On July 9, 1970, John W. Dean III became Counsel to President Richard Nixon. The position had been vacant following John D. Ehrlichman's departure to become Nixon's chief domestic adviser. In his role as Counsel to the President of the United States, Dean's duties included presidential appointments and liaison duties with various agencies and interagency committees, including those in the intelligence community.

Following the break-in on June 17, 1972 at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, Dean became the chief handler--or "desk officer," in Dean's own words--of the issue for the Nixon White House. Dean was eventually implicated in the cover-up scandal and began cooperating with federal investigators during March 1973 while continuing his work as counsel until he was fired on April 30, 1973.

Dean testified in hearings before the United States Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activites--also known as the Ervin Committee--during the period of June 25-29, 1973. On October 19, 1973, John Dean pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He was given a sentence of 1 to 4 years by Judge John J. Sirica on August 2, 1974.

He began his sentence under the supervision of the U.S. Marshalls at Fort Holabird, Maryland on September 3, 1974. During part of his time in custody, October 16-25, 1974, Dean testified in the Watergate cover-up trial, U.S. v. Mitchell. For his cooperation, Dean's sentence was reduced to time served and he was released after four months on January 8, 1975.

Barred from practicing law due to his conspiracy conviction, Dean worked as an investment banker, lecturer, and author. He has written numerous memoirs and books, many with a focus on his time in the Nixon administration. His role in Watergate continues to be studied as additional Watergate-related records become available to the public.

The list of conversations below is complete as of this time of writing. When additional conversations are declassifed and released by the National Archives, they will be added to this collection.

For a key to participants' names, click here (176k).