By Roger Stone

This past Saturday I confronted former Nixon Counsel John Dean about his true role in Watergate. Dean was a featured speaker at the Texas Book Festival, an event dominated by the Texas establishment. As you can see I listed an substantial amount of evidence and testimony that Dean himself ordered the Watergate break-in. The Daily Caller called it a “fiery exchange.”

Incredibly despite my detailed question, Chris Vognar of the Dallas Morning News reported that, “The second questioner ……. demanded that Dean admit that he orchestrated the Watergate break-in. This was funny for a couple of reasons. First, there is less than no evidence that Dean did such a thing. Second, if by some chance he did, why would he decide to tell a crowd at the Texas Book Festival? It’s a great festival and all, but come on. The questioner seemed to think if he raised his voice loud enough he’d deliver the scoop of the century.”

Less than no evidence? I have contacted Mr. Vognar seeking some correction of his on-line story but he has neither the manners nor the journalistic integrity to respond. As for raising my voice, Mr. Vognar failed to note that festival organizers turned off my microphone.

Here is my full statement. You decide if there is less than no evidence.

In your new book the Nixon Defense you largely omit your own role in Watergate saying those who want to understand what you did should read your book Blind Ambition. Yet when confronted under oath about discrepancies between your sworn testimony and that book you said you didn’t write Blind Ambition blaming it on ghost writer Taylor Branch and later on your editor Alice Mayhew both of whom denied it. In fact you said you never even read Blind Ambition before it was published.

You claim your book “the Nixon Defense” is based on new transcripts never before released to the public. In view of that fact that the New York Times reported your “friend” Professor Stanley Kutler was caught red handed changing the order and combining transcripts of Nixon’s tapes to improve the way you look, why won’t you make your secret transcripts available to an independent third party to verify their accuracy? You remember Kutler. You wrote the introduction to his book.

You admit that you learned that transcripts of the Watergate bugs were being sent to White House Aide Gordon Strachan on June 19, 1972 yet you told Nixon that that there was no White House Connection to Watergate until March 17 1973. Why did you lie to Nixon for nine months?

You say your book The Nixon Defense is the definitive account of Watergate yet you either truncate or omit entirely your taped conversations with Nixon of March 13, 16, 17 and 20 1973 in which you can clearly be heard urging Nixon to commit crimes. What kind of lawyer urges his client to break the law? What did you mean when you told Nixon “we will win” at the end of the March 16th 1973 conversation?

How did you fail to mention in the Nixon Defense that it was you who destroyed the notebook found in Watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt’s White House safe?

Jack Caufield and Anthony Ulascewicz, both decorated ex-New York Cops who worked for you in the White House say in their published memoirs that you directed them to case out the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate six weeks before the break-in thus proving you had prior knowledge. Both men confirmed again that you ordered the DNC cased out before the break-in in taped interviews now at an archive at Texas A&M. (Less than no evidence, Mr. Why should we believe you and not them?

Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist Clark Mollenhoff confirmed that Watergate burglar James McCord testified to the Watergate grand jury and the Senate Watergate Committee that you had prior knowledge of the Watergate break in. Why should we believe you and not him?

Jeb Stuart Magruder testified under oath in a deposition that you were among those pushing the Gemstone break-in plan and that you had prior knowledge of the break-in. Why should we believe you and not him?

You had access to the FBI’s investigation of the break-in. Why did you fail to tell the President that after repeated searches, the FBI was unable to find a working bug inside the DNC? Didn’t you think it was relevant?

How did your forget to mention that you ordered your investigator John Caufield to dangle Executive Clemency to Watergate Burglar James McCord?

How much money did you pay the seventh Watergate burglar Lou Russell to hide out in Silver Spring, Maryland after the Watergate arrests? Why do amounts traced to his bank account coincide with dates and amounts that you took from White House political funds?

Why have you falsely denied your connection to mob connected high priced call girl and Madam Heidi Rikan who’s call girl ring was supplying prostitutes to the Democratic National Committee? Why is you name and private phone numbers in her little black book? Didn’t you really orchestrate the Watergate break-in to secure records of these connections as well as your own wife’s past ? Why was Watergate burglar Eugenio Martinez arrested with the key to the desk drawer where a portfolio of photos of the available call girls were kept?

Why are parts of your wife’s testimony and in exhibits in your lawsuit unsuccessful lawsuit against Saint Martin’s Press – a suit that was withdrawn-not settled, sealed?

President Nixon had no prior knowledge of the break-in. So who were you protecting when you orchestrated the cover-up – the President or yourself?