Silent Coup

Silent Coup is a 1992 book written by Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin in which they contend that former Nixon White House counsel John Dean orchestrated the 1972 Watergate burglary at Democratic National Committee headquarters to protect his future wife, Maureen Biner, by removing information linking her to a call-girl ring that worked for the DNC. The authors also argued that Alexander Haig was not Deep Throat but was a key source for Bob Woodward, who as a Naval officer had briefed Haig at the White House in 1969 and 1970.

Overview
Silent Coup was described as one of "the most boring conspiracy books ever written" filled with "wild charges and vilifications" by The Washington Post. The New York Times Book Review attacked Silent Coup's argument that Nixon was "an innocent victim" and said it showed "a stunning ignorance of how the Government under Mr. Nixon operated." However, it also received positive book reviews, including one from former President Gerald R. Ford.

Lawsuits
In 1992 John and Maureen Dean sued G. Gordon Liddy for libel. The case was dismissed without prejudice and was later refiled. In 2001 a federal judge declared a mistrial and dismissed the $5.1 million defamation lawsuit.

The Deans also sued St. Martin's Press, publisher of Silent Coup. St. Martin's settled the case for an undisclosed sum.

In 2001, former DNC secretary Ida Wells unsuccessfully sued Liddy in US District Court in Baltimore on the same basis as Dean had, the court declared a mistrial.