Posted on 06/02/2005 6:25:17 PM PDT by wagglebee
I have always believed that Deep Throat was actually a composite of individuals, all seeking to bring down Nixon. The events of the past few days have made me rethink this and I have reached a few conclusions.
It makes complete sense now that there was only one Deep Throat, in the sense that only one person met with Woodward and gave him his information. Obviously it would have been safest to only have one person go to all the meetings because this reduced the risks to all involved. So from this point of view, Mark Felt was Deep Throat. But as I read Woodward's story today, I became more convinced than ever that Felt could not have acted alone.
Flowerpot and the New York Times
Woodward and Felt had an arrangement that if Woodward needed a meeting, he would move a flowerpot with a red flag on it to the back of his balcony. If Felt had information, he would have a clock drawn on page 20 of the New York Times that was delivered to Woodward.
What struck me as odd was the fact that with the security risk that Woodward was being watched, there was no way that Felt could personally drive past Woodward's apartment every day to look for the signal; moreover, there was absolutely no way that Felt could have entered the lobby of Woodward's building and switched copies of the New York Times. So, it had to be people working for Felt that carried out these tasks. Maybe they didn't know the reason at first, but they would have certainly figured it out in time. Felt would only have used seasoned veterans that he could trust completely, so these would have been experienced FBI agents who would have easily figured out the pattern to the Deep Throat stories and the flowerpot and NYT signals. So, the question becomes, was this agent (or agents) a willing co-conspirator, or were they so afraid of Felt that they remained silent. Because Felt has been retired for so long, this agent (or agents) have remained silent, I can only conclude that they were willing accomplices.
White House Red Herrings
Nixon was furious about the leaks and finding out the source was a top priority. Nixon was an extremely intelligent man, despite any poor judgement calls he may have made. So logic would be that he would have put out "red herrings" in an attempt to ferret out Deep Throat's identity. If this is true, there is only one way that Felt could have avoided the trap -- that would be to have other accomplices in the White House who were helping to root out any possibly disinformation. In addition, it is highly improbable that Felt was personally privy to all of the information he was leaking. Because of this, it is my conclusion that there was one or more senior Nixon aides who was actively conspiring with Felt. In fact, the most likely scenario would be that there was a small group who chose Felt as their spokesman. Felt would have been the logical choice for two reasons: 1. he had extensive espionage training and therefore the least chance of being caught; and 2. of all the people involved, Felt was the least publicly recognizable.
Woodward and Bernstein Reaction
When the Vanity Fair story broke, Woodward and Bernstein had no comment. The only confirmed Felt's story when there was no other viable alternative. Could it be that they had long known or at least suspected that Felt may have been Deep Throat, but he wasn't the sole source? Why do we now know that they worked so hard to keep Felt from coming forward? Could it be that they were concerned that it would make it more difficult to protect the other sources? Were they concerned that with his current mental state Felt would name others, names that would be instantly recognizable? Did they only confirm Felt's story after breathing a sigh of relief that he took all of the credit?
Ping!
Ping!
FYI..good points..can we ping the list please..
Senior FBI staff..the top people..do NOT travel alone..they have drivers, aides whjo are with them constantly..using a trusted agent..similar to a flag officer's aide..that person could do some of the surveillance of Woodware's apartment at his boss's bidding, and be trusted to keep his mouth shit..so my take is it wasn't a one-person operation per say..it was Felt and a felt other agents who were loyal to him..
I agree, and that makes me wonder why they have never come forward.
They may still be in government service...
Possible, but not likely. Felt wouldn't have trusted a rookie, it would have been someone who had been with the FBI for several years. Nobody stays with the government for well over 30 years unless they have a REALLY BIG JOB.
i think yours are serious questions.
and, no doubt there will be plenty of opportunities in the coming years for historians to complete the puzzle.
no doubt that the democrats are NOT going to like the results.
p.s. take a look at:
Silent Coup: The Removal of a President
by Len Colodny, Robert Gettlin
you can get used for nothing.
Based on things you have said about the possibility of indicting Felt, I'd be interested to know what you think of this.
Indeed as they had nothing to fear like Gary Aldridge and Linda Tripp did. They were heroes as viewed by the left for bringing down Nixon.
They could have cut their own book deals and made a fortune.
Interesting stuff ping!
Thanks for the *ping*--it is interesting. Maybe it was his daughter--now she wants money for "his" story. Maybe it's her story, too......or was she too young?
I don't know. Ask the author.
The money-grubbing daughter doesn't strike me as intelligent enough to keep her mouth shut for over 30 years.
Who knows?
Makes sense to me. Once I was walking down a Washington DC street where a number of govt buildings stood in the early 80s during lunch time. Ahead of me were 2 well-dressed professional=looking fellows--one white and one black. One fellow with a sly, furtive movement at his side handed to the other fellow something small and white. The other fellow quickly clasped it in his hand. It was done so quickly that I often wondered if maybe some secrets were handed over or possibly some drugs being passed. Overall, it was very strange.
Yeah, except if she did run around blabbing who would believe her after seeing Hal Holbrook in the movie!
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