June 17th Marks Dark Anniversary for Watergate Scandal, Former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean Hopes to Empower Attorneys with his Message

06/18/11

Per the June 16^th suntimes.com article, ''Watergate figure: Lawyers today have more power'', as of Jan. 1, 2010, in Illinois and various other dates around the country, the attorney-client privilege is no longer. Instead, new rules enable lawyers to ''threaten their clients with leaving or even going to the press or prosecutors in some cases if the client insists on committing criminal acts.''

It's these new rules Dean hopes attorneys will embrace. He was quoted as saying: ''It's a remarkable leverage today. Not that lawyers want to go around blowing the whistle, but, internally, it gives a position they never had to resolve things the right way before they get out of hand.''

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A recap of the Watergate scandal: On June 17, 1972, Washington, D.C. police arrested five men wearing suits and blue surgical gloves breaking into the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel.

It was this event that ultimately eventually led to Nixon's demise. With assistance from Dean, it came out that the men were sent by The Committee to Re-elect the President, which was working with the White House. Evidence grew against the president's staff. This included former staff members testifying against them in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee. It also came out that President Nixon had a tape recording system in his offices and that he'd recorded many conversations, some of which revealed he'd attempted to cover up the break-in. With Nixon facing impeachment, he resigned.

Dean is now 72, and lost his license to practice law when he went to prison. ''At this late date, one of the things I'm sifting through is: When exactly did I cross the line? When did I violate the law? I have no question in my mind that I did so. My goal is not to clear my name, it's to understand when did I cross the line,'' Dean was quoted as saying.

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During his presentation, Dean relayed his contempt for G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy organized and directed the burglaries and was convicted of burglary, conspiracy, and refusing to testify to the Senate committee investigating Watergate. Ultimately, he served over 50 months in federal prison.

Dean was quoted as saying: ''At the time he thought he was James Bond. He wasn't quite Maxwell Smart.'' Additionally, he recalled a conversation he had with Liddy, in which he recalls Liddy saying: ''I realize, John, I've caused serious problems for the presidency. Just don't have anybody drive by my house because I've got children there. But if you want me to stand on any street corner, you can shoot me.''

''My reaction was: How in God's name could so many lawyers get involved in something like this?'' Dean said in his testimony before the Senate. Dean's presentation included excerpts from Oval Office tapes, his senate testimony and copies of his notes, which had never been released before now.

Scandals such as Watergate, and more recently, Enron, have prompted new requirements for lawyers to attend continuing education seminars on ethics.