John Dean On Trump: ‘This Is A Level That Richard Nixon Never Went To’

on September 7, 2018 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 07: John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, attends a hearing on the nomination of federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice on the U.S. Supr... WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 07: John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, attends a hearing on the nomination of federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Hart Senate Office Building on September 7, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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John Dean, who served as White House counsel during Watergate under President Richard Nixon’s administration, offered some biting criticism of President Trump in response to a new New York Times report that revealed Trump once wanted to use his Justice Department to prosecute James Comey and Hillary Clinton.

During an interview on CNN Tuesday evening, Dean said Nixon would probably think Trump was going “too far” with his misuse of his own Justice Department, claiming Trump’s behavior is “what an autocrat does.”

“This is a level that Richard Nixon never went to, where you went after somebody’s personal wellbeing by a criminal prosecution. I’ve listened to all the tapes that are relevant. While I heard him break the law on some of those tapes, I never heard him do it by turning on his enemies and trying to put them in jail,” he said, referencing the infamous Nixon recordings. “This is really very, very heavy sledding.”

According to the Times report, while Trump wanted to use his own DOJ to prosecute his political opponent and his former FBI director, Don McGahn, former White House counsel, stepped in to persuade him against it.

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