"Deep Throat", Mark Felt, Nixon, Watergate and Jeff's premonition.

Nixon to Haldeman, heard on tapes ordered released for the trial of Bob H.R. Haldeman (White House Chief of Staff), John Ehrlichman (Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs) and John Mitchell (U.S. Attorney General):

"I don't give a shit what happens. I want you all to stonewall it, let them plead the Fifth Amendment, cover up or anything else, if it'll save it, save this plan. That's the whole point. We're going to protect our people if we can."

Former FBI agent and then Associate Director of the FBI Mark Felt revealed in 2005 that he, in fact, was "Deep Throat", the anonymous source that let Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post to uncover that then President Nixon was directly involved in the Watergate Cover-up in 1972 which ultimately led to the downfall of Nixon and his resignation in 1974. Felt was the Number 2 man next to Acting FBI Director, L. Patrick Gray.

Felt died yesterday at the age of 95.

What's interesting is that last night I was on the computer surfing information on the Watergate hearings, Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, John Dean (Nixon staff members involved with Nixon in the cover-up), etcetera. So I'm on Wikipedia reading about Mark Felt and I read that Felt has died in Santa Rosa, CA - but I never looked at the date. I just assumed he died a few years ago (his health in 2005 was failing terribly which is why he outed himself to Vanity Fair magazine).

I get up this morning and the first thing I read on Msn.com is "Felt, 'Deep Throat', dead at 95". Now how coincidental is that?

Above: Nixon with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Haldeman (far) and Ehrlichman (foreground). Kissinger was left unscathed during the Watergate scandal.

Incidentally, only Woodward, Bernstein and their editor, Ben Bradlee, knew "Deep Throat's" identity. They didn't even tell their wives or children. However, I did find out via YouTube that Nixon Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman revealed to President Nixon in 1972 that Felt was, in fact, the anonymous source that was tipping off The Washington Post reporters. Haldeman revealing to Nixon in 1972 the identity of "Deep Throat" . Fast forward to the :56 second mark if the suspense is killing you.

What's interesting about this is that neither Nixon nor Haldeman ever publicly admitted they felt Felt (ha) was "Deep Throat". Course, the tapes had been turned over so I guess they didn't have to say anything. And there were many who suspected it was Felt but no one really knew for sure until 2005.

Fascinating shit. I really, really would like to know if the Watergate Senate hearings are available for public consumption. I've read "All the President's Men" and seen the movie (one of the inspirations for my majoring in Journalism), among other sources on the subject. The fact that so many politicians went down for what Nixon did - it's a concept that's difficult to wrap my head around. And then - of all people - Nixon gets pardoned from Ford.

Woodward (left) and Bernstein (right) in 2005 visiting The Washington Post archive. There's a ton of stuff on the Internet regarding Watergate - Nixon's tapes, notes from Woodward and Bernstein, and so on - including the new Watergate archive of The Washington Post at the University of Texas at Austin. It's history worth looking back at.