Nixon-era White House counsel John Dean ahead of his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Monday said he believes there are "too many" comparisons that are "too similar" between President Donald Trump and late President Richard Nixon, but one that stands out is their "hands-on" approach to the office.
"The fact that Nixon was hands-on very early is just like Trump, hands-on very early," Dean, now a contributor for CNN, told the network's "New Day" program. "The firing of [FBI Director] James Comey is certainly not dissimilar from some of the actions that Nixon took. Nixon waded in and tried to influence the FBI investigation as did Trump."
Dean, who will be a key witness before the House Judiciary Committee Monday afternoon, told CNN he won't be a "fact witness" but hopes he can "give them some context and show them how strikingly like Watergate what we're seeing now and as reported in the (Robert) Mueller report is.":
He added that he knows the committee would want to hear from witnesses who are part of Mueller's report, but the "Trump administration is making it as difficult as possible for anybody on the House side to do anything to learn about what their activities were or are."
"They have to start somewhere, so a historical base to understand what is going on is a good foundation for them," Dean added.
Trump slammed Dean as a "sleazebag attorney" through a tweet over the weekend, but Dean said such things don't "bother me in the slightest" as the president has "called me nasty names before."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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