W. Mark Felt is Deep Throat

ABC News | 5/31/1955 | ABC News

[CaptainK]

Just in on ABC News. He and his family admit it through his lawyer. Will be in upcoming Vanity Fair.

[Jedidah]

The tapes. Not transcripts. The actual tapes.

It wouldn't take long for investigators to discover any tampering. This was, after all, in the earlier days of technology, and the taping system was rudimentary reel-to-reel. Deep Throat knowing about the gaps in early November fits the timeline nicely, IMO, if he had connections to investigators. Felt would have.

I'm not arguing one way or the other. I watched the whole sorry scandal with fascination and have maintained a keen interest in it through the years. What was shameful then is now history.

[Albion Wilde]

I've not read the whole thread, but Kewpie Dolls are not "slang for Cutie Pie."

Condensed from http://wy.essortment.com/collectibleskew_rewk.htm

Collectibles: the kewpie doll

"What were the Kewpie doll[s?] [A]n American artist by the name of Rose O'Neill... originally designed the Kewpie doll... a doll that resembled a chubby child complete with a tummy that stuck out... tiny blue wings, a single shock of hair...[an] impish smile and eyes that are turned to the side. Her creations were called Kewpies because of the strong resemblance to pictures of Cupid... the mythical matchmaker who ... brings two people together in love..."

[SunkenCiv]

from February:

DIG FOR DIRTY HANDS (Cindy Adams Talks to David Gergen About Deep Throat)
New York Post | February 11, 2005 | Cindy Adams
Posted on 02/10/2005 11:32:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1340912/posts

"NOW about this 'Deep Throat' soon- to-be revelation. Woodward and Bernstein are once again teasing mankind, saying how they'll maybe soon reveal The Identity because they'd always agreed they'd wait until the death of this person. Well, I don't totally know anyone gives a hoot anymore. However, I do know about a 90-year-old man who was a player in the Nixon administration. High up in the FBI in those days. Close to Hoover in earlier days. Now seriously ailing in California, his name is Mark Felt."

Now some other related topics:

Transcript: Shep Smith's interview with Eric Burns -- "Deep Throat is fiction"
Studio-B with Shepard Smith | 2/18/05
Posted on 02/18/2005 5:55:47 PM PST by Lathspell
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1346410/posts

Ehrlichman ID'd Kissinger as Watergate 'Deep Throat'
World Net Daily | 2-18-05
Posted on 02/18/2005 8:12:33 PM PST by hope
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1346486/posts

Former GOP chairman names Dean as ‘Deep Throat’
GM Today | 3/16/05 | KEVIN PASSON
Posted on 03/17/2005 2:48:57 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1364993/posts

[Southack]

"It wouldn't take long for investigators to discover any tampering. This was, after all, in the earlier days of technology, and the taping system was rudimentary reel-to-reel. Deep Throat knowing about the gaps in early November fits the timeline nicely, IMO, if he had connections to investigators. Felt would have."

I'm unconvinced. Investigators would have to listen to thousands of hours of tapes, tapes that I'm not sure they even had prior to November 7.

Prosecutors, moreover, didn't alert the judge to the gap. It was the White House that fessed up...on November 21...confirming Deep Throat's tip that was published back on Novemember 8.

So the *prosecutors* hadn't had time to hear all of the tapes by November 21 (the judge would have granted them *any* request had they been the first to divulge the gap instead of the White House confessing).

Did the FBI have more time with the tapes than the prosecutors?! Somehow I doubt it.

[hummingbird]

He looks like Junior Soprano with hair in this photo!

[Mo1]

Is it just me, or does Bob Woodward always seem to be hanging around old guys' deathbeds? Especially ones with demntia.

Yea I noticed that

BTW ... My cable went out earlier and it's still flakey, so I don't know how long I'll still be online

What have I missed ?

Did we find out why ABC/Charlie Gibson decided to break in the middle of the President's press conference with the information about this article??

Howlin .. something just SMELLS about this

[Jedidah]

Nope. I don't believe for one minute that anyone outside Nixon's little secret circle knew about that taping system. It was just too explosive, HUGE news when Butterfield spilled the beans in summer, 1973.

Most of Nixon's top aides didn't even know. They would never have said the stuff they did in the Oval Office if they'd known it was being taped. I mean, what's the use of a secret system that's not secret? The guy was paranoid.

Had the FBI known earlier, or even suspected, that there were tapes, there would have been subpoenas issued for them long before the fall of 1973.

[Countyline]

dementia and/or alzheimers can take everything away forever.

[I. M. Trenchant]

For reasons I have given in post #413 of this thread, I respectfully disagree with your comment: I never considered it too big a deal who deep throat was... Violation of a federal oath is one of the most serious offenses on the books. When a federal official, especially an FBI official who was second-in-command, defaults on his oath, and helps to weaken the presidency (forget Nixon, he will be treated kindly enough by history), it seems to me it matters who DT was.

[Southack]

"dementia and/or alzheimers can take everything away forever."

How do you confess if you've lost everything?

[dogbyte12]

What people don't really get about Woodward here is that he was a Republican. A very strident Republican as well, but when Watergate was going on, you still had all the infighting between the different movements. You had the Rockefellers, the Goldwaters, the establishment. You had the military types.

Carl Bernstein was/is a leftist. However, Bernstein had nothing to do with Deep Throat. Bob Woodward just got out of the Navy, doing an extra year of service, at the time when Nixon was reorganizing intelligence, cutting the military out of the loop, and putting it in the hands of the NSC/Kissinger.

There were alot of Republicans who were more than willing to put the knife into Nixon's back, Bob Woodward being one of them. I would not be terribly shocked if Deep Throat is a composite of Al Haig, Mark Felt, and a variety of other insiders, especially on the military, law enforcement side, who felt comfortable with Woodward because of his background.

[grizzly84]

I have my doubts, reason is Woodward and Bernstein wont confirm or deny it. If this guy was actually "Deepthroat" and admitting his identity what reason would they have to keep it a secret anymore?

[Kenny Bunkport]

What a let down. And I suspose the means that Henry Kissinger isn't the Anti-Christ?

[No Surrender No Retreat]

So what do you consider Klintoon, if Nixon was scum in(your) opinion? NSNR

[ConservativeDude]

Interesting. I recently heard a Nixon white house guy say that he was CERTAIN it was some old timer who was a reporter, then a political type, then went back to reporting...was in poor health now and would spill the beans soon. Can't remember his name. But his argument was that as a reporter he could related to the reporter and all that....seemed plausible. But now this.

[Kenny Bunkport]

"...this according to my wife, MORGAN FAIRCHILD."

[E Rocc]

Woodward and Bernstein staked their reputation on Deep Throat being a White House insider who personally knew of the gap on Nixon's tapes.

Felt, as you've outlined above, could only have known about those gaps second-hand.

Ergo, Felt isn't Deep Throat.

Felt was the FBI liason with the White House in addition to running the investigative division. He certainly qualified as an insider in that regard, just as Gary Aldrich was an insider with the C****** Admin.

Felt was one of Hoover's people, and they were being purged from the FBI by Nixon's appointees. If Felt was indeed Deep Throat, this could be Hoover's posthumous revenge, with Woodward and Bernstein nothing more than his stalking horses. Now that would rewrite some history books.

Anyone with access to Hoover's infamous files could certainly do a far better job of recruiting CIs than W&B could ever dream of. Note that JFK's 1960 campaign was just as dirty, and LBJ's 1964 campaign was way worse. Yet nothing leaked on them.

-Eric

[Southack]

"There were alot of Republicans who were more than willing to put the knife into Nixon's back, Bob Woodward being one of them. I would not be terribly shocked if Deep Throat is a composite of Al Haig, Mark Felt, and a variety of other insiders, especially on the military, law enforcement side, who felt comfortable with Woodward because of his background."

Aye. While the Left hated Nixon because he brought down Alger Hiss, the Right hated Nixon for a whole host of reasons, including:

1. Getting us out of Vietnam
2. Opening up China
3. Giving us the EPA
4. Giving us Affirmative Action

...And the list goes on.

It's quite conceivable that someone who favored the Right brought Nixon down to prevent the GOP from moving any further to the Left.

Regardless, it worked out that way for us in the end; be it by design or by default.

[Howlin]

Something is not right, you're right about that.

Especially with Woodward and Bernstein not talking today.

I missed the ABC thing, but read about it; no rational reasoning.

[AFPhys]

I agree with you. I ought to have provided some clarification and emphasis:

"I never considered it too big a deal WHO deep throat was - He ought to have been fried, rather than going after Nixon, though."

If I had more accurately written that sentence, we would probably be in complete agreement, and it is consistent with the rest of my post, I believe.