Liddy Challenges Dean's Version Of Watergate Events
by Len Colodny

When John Dean testified before the Senate Watergate Committee on June 25th, 1973, he read into record an opening statement that exceeded 240 pages. In great detail, he presented his version of the Watergate affair from beginning to end; knowing fully well that G. Gordon Liddy would remain silent. As a result, Dean's version of events remained unchallenged and became the accepted version of the Watergate affair for many years.

In 1980, however, Liddy published his own best selling autobiography and uncovered a whole new set of facts. The book Will portrayed Dean as being much more involved in both the pre break-in plotting and planning and the post break-in cover-up. Liddy painted an entirely different picture then the one Dean crafted for the Senate, for the Courts and in his own 1976 book Blind Ambition.

Following the 1991 publication of Silent Coup, Liddy reissued a paperback edition of Will. The newer edition directly contradicted Dean's version of events and accused him of being a "Serial Perjurer." The result was a lawsuit filed by Dean against Liddy in 1992. This suit created a unique opportunity for Liddy to recount his story under oath – subject to the laws of perjury. Until Liddy's testimony, historians relied solely on Dean's account and subsequent book – a version which had up to this time had accumulated more credibility then Liddy's account because of the official nature of Dean's testimony. This all changed in 1996 as Liddy provided several days of deposition testimony in the Dean lawsuit. It was the very first time that Liddy's version of events had been officially given under oath.

June 2004 marks the 31st anniversary of Dean's Senate testimony. The "Nixon Era Times" is publishing an exclusive – for the first time anywhere – a portion of Liddy's testimony that challenges the heretofore-accepted Dean version. From now on both John Dean and G. Gordon Liddy's testimony will carry equal weight. The reader can judge the evidence surrounding these versions to determine who is telling the truth and who is not. The significance is clear: if Liddy is telling the truth and Dean is not, then the currently accepted version of the Watergate events can no longer stand.

The Nixon Era Times is proud to exclusively publish, for the first time anywhere, the supporting documentation which is found below.

Liddy Deposition Video (High Bandwidth Real Media File) Part 1.

Liddy Deposition Video (High Bandwidth Real Media File) Part 2.

Liddy Deposition Video (Low Bandwidth Real Media File).

Liddy Deposition Transcript (PDF File).

EDITOR'S NOTE: The two items below are documents and evidence from the Dean vs. St. Martin's Lawsuit – all exhibits are linked to every page; click on the appropriate exhibit number at the bottom of the page you are reading and the exhibit will open in a new window.

John Dean repeatedly committed perjury

John Dean lied to President Nixon

The Eye of the Storm video

Moorer's Obituary Buries His Role in the Military Spy Ring

None of the recent obituaries of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Thomas Moorer, mentioned the most salient event of his tenure: the exposure of a military spy ring within the National Security Council (NSC) staff, operating under his direction. The so-called Moorer—Radford affair was discussed matter in the Oval Office for several days. President Richard Nixon and his closest aides regarded it as a very serious affair and decided to "paper it over." Some historians have likened it to the 1960s novel Seven Days In May.

Read the complete story by Frederick J. Graboske.

Read more regarding Moorer and the Military Spy Ring.

BREAKING NEWS: Watergate's Magruder is Arrested from the Columbus Dispatch

by Len Colodny

In a July 30th PBS documentary, Jeb Magruder implicated President Nixon as being involved in the plan to break into the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel. This new twist on an old Magruder tale alleges that the orders for this event came at the highest level. Previously Magruder had only implicated former Attorney General John Mitchell. Over time, Magruder's story would continue to change. In a January 29, 1990 interview with Jeb Magruder, I was amazed to learn that Bob Haldeman called down to the meeting on March 30, 1972 in Key Biscayne where Mitchell, Magruder and Fred LaRue were in attendance. It was during this meeting that Magruder had always claimed that Mitchell had approved the Watergate break-in. When pressed as to Haldeman's knowledge and involvement, Magruder provided an entirely new version stating that Haldeman called and approved the plan. Below you can read and hear an excerpt from Magruder's interview.

Listen to the Excerpt.

Interview with Jeb Stuart Magruder [excerpt]

January 29, 1990

Len Colodny

COLODNY:

Do you have first hand knowledge that those orders that came over about the break-in came from Haldeman?

MAGRUDER:

Well, the only discussion though, you got to remember is this Key Biscayne discussion, Len.

COLODNY:

No I'm talking about Haldeman.

MAGRUDER:

No no, I know. The Key Biscayne discussion that Mitchell and I had the last memo and we were sitting in Key Biscayne, Mitchell, LaRue and I and Haldeman called and I talked to him and Mitchell talked to him and he said, "Go ahead, give Liddy the money for the break-in, for the Watergate." And that was a direct conversation with Haldeman.

COLODNY:

And Haldeman said to give the money to. . .

MAGRUDER:

To Liddy.

MAGRUDER:

Yeah.

COLODNY:

Do you think he knew what you were talking about?

MAGRUDER:

Hell, he had the memo. He had the memo that I had from Mitchell 'cause Strachan had it.

COLODNY:

Well I understand that, but that was the memo that you took to Key Biscayne.

MAGRUDER:

Right.

COLODNY:

Okay?

MAGRUDER:

But it, but that, that, that was the memo . . .

COLODNY:

But isn't possible that you guys are talking' past each other? Because that. . .

MAGRUDER:

Unlikely with Haldeman in that case.

COLODNY:

Well . . .

MAGRUDER:

That's not Bob's style.

Magruder previously testified that it was Mitchell who approved the "Gemstone" plan. After hearing Magruder's new version in January 1990, which now implicated Haldeman, I spent the next six months attempting to verify this very important new element to this event that would directly implicate President Nixon. I checked all available records for Haldeman including his phone records for that day. More importantly, I analyzed everything Magruder had said under oath, in his book, and in various interviews he had given on this subject. I called the only living witnesses: Fred LaRue and Bob Haldeman. Both claimed it never happened. There was not one shred of evidence to support Magruder's claim that Haldeman participated in that meeting. On August 7, 1990, I re-interviewed Magruder on the subject. The relevant excerpt is included below:

Listen to the Excerpt.

Interview with Jeb Stuart Magruder [excerpt]

August 7, 1990

Len Colodny

COLODNY:

I think you went down -- you had that week with Mr.--, the end of March, where Liddy was already over at Stan's and you were glad to be rid of him. And I can't, I'm so struck by the words you keep using in your book, "Who needs this nonsense." I mean, you're not a guy looking for it, Mitchell is a guy that doesn't seem like he wants it so, down to Key Biscayne you go and these bastards want an answer.

MAGRUDER:

Right.

COLODNY:

All right. So there you are, you did control some funds pre that.

MAGRUDER:

Oh, yeah.

COLODNY:

I mean -- so wha -- all right. Is it conceivable to you, reevaluating everything that's happened that, in fact, you didn't come back with a clean cut Mitchell, but you said screw - it to Dean? Hey, whatever you're going to do, do it. Tell Haldeman and whatever it is, do it. And you'll nickel and dime it.

MAGRUDER:

I can't. Len, it didn't happen that way for me. I mean, it just didn't happen. I talked on the phone to Haldeman. Mitchell talked on the phone to Haldeman.

COLODNY:

You're talking -- see, you're talking about Key Biscayne, right?

MAGRUDER:

Right.

COLODNY:

And I'm telling you, here in your own book, you say nothing about your call with Haldeman, in fact, you said, the only way you knew Haldeman had approved -- at what you were doing was you asked Strachan. That's in your own words in your own book. There's no call from Haldeman.

MAGRUDER:

Wait a minute -- I,

COLODNY:

I'm telling you, I sent it to you in that last fax where you say, before Mitchell approved it that you asked Gordon Strachan, "Are you sure this is what Haldeman wants?"

MAGRUDER:

Well, if I said it in the book that I asked Gordon Strachan on the phone, that may be true.

COLODNY:

But you didn't talk to Haldeman?

MAGRUDER:

Then I might not have talked to Haldeman; my recollection was I talked to Haldeman.

COLODNY:

The reason I say that is, it would have been stupid, on everybody's part had you, not to put that in your testimony.

MAGRUDER:

Yeah, I mean --

COLODNY:

I mean, that's a very damning thing, that isn't talking to Gordon Strachan, that's talking to the big shot himself, the man next to the President.

MAGRUDER:

Right.

COLODNY:

And, and so what I'm saying to you is --

MAGRUDER:

You sure now? I don't have my book here, but are you sure --

COLODNY:

I will --

MAGRUDER:

I [will?] say that I --

COLODNY:

I'll tell you what, what I will do, when we get off the phone is I will fax you that --

MAGRUDER:

Fax me that page.

COLODNY:

All right. Now, so, there is no --

MAGRUDER:

Anyway, what, what I'd still say is, whoever was on the other end of the line, whether it was Haldeman or Strachan, I was relating, reacting to the memo that I had with me, which was, which I perceived as pressure from both Haldeman and Colson actually, as much as anyone.

Page 282 From Magruder's Book On "Nixon's Lack Of Knowledge"

"I know nothing to indicate that Nixon was aware in advance of the plan to break into the Democratic headquarters. It is possible that Mitchell or Haldeman told him in advance, but I think it's likelier that they would not have mentioned it unless the operation had produced some results of interest to him."

LaRue calls Magruder A "Congenital Liar" from the Nixon Library
Liddy says Magruder is Lying About Watergate from NewsMax
The Nixon Library refutes Magruder's claim from the Washington Times
Watergate's Magruder is Arrested from the Columbus Dispatch

In a July 30th PBS documentary, Jeb Magruder claims that Bob Haldeman spoke to John Mitchell in a meeting in Key Biscayne on March 30, 1972. During that call, Magruder alleged that Haldeman and now Nixon approved the plan to break-in to the Watergate. When confronted in 1990 with his role in Magruder's version of the events, Bob Haldeman emphatically denied it. The transcript below is of Haldeman being confronted with Magruder's charge.

Listen to the Excerpt.

See James Rosen's story in the NY Post: "What Did Nixon Know".

Interview with H.R. (Bob) Haldeman [excerpt]

February 8, 1990

Len Colodny

COLODNY:

You did not make a phone call and approve the plan over the phone?

HALDEMAN:

Me?

COLODNY:

You?

HALDEMAN:

Oh, nobody has said I did.

COLODNY:

That's where you're wrong.

HALDEMAN:

Huh?

COLODNY:

That's where you're wrong.

HALDEMAN:

Who says I did?

COLODNY:

Jeb Magruder.

HALDEMAN:

Says I made a phone call and approved the plan?

COLODNY:

He was there when you made the call.

HALDEMAN:

Was where?

COLODNY:

With Mitchell and LaRue when you called because you got your copy of the memo.

HALDEMAN:

And called down there and, and, and approved the plan?

COLODNY:

Right. I have to ask you this question.

HALDEMAN:

Where does Magruder say that?

COLODNY:

To me.

HALDEMAN:

Oh.

COLODNY:

it's, it's brand new.

HALDEMAN:

This is a new lie of Magruder's.

With the publication of Bush At War, Bob Woodward has celebrated the 30th anniversary of his career as the military's main organ in America's national media. The Nixon Era Times reveals Woodward's true background in the Navy and his close relationships with almost every major military figure during the past three decades. In the following list of major books written by Bob Woodward, Len Colodny has identified Woodward's primary sources for each.

1. All The Presidents Men primary source: General Alexander Haig
2. The Final Days primary source: General Alexander Haig
3. Veil: The Secret Wars Of The CIA 1981-1987 primary source: Admiral Bobby Ray Inman
4. The Commanders primary sources: Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr. and General Colin Powell
5. Bush At War primary source: General Colin Powell
6. Plan of Attack primary source: Secretary of State Colin Powell

We are highlighting today the vast amount of material the Times has published regarding Woodward's hidden past military career. We also provide the names of the high-ranking people he worked for in the Navy and during his secret job as a Navy briefer in 1969-70. This job took him to the White House on a regular basis where he briefed then Colonel Alexander Haig. Read and listen to Woodward's denial and the major Pentagon players who refute that denial.

Below we give you immediate access to this large storehouse of material.

Seven Days In December:
Espionage And Treason In The White House

In a scenario that seems straight from the pages of a Hollywood screenplay, the events that played out during seven days in December 1971 revealed that the Pentagon had poised itself against the White House. The Pentagon's Chief Investigator W. Donald Stewart remarked: "When we broke [Yeoman Charles E.] Radford that night, that's where I got the Seven Days in May idea. I said Jesus Christ, here's the military actually spying on the President of the United States . . . this is a hanging offense."

Authors Len Colodny and Tom Shachtman provide the framework with which to understand these seven pivotal days while providing documentary evidence in print and streaming audio and video. These resources present the military spy ring from its discovery through its cover up and beyond — providing a comprehensive understanding of this unprecedented event in American history.

The complete Military Spy Ring feature

Nixon Era Center Recording & Transcript
Featured Source For Atlantic Monthly Article

In the April issue of Atlantic Monthly, James Rosen explores the tangled web woven as President Nixon becomes aware of a plot by the military that Nixon himself calls "a federal offense of the highest order." Nixon and the Chiefs, now available on-line, utilizes as one of its many sources an enhanced version of an Oval Office conversation between Nixon and his top aides. The recording, digitally enhanced by the Nixon Era Center at Mountain State University, was transcribed by a team of researchers which included Rosen. Both recording and transcript are available on-line through the Center. Rosen, who is best known as Fox News' White House correspondent is currently working on a biography of Nixon Attorney General John Mitchell.

Read Nixon & the Chiefs
The White House tape & transcript
More on the Military Spy Ring
James Rosen's Bio from Fox News

Liddy Defeats Wells/Dean
Watergate Debate Begins — Serious Questions Raised

BALTIMORE: JULY 4: After four hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Baltimore ruled in favor of G. Gordon Liddy in a $5 million defamation of character suit brought by former Democratic National Committee secretary, Ida "Maxie" Wells. The Liddy victory carries several implications for historical research and the Nixon Era Center explores these implications and questions for further research. In addition, an exclusive interview with G. Gordon Liddy provides Mr. Liddy's own comments regarding the decision. Among Liddy's statements, was the following: " . . . the Washington Post newspaper had and continues to have, with respect to Watergate, an agenda — rather than a genuine interest in the history of Watergate." In exploring this accusation, the Nixon Era Center has concurred with Mr. Liddy on this point and furthermore provides evidence to that effect with the Washington Post's own coverage of the Liddy victory. In addition, we have provided a streamed version of the documentary "Key to Watergate," by award winning producer Barbara Newman. This investigative piece firmly establishes that the desk of Democratic National Committee secretary Ida "Maxie" Wells was the actual target of the Watergate break-in. The Nixon Era Times is also featuring a clip from the documentary Eye of the Storm showing that on June 19, 1972 John Dean took charge of the Watergate cover-up.

Click for the complete article series

John Dean a Reliable Source????

With all of the hoopla regarding John Dean's on-line book Unmasking Deep Throat at Salon.com, it is imperative that we examine Dean's credibility. When Salon went live with Dean's book, the world became aware of his current theory that Deep Throat is one of six possible individuals: Pat Buchanan, Steve Bull, Dwight Chapin, Ray Price, Jerry Warren and Ron Ziegler.

Dean's latest announcement contradicts his April 30, 2002 statement that he narrowed down the identity of the one person who is Deep Throat. According to newspaper articles carried around the globe in April and May of this year, Dean stated: that he'd spent about 20 years going through archives and tapes. "I thought that 30 years of hiding was long enough. It's a great brainteaser, and an avocational pursuit that I finally got serious about buttoning up for the 30th anniversary of the Watergate break-in. " June 19, two days after publication, is also the anniversary of Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward's first conversation with Throat about Watergate, says Dean, who's familiar enough with the protagonist to call him by one name.

Dean said "Publication of the 35,000-word text will fulfill a longtime dream of his."

"There's one person who's headed into Richard Nixon's eternal history who outranks me as his worst enemy, and that's Deep Throat. Nixon said Dean was a traitor and Deep Throat was even worse. I wanted to visit with this person."

John Dean's statement in context from the San Francisco Chronicle

In explaining his conclusion of the identity of Deep Throat in the 1982 book Lost Honor, Dean stated that it was a process of elimination from which he whittled down from his list of a hundred or so names eventually to one person: Alexander Haig. It is interesting to note that Haig does not even make his list in 2002.

Murkying the credibility waters for Dean is his 1995 claim that highly respected author, Taylor Branch, and Blind Ambition ghostwriter fabricated entire passages of this work. Blind Ambition, Dean's historical record, is used by historians and journalists world-wide. See Dean's statement taken under oath. However, Dean's editor Alice Mayhew defends herself and Taylor Branch and suggests that Dean was lying. Hear and read Mayhew's comments..

With his changing opinions on Deep Throat and statements regarding his previous works, one needs to ask the question: " Is John Dean a Reliable Source?"

See What if Deep Throat was a Lawyer
by John Dean from Findlaw.com
Deep Throat from the Miami Herald
Multiple Tongues from the Washington Post
Deep Throat remains a deep secret from CNN

In the spirit of the free exchange of ideas, The Nixon Era Center invites readers to post their views on the subject of "Deep Throat" in our Letters to the Editor section. In addition, an open invitation is given to Bob Woodward and John Dean to express any views they wish on the subject — these will be given equal space on the main page of the Nixon Era Times.