THIS IS DEEP THROAT?
May 31, 2005 3:51 pm US/Eastern
(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) A former FBI official claims he was "Deep Throat," the long-anonymous source who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate coverup to The Washington Post, his family said Tuesday.
W. Mark Felt, 91, was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s. His claim was revealed Tuesday by Vanity Fair magazine, and family members said they believe his account is true.
"The family believes my grandfather, Mark Felt Sr., is a great American hero who went well above and beyond the call of duty at much risk to himself to save his country from a horrible injustice," a family statement read by grandson Nick Jones said. "We all sincerely hope the country will see him this way as well."
Felt, who lives with his daughter Joan in Santa Rosa and is in declining health, kept the secret even from his family until 2002, when he confided to a friend that he had been Post reporter Bob Woodward's source, the magazine said.
"My grandfather is pleased he is being honored for his role as Deep Throat with his friend Bob Woodward," Jones said.
"As he recently told my mother, `I guess people used to think Deep Throat was a criminal, but now they think he was a hero."'
The Washington Post had no immediate comment on the report.
The existence of Deep Throat, nicknamed for a popular porn movie of the early 1970s, was revealed in Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling book "All the President's Men." In the hit movie based on the book, Deep Throat was played by Hal Holbrook.
But his identity of the source whose disclosures helped bring down the Nixon presidency remained a mystery.
Among those named over the years as Deep Throat were Assistant Attorney General Henry Peterson, deputy White House counsel Fred Fielding, and even ABC newswoman Diane Sawyer, who then worked in the White House press office. Ron Ziegler, Nixon's press secretary, White House aide Steven Bull, speechwriters Ray Price and Pat Buchanan, and John Dean, the White House counsel who warned Nixon of "a cancer growing on the presidency," also were considered candidates.
And some theorized Deep Throat wasn't a single source at all but a composite figure.
In 1999, Felt denied he was the man.
"I would have done better," Felt told The Hartford Courant. "I would have been more effective. Deep Throat didn't exactly bring the White House crashing down, did he?"
In 2003, Woodward and Bernstein reached an agreement to keep their Watergate papers at the University of Texas at Austin.
At the time, the pair said documents naming "Deep Throat" would be kept secure at an undisclosed location in Washington until the source's death.
MSNBC quoted Bernstein as saying Tuesday that he and Woodward would stick to their pledge not to say anything until Deep Throat dies.
In the family statement, Jones said his grandfather believes "the men and women of the FBI who have put their lives at risk for more than 50 years to keep this country safe deserve recognition more than he."
"On behalf of the Felt family we hope you see him as worthy of honor and respect as we do," Jones said.
Information about the original Deep Throat and the Vanity Fair story
THE BASICS
-- "Deep Throat" was a main source behind the Watergate story.
-- He helped guide Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they uncovered the Watergate scandal.
-- The name "Deep Throat" comes from a popular porn movie from the time.
-- In their book, "All the President's Men," Woodward and Bernstein say Deep Throat met with Woodward in parking garages and that the two men used signals to meet.
-- Three people undeniably know Deep Throat's identity: Woodward, Bernstein and their Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee.
THE PROFILE
-- Bob Woodward gives a few clues about Deep Throat in "All the President's Men."
-- He painted Deep Throat as:
-- an intellectual
-- a heavy drinker
-- a combat veteran
-- a chain smoker
VANITY FAIR STORY
-- Vanity Fair is publishing a story identifying W. Mark Felt as Deep Throat.
-- Felt was the second-highest FBI official during Watergate (see below).
-- The story is written by attorney John D. O'Connor.
-- The story quotes Felt as telling O'Connor, "I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat."
-- The article says Felt told his son he wasn't proud of being Deep Throat and that people shouldn't leak information.
W. MARK FELT
-- Is now 91 years old.
-- He lives in Santa Rosa, California with his daughter.
-- He was the second-in-command at the FBI during Watergate.
-- Felt was indicted in 1978 for approving some other break-ins during the Nixon administration.
-- President Reagan later pardoned him for the 1978 indictment.
-- In 1999, Felt told the Hartford Courant he was not Deep Throat.
-- Felt said he would have done a better job and been more effective than Deep Throat.
OTHER SUSPECTS
-- 1. L. Patrick Gray - acting FBI director in 1972. A CBS documentary once called him the prime suspect, saying Gray lived just four blocks from Bob Woodward during the Watergate investigation. Gray resigned from the bureau in 1973. He was indicted in 1978 for approving other break-ins during his tenure, but charges were dropped.
-- 2. Henry Peterson - assistant attorney general.
-- 3. Fred Felding - deputy White House counsel.
-- 4. Diane Sawyer - the ABC anchor worked in the White House press office at the time.
-- 5. Henry Kissinger -- Nixon national security adviser/secretary of state. Kissinger was in close proximity to Nixon and was known for his fondness of the media.
-- 6. Charles Bates - FBI assistant director in charge investigation. Reportedly protested White House interference in the FBI Watergate investigation, along with Felt with Robert Kunkel.
-- 7. Cord Meyer - aide to CIA director. He was fired in 1973 for refusing to help stall the FBI Watergate investigation. Like Woodward, he went to Yale
http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_151121848.html
Author