John Dean, a key figure in the Watergate scandal, said he'd 'pay to handle' Trump's deposition, which he thinks could 'sell tickets'

• Donald Trump said he'd voluntarily give a deposition in a lawsuit he filed against tech companies.
• John Dean, a key Watergate figure, told CNN he'd pay to do that deposition.
• Dean said he expected Trump to lie but would press him on what he was doing during the Capitol riot.

The key Watergate figure John Dean told CNN he'd pay to handle the deposition that former President Donald Trump said he wanted to do voluntarily in a lawsuit he filed against Twitter, Facebook, and Google.

"I would pay to do that deposition," Dean told CNN's Jim Acosta on Sunday. "I think a lot of attorneys would."

In an interview with the former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly earlier this week, Trump said he wanted to do a deposition in the lawsuit against the companies.

"I mean, I look forward to it, actually," Trump said. "I love talking about the election fraud."

Social-media sites like Twitter and Facebook barred Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot, arguing that he risked provoking violence.

During the riot, supporters of Trump breached the Capitol and clashed with law enforcement.

Read more: Where is Trump's White House staff now? We created a searchable database of more than 327 top staffers to show where they all landed.

Dean, who worked as President Richard Nixon's White House counsel and later testified about the Watergate scandal in front of Congress, said Trump set a legal trap for himself by saying that.

"He's always said 'I'm willing to give a deposition,' just like he's always said 'I'm going to turn over my tax returns when the audit's finished.' He'll have an excuse for this," Dean told CNN.

Dean said Big Tech shouldn't try to dismiss the case but instead should "engage" with Trump because "he's going to lose on the merits."

Dean said he'd go straight into asking about what Trump was talking about and knew during the Capitol riot.

"He'll lie," Dean told CNN. "He's a very good liar, we know that, but I think if you start drawing in some of the papers and facts that are now appearing, he's going to have more trouble with it."

Dean added that the deposition could warrant selling tickets.

"It could be a dandy deposition," he said. "I think you could sell tickets for it and do quite well."