![]() He wrote that he was upset by the slow pace of the FBI investigation into the Watergate break-in and believed the press could pressure the administration to cooperate. In a memoir published in April 2006, Felt said he saw himself as a "lone ranger" who could help derail a White House cover-up. The source would scrawl a time to meet on page 20 of Woodward's copy of the New York Times and they would rendezvous in a suburban Virginia parking garage in the dead of night. Woodward would move a flower pot with a red flag on his balcony if he needed to meet Felt. Worried that phones were being tapped, Felt arranged clandestine meetings worthy of a spy novel. Within days of the burglary at Watergate, Woodward phoned Felt, who helped Woodward link the former CIA official Howard Hunt to the break-in. Later, while Woodward and Bernstein relied on various unnamed sources in reporting on Watergate, Felt helped keep them on track and confirm vital information. Felt apparently took a liking to the young Woodward, then a navy courier, and Woodward kept the relationship going, treating Felt as a mentor as he tried to figure out the ways of Washington. In 1970, Woodward struck up a conversation with Felt while both men were waiting in a White House hallway. "We could make at least enough money to pay some bills, like the debt I've run up for the kids' education," Joan told her father, according to Vanity Fair. Woodward had always claimed that he would reveal Deep Throat's identity after his death. Ultimately, his daughter Joan persuaded him to go public. Supporters hailed him as a hero for blowing the whistle on a corrupt administration.įelt grappled with his place in history, arguing with his children over whether to reveal his identity or to take his secret to the grave. The name came from a notorious pornographic film released in 1972.Ĭritics of Felt, including those who went to prison for the Watergate scandal, called him a traitor for betraying the president. Trying to guess Deep Throat's identity had been a Washington parlour game for years. The Woodward and Bernstein book on the Watergate saga, All the President's Men, and the subsequent film of the same title made Deep Throat and his mantra "follow the money" legendary in US politics and journalism. ![]() "I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat," Felt told Vanity Fair in 2005, creating a whirlwind of media attention. While some, including Nixon and his camp, speculated that Felt was the source who connected the White House to the break-in, Felt steadfastly denied it until finally admitting his role in May 2005. The shadowy central figure in the one of the most gripping political dramas of the 20th century, Felt insisted his alter ego be kept secret when he leaked damaging information about Nixon and his aides. His death comes three years after he finally admitted to being Deep Throat, ending years of speculation as to the identity of the high-level source. ![]() Felt was instrumental in their revelations of the Nixon presidential administration's campaign of spying and sabotage against its political adversaries. He secretly guided the Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, who with colleague Carl Bernstein pursued the story of the 1972 break-in at the Democratic national committee's headquarters at the Watergate office building. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |