Mark Felt appears on CBS' "Face the Nation" in Washington on Aug. 30, 1976. Felt was the source identified for years only as "Deep Throat" in the Washington Post's reporting on the Watergate scandal. (AP / August 30, 1976)
by Frank James
We're all learning this morning of the death, at age 95, of W. Mark Felt, who as a senior Federal Bureau of Investigation official, served as the shadowy source known as "Deep Throat" to reporter Bob Woodward in his investigation of the Watergate scandal that led to President Nixon's resignation.
As Johanna Neuman writes in a Los Angeles Times piece:
A controversial figure who was later convicted of authorizing illegal activities in pursuit of members of the radical Weather Underground, Felt died of heart failure Thursday at his home in Santa Rosa, Calif., his grandson Rob Jones said.
Felt was deputy associate director of the FBI in 1972 when he began supplying information to Bob Woodward, who with Carl Bernstein made up The Post's investigative duo who doggedly pursued the story of the Watergate break-in and a conspiracy that led directly to President Richard M. Nixon, who ultimately resigned.
The reporters continued to keep Felt's name a secret, but in 2005, at the age of 91, Felt told Vanity Fair magazine, "I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat."
His disclosure ended a mystery that had intrigued Washington insiders and journalists for three decades and provided the grist for many hotly debated newspaper and magazine articles.
While Felt's name was raised as a suspect on several occasions, he always managed to deflect attention, usually by saying that if had been Deep Throat he would have done a better job of exposing the wrongdoings at the White House.
His disclosure in a Vanity Fair article by his family's lawyer, John D. O'Connor, provoked a national debate: Was he a hero who should be lauded for sparing the country the strain of further high crimes and misdemeanors by the Nixon White House? Or was he a traitor who betrayed not only his president but his oath of office by disclosing grand jury information and the contents of FBI files?
For the most part, reaction split along political lines.
"There's nothing heroic about breaking faith with your people," said commentator Patrick J. Buchanan, a former Nixon speechwriter. Felt "disgraced himself and dishonored everything an FBI agent should stand for."
But Richard Ben-Veniste, a key lawyer in the Watergate prosecution team, said Felt's role showed that "the importance of whistle-blowers shouldn't be underestimated, particularly when there are excesses by the executive branch of government -- which in this case went all the way to the executive office."
Comments
It is sad that in the year 2008, Nixons style of politics seems tame by todays standards.
Posted by: bill r. | December 19, 2008 7:55 AM
When it comes to Ford pardoning Nixon, I've come full circle. At the time Ford pardoned Nixon I thought Nixon was getting prefferential treatment the rest of us would never get. Then many years later I came around to agreeing with Ford that trying Nixon would have been corrosive to the country to the point that it was better for America to not go through it because after all Nixon had to live with the shame of being the only president to ever resign office.
Now I realize that impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors is meaningless and without deterrent effect to presidents as a result of Ford's pardon. Nixon should have went to prison.
Posted by: Doug Zook | December 19, 2008 8:13 AM
bill r,
I disagree. Nothing I've seen since Nixon, exceeds Nixon. Maybe equals but doesn't exceed.
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Doug Zook,
I agree. Impeachment seems to have been cheapened. Furthermore, Tricky Dick not only avoided living with the shame, but he even had a second career as something of an "Elder Statesman"... YIKES!
Posted by: MJ | December 19, 2008 9:12 AM
MJ,
The most bizarre thing about Nixon & Watergate is that it was so absolutely unnecessary. Nixon had the '72 election in the bag from the get go. No poll ever had McGovern even close.
Posted by: Doug Zook | December 19, 2008 9:33 AM
the good news is he's been replaced with JJJ.
Posted by: Bessie | December 19, 2008 9:51 AM
With Mr. Felt's passing, ends one of our nation's greatest civic lessons, ever given, for all of us to learn. The Revolutionary and Civil Wars were greater, and certainly, unfortunately, more bloody !
Mr. Nixon was more foolish, than he was tragic and his mistakes are those of a foolish and vain man. His brand of politics was adopted by the Republican Party and has steadily damaged that Party, ever since. They are now forced to reject that strategy and, at least, for the moment, consider all of the electorate.
The culmination of Nixon's politics, gave us, President Bush, twice, and look across our landscape at the disastrous 8 years of Republican " doublespeak ". Now, cast your eyes across the waters, at a destroyed and dispirited nation, Iraq. It is that bad over there, a reporter threw his shoes at the " conquering hero " !! It may sound and look funny to us, here in America, but I guaranty, they aren't laughing in Iraq !! As President Bush's term ends, America, under a Republican watch, is in shambles and now, President-elect Obama will be expected to perform miracles. Even though, there are those, who mockingly call him, a saviour, he is far from that and will need all of our actual help. That is, if we really love America and are not blinded by an ideology.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | December 19, 2008 10:14 AM
Bessie please explain this comment... I don't see what the similarities are between Jesse Jr & Nixon.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | December 19, 2008 10:38 AM
lochnessmonster,
Just in case bessie's out n' about, I think the inference was between Jesse & Felt. The story/rumor is that JJJ has been feeding info to the Fed. on the sly.
Posted by: Doug Zook | December 19, 2008 11:45 AM
* * * * *
Posted by: Doug Zook | December 19, 2008 8:13 AM
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I can’t bring myself to agree that impeachment is meaningless. Impeachment is not intended to be punishment. Its only function is to protect us from bad governors. It does so by removing them from office and/or preventing them from holding office again. That is all it can do according to the Constitution. Deterrence comes only from punishment after a criminal conviction.
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Ford’s pardon of Nixon didn’t cheapen the impeachment process. Nixon escaped impeachment by resigning, and that was before Ford could help him. His resignation, however, occurred only because the Courts had overruled his assertion of executive privilege with regard to certain materials. With no privilege to hide behind, he knew he was going to get convicted after impeached and then criminally prosecuted. If anything, it was Ford’s pardon that cheapened the criminal justice system by letting Nixon get away. Then again, many felt that ship had already sailed.
Posted by: John W. | December 21, 2008 3:04 AM
There is something to be said in favor of "turf battles" among the various bureaucracies:
Felt went after Nixon not because he though Nixon was intrinsically bad or at least author/enabler of bad deeds;
He went after Nixon because Nixon had gone after the FBI, and this was a kind of defensive move to clip Nixon's wings.
Irony is, once one of these scandals gets going, it can very easily catch the whole building on fire.
Did Felt know he was really playing with fire and forsee the consequences?
I doubt it. Just as I doubt he ever felt he would be called to account for the Weatherunderground offenses he himself committed.
Anyway, perhaps turf battles sometimes have (good) unintended consequences.
Posted by: ornery | December 21, 2008 1:02 PM