Watergate Figure John Dean Suspects Barr May Be Hiding Something 'Fairly Ugly'

Nixon's "master manipulator" says the attorney general may be trying to cover something up.
|

John Dean, former White House counsel to President Richard M. Nixon, warned that Attorney General William Barr may be hiding something “fairly ugly” inside the report filed by special counsel Robert Mueller

Barr’s summary of the report said Mueller had found no evidence of collusion between Russia and the 2016 campaign of President Donald Trump

Mueller, Barr wrote, did not exonerate Trump of obstruction allegations. However, Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had concluded there wasn’t sufficient evidence to make that accusation against the president. 

But Dean found the conclusion ― and the phrasing ― to be very curious. 

“He put a little lipstick on something that might’ve been fairly ugly,” he told CNN’s Don Lemon, adding: 

“We haven’t really seen the underlying report, but I have some suspicions that the reason he boiled this down the way he did is because it’s not very attractive, Don. [Mueller’s] words are very different than Barr’s, I suspect.”

He also said Mueller might have backed off the obstruction issue because of a “fundamental disagreement” with the Department of Justice on whether or not a president is even capable of obstruction:

“Those issues will be sorted out as this report slowly, hopefully, surfaces,” Dean said. 

Dean was dubbed the “master manipulator” of the Watergate scandal by the FBI. He eventually turned on Nixon and cooperated with the investigation, a move that ultimately helped to end the presidency. 

However, Dean wrote on Twitter that the scandal might’ve had a very different outcome had Barr been attorney general at the time:  

Support HuffPost

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.

Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your contribution of as little as $2 will go a long way.

Support HuffPost