Book World Live

In "The Secret Man," author Bob Woodward recounts his relationship with Mark Felt (aka "Deep Throat"), his key Watergate source. The identity of Felt -- at the time the number two man at the FBI -- was initially revealed in a May "Vanity Fair" article. In his book, Woodward details his meetings with Felt, reveals the location of the parking lot where he and Felt met and notes that Felt actually gave his identity away in 1976 during a grand jury proceeding.

Woodward, assistant managing editor, Investigative at The Washington Post, was online Tuesday, July 12, at 3 p.m. ET to discuss "The Secret Man," reviewed in Sunday's Book World: A Leak and a Promise

Join Book World Live each Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET for a discussion based on a story or review in each Sunday's Book World section.

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Bethesda, Md.: Did you have any advance warning that Mr. Felt was going to announce that he was Deep Throat on that particular day or was it a shock?

Is it a relief to you that the secret is finally out or did you enjoy the intrigue and the mystery that surrounded Deep Throats identity?

Bob Woodward: The self unmasking of Deep Throat by Mark Felt, his family and the family lawyer was a surprise. I did not think it would happen, but in the end when I saw the video footage of his smile and clear happiness, I was relieved for both of us.

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Edison, N.J.: Thank you for taking my question. Mr. Woodward, while some may view Mark Felt's leaking information as an act of patriotism, others will undoubtedly view it in a less complimentary light. Opponents might characterize as treasonous the fact that the deputy director of the FBI leaked classified information that he swore an oath to protect. How would you characterize his actions?

Bob Woodward: First, the information was not really classified and Felt said he was careful not to provide anything directly from FBI files. It seems to me that he was a man of courage who saw the almost limitless law-breaking going on in the Nixon White House and decided to assist a reporter whom he knew.

At the same time, he was disappointed that he had been passed over as FBI director, but the evidence that the acting director, L. Patrick Gray, was at least improperly assisting the White House is rather extensive. Don't overlook the fact that a reporter, namely me, was hounding him. And often somebody will help a person they know.

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White Plains, N.Y.: Mr. Woodward:

Had Mark Felt been given the top stop at FBI by Nixon (and not passed over for L. Patrick Gray), do you think Felt would have become your "Deep Throat" source? Why or why not? Would it have mattered to the Watergate story's emergence? Around the time he was passed over, did you discuss with Felt his anger at having been passed over? What, if anything did he say?

Thank you.

Bob Woodward: That's a good "if history" question. There was no way that Nixon would have given Felt that job. He was too much a Hoover man, was too independent and made it clear that he did not like being pushed around by White House aides. The naming of L. Patrick Gray -- a long-time Nixon supporter -- to the post of acting FBI director was part of the Watergate mindset, even before the Watergate break-in. That mindset was the effort to manipulate the basic institutions of the Federal govermment, including the FBI, for Nixon's political and other illegal purposes. Mark Felt was a critical source for The Post's Watergate coverage, but Carl Bernstein and I had dozens of confidential and other sources who assisted in piecing together the various Watergate puzzles.

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Southern Maryland: Two questions:

1. From reading "All the Presidents' Men," it always seemed like Deep Throat/Mark Felt was a mentor figure for you. Is that accurate?

2. Do you plan to reissue the book with an addendum explaining Felt's exact role, giving details that you were bound not to disclose in 1974? You've done some of that already in The Post and in your new book.

Bob Woodward: Mark Felt, whom I met in 1970 at the White House, initially acted as not only mentor but career counselor. He urged me to "follow the action" as I was struggling, attempting to figure out what to do with my life. In essence, he said don't get trapped in someone else's plan for your life, find your own.

"All the President's Men" has been reissued, but we have not changed the story or added new information. Nonetheless, the cover does identify Deep Throat as Mark Felt.

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East Cleveland, Ohio: Bob, several years ago a story was reported that while at summer camp, Carl Bernstein's son identified Mark Felt as Deep Throat. Bernstein explained the incident by saying his son was merely engaging in the unsubstantiated speculation of his mother.

Since we now know Mark Felt was Deep Throat, can you tell us what your reaction was when you first heard that Bernstein's son had leaked Felt's name?

Did you call Bernstein and yell at him?

Bob Woodward: I don't yell at Carl anymore.

We laughed at the time and knew that if we just withheld comment the story would join hundreds of others that were speculative. Carl's son did not know, but apparently had repeated informed speculation from Nora Ephron, the film director, Carl's ex-wife.

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Bombay, India: Mr Woodward, I read that Mark Felt did not stay in touch with you for more than two decades. Do you think it was because he was afraid of being outed or because he was somewhat ashamed of what his identity as Deep Throat? How did he react when you reestablished contact/met him, in California, after many years?

I believe he did not like the name Deep Throat, is that correct?

Bob Woodward: I visited Mark Felt five years ago, he recognized me but had no real memory of specific events. We lost touch because, in short, that was the best way to protect his identity. He had not told the truth to family, friends and co-workers and so we were kind of letting the past settle. I regret not reestablishing contact sooner in order to get more specific recollections from him about all of our dealings.

At the same time, I think the book makes clear his many motives.

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Washington, D.C.: Why don't you guys focus on corruption in the current administration instead of patting yourselves on the back for exposing Nixon? That was over 30 years ago. There ought to be ample opportunity for you to show us the hard-hitting journalism that made The Post famous during Watergate -- that is, if you still have it in you.

Bob Woodward: I've written two in-depth books about the Bush administration and I am working on a third. The last book, "Plan of Attack," about Bush's decision to invade Iraq was recommended by both the Kerry and Bush campaigns. It is an attempt to present the facts and the behind the scenes debate. Many who have read it think it shows Bush as forceful, focused and determined. Many others believe it shows he made the wrong decision in launching the war.

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Woodstock, N.Y.: In your fascinating article on Mark Felt, you breeze past explaining how Harry Rosenfeld, metropolitan editor for The Washington Post agreed to see you for a job interview in the first place. I was wondering if you could remember any more about how you got that shot at the two week tryout. Did he read the letter you wrote and liked it? Did you know someone else at The Post? Did he like your writing samples? Please explain this further. Thank you.

Bob Woodward: Harry Rosenfeld thought I was spectacularly unqualified to be a reporter, but I just showed up and persisted. He gave me a chance for a two-week tryout, which I failed, but then after I worked at a weekly paper in the Maryland suburbs he hired me simply because I had done a number of stories that he wished he had had.

I started at The Post nine months before the Watergate burglarly, but I knew Mark Felt already.

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Falls Church, Va.: Hi Mr. Woodward,

I love the book! It is clearly written, and very historic.

I was wondering when you first wrote the book and how many revisions you made since the first draft?

Also, are you doing a book tour and are the dates on a Web site?

Thanks!

Bob Woodward: I did the first draft of "The Secret Man" three years ago. Ben Bradlee, the former Post editor, my wife Elsa Walsh, and the current Post editor, Len Downie, all read it and made suggestions. My editor at Simon and Shuster, Alice Mayhew, then spent about 10 days with me doing more editing, adding material and answering questions.

I'm continuing to do various TV, radio and print interviews.

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Washington, D.C.: Dear Mr. Woodward, The Plame affair it at a point where it still may, or might not, be a significant story. You spent some time in this position in your reporting on Watergate and you are being very careful in commenting on Rove etc... today.

I wonder if you could comment on balancing the excitement in chasing a mystery and maintaining neutrality when the truth is unknown (as a journalist and as a spectator)?

Thanks for the great books.

Bob Woodward: What an excellent question. It's vitally important to be neutral and let both sides or all sides have their say in your coverage.

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Fairfax, Va.: Do you think anyone will ever step forward and say what they were looking for at the Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate? To the best of my knowledge that has never been explained.

Bob Woodward: The vast Watergate record shows that the burglars and their leaders were looking for general political dirt and information on the Democrats. This reflected Nixon's obsession with trying to learn the secrets of those who opposed him. His willingness to operate outside the law is now well established in all the investigations and many of the secret White House tape recordings.

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Seattle, Wash.: With all due respect to the recently departed, what do you think of Patrick Gray's comments about Mark Felt and his efforts to distance himself from the Nixon administration? If one were to believe Gray was truly acting independently as head of the FBI at the time, for example, Felt's actions would seem to be more questionable.

Thank you.

Bob Woodward: Patrick Gray was right that he got deceived and misled by Nixon and Nixon's aides. But Gray was way too willing to turn over FBI investigative files to the White House, the obvious target of the inquiry. In addition, when Gray destroyed evidence taken from the White House safe of E. Howard Hunt, he made it crystal clear that he was carrying out the will and participating in the illegal cover-up.

Gray and his family have made the point that Gray assumed that this was regular, that this was standard procedure. I believe he called it a "presumption of regularity." A more experienced and suspicious person would not have so readily bent to the will of the White House. Gray made mistakes, but his family is right in arguing that he was deceived. Unfortunately, part of most deception includes self-deception.

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Farmville, Va.: How did Felt see your balcony each day and access your copy of the New York Times? Was there a lookout? Or was this just a cover invented for "All The President's Men" to hide the fact that you two simply called each other to arrange meetings?

Bob Woodward: No, the signals were real and part of his insistence that we conceal our discussions. To this day it is still not clear to me how this was done, but other former FBI agents have told me there were lookout posts in the area where I lived because of the numerous foreign embassies. Felt could've requested a daily observation of my balcony and sent messgages through other agents who would've thought it was part of the foreign counter-intelligence operations of the bureau.

But in the end, this is one of the questions I have not answered.

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West Plains, Mo.: In your opinion, at what point should journalists back off from using classified information or information that is being provided (i.e. "leaked") illegally by a source for an article? At what point is it no longer ethical to use such information?

Also, did you feel that any of the information you received from Mark Felt fell into this category, and if so, what went into your decision to use or not to use it?

Thanks!

Bob Woodward: Lots of classified information gets published. My personal standard is to use it but make sure that national security is not genuinely harmed or people's lives put in danger from a published story or book. Guidance from good confidential sources helped significantly in making these decisions, but without the sources it's impossible to make the necessary judgments.

The information from Felt was about criminal activity, which was not classified. The only people endangered by the information he provided were Nixon and his men. A larger national interest than national security were not damaged.

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New Cumberland, Pa.: These days, you seem to have easy access to the White House. The President must have liked your last book. Are you worried that you may lose that access in the future because of what conclustions you may draw in your next book about the Bush Administration?

Bob Woodward: I don't know whether the president or others in the administration liked my last book. It contained lots of critical information, while at the same time allowing Bush to explain in detail what he did and why. I believe the president was willing to answer questions for three and a half hours because The Washington Post gave me a year to report from dozens and dozens of sources and piece together the key decisions and decision points on the road to war.

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Salt Lake City, Utah: In your book "The Secret Man", you describe Mark Felt as being furious about your plans to discuss his meetings with you in the book "All The President's Men." Even though you didn't reveal his name, didn't you break the spirit of your agreement with Mark by providing so much detail about your meetings with him?

Bob Woodward: Carl Bernstein and I felt an obligation to tell the whole story of reporting Watergate and to leave out the role of Deep Throat would've made the account inaccurate and dramatically incomplete. But I pushed the limit and the key obligation was not to finger him or identify him and that is a secret we kept for 33 years.

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Springfield, Mo.: I would like to know how your relationship with Mark Felt compares with your relationship to Bill Casey. Are these relationships similar in any way, even though Casey was with the CIA and Felt the FBI? Did you meet both in similar ways?

Bob Woodward: In 1987 I did a book on CIA director William J. Casey called "Veil." I discussed various CIA activities and controversies with Casey some four dozen times, but the discussions were on the phone, at Casey's house, on a CIA airplane and none were in underground parking garages.

But there was a cat and mouse game to all of these enduring, complicated relations with such sources. In the end, Casey told me, "Everyone always says more than they're supposed to." I think that's a very good and desirable human trait because then a reporter has a better chance of getting a full account, particularly of secret operations or investigations of and in the White House.

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Long Beach, Calif.: I read your account about how you met Mark Felt. Fascinating. You were not yet a reporter then and were in the Navy. Obviously, this chance meeting at the White House changed history. Did you ever wonder what would have come to pass if this had not happened? Both historically and for your personally. Would you still have become a reporter without his mentoring?

Bob Woodward: That's a terrific question, but again, rooted in "if history."

I have found that accident plays a giant role in all activities, but this clearly changed my life and his in a way that could not have been anticipated that day 35 years ago.

Bottom line answer... who knows? Only somebody who could be certain of an alternative history -- and I don't know any human being who has that capacity.

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Fairlington, Va.: Would you have gone to jail to protect Deep Throat's identity? How would you have felt if The Washington Post had handed over your notes to a special prosecutor?

Bob Woodward: I believe I would have gone to jail to protect Mark Felt's identity or that of any other confidential source. I don't believe that Katharine Graham, the publisher of The Post at the time of Watergate, or Ben Bradlee, the executive editor, would have ever caved in to government pressure to get notes or obtain the identity of confidential sources.

I don't believe the current publisher, Bo Jones, or Executive Editor Len Downie, would cave in those circumstances.

Confidential sources are an essential part of serious and in-depth reporting. Period.

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Caracas, Venezuela: Mr. Woodward,

In your book "All the President's Men," you mention in a couple of times that you were afraid of publishing some leads because you thought they could be setting you up to publish false information and then destroy The Post. Under this environment did your confidence in Deep Throat ever shake? What made you trust him that much?

Additionally, how did you feel when you learned he had been convicted for ordering illegal searches? Did it change your views as to the motives he had to disclose information to you in the Watergate scandal?

Bob Woodward: Almost everything he said checked out. There were some things he was wrong about, as best I can tell. But remember he was trying to confirm information we already had and give us guidance about where the investigation was going and what was being hidden by the Nixon campaign and Nixon White House.

I never lost confidence in him. It's pretty clear that some of his information was coming from informal channels of communication within the FBI or the U.S. government.

I was surprised, because the irony was quite significant, that he had authorized break-ins in security cases. In his own book, he gives the justification -- namely that the Weather Underground was not only violent but might become a lot more violent. But, frankly, I was focused on his anxiety and fear that he was going to wind up with a 10-year jail sentence. Instead he was fined $5,000, but soon thereafter, in another irony of Watergate, given a full pardon by President Ronald Reagan.

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Boston, Mass.: Mr. Woodward and Mr. Bernstein have reminded us that while Mark Felt was a very important source, there were many other confidential sources that helped uncover this story. Can Mr. Woodward tell us approximately how many more sources have not been revealed yet, will you reveal their names after their deaths, and are there any that will raise eyebrows when we ultimately find out they helped with the Watergate story?

Bob Woodward: A number of the sources for the newspaper articles in 1972 and 1973 were identified, with their permission, in "All the President's Men." I think particularly of Nixon reelection committe treasurer Hugh Sloan, but there are a number of lawyers and others who were confidential sources -- who even to this day have not been identified. They will be identified in notes and files we have after they are deceased. These files will be opened with our Watergate papers at the Ransom Center at the University of Texas.

But none of these are really major sources or likely to stir much controversy.

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Washington, D.C.: I, along with millions of others, hold you in the highest esteem. Your doggedness is the gold standard for all journalists. Having said that, did you ever attempt to meet Richard Nixon during or after Watergate? Or did he ever contact you? Did you and President Nixon ever meet? If so, what happened?

If not, did you ever meet and speak with Ehrlichman, Haldeman, Dean or any others in the inner circle of the Watergate period? If you did, what did you learn?

Bob Woodward: I was not on Nixon's Christmas card list. Rather Carl and I and many other the others from The Washington Post were on another list. Carl and I attempted to talk to Nixon a number of times, but he made it clear through spokesmen that he did not want to even meet with us briefly. I can understand and we soon quit asking.

I met and am in frequent contact with John Dean and had a number of long discussions with John Erlichman and some of the other Watergate figures. For example, Herbert Kalmbach, Nixon's personal lawyer, who went to jail because of his involvement in Watergate-related activities, wrote me a nice letter just three weeks before Mark Felt's identity was revealed. You remind me I owe him a response.

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Oklahoma City, Okla.: When you were breaking the Watergate scandal, did you sit back and realize what impact your work would have on the jouralism field for years to come, or were you just focused on doing the job at hand?

Also, it seems like the pinnacle of your journalism career came at a very early age. Do you feel like you peaked too early and has the rest of your career been coming down from that high point, or have there been new highs?

Bob Woodward: Carl Bernstein and I were very busy and the development of the story was slow and incremental and there was not really much time to deal with the consequences and impact because there was always new information to find out about and explain. On various days during the 26 months between the Watergate breakin and Nixon's resignation there might be four or five major developments. It was a very intense time and the work absorbed nearly all of our energy.

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Pittsburgh, Pa.: I'm a great admirer of Mr. Woodward's -- he sets the standard for the rest of us in print journalism. I wanted to know: does he believe that Mark Felt's identity could have remained secret if the Watergate burglary happened today -- what with bloggers and the restrictions of the Patriot Act... would Felt even have come forward in the current political climate?

Looking forward to reading the new book, and the upcoming book on the Bush administration.

Bob Woodward: I think Mark Felt, or somebody like him, would come forward but people like that are not going to pick up the phone and call a newspaper. A reporter needs numerous contacts and relationships with all kinds of people at all kinds of levels. Then these people can be contacted and interviewed to see what's going on or what might be hidden. It's like telemarketing -- cold-calling doesn't generally pay off. You've got to know people in the bureaucracy, in the political establishment, the White House, the Pentagon, CIA, Treasury, Supreme Court, the legal establishment, the lobbying undergound and wherever people might have information.

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