Appearing on CNN on Saturday morning to discuss the criminal indictment of Steve Bannon, former Nixon White House lawyer John Dean expressed the belief that the criminal charges may have shaken up former Donald Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to the point where he is calling his lawyers this weekend for advice.
Speaking with host Fredricka Whitfield, the attorney who was a central figure in the Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon to resign said Meadows has far too much to lose should he be convicted of congressional contempt for refusing to testify about what went on at the White House on Jan 6th.
Speaking about his own experience before the Watergate committee, Dean explained, "I actually sought out the prosecutors and the committee because it was just wrong and had to end. My whole mentality was different than Meadows or Bannon's who seemed to think there was nothing wrong with what they were doing or indeed it was behavior they wanted to encourage. I was 180 degrees away; I thought these were things that should be known and stopped."
"At the same time, for Mark Meadows, former congressman, and for him to defy or show he has no respect for this committee as part of Congress and this subpoena or expectation of testifying and that he is sending the message of not respecting Congress, that's pretty extraordinary?" host Whitfield prompted.
"I think that his lawyers will be back in touch with the committee if not over the weekend, certainly on Monday morning, given different circumstances that now apply," Dean replied. "I don't think he wants to encourage a criminal indictment. He has a law license, I think he has political ambition. I think he'll play this a little differently, and indeed, this could force some of these people to testify and end this charade that they're ignoring the investigation or pretending like what happened January 6th wasn't serious and not a really serious problem that has to be addressed."
Watch below:
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