G. Gordon Liddy, on trial for defamation of Ida Wells, a Democratic National Committee secretary, advances the theory that John Dean masterminded the Watergate break-in to retrieve photos of his future wife Maureen. He claims her pictures were part of a packet of photos of call-girls used to set up liaisons in nearby apartments for visitors to the DNC, and were kept in Wells’ desk. Liddy claims he committed the break-in under the misconception that it was, as has been commonly understood, about bugging the DNC in support of the Nixon re-election effort, and that he only found out the true rationale for the break-in years later when he was told about the photographs by “a disbarred attorney and convicted felon with a history of mental illness,” Phillip Mackin Bailley.

‘ “I know he hates my husband but I know on some level he’s
trying to lessen his culpability and stupidity for the Watergate
break-in and to get even with my husband for exposing all of
the criminal acts in the Nixon White House,” (Maureen) Dean said
in what she described as her first interview on the subject in
10 years.’ Boston Globe

This is a bizarre theory from one of the strangest characters on the American scene, but is it really any more implausible than the commonly accepted theory of the break-in? Coverage of this defamation trial is the first I’ve heard of this zaniness but he and Dean have apparently been battling it out for awhile now. Here’s a Google search on “Liddy AND ‘Maureen Dean’ AND call-girl”.