Cranky Bastard

FBI Official Was 'Deep Throat': "By David Von Drehle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 1, 2005; Page A01
Deep Throat, the secret source whose insider guidance was vital to The Washington Post's groundbreaking 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 President Richard M. Nixon, Felt had the means and the motive to help uncover the web of internal spies, secret surveillance, dirty tricks and coverups that led to Nixon's unprecedented 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 Vanity Fair magazine article. Even Nixon 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..."

Today was a bit of a bummer. I was hoping that with the announcement, I might be more intrigued by the story. I have read a ton on it, and wrote papers when I was in school. I don’t remember who I suspected back then, but I can assure you that it wasn’t Felt. For insiders, it may have been a reasonable suspicion, but for regular folks, it just wasn’t sexy enough, and, quite frankly, it still isn’t. Right after the announcement, I thought that the reason Bradlee, Woodward and Bernstein weren’t commenting was because Felt was not the whole story. I had come to embrace the idea of DeepThroat being a composite of several players in the Administration. In fact, Liddy still, even after Felt came forward, believes it to be a composite. I think others, like Pat Buchanan, enjoy the ending of the legend, because he, so many times, had been suspected himself. Another stranger part of the announcement today was its timing. This man has been sick for some time, and his family and lawyer have known for a couple of years. Why would he choose today to send his grandson out on the driveway with this admission? What is the significance of May 31, 2005 as opposed to allowing the writers and Editor to keep their silence until his death? Why does he want the notoriety at this time in his life? Did he want to be alive to be able to substantiate the claim? It seemed to take the WaPo guys by surprise, because they took a couple of hours for a follow-up press release. I don’t question that this man was part of it, because they have all admitted it, but there are some very strange elements to it all. As someone light years away from the players, I can not possibly know or even have a foundation for any gut feelings. Given that, I can only say that I hope there is more to it, because this, as I see it, does not rise to the level of the thirty years of discussion it has garnered. If there were others who were involved in this, we will get more surprises in the next twenty or so years.
Hero or “snake”? Pat Buchanan made the snake comment, but I have yet to make up my mind. It sounds like, from his family’s and Woodward/Bernstein’s statements that the guy did the leaking out of spite for being passed over for a promotion to lead the FBI. If that is so, then it seems a bit petty. There was no feeling of higher purpose or of a public’s right to know. Calling the guy a snake, however, seems a bit too far too. If it in some way helped shape the public consciousness and make the investigation easier to show that the President was breaking the law, then it was not the worst thing that could occur. Also remember that Pat Buchanan lays the killing of thousands at the feet of those responsible for Nixon’s stepping down. He feels that the loss in Vietnam and other ills of the era were a direct result of his resignation.
One thing we can all be sure of is that this is not the last we will utter suspicions about the scandal. It has been fun for thirty years, and quite likely will be fun for several more.