John Dean and Watergate Trivia Quiz

Answer: Justice Department

John Dean worked in the U.S. Justice Department from 1969 to 1970, serving as Associate Deputy at the office of the Attorney General, John Mitchell. In May 1970, Dean was contacted by White House aide Bud Krogh to become a successor to John Ehrlichman as White House counsel.

Initially, Dean had mixed thoughts about taking the White House position, but he eventually accepted the job; he began to work for the White House in July 1970.

Answer: H.R. Haldeman

H.R. "Bob" Haldeman was the chief of staff in the Nixon Administration and the second most powerful man in the White House. Haldeman hired John Dean as White counsel in July 1970 to replace John Ehrlichman, who had been promoted to Chief Domestic Advisor. Richard Kleindienst was the U.S. Deputy Attorney General in July 1970; Charles Colson and Donald Segretti were White House aides involved with White House political campaign activity.

Answer: in the Philippines

John Dean was taking a vacation in the Philippines when the Watergate burglary occurred. After Dean had returned to the U.S. on June 19, 1972, he was informed by his assistant Fred Fielding of the break-in. Dean spent most of his first day back in the White House attempting to assess the damage which the break-in had caused. John Mitchell and Jeb Magruder, alleged architects of the break-in, were at a Nixon campaign function in Los Angeles on June 17; President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman were in Key Biscayne when news of the Watergate arrests was announced.

Answer: Dean supervised the payment of "hush money" to Watergate defendants.

John Dean played a major role in the White House's attempt to cover up the Watergate burglary. One of Dean's key functions during the summer of 1972 was the implementation and supervision of "hush money" payments to Watergate defendants. Dean used such men as Herbert Kalmbach, President Nixon's personal attorney, and White House aide Fred LaRue to carry out the payments. From June to August 1972, Dean had minimal contact with President Nixon; it wasn't until September 15, 1972, that Nixon called Dean into the Oval Office to offer congratulations on Dean's skillful handling of the Watergate cover-up.

Answer: the FBI

Louis Patrick Gray III was the acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the summer of 1972. John Dean and Gray met secretly on several occasions to exchange information and documents. Gray kept Dean apprised of the FBI's progress in the Watergate burglary case.

In 1973, during Gray's Senate confirmation hearing to become permanent head of the FBI, he revealed that John Dean was heavily involved in the Watergate cover-up. On April 27, 1973, Gray resigned from the FBI.

Answer: E. Howard Hunt

E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA employee, worked in the White House Special Investigations Unit, the "Plumbers." Documents found on the Watergate burglars linked Hunt to the break-in, and he was subsequently arrested. Hunt agreed to remain silent before his upcoming trial, but at a high cost. Hunt demanded huge sums of cash or he would reveal his involvement in "seamy" White House activity prior to the Watergate break-in, such as the illegal break-in at Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office.

In early 1973, Hunt pressured John Dean to come up with cash- and quickly. Dean recognized this pressure as blackmail and even asked President Nixon for help. Because of Hunt's threats, Dean began to weaken, and the White House cover-up eventually crumbled.

Answer: President Nixon fired him.

On April 30, 1973, President Nixon made a television speech in which he announced the resignation of Haldeman and Ehrlichman, "two of the finest public servants" he had ever worked with. The president, in a terse statement, also stated that John Dean had resigned. Throughout the month of April 1973, Dean had broken ranks with the White House; he had started to "spill the beans" to federal prosecutors about his involvement in the Watergate scandal.

Answer: President Nixon had compiled an enemy's list.

John Dean testified for a week before the Senate Watergate Committee, and the city of Washington virtually came to a halt as Dean alleged that President Nixon and several of the president's top aides knew about the Watergate cover-up. Under questioning from Connecticut Senator Lowell Weicker, Dean revealed that President Nixon had ordered certain "enemies" of the administration be put on special lists for "future consideration." These enemies included social activists, movie stars, politicians, musicians and others who were openly opposed to Nixon.

When the lists were made public, these people became instant status symbols.

Answer: obstruction of justice

John Dean pled guilty to obstruction of justice charges relating to his involvement in the Watergate coverup. In August 1974, Judge John Sirica sentenced Dean to a prison term of between one and four years. Dean spent most of his prison time as a key U.S. government witness; he testified against former colleagues H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Robert Mardian. Dean's sentence was eventually reduced to four months by Judge Sirica as a result of Dean's cooperation with federal prosecutors.

Answer: "Blind Ambition"

John Dean's book "Blind Ambition" was published in 1976. In the book, Dean wrote about the tumultuous three years which he had spent in the White House. Dean admitted his guilt about his involvement in the Watergate cover-up scandal. However, some critics charged that Dean's book was self-serving and ghost written.

In 1979, "Blind Ambition" was turned into a television mini-series starring Martin Sheen (Dean) and Rip Torn (Nixon). "Breach of Faith" is a book written by Theodore White about the Watergate scandal.