Nixon White House Counsel John Dean argues there is evidence of collusion in the Mueller report
Former White House Counsel John Dean during a congressional hearing on Monday drew parallels between the Mueller report and Watergate, also arguing the report does contain evidence of collusion.
Dean, a key Watergate witness who served as Richard Nixon's White House counsel, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Monday and told lawmakers, "I think there is evidence, incidentally, in the report of collusion." He went on to argue there have been "a number of well-done articles that draw on the different contacts between the Trump people and the Russians and make a fairly strong case for collusion."
Mueller in his report did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia, and he did not determine whether Trump obstructed justice. Mueller's report noted that the investigation was looking into "criminal conspiracy as defined in federal law, not the commonly discussed term 'collusion.'"
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.
Dean in his testimony also drew parallels between the Mueller report and the Watergate road map. "In many ways, the Mueller report is to President Trump what the so-called Watergate road map...was to President Richard Nixon," he said.
In prepared remarks submitted to the committee, Dean walked through what he called "remarkable parallels" between the Mueller report and Watergate; for instance, he compares Trump telling FBI Director James Comey to let go of an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Nixon asking his chief of staff to ensure the FBI would not to go further with its Watergate investigation. "The words Nixon used were strikingly like those uttered by President Trump," Dean writes.
Trump ahead of this congressional testimony on Monday slammed Dean on Twitter, saying that he is "disgraced" and again writing, "No Collusion - No Obstruction!"
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Hitler: what can we learn from his DNA?Talking Point Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator is the latest documentary to posthumously diagnose the dictator
-
Government shutdown: why the Democrats ‘caved’In the Spotlight The recent stalemate in Congress could soon be ‘overshadowed by more enduring public perceptions’
-
Crossword: November 22, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
