John Dean

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John Dean
Dean at the White House, 1973
White House Counsel
In office July 9, 1970 – April 30, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Chuck Colson
Succeeded by	Leonard Garment
Personal details
Born	John Wesley Dean III (1938-10-14) October 14, 1938 (age 85) Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Republican (formerly) Independent
Spouses	Karla Ann Hennings ​ ​ (m. 1962; div. 1970)​ Mo Kane ​ (m. 1972)​
Children	1
Education	Colgate University College of Wooster (BA) Georgetown University (JD)

John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal and his subsequent testimony to Congress as a witness. His guilty plea to a single felony in exchange for becoming a key witness for the prosecution ultimately resulted in a reduced sentence, which he served at Fort Holabird outside Baltimore, Maryland. After his plea, he was disbarred.

Shortly after the Watergate hearings, Dean wrote about his experiences in a series of books and toured the United States to lecture. He later became a commentator on contemporary politics, a book author, and a columnist for FindLaw's Writ.

Dean had originally been a proponent of Goldwater conservatism, but he later became a critic of the Republican Party. Dean has been particularly critical of the party's support of Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, and of neoconservatism, strong executive power, mass surveillance, and the Iraq War.