With absolutely ZERO insight or knowledge of the underlining evidence or investigation, the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee invited disgraced former White House Counsel and CNN contributor John Dean to testify on the findings of the Special Counsel Report on Monday.
Of course, Dean’s only experience in any related matter had to do with his own obstruction crimes during the Watergate scandal. Both the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News championed Dean’s comparisons between President Trump and former President Richard Nixon, a common show he puts on.
After noting that the Justice Department and the committee had reached an agreement on reviewing evidence the Special Counsel collected, chief congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes hailed Democrats for holding “a hearing today with a man who knows a lot about obstruction, President Nixon's White House counsel, John Dean.”
“Dean pled guilty to obstruction of justice 45 years ago for supervising hush money payments to the Watergate burglars,” she admitted. But that didn’t stop her from boasting of how “he drew parallels between the 37th president and the 45th.”
In the soundbites shared by CBS, Dean breathlessly proclaimed: “Special Counsel Mueller has provided this committee with a roadmap” and “I would say the Trump administration is in fast competition with what happened in the Nixon administration.”
Meanwhile, NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker tacked on the Dean story to the end of a report about President Trump's agreement with Mexico after his threats of tariffs. “Democrats called Nixon White House counsel John Dean to testify. Dean said the Mueller report shows parallels to Watergate,” she hyped.
To her credit, Welker was the only one out of the two to mention that Dean was disbarred and served time for his role in the Watergate cover-up.
Over on the Fox News Channel’s Special Report that same evening, former anchor Brit Hume ripped the Democrats for relying on the “architect” of the Watergate cover-up. “So, who’s going to be next for the House impeachment horde? Whitey Bulger, perhaps,” he mocked.
As she was wrapping up her report, Cordes huffed about how “President Trump and his party called the hearing a stunt.” She then played a revealing soundbite that exposed how comparing Republican presidents to Nixon was Dean’s shtick:
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): How many American presidents have you accused of being Richard Nixon?
DEAN: [Laughter] I actually wrote a book about Mr. Bush and Mr. Chaney with the title "Worse Than Watergate."
And as evident by their coverage, the liberal media always enjoyed Dean’s act, effectively rewarding the far-left stunt with airtime.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
June 10, 2019
6:36:00 p.m. EasternDAVID BEGNAUD: Attorney General William Barr agreed to give House Democrats investigating the President something they want, the evidence underlying the Mueller report. In return, Democrats put off a vote on holding Barr in contempt of Congress. Nancy Cordes tells us the star witness from Watergate took center stage today.
[Cuts to video]
REP. JERRY NADLER: I am pleased that we have reached an agreement…
NANCY CORDES: Democrats hailed it as a breakthrough. The Justice Department agreeing to give Congress some of the evidence gathered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, including, Democrats said, interview notes and firsthand accounts of misconduct.
NADLER: As a result, I see no need to resort to the criminal contempt statute to enforce our April 19th subpoena, at least for now, as long as the Department upholds its end of the bargain.
CORDES: Democrats want the documents because they're trying to make their own case that President Trump obstructed the Mueller investigation. They held a hearing today with a man who knows a lot about obstruction, President Nixon's White House counsel, John Dean.
JOHN DEAN: Special Counsel Mueller has provided this committee with a roadmap.
CORDES: Dean pled guilty to obstruction of justice 45 years ago for supervising hush money payments to the Watergate burglars.
DEAN: I was not confident the cover-up could be maintained indefinitely.
CORDES: Today, he drew parallels between the 37th president and the 45th.
DEAN: I would say the Trump administration is in fast competition with what happened in the Nixon administration.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP John Dean has been a loser for many years.
CORDES: President Trump and his party called the hearing a stunt.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): How many American presidents have you accused of being Richard Nixon?
DEAN: [Laughter] I actually wrote a book about Mr. Bush and Mr. Chaney with the title "Worse Than Watergate."
[Cuts back to live]
CORDES: The Justice Department says it is handing over these key Mueller documents as long as Democrats drop their push to hold the Attorney General in contempt of Congress. But, David, we still don't know quite how much material the Justice Department is handing over.
BEGNAUD: And there is context. Nancy Cordes on Capitol Hill tonight. Thank you, Nancy.
NBC Nightly News
June 10, 2019
7:11:09 p.m. Eastern(…)
[Cuts back to live]
LESTER HOLT: Kristen joins us now. Kristen, we also learned House Democrats will get to see new evidence from the Mueller report.
KRISTEN WELKER: Lester, that's right. The Department of Justice agreed to turn over to the Judiciary Committee some of the evidence Mueller's team used to assess the question of obstruction of justice.
Meanwhile, Democrats called Nixon White House counsel John Dean to testify. Dean said the Mueller report shows parallels to Watergate. President Trump called Dean a “loser” who was disbarred and went to prison. Lester?
HOLT: Kristen, thank you.
