A pivotal figure in the Watergate investigation, John W. Dean, was dragged back into the limelight on Sunday with President Trump’s defense of the current White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II.

On Saturday, The New York Times published an article online about Mr. McGahn’s extensive cooperation with the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. The Times also reported that Mr. McGahn told people he was determined to avoid the fate of Mr. Dean, former White House counsel for President Richard Nixon.

Mr. Trump took issue with the story on Twitter, saying on Sunday morning that Mr. McGahn cooperated with his blessing. Further, he attacked The Times over the article, saying the news organization had falsely implied Mr. McGahn was a “John Dean type ‘RAT.’” (The Times publicly stated it stood behind the reporting.)

On Sunday, The Times reported that Mr. Trump, who is said to be obsessed with the role Mr. Dean played as an informant during Watergate, was jolted by the idea that he did not know what Mr. McGahn had shared with the special counsel’s investigators.