The 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s resignation is approaching, as are many local talks on the subject. One event that promises to be interesting is John Dean’s discussion of his new book The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It (Viking, $35) at Politics and Prose this Friday, August 1st at 7 p.m.
Dean was a 31-year-old attorney when he became counsel to the president in 1970. For his role in the Watergate cover-up, he served a prison sentence, which was reduced in exchange for serving as a key witness during the investigation.
Appearing on The Diane Rehm Show, Dean said that The Nixon Defense sets out to answer one question he’s always had: How could somebody as intelligent and as politically savvy as Nixon mess up his presidency so badly? He believed the answer was somewhere in the Nixon tapes. There were still some holes in the extensive transcriptions, so Dean took it upon himself (and several assistants) to comb through thousands of hours of Oval Office recordings.
In the 746-page book, Dean creates a valuable historical record, “reconstructs” the day-to-day Watergate cover-up from the tapes and provides closure to some previous unknowns. He does so with little personal commentary, as he believes “the facts speak for themselves.”
One of his conclusions is that Nixon did not know about or order the break-in before it happened. However, a combination of Nixon’s character and “horrible decision-making” allowed it to happen. The President was clearly okay with using unethical means for political gain, and his administration knew it. The tapes show it only got messier as Nixon grew obsessed with hiding the truth, certainly an impeachable and possibly imprisonable offense had he not been pardoned by President Ford.
Dean’s license to practice law was revoked as part of his sentencing, and he became an investment banker, author, and lecturer highly critical of conservative Republicanism. In 2006, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee investigating George W. Bush’s NSA warrantless wiretap program. He has written 11 books, including several bestsellers on his White House and Watergate experiences.
The event is free and open to the public. Beer and wine will be available.
