FBI Official Was 'Deep Throat' Post Confirms W Mark Felt Aided Its Reporting on Watergate

Home , Archibald Cox, Deep Throat (Watergate), Mark Felt, The FBI Pyramid

By DAVID VON NUMB Washington Post Staff Writer

Deep Throat, the secret source whose insider guidance was vital to The Washington Post's ground- breaking coverage of the Watergate scandal, was a pillar of the FBI named W. Mark Felt, The Post confirmed yesterday. As the number two man at the bureau during a period when the FBI was battling for its independence against the administration of Presi- dent Richard M. Nixon, Felt had the means and the motive to help un- cover the web of internal spies, secret surveillance, dirty tricks and coverups that led to Nixon's unprec- edented resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, and to prison sentences for some of Nixon's highest-ranking aides. Felt's identity as Washington's most celebrated secret source has been an object of speculation for more than 30 years until yesterday, when his role was revealed in a Van- ity Fair magazine article. Even Nix- on was caught on tape speculating that Felt was an informer" as early as February 1973, at a time when Deep Throat was actively supplying confirmation and context for some of The Post's most explosive Wa- tergate stories. But Felt's repeated denials, and IT Bef MAR= — ASSOCIATED MESS W. Mark Felt, with daughter Joan, broke a three-decade silence about his involvement in bringing down the Nixon administration. See DEEP THROAT, A6, Cot 1 DEEP THROAT. From AI the stalwart silence of the reporters he aided — Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein — kept the cloak of mystery drawn up around Deep Throat. In place of a name and a face, the source acquired a magic and a mys- tique. He was the romantic truth teller The secrecy held through some half hidden in the shadows of a amazing twists of fate. In 1980, Felt Washington parking garage. This and another senior FBI veteran were image was rendered indelibly by the convicted of conspiring a decade dramatic best-selling memoir Wood- earlier to violate the civil rights of ward and Bernstein published in domestic dissidents in the Weather 1974, "All the President's Men." Underground movement; President Two years later, in a blockbuster Ronald Reagan then issued a par- movie by the same name, actor Hal don. Holbrook breathed whispery urgen- Yesterday, however, Vanity Fair cy into the suspenseful late-night en- released an article by a California counters between Woodward and lawyer named John D. O'Connor, his source. who was enlisted by Felt's daughter, For many Americans under 40, Joan Felt, to help coax her father this is the most potent distillation of into admitting his role in history. the complicated brew that was Wa- O'Connor's article quoted a number tergate. Students who lack the time of Felt's friends and family members or interest to follow each element of saying that he had shared his secret the scandal's slow unraveling quick- with them, and went on to say that ly digest the vivid relationship of a Felt told the author — under the nervous insider guiding a relentless shield of attorney-client privilege - reporter. As dramatic as those por- "I'm the guy they used to call Deep trayals were, they hewed closely to Throat." the truth, Woodward said. O'Connor wrote that he was re- "Mark Felt at that time was a leased from his obligation of secrecy dashing gray-haired figure," Wood- by Mark and Joan Felt. He also re- ward said, and his experience as an ported that the Felt family was not anti-Nazi spy hunter early in his ca- paid for cooperating with the Vanity reer at the FBI had endowed him Fair article, though they do hope the with a whole bag of counterintelli- sive intervention of a umainum. revelation will "make at least enough gence tricks. Felt dreamed up the U.S. Supreme Court. money to pay some bills," as Joan signal by which Woodward would "Felt's role in all this can be over- Felt is quoted in the magazine. summon him to a meeting (a flower- stated," said Bernstein, who went Woodward and others at The Post pot innocuously displayed on the re- on after Watergate to a career of were caught by surprise. Woodward porter's balcony) and also hatched books, magazine articles and televi- had known that Felt's family was the countersign by which Felt could sion investigations. "When we considering going public; in fact, contact Woodward (a clock face ink- wrote the book, we didn't think his they had talked repeatedly with ed on Page 20 of Woodward's daily role would achieve such mythical di- Woodward about the possibility of New York Times). mensions. You see there that Felt/ jointly writing a book to reveal the "He knew he was taking a monu- Deep Throat largely confirmed in- news. An e-mail from Felt's family mental risk," said Woodward, now formation we had already gotten over the Memorial Day weekend an assistant managing editor of The from other sources." continued to hold out the idea that Post whose catalogue of prizewin- Felt, 91 and enfeebled by a stroke, Woodward and Felt would disclose ning and best-selling work has been lives in California, his memory the secret together. built on the sort of confidential rela- dimmed. For decades. Woodward, Throughout those contacts, tionships be maintained with Deep Bernstein and Benjamin C. Bradlee, Woodward was dogged by reserva- Throat. Felt also knew, by firsthand The Post's executive editor during tions about Felt's mental condition, experience, that Nixon's adminis- the Watergate coverage, maintained he said yesterday, wondering wheth- tration was willing to use wiretaps that they would not disclose his er the source was competent to undo and break-ins to hunt down leakers, identity until after his death. "We've the long-standing pledge of ano- so no amount of caution was too kept that secret because we keep our nymity that bound them. great. word." Woodward said. Caught flatfooted by Vanity Fair's Indeed, the mystery came to ob- scure the many other elements that went into the Watergate story - other sources, other investigators, high-impact Senate hearings, a shocking trove of secret White House tape recordings, and the deci- announcement, Woodward and ing class at the University of Illinois Bernstein initially issued a terse compiled what professor Bill Gaines statement reaffirming their promise believed to be a definitive case that to keep the secret until Deep Throat Deep Throat was the deputy White died. But the Vanity Fair article was House counsel, Fred F. Fielding. enough to bring the current exec- Those findings were publicized utive editor of. The Post, Leonard around the world. Perhaps the most Downie Jr., back to Washington insightful argument was mustered in from a corporate retreat in Mary- the Atlantic magazine by journalist land. After consulting with Wood- Jim Mann in 1992. "He could well ward. Bernstein and Bradlee, "the have been Mark Felt," Mann wrote newspaper decided that the newspa- cautiously in a piece that laid bare per had been released from its obli- the institutional reasons why FBI gation by Mark Felt's family and by loyalists came to fear and resent Nix- his lawyer, through the publication on's presidency. of this piece," Downie said. "They Felt fended off the searchlight revealed him as the source. We con- each time it swung in his direction. firmed it." "I never leaked information to Downie praised Woodward's will- Woodward and Bernstein or to any- ingness to abide by his pledge even one else!" he wrote in his 1979 mem- while the Felt family was exploring oir. "The FBI Pyramid." "what many people would view as a scoop." "This demonstrates clearly the In an article being prepared for lengths to which Bob and this news- Thursday's Washington Post, Wood- paper will go to protect sources and ward will detail the "accident of his- a confidential relationship," Downie tory" that connected a young report- said. er fresh from the suburbs to a man Bradlee said he was amazed that whom many FBI agents considered the mystery had lasted through the the best choice to succeed the leg- decades. "What would you think the endary J. Edgar Hoover as director odds were that this town could keep of the bureau. Woodward and Felt that secret for this long?" he said. met by chance, he said, but their It wasn't for lack of sleuths. "Who friendship quickly became a source was Deep Throat?" has been among of information for the reporter. On the most compelling questions of May 15, 1972, presidential candi- modern American history, dissected date George Wallace was shot by a in books, in films, on the Internet, would-be assassin, Arthur H. Brem- and in thousands of articles and hun- er, on a parking lot in Laurel. dreds of television programs. Virtu- Eager to break news on a local sto- ally every figure in the Nixon admin- ry of major national importance, istration, from Henry A. Kissinger Woodward contacted Felt for in- to Patrick J. Buchanan to Diane formation on the FBI's investiga- Sawyer, has been nominated for the tion. Unlike many in the bureau, Felt role — sometimes by other Nixon was known to talk with reporters, veterans. Former White House coun- and he provided Woodward with a sel John W. Dean III, who tried to series of front-page nuggets - cover up Watergate on Nixon's in- though not with his name attached. structions and then gave crucial tes- By coincidence, the Bremer case timony about the scheme, was a fre- came two weeks after the death of quent contributor to the Hoover, an epochal moment for the speculation, as was another Nixon FBI, which had never been led by lawyer, Leonard Garment. anyone else. Felt wanted the job, he Recently, an investigative-report- later wrote. He also wanted his be- Washington Mystery Solved After Decades

loved bureau to maintain its in- phone wiretap. Felt had been sum- (D-S.D,), was having no luck mak- dependence. And so his motivations moned at least once to the White ing a campaign issue of Watergate. were complex when Woodward House, before Watergate, to discuss In the wee hours in a Washington called a month later seeking clues to the use of telephone surveillance area garage, Felt laid out a much the strange case of a burglary at the against administration leakers. He broader view of the scandal than Democratic National Committee soon concluded that his own phones Woodward and Bernstein had yet headquarters in the Watergate com- — and the reporters' — might be imagined. plex. Again, the young reporter had tapped. That's when he developed From the book: Woodward "ar- a local angle on a national story, be- the system of coded signals and rived at the garage at 1:30 a.m. cause the five alleged burglars were parking-garage encounters. "Deep Throat was already there, arraigned before a local judge. smoking a cigarette. . . . Wounded that he was passed over "On evenings such as these, Deep for the top job, furious at Nixon's The relationship immediately Throat had talked about how poli- choice of an outsider, Assistant At- bore fruit. On June 19, 1972, two tics had infiltrated every corner of torney General L. Patrick Gray III, days after the botched break-in, Felt government — a strong-arm take- determined that the White House assured Woodward that he could over of the agencies by the Nixon not be allowed to steer and stall the draw a connection between burglars White House. ... He had once FBI's Watergate investigation, and a former CIA agent with con- called it the 'switchblade mentality' Mark Felt slipped into the role that nections at the White House, E. — and had referred to the willing- would forever alter his life. Howard Hunt. Three months later, ness of the president's men to fight He makes his first appearance as he again provided key context and dirty and for keeps... . a literary figure in Chapter 4 of "All reassurance, telling Woodward that "The Nixon White House worried the President's Men." a story tying Nixon's campaign him. 'They are underhanded and un- "Woodward had a source in the committee to the break-in could be knowable,' he had said numerous Executive Branch who had access to "much stronger" and still be on sol- times. He also distrusted the press. information at [Nixon's campaign id ground. One of 'I don't like newspapers,' he had committee] as well as at the White the most impor- said flatly." House," Bernstein and Woodward tant encounters s Felt talked wrote. "Ills identity was unknown between Wood- through the to anyone else. He could be contact- ward and his night — of his ed only on very important occa- source came a love for gossip sions. Woodward had promised he month later, on and his compet- would never identify him or his po- Oct. 8, 1972. In ing his desire for sition to anyone." four months the exactitude — he Felt established extremely strict scandal had urged Woodward initial ground rules: He could never grown in its to follow the case be quoted — even as an anonymous reach but faded to the top: to Nix- source — and he would not provide in its seeming on's former attor- information. He would "confirm in- importance. Nix- ney general, John formation that had been obtained on was sailing to N. Mitchell, to elsewhere and .. . add some per- what would be a Nixon's inner spective," in the words of the book. landslide reelec- n-ace of aides, Initially, the two men spoke by tion and his op- J.R. "Bob" Halde- telephone, but Watergate was, after ponent, Sen nan and John H. all, a case that began with a tele- George McGoveri :,hrliehman, and

• even to Nixon himself. Watergate" and John N. Mitchell, the reelection chair- "Only the president and Mitchell man, denied any link. But over the next two years, the know" everything, he hinted. burglary metastasized into one of the biggest scandals That meeting and others gave se- and constitutional crises in modern U.S. history. nior Post editors the confidence they needed to stick with the story Ultimately, Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment, through withering fire from the ad- and more than 30 government and Republican cam- ministration and its defenders. Lat- paign officials were convicted of charges including er that month, at what Bradlee penury, burglary, wiretapping and obstruction of jus- called "the low point" of the saga, tice. Woodward and Bernstein misun- Nixon and his top aides attempted to cover up in- derstood a key detail of a major story linking Haldeman to the financ- volvement in the break-in and in other political dirty ing of Watergate and other dirty tricks and intelligence-gathering operations that were tricks. employed in the 1972 reelection victory over Demo- When Nixon's defenders — and cratic challenger George McGovern. While the media other media outlets — pounced on and members of Congress ignored or played down the The Post's mistake, Felt provided significance of the break-in, Bob Woodward and Carl both a scolding to Woodward that Bernstein, two young reporters on the metropolitan he must be more careful and the encouragement that the reporters news staff of The Washington Post, doggedly pursued were still on the right track. leads that led to the highest levels of government. "He gave us encouragement," Woodward and Bernstein were greatly helped by Bernstein said yesterday. "Deep Throat," a confidential source who was privy to "And he gave Ben comfort," the details of the FBI investigation. Yesterday, it was Woodward added, although Bradlee revealed that "Deep Throat" was W. Mark Felt, the knew only Felt's status as a top FBI FBI's acting associate director at the time. The Post official. He did not learn Felt's name until after The Post had won the Pu- published remarkable findings — that a $25,000 litzer Prize for its Watergate cover- cashier's check earmarked for the Nixon campaign age and Nixon had resigned. wound up in the bank account of one of the burglars; Woodward's source became such that Mitchell, while serving as attorney general, con- a key part of the discussion among trolled a secret fund for intelligence operations against top editors that then-Managing Edi- the Democrats: and that John D. Ehrlichman, a top Nix- tor Howard Simons gave him a nick- name, "Deep Throat," a blend of the on aide, supervised covert actions of a special unit rules of engagement Felt had with known as the Plumbers that burglarized the office of Woodward — "deep background" the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pen- — and the title of a notorious por- tagon Papers. nographic movie. Within months of Nixon's landslide victory, his ad- When the book and then the mov- ministration and career began to unravel. On Jan. 30, ie were released, Woodward said, 1973, Liddy and James W. McCord Jr., a former CIA Felt was shocked to have his place in history tagged with such a tawdry employee and chief of security for Nixon's reelection title. campaign, were convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping in the Watergate incident. White House Chief of Staff H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst resigned on April 30. The Senate Watergate committee began Now Watergate Unfolded televised hearings in May. The following month, The Post reported that former White House counsel John It began with a bungled burglary of the Democratic W. Dean III told Watergate investigators he had dis- National Committee headquarters at the Watergate cussed the cover-up with Nixon at least 35 times, and complex early on the morning of June 17, 1972, and Alexander P. Butterfield, former presidential appoint- the arrest of five suspects. A security guard named ments secretary, testified to the Senate panel in July Frank Willis had discovered tape-covered door latches that Nixon secretly taped his conversations and tele- in a Watergate stairwell and had called the police. phone calls from 1971 on. Two of the five suspects arrested possessed ad- Nixon's firing of Watergate special prosecutor Ar- dress books with the entries "W. House" and "W.H.." chibald Cox on Oct. 20 — which triggered the resigna- scribblings that quickly linked them to two shadowy tion of Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and his figures: E. Howard Hunt, a onetime CIA agent who had deputy — and a unanimous Supreme Court ruling on recently worked in the Nixon administration White July 24, 1974. telling Nixon to surrender 64 tape re- House, and G. Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent who cordings, hastened the president's demise. was on the payroll of the Committee for the Reelection With the House bearing down on him and moving of the President. Richard M. Nixon's campaign organi- toward approval of three articles of impeachment, zation. Nixon announced his resignation on Aug, 8, 1974. Nixon dismissed the break-in as "that pipsqueak — Eric Pianin fir SAII4Lk1111 FRP 1-0k 'NE WASHINGION POST Bernstein, left, with Woodward, said of Felt, "We didn't think his role would achieve such mythical dimensions." v._

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Carl Bernstein, left, and Bob Woodward in 1973. The duo did the investigative

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1974 around the time that Richard M. I," he told Washingtonian magazine in grace after a lengthy investigation and Nixon resigned the presidency in dis- Deep Throat. "It was not I and it is not

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one of the greatest secrets in journal- Throughout that period, he lived with threat of impeachment, aided in no conflict and tension over the role he ism history and with his own sense of

or a turncoat who betrayed his govern- three decades, until yesterday. provided to The Washington Post. loyalist in the image J. Edgar Hoover a hero for helping the truth come out, dent in the Watergate scandal: Was he

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days — a career official who lived by the bureau's codes, one of which was the sanctity of an investigation and the pro- on His Role tection of secrets. He chased down law- breakers of all kinds. using whatever means were available to the bureau, and es. was convicted in 1980 of authorizing ille- Nixon and his White House colleagues gal break-ins — black-bag jobs, as they during this period were engaged in what were known — of friends of members of the House Judiciary Committee would the Weather Underground. He was later eventually call a series of criminal acts - pardoned by President Ronald Reagan. obstruction of justice, withholding of ma- But if there were reasons to resist play- terial evidence, coercion of witnesses, ing the role of anonymous source, there and misuse of the CIA and the Internal were other motives that drove him to Revenue Service. talk. Felt believed that the White House A secret investigative unit was run was trying to frustrate the FBI's Wa- from the White House, supported by the tergate investigation and that Nixon was CIA and financed by campaign funds to documented by the FBI and brought to determined to bring the FBI to heel after spy on enemies and to break into a doc- light — with Felt's help. Hoover's death in May 1972, six weeks tor's office in a search for confidential before the break-in at the Democratic Na- files. Twenty-one participants in what 'Very Honest. Very Straight' tional Committee's Watergate offices oc- carne to be known as the Watergate scan- curred. dal, including the president's counsel, Throughout his career, Felt was seen as "From the very beginning, it was obvi- chief domestic adviser, attorney general a model FBI official. Harry Brandon, who ous to the bureau that a cover-up was in and campaign finance director, pleaded retired from the FBI as deputy assistant progress," Felt wrote in his 1979 memoir, guilty or were convicted of the crimes for counterintelligence and counterterror- "The FBI Pyramid." ism, recalled making a presentation to Felt may have had a personal motiva- Felt as a young agent in the bureau. "He tion as well to begin talking to Post re- was a tough guy," Brandon said yesterday. porter Bob Woodward. At the time of "Straight. Very honest. Very straight" Hoover's death, he was a likely successor Felt was born in Idaho in 1913. He to take over as FBI director. Instead the graduated from the University of Idaho White House named a bureau outsider. L. and George Washington University Law Patrick Gray, then an assistant attorney School, and joined the FBI in January general, as acting director and then 1942. He spent World War II in the bu- leaned on Gray to become a conduit to reau's espionage section — experience keep the White House informed of what that came into play 30 years later as he set the FBI was learning. up the series of signals and codes he and Felt's identity was revealed with the Woodward used when they needed to help of his family in a Vanity Fair article meet with one another. released yesterday. A statement from the He steadily rose through the bureau's family, read by Felt's grandson, Nick ranks. By the early 1970s, as one of the bu- Jones, described how conflicted he was reau's top officials, he was beginning to over whether his role was noble or dis- demonstrate political independence. At a honorable. White House meeting in 1971, he resisted "Mark had expressed reservations in a directive to begin massive wiretaps or the past about revealing his identity and lie detector tests to find the source of about whether his actions were appropri- leaks about the Nixon administration's ate for an FBI man," Jones said. "But as national security strategy he recently told my mother, guess peo- In March 1972, the Nixon administra- ple used to think Deep Throat was a crim- tion was deeply embarrassed by the dis- inaL But now they think he's a hero.— closure of a memo written by a lobbyist at Felt operated during extraordinary telecommunications giant mr. It stated times in the country's history, and in the that a $400,000 contribution to Nixon's history of the bureau he had been trained reelection would muse the Justice Depart- to protect at all costs. Faced with a rogue ment to abandon an antitrust suit against White House, an explosive investigation the company. and political pressure that must have White House special counsel Charles been excruciating, he decided to spill se- W. Colson asked Nixon's personal coun- aets, anonymously helping to change the sel, John Dean, to obtain an official FBI . course of history through clandestine judgment that the memo was a forgery. meetings with Woodward in the middle of Hoover assigned the task of overseeing its the night in underground parking garag- inspection to Felt. But Felt reported several days later that the agency's laboratory could not "make a definite finding," a con- conversation. have come from the bureau." clusion that undermined the forgery Gray wanted to do so, Haldeman add- White House officials suspected Felt claim, according to Dean's 1976 book. ed, and he just needed an order: "Hell call was leaking to The Post as early as Octo- "Blind Ambition." Mark Felt in, and the two of them — and ber 1972. According to an account written "Colson, outraged, called Felt to com- Mark Felt wants to cooperate because he's five years ago by Chase Culeman-Beck- plain. . . . He insisted that I persuade Felt ambitious." Nixon replied, "Yeah." Halde- man, who contended that Bernstein's son to change the [FBI's summary] letter, at man went on: "He'll call him in and say, had told him Felt was Deep Throat, Nix- least to make it innocuous. Felt would not `We've got the signal from across the [Po- on, Haldeman and Dean were speculating budge, because the director would not tomac ] river to put the hold on this.' " about Felt during one of the sessions tape- budge," Dean wrote. Felt, in his memoir, Later in the conversation, Haldeman recorded-in the White House. confirmed that the bureau had been sub- sought reassurance that this was the right "Is he Catholic?" Nixon asked. Told by jected to "partisan instructions and pres- course of action: "You seem to think the Haldeman that Felt was Jewish, Nixon re- sure" in the case. thing to do is get them to stop?" Nixon replied, "[Expletive], [the bureau] put a Yesterday, Colson said he was stunned plied, "Right, fine." Walters met with Jew in there?" To which Haldeman re to learn that Felt was Deep Throat, saying Gray that day, and according to a memo sponded, "Well that could explain it" he never suspected the FBI official be- Walters wrote, Gray told him "this was a Contrary to their belief, Felt is not Jew- cause "he was a professional and that most awkward matter to come up during ish. wasn't a professional way to behave." an election year and he would see what he On Feb. 28, 1973, Nixon and Dean Shortly after that incident, Hoover died could do." again tagged Felt as the potential leaker. and Felt was passed over to succeed him None of this was known publicly at the He was, Dean told Nixon. "the only per- in favor of Nixon loyalist Gray. As the Wa- time. But two junior reporters at The Poet son that knows" such details. But Nixon tergate investigation began to unfold, Felt — Woodward and Carl Bernstein — re- was skeptical. No one would risk his ca- was infuriated by what he saw as Grays peatedly wrote articles that pointed reer to become an informant. capitulation to the White House. Gray toward White House involvement in the According to a tape recording from was "sharing all the Bureau's knowledge break-in and the subsequent coverup. that day, Nixon said, "You know, suppose with the White House staff," he wrote in In doing so, they relied heavily on a that Felt comes out and unwraps the his memoir, which "felt they had neutral- man they described in their 1974 memoir. whole thing? What does that do to him? ized the FBL" "All the President's Men," as "a source in . . . He's in a very dangerous situation... . "For me, as well as for all the Agents the Executive Branch who had access to The informer is not wanted in our society. who were involved, it had become a ques- information at [the Nixon re-election ef- Either way, that's the une thing people do tion of our integrity," Felt wrote. "We fort] . . as well as at the White House. He sort of line up against. They . . . say, 'Well, were under attack for dragging our feet, could be contacted only on very important that [expletive] informed. I don't want and as professional law enforcement offi- occasions" and asked to confirm informa- him around.' " cers, we were determined to go on." tion learned elsewhere and provide "per- Gray was never confirmed as FBI direc- Within a week, in fact, the FBI's in- spective." In print, the duo attributed tor, and in 1973 William D. Ruckeishaus vestigation had begun to develop produc- their information only to "sources close to was nominated to replace him. Felt tive leads; its investigators had figured the Watergate investigation." dashed repeatedly with his new boss and out that funds to pay the burglars were The leaks infuriated the White House, left the bureau later that year, well before laundered through a bank account in which pressured Gray into interrogating Nixon was to leave office. Mexico City linked to Nixon's reelection all the field agents — an act that Felt said In 1978 he was indicted, along with Ed- effort. As a result, Nixon's chief of staff, had sowed wide resentment. "Numerous ward G. Miller, for nine illegal break-ins in H.R. Haldeman, met with the president times, when Gray was out of the city, John New York and New Jersey carried out in on June 23 to urge that Vernon A. Walters, Dean called me, demanding that . steps 1972 and 1973. When he was arraigned, then the CIA's deputy director, tell Gray be taken to silence the leakers," Felt several hundred FBI agents showed up at to "stay the hell out of it" on grounds that wrote. "I refused to take such action and the courthouse in a sign of solidarity. The it would compromise CIA activities in frequently I was able to point out to him two maintained they had operated within Mexico, according to a transcript of their that some of the leaks could not possibly the law but were convicted in 1980. In April 1981, Reagan pardoned both men. saying they had served the country with "great distinction." In his memoir, Felt acknowledged speaking once to Woodward, but in that book and whenever else he was asked, he denied being Deep Throat. In 1999, Felt denied it again to the Hartford Courant after there was another suggestion that he was Deep Throat "I would have done better," he told the paper. "I would have been more effective." That same summer, Felt told Slate's Tim Noah that it would have been contrary to his responsibilities at the FBI to leak information. On the day of his conviction in 1980, Felt spoke to reporters outside the courthouse to express his disappointment with the verdict. "I spent my entire adult life working for the government, and I always tried to do what I thought was right and what was in the best interest of this country and what would protect the safety of this country," he said. Looking back after yesterday's revelation, that quotation may express one of the motivations that "When we wrote the book, we didn't "What would you think "We've kept that think his role would achieve such the odds were that this secret because mythical dimensions. You see there town could keep that we keep that Felt/Deep Throat largely confirmed secret for this long?" our word." information we had already gotten — Benjamin C. Bradlee —Bob Woodward from other sources." — Carl Bernstein

speaking once to Woodward, but in that book and whenever else he was asked, he denied being Deep Throat. In 1999. Felt was skeptical. No one would risk his ca- denied it again to the Hartford Courant af- reer to become an informant. ter there was another suggestion that he According to a tape recording from was Deep Throat. that day, Nixon said, "You know, suppose -1 would have done better,' he told the . that Felt comes out and unwraps the paper. 'I would have been more effective." whole thing? What does that do to him? That same summer, Felt told Slate's Tim . He's in a very dangerous situation.. . Noah that it would have been contrary to Thee informer is not wanted in our society. his responsibilities at the FBI to leak in- Either way, that's the one thing people do formation. sort of line up against. They . . . say, `Well, On the day of his conviction in 1980, that [expletive] informed_ I don't want Felt spoke to reporters outside the court- him around.' " house to express his disappointment with Gray was never confirmed as FBIdirec- the verdict. 'I spent my entire adult life tor, and in 1973 William D. Ruckelshaus working for the government, and 1 always was nominated to replace him. Felt tried to do what I thought was right and dashed repeatedly with his new boss and what was in the best interest of this left the bureau later that year, well before country and what would protect the Nixon was to leave office. safety of this country," he said. In 1978 he was indicted, along with Ed- Looking back after yesterday's ward G. Miller, for nine illegal break-ins in revelation, that quotation may ex- New York and New Jersey carried out in press one of the motivations that 1972 and 1973. When he was arraigned, led this otherwise tmlikely public several hundred FBI agents showed up at servant to engage in the surrepti- the courthouse in a sign of solidarity. The tious actions that led to Nixon's two maintained they had operated within political demise. the law but were convicted in 1980. In April 1981, Reagan pardoned both men, Researchers Meg Smith, saying they had served the country with Madonna Lebling and Magda "great distinction." Jean-Louis contributed to this In his memok, Felt acknowledged report. washingtonpost corn

Washington Post staff writer David Von Drehle will be online today at 11 a.m. at wwwwashingtonpost.com/liveonline to answer questions about the revelation of Deep Throat's identity, Historical photographs and Washington Post stories from the 1970s about Watergate are available at www_washingtonpost.com/politics.

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WOODWARD WOODWARD

AND AND DEEP THROAT Washington Washington THROAT DEEP CONTACT

BETWEEN BETWEEN

SELECTED SELECTED

EVENTS EVENTS

WATERGATE tune 17 17 tune WATERGATE

The Trail to the President's Downfall Downfall President's the to Trail The

We LIN EspAT. EspAT. LIN We

1972 1972

Committee at the the at Committee

Watergate hotel hotel Watergate

offices of the the of offices

Democratic Democratic

National National

ed at 2:30 a.m. a.m. 2:30 at ed

trying to bug the the bug to trying

and office complex. complex. office and

the CIA. are arrest- arrest- are CIA. the

Five men, one of of one men, Five

whom says he he says whom

used to work for for work to used

advises advises

{waived in in {waived

Watergate. Watergate.

linvoard linvoard

lune 19 19 lune

Post reporter reporter Post

was definitely definitely was

operative E E operative

Deep Threat Threat Deep

Bob Woodward Woodward Bob that former CIA CIA former that

-• -•

'All 'All JUNE 1. 2005 2005 1. JUNE

Dine .. -. -. .. Dine

the rnitsrtlenes htt rnitsrtlenes the

• •

Hunt Hunt

; ;

Former Former

general John N. N. John general

operation operation

campaign. denies denies campaign. The Washington Washington The Post reports. reports. Post

the Nixon reelection reelection Nixon the Mitchell head of of head Mitchell

any link to the the to link any

Watergate burglars, burglars, Watergate

is among the the among is

lune 19 19 lune A GOP security aide aide security GOP A

I I

,, ,,

Is, Inn Inn Is,

attorney attorney

reports. reports.

wound up In the the In up wound

bank account of of account bank

earmarked for the a secret secret a the for earmarked

Nixon campaign. campaign. Nixon an alleged alleged an

cashier's check, check, cashier's

Washington Post Post Washington

burglar, The The burglar,

A 525,000 525,000 A Watergate Watergate

appare

Aug. Aug.

1 1

tly tly

secret fund that that fund secret

"you can go go can "you

Sept. 16 16 Sept.

break In. In. break financed the the financed

Watergate Watergate

controlled the the controlled about which which about officials officials

much stronger deputy deputy stronger much

Deep Throat Throat Deep

reds Woodward confrms confrms Woodward reds

operations against against operations

serving as attorney attorney as serving

The Post reports. reports. Post The

gathering gathering

used to finance finance to used

the Democrats. Democrats. the general, controlled controlled general,

Republican fund fund Republican

Sept 29 29 Sept

intelligence- intelligence-

widespread widespread

Mitchell, while while Mitchell,

secret fund. fund. secret

horn the the horn least least

and CRP CRP and campaign campaign

Stuart Stuart employee employee

received at at received

5513.000 5513.000

Magruder Magruder

director _Ida _Ida director

Sept. 17 17 Sept.

tart Porter Porter tart

that Nixon Nixon that

Deep Throat Deep Throat Throat Deep Throat Deep

`DEEP THROAT' REVEALED REVEALED THROAT' `DEEP

opponents. opponents.

conducted on on conducted

of political spying spying political of behalf of the Nixon Nixon the of behalf

massive campaign campaign massive

The Post reports. reports. Post The

sterns from a a from sterns

sabotage sabotage

reelection effort. effort. reelection

occurring all all occurring

were were

Oct. 10 10 Oct.

Oct Oct espionage espionage and sabotage sabotage and

establish that lire lire that establish

Watergate break-in break-in Watergate

over the map map the over

lo harm harm lo

NIxons NIxons

FBI agents agents FBI

says says

I I

and and

Oct, le, 1912 1912 le, Oct,

George McGovern of of McGovern George

South Dakota. Dakota. South

vote and crushing the the crushing and vote

taking more than than more taking

one of the largest largest the of one

American history, history, American landslides in in landslides

60 percent of the the of percent 60

Democratic Democratic

nondriee. Sen. Sen. nondriee.

Nixon is reelected hr hr reelected is Nixon Nov. 7 7 Nov.

' '

1973 1973

Chiel of Stall Stall of Chiel

Hakleman's Hakleman's

confirms Nhcon Nhcon confirms

Oct. 27 27 Oct.

Deep Throat Throat Deep

authority over over authority

the secret fund. fund. secret the

guilty, but many many but guilty,

and wiretapping in the the in wiretapping and

remain remain unanswered questions questions unanswered

Five other men plead plead men other Five

conspiracy, burglary burglary conspiracy,

Watergate incident. incident. Watergate

Tan. 30 30 Tan.

are convicted at at convicted are

Gordon Liddy and and Liddy Gordon lames W. McCord Ir. Ir. McCord W. lames

Former Nixon aides G. G. aides Nixon Former

Ian. Ian.

Deep Throat says says Throat Deep

conspirators in the the in conspirators lam lam

Chairman John N. N. John Chairman

Watergate operation operation Watergate

Colson and CRP CRP and Colson Mitchell were were Mitchell

counsel Charles W. W. Charles counsel

White House special special House White

1 1

24 24

Feb Feb

, ,

over the scandal. scandal. the over

White House House White

counsel John W. W. John counsel

Deandils fired. fired. Deandils

Kleindienst resign resign Kleindienst

April 30 30 April

Richard G. G. Richard

Attorney General General Attorney D. Ehrlichman. and and Ehrlichman. D.

Haldeman and John John and Haldeman

H,R.(Rob) H,R.(Rob)

White House aides, aides, House White

Nixon's two My My two Nixon's

SeK‘E/W.A

TITE WASHINGTON POST POST WASHINGTON TITE

1 1

April 26 26 April

destroyed documents documents destroyed

House safe safe House

Deep Throat confirms confirms Throat Deep

taken from Hunt's White White Hunt's from taken

L. Patrick Gray had had Gray Patrick L.

that acting FRI Director Director FRI acting that

special prosecutor for for prosecutor special

Watergate. Watergate.

Justice Department's Department's Justice

Archibald Cox Cox Archibald former solicitor general general solicitor former

committee begins its its begins committee

hearings. Attorney Attorney hearings.

nationally televised televised nationally

The Senate Watergate Watergate Senate The

May 18 18 May

General designate Elliot Elliot designate General

L. Richardson taps taps Richardson L.

as as

Wit Wit the the

THE WASHINGTON POST POST WASHINGTON THE

lune 3 3 lune

Hsi reports. reports. Hsi

35 times, The The times, 35

Dean Dean discussed the the discussed

Watergate Watergate

that he he that

Investigators Investigators

Nixon at least least at Nixon

covernp with with covernp

President President

Watergate Watergate

has told told has

if if

gwn gwn

lune lune

Mi•M:A

Nixon Knew of of Knew Nixon

Cover-Up Plan Plan Cover-Up

Dean Alleges Alleges Dean

• •

-0

lune 13 13 lune

memo addressed addressed memo

describing in detail detail in describing

prosecutors find a a find prosecutors Watergate Watergate

Daniel Ellsberg's Ellsberg's Daniel

office of Pentagon Pentagon of office

to Etellchman Etellchman to

psychiatrist. The The psychiatrist.

Papers defendant defendant Papers

Post reports. reports. Post

burglarize the the burglarize

the plans to to plans the

1 1

3 3

219N-11 219N-11

appointments appointments since 1971 Nixon Nixon 1971 since

conversations and and conversations

his offices, offices, his July 16 16 July

telephone calls in in calls telephone

secretary, reveals reveals secretary,

Butterfield, former former Butterfield,

had recorded ail ail recorded had

presidential presidential

Alexander P. P. Alexander testimony that that testimony

in congressional congressional in

:?..00.21;111i3 - - :?..00.21;111i3

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Maui-demi. Rocket. ens Quit Quit ens Rocket. Maui-demi.

Nixon Forces Forces Nixon

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116.

July 18 18 July

orders the the orders

White House House White

disconnected. disconnected.

Nixon Nixon reportedly reportedly

taping system system taping

■■

• •

1.me 1.me

Firii7a Firii7a

• •

ilr ilr

July 23 23 July

Watergate Watergate

to the Senate Senate the to

tape recordings recordings tape committee or or committee

the special special the

prosecutor. prosecutor.

to turn over the the over turn to

presidential presidential

Nixon !closes !closes Nixon

CZ CZ

gave to to gave

November November

Fist week of of week Fist

there there

deliberate erasures. erasures. deliberate

In the tapes tapes the In

lnyestl President Nixon Nixon President

Deep Throat says • • says Throat Deep

abolishes the office of of office the abolishes

Oet. 20 20 Oet.

Massacre' Nixon orders orders Nixon Massacre'

Attorney General General Attorney

the special prosecutor special the peachment mounts In In mounts peachment Saturday Night Night Saturday

Crgress. Crgress.

Attorney General General Attorney

Richardson and Deputy Deputy and Richardson

the firing of Cox and and Cox of firing the resign Pressure for Im- for Pressure resign

William D. Ruckefshaus Ruckefshaus D. William

are are

ators. ators.

`DEEP THROAT' REVEALED REVEALED THROAT' `DEEP

that that

i i

Von. Von.

. .

,r—Outlook. Seelion C C Seelion ,r—Outlook.

"I'm not not "I'm

innocence in in innocence the Watergate Watergate the

crook,

taming his his taming

case. case.

Nixon declares, declares, Nixon Nov. 17 17 Nov.

Ilk Ilk

0.1

&NIA &NIA

■

11.

56111 56111

- -

■ ■

main- main-

Olii Olii

a a

Nixon Tells Tells Nixon

Not a Crook' Crook' a Not

Editors, 'I'm 'I'm Editors,

1974 1974

segment. segment.

one of the the of one

force" erased the the erased force"

subpoenaed tapes. tapes. subpoenaed

cent explain an an explain cent

that "some sinister sinister "some that

Chief of Staff Staff of Chief

Alexander Alexander says one theory Is Is theory one says

Dec. Dec.

The White House House White The

Firs r..22 r..22 Firs

Orrpon. Orrpon.

,errhinute gap in in gap ,errhinute

6 6

r r

M. M.

VEW1413.K11.14 VEW1413.K11.14

Haig Ir. Ir. Haig

4 4

' '

April 30,1974 30,1974 April

tapes tapes

turned aver. aver. turned transcripts of the Nixon Nixon the of transcripts

insists that the tapes tapes the that insists themselves must be be must themselves

The White House House White The

releases more than than more releases

but the committee committee the but

1,209 pages of edIred edIred of pages 1,209

Judiciary Committee, Committee, Judiciary

to the the to

House House

over the tape tape the over

July 24,1974 24,1974 July White House con- con- House White of executive grivdege. grivdege. executive of

that Nixon must turn turn must Nixon that

the president's claim claim president's the

The Supreme Court Court Supreme The

rules unanimously unanimously rules versations. rejecting rejecting versations.

recordings of 64 64 of recordings

7110.0 NI. NI. 7110.0

Committee Committee obstruction al al obstruction

charging charging

of three articles of of articles three of impeachment. impeachment. approves the first first the approves

The House House The

July 27, 1974 1974 27, July

justice. justice.

ludicrary ludicrary

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1. 2005 2005 1. JUNE WEDNESDAY,

was. was.

NM CIIMPNIV0.0 — ne .91011171,MST .91011171,MST ne — CIIMPNIV0.0 NM

charges related to to related charges

office. He will later later will He office.

Aug. Aug.

country's highest highest country's

Watergate. Watergate.

the first U.S. U.S. first the

pardon Niece dal/ dal/ Niece pardon president to to president

Nixon becomes becomes Nixon

Ford assumes the the assumes Ford

resign. Vice Vice resign.

President Gerald R. R. Gerald President

9,1974 9,1974 A7 A7 Reporters Woodward, left, and Bernstein and their editor, Bradlee, trusted Deep Throat's status in the administration. :,. AS WEDN.ma,juNii.20.5 'THE WASHINGTON POST

`DEEP THROAT' REVEALED

Current and former FRI agents rallied around W. Mark Felt, right, when he was charged with authorizing illegal break-ins in a probe of the Weather Underground. Felt was convicted but pardoned by President Ronald Reagan. Nixon and His Men Some key players in the Watergate conspiracy:

Richard M. Nixon The president resigned to avoid impeachment over the attempt to cover up the administration's involvement in Watergate operations. He died in 1994 at age 81. John W. Dean Ill Nixon's White House counsel spent G. Gordon Liddy four months in prison for his role A former FBI agent, Liddy helped in the Watergate coverup. He is a plan the Watergate break-in. He writer, lecturer and investment spent 4'/z years in prison. He lives banker in California. in Maryland and is a conservative talk-show host. John D. Ehrlichman Nixon's assistant for domestic James W. McCord affairs, Ehrlichman served an 18- The security director of the month sentence for perjury and Committee for the Reelection of conspiracy in Watergate and a the President, he was arrested related case. He died in 1999 at during the Watergate burglary after age 73. leaving a piece of tape on a door. He lives in Maryland. leb Stuart Magruder John N. Mitchell Nixon's deputy campaign director, he spent seven months in prison As chairman of CRP, Mitchell for his role in the Watergate authorized funds that paid for the coverup. He is a consultant in Watergate break-in. He was Dallas. released from prison for medical reasons after 19 months. Mitchell died in 1988 at age M. SOURCE. Staff reports

All WASH MOON 90S I

E. Howard Hunt His office phone number in address books belonging to the Watergate burglars helped connect the break- in to the White House. A former CIA agent, Hunt has written dozens of books and lives in Florida.

H.R. "Bob" Haldeman Nixon's chief of staff spent 18 months in prison for his role in Watergate. A controversial gap in Oval Office recordings included a conversation with Haldeman. He died in 1993 at age 67.