liberty'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
The anger fueling the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez barnstorming tour
Talking Points The duo is drawing big anti-Trump crowds in red states
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Why the GOP is nervous about Ken Paxton's Senate run
Today's Big Question A MAGA-establishment battle with John Cornyn will be costly
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
UK-US trade deal: can Keir Starmer trust Donald Trump?
Today's Big Question White House insiders say an agreement is 'two weeks' away but can Britain believe it?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
A running list of Trump's second-term national security controversies
In Depth Several scandals surrounding national security have rocked the Trump administration
By Justin Klawans, The Week US