Deep Throat: Mark Felt Identified

Columnist Richard Cohen hit the nail on the head in 1980, when he wrote the column, "Mark Felt's Viewpoint: Worthy of Deep Throat."

"Ever since someone fingered Mark Felt as the all-but mythical Deep Throat who gave Bob Woodward the keys to Watergate, I've had a soft spot in my liberal heart for him. No matter that he has denied being the Ultimate Source and no matter even that Woodward, in a burst of candor, refuses all comment. I persist for reasons of my own in thinking that Felt is The One. It would be just like him."

It was just like him. Cohen was right. But how did he know? And what is Cohen saying about Mark Felt now?

The Washington Post's Richard Cohen was online to answer your questions about the revelation of Mark Felt as Deep Throat.

A transcript follows.

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Houston, Tex: John Dean was on CNN last night expressing "skepticism" at Felt's disclosure. Dean said that it was unlikely that Felt would have had the time or ability to check the flag in the Woodward's flower pot or circle the pages in his paper. Any comment from Woodward on Dean's remarks?

Richard Cohen: I haven't seen anything from Woodward about Dean's remarks. They strike me, though, as besides the point. Felt says he's Deep throat and The Post confirms. It's enough for me.

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Meriden, Ct.: In reference to what I view as predictable condemnation of Felt by Gergen, Buchanan, Colson, Liddy, et al., do you think these Nixon operatives and Watergate convicts will be successful in painting Felt as a traitor, or will sanity prevail and he be recognized for his patriotism and heroism?

Richard Cohen: Good and troubling question. Off hand, I'd say that most people will applaud him. after all, so many of Nixon's men went to jail. On the other hand, there is now so much animosity towards the press, that I would not count on anything.

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Fairfax, Va.: While it certainly feels good to celebrate The Post's investigative heyday and honor Felt, Woodward, Bernstein and Bradlee for their exemplary acts in speaking truth to power, what about now? The current crop of top dogs at The Post, had they been in charge back then, would most likely have bought Zeigler's "third-rate burglary" dodge and given Nixon a pass just as Bush gets a pass on the Downing Street Memo now. What do you think about The Post's unwillingness to challenge, investigate and fight to give meaning to the phrase "freedom of the press"?

Richard Cohen: I don't agree with you. The Post remains a highly competitive newspaper with a heavy emphasis on investigative reporting. we did poorly regarding Iraq, but then so did everyone else -- including the U.S. senate.

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West Bloomfield, Mi.: Was it your knowledge of reporting and news that led you to believe it was Felt early on or was it your own gut instinct?

Richard Cohen: A bit of both.

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Meriden, Ct.: At a time when so many in the media are mere lapdogs for the Bush administration, it's been so nice to stroll down memory lane this week and remember a time when obstruction of justice and abuse of power could be confronted and exposed. It seems especially intriguing to me that we should be reminded of Deep Throat's patriotism and courage while journalists are facing prison for investigating the Plame leak, the media is systematically being fed disinformation by the Bush White House, and responsible media outlets are being attacked for their use of anonymous sources. In your opinion, is there any chance at all that this renewed interest in Watergate reporting will inspire today's journalists to take on the criminal activities and abuse of power that seem to be so rampant in the current administration and Congress?

Richard Cohen: Well, you have to remember that Watergate started with a crime -- the burglary. There was nothing suspected or alleged or suggested about it. The cops caught the guys red-handed. nothing like that has happened with the Bush administration. You might not like its politics -- and neither do I -- but being wrong politically is not a crime.

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Washington, D.C.: I was born after Watergate, so bear with my naivety, but why didn't Felt just use his powers at the FBI to investigate Nixon or to expose the conspiracy? Surely someone in his position could have spurred an inquiry and public airing of the facts he shared secretly with Woodward. Why not?

Richard Cohen: I was expecting this question because it makes a lot of sense. what's hard to duplicate now is the atmosphere at the time. it is only suggested by the vast number of presidential aides who went to jail for one crime or another. people were afraid. the justice department, after all, had been run by John Mitchell, who was virtually in charge of the Watergate cover-up. it was hard to know who to turn to. the times they were a spooky -- a suggested folk song, if you don't mind.

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Ann Arbor, Mi.: Why did The Washington Post get scooped on their own story? Why did the family turn to Vanity Fair? I'm baffled.

Richard Cohen: I don't know for sure. It seems they wanted money for their story. The Washington Post would never pay -- (1) because the practice of paying for news is strictly forbidden and (2) Woodward had pledged to Felt that he would NEVER reveal his name. It is still not clear how much Felt is aware of what's happening.

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Pottsville, Pa.: What was your initial reaction when the news broke out? Morals in the country seem on the decline. Why is it that what Deep Throat did is getting more press than what Director Gray did by passing reports to the White House? I have heard Felt should be or could be guilty of obstruction of justice and similar charges, but should not Director Gray be guilty of the same if he is passing investigative reports to persons not entitled to see them ?

Richard Cohen: Gray is dead.. I think. Anyway, I don't think there's any crime involved in keeping the president informed about an investigation. that doesn't mean it's smart or ethical, but criminal is a different matter.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you think that the Post would ever run a story like Woodward's now? After the press has been so effectively attacked for using anonymous sources?

Richard Cohen: God, I hope so. The great thing about Deep Throat is often overlooked. it was Ben Bradlee's decision to put the reputation of the newspaper on the line because he believed in in the story and the willingness of the Graham family to back him up.

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Alexandria, Va.: So did Felt's family out him? Or was this a senior moment?

Richard Cohen: I only know what I read in Vanity Fair -- and accounts of Woodward's doubts about Felt's mental state.

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Beverly Hills, Ca.: I was surprised tonight to hear folks such as Colson, Buchanan, and even Gergen suggest that W. Mark Felt was wrong to go to the press. I am part of a generation that always viewed "Deep Throat" as one of the good guys. In thinking more about their comments, were there other viable options for Mr. Felt besides leaking the information to Woodward? I have my own thoughts but I would like to hear an "expert" answer that question. Could he have just gone public? Could he have confronted the White House? What would have been the ramifications? Why did he decide that working with Woodward was the way to go?

Richard Cohen: Well, for starters had he gone public he would have been a goner -- fired on the spot. then he would only have been ably to testify to what he had known --not what was underway. he was much more useful to himself and to the FBI and to the nation where he was.

And, if he wanted to keep his job, who could blame him? We all have to eat and, anyway, Felt was in line to become FBI director.

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Whitefish, Mt.: Richard,I'm truly impressed. I've been reading your columns for quite a while, and I've always thought you were an extremely bright guy, but....a psychic???....Was it something that J. Edgar or L. Patrick said? Or just the well-known antipathy between J. Edgar's FBI and the Nixon White House?? Any clues would surely appreciated.

Richard Cohen: Psychic? About what? My powers fail me on this score (alone)

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Monroe, N.Y.: There seem to be many parallels between Nixon's fight with the FBI and the present Administration's anger with the CIA.

Have memories of Watergate created institutional mechanisms that prevent another Deep Throat from influencing political matters?

Richard Cohen: I don't know about institutional mechanisms, but since Watergate and so much else, everyone in Washington is aware of the peril of candor. As little as possible is put down on paper and no one in their right mind keeps a diary. so I think people are much more cautious than they used to be. also, differences over policy or interpretation of intelligence data, does not rise to the level of obstruction of justice.

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Chattanooga, Tenn..: Did Nixon and his staff have any ideas about deep throat's identity? No clue that it was Felt?

Richard Cohen: Yes, Nixon suspected Felt because he (Felt) was in a position to know the stuff that surfaced in The Post. As the FBI's number two, he had the overview. On the White House tapes, Nixon and his aides discuss Felt. Nixon, astutely, suspects Felt because, among other things, he thought he was Jewish. (He wasn't and isn't).

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Cleveland Park, D.C.: What is your opinion of the W. Mark Felt's family actions in revealing this 30-year secret. I.E. going to vanity Fair and not the Post (Vanity Fair insists they refused payment to the family.) What do you think of their 2 year effort to persuade Felt to admit his role. Especially given the fact, the man is 91 years old and has suffered a stroke!!!

Richard Cohen: Well, I hesitate to make a judgment. Families are complicated, but from reading the Vanity Fair piece, I did get the sense that they were pushing the old man around a bit. Could be I'm wrong -- but that's not happened yet. (Just kidding.)

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Washington, D.C.: It's pretty clear in the Nixon tapes that he knew that Felt was a leakier to The Post. Haldeman says his source for the information was from 'an official' at The Post, who got the info from a Post reporter. Have these Nixon sources been named? Who was the fox in the henhouse?

Richard Cohen: I have no idea. But since not even Bradlee knew the identity of Deep Throat, I doubt someone else at the paper was in a position to aid the Nixon people.

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Washington, D.C.: I don't understand the Post isn't breeding Woodwards and Bernsteins today? Remember, Halliburton, WMDs, false intelligence, etc. Or has the government built higher and more sophisticated walls around its arcane actions?

Richard Cohen: I think The Post is dogged in going after what it thinks are worthwhile stories. I'm not sure Halliburton is a Watergate style scandal. Cost overruns, if that's what they were, are not crimes.

As for WMD, I wish we had that story. But no one did -- not even the French who would have loved to expose the Bush administration as hype artists. We all believed -- at least most of us did. That includes critics of the war within the Bush administration.

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Fairfax, Va.: I read that L. Patrick Gray did, in fact, act criminally, by destroying evidence (the contents of Howard Hunt's White House safe) which linked the White House to Watergate. Felt knew that both Gray and John Mitchell were corrupt and part of the conspiracy.

Gray is dead.

I am experiencing the rare occasion of agreeing with Richard Cohen. I must go and lie down.

Richard Cohen: Good luck!

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San Francisco, Ca.: What do you think would have been the result if the Nixon Administration would have been able to get away with Watergate? What if there hadn't been a Deep Throat?

Richard Cohen: I don't know. I sort of believe that these things come out sooner or later. too many people know. a better question is what would have happened has Nixon just fessed up. I think he would have been forgiven, served our his term- and changed the course of American political history. No Jerry Ford and no Jimmy Carter.

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Hartford, Ct.: Two points: There were some fairly big names (e.g. Kissinger and Rehnquist among others) on the list of potential Deep Throats. I don't know how many of these folks were really privy to this information; but, if they were doesn't their acquiescence of the illegal activities raise some moral and ethical questions at the very least?

The press is beginning to sound a little like Bush -- the more concerns and questions that arise from the public, the more staunchly they defend their version of the emperor's clothes. I don't see much attempt to consider that perhaps there is another perspective and an opportunity to improve or alter actions.

Richard Cohen: I've never seen any proof that Kissinger or Rehnquist knew about criminal activity. you must remember, once watergate got underway, every reporter in the country was on the story -- as well as congressional committees.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: Is Woodward writing a book on this or something? Why didn't he publish anything today? And Bradlee? Most people would be interested in hearing that side of the story.

Richard Cohen: Woodward was caught by surprise. he will publish in tomorrow's Washington Post. As for Bradlee, he's already said he did not know Felt and only learned of his role after Nixon resigned. that would make a pretty short book.

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Richmond, Va.: Knowing that people in the current Administration read these discussions, isn't there a lesson from all this, especially noting that Mark Felt himself would fall due to violating the rights of a suspect, even if the suspect was a terrorist. Isn't the important lesson of all this is: respect the law and civil liberties and be true to yourself?

Richard Cohen: Yes, absolutely. but sometimes there's a contradiction between being true to the law and being true to yourself. That's the space for dramatists, novelists and poets.

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Baltimore, Md. : Maybe this is a stupid question, or a result of the fact that I was a baby during Watergate but... I don't understand how the #2 guy at the FBI would have known so much about a cover up engineered at the White House. This isn't to cast doubt on Felt -- I believe him and Woodward/Bernstein that he is Deep Throat. I just don't understand how he had so much access if he wasn't one of Nixon's insiders. Thanks.

Richard Cohen: The burglary and the cover up were FBI investigations. I can't remember off hand why it had jurisdiction, but the burglary of the opposition's headquarters is not an everyday affair. so, it's not surprising the FBI moved in. and by then, felt had good reason to suspect the ethics of the Nixon White House. As far as it was concerned, it did not have critics, it had enemies.

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Falls Church, Va.: Thank you for your excellent column today. How can we see the one you wrote about Mr. Felt in 1980?

Richard Cohen: I suppose it's on line somewhere. Most of my life is. But I looked at it yesterday and found it not quite as brilliant as I thought at the time

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Boston, Ma.: How would Felt have saved the day if not for Woodward and Bernstein? Felt deserves credit, but it still seems that he was only one component of the break.

Richard Cohen: Quite right. After all, he mostly confirmed what Woodward and Bernstein learned from other sources. and once Watergate got a head of steam, it was being investigated by everyone --including the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington. But it took Bob and Carl to alert the trial judge, John Sirica, to the dimension of the "third rate burglary" he was handling. They did a magnificent job -- brave beyond anything you can imagine. it was a scary time

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Baltimore, Md.: It's hard to imagine that Ben Bradlee didn't know the identity of Deep Throat. I had heard that Richard Harwood knew who Deep Throat was. Harwood is now deceased, as you know, but he was assistant managing editor (correct title?) or at any rate the number 3 editorial executive at the Post during the Watergate years, I believe. Thanks.

Richard Cohen: I don't think Harwood knew -- although he might have suspected Felt. But Bob says he only told Carl and Ben and, more recently, his wife, Elsa Walsh. As for Ben, he told no one -- not even, until yesterday, his wife Sally Quinn.

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Richard Cohen: Thanks everyone for your questions. It's been fun.

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