Word: neale
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Deftly mocking the Nixon men's language, Neal was at his best in describing how Nixon, Ehrlichman, Haldeman and Mitchell all praised John Dean when the cover-up seemed to be working and then abruptly turned against him. Up until April 8,1973, Neal declared, "it is good John Dean, good John Dean, fine John Dean. What a good job you done, John Dean ... Suddenly good John Dean becomes mean John Dean. What metamorphosis changes good John Dean into mean John Dean...
...Neal noted it was on April 8 that Dean began talking to prosecutors. When Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Nixon first heard about it, they thought, said Neal, that Dean was "going with a modified limited hang-out." So Haldeman warned: "John, you shouldn't do that, once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it is hard to get it back in." But on April 15 they learned that "Dean has decided to let it all hang out." Next day Dean was asked by Nixon to resign...
Continued Neal: "He was not asked to resign when he tells the President there has been perjury, subornation of perjury, offers of clemency and a half million dollars paid to buy silence on March 21, but three weeks later when he tells the President of the United States, Mr. President, I am telling prosecutors all, the next day he is asked for his resignation." Soon, according to Neal, everyone was saying, "John Dean did this, John Dean did that, John Dean made me do that, I was just acting on John Dean's instructions...
Jars of Jam. Neal was so effective that some spectators laughed in appreciation of his sallies, and defense attorneys objected during a jury recess to what they called the "aspect of French Revolution" in the courtroom. Neal's rhythm remained unbroken. He summed up: "But, of course, everybody is blaming John Dean. But Mitchell also blamed Colson. Ehrlichman blames the President. Mardian blames the White House. And Mr. Haldeman really can't recall enough to blame anybody...
...rare tribute to a victorious opponent, Attorney John J. Wilson called James Neal, the chief U.S. prosecutor in the Watergate conspiracy case, "the greatest lawyer I ever saw in a courtroom." Wilson's client, H.R. Haldeman, and three of the four other Watergate defendants were convicted at least in part because of Neal's awesome command of the facts in the case and his ability to summarize complex events in a persuasive Tennessee drawl. After his courtroom triumph, Neal, 45, was eager to return to his private practice: "I'm going to catch the first flight back...