What Everybody's Missing About Deep Throat (He Would Have Buried Watergate)

Yes, he should only have been pardoned after a full confession - of everything. I would not have pardoned him when he was, without the same. It was wrong. He was not worthy of a pardon. One who has committed crimes of which he does not give full account, and admit their malum in se character, should never be pardoned, except after serving a fair sentence of a sentence that is disproportionate, like Liddy's. I guess it is the vestigal Christian streak in this near atheist popping out.

I didn't know about Woodward's relationship to Felt. This whole thing feels like it's unraveling before our eyes.

And the Soviets wouldn't have invaded Afghanistan, so there wouldn't have been a Bin Laden or a 9/11. The Carter Chickens have been roosting for the last 25 years.

I cringe when the Clinton Chickens start coming home to roost (they started on 9/11).

One of them is taking shape down there in the Panama Canal.

The best part is that Woodward and Bernstein were nothing but tools :-)

ping to #214

Howdy to you my old friend :-)

He was also paranoid, conniving, narcissistic, anti-semitic... I reiterate, Nixon was no hero.

Perhaps what you say is true. I always thought those were prerequisites for the job. Anyone without those qualifications really makes a very ineffective President. Carter and Bush 43 are the exceptions that prove the rule.

Now then, I am still waiting, lo these many years, for someone to point out an impeachable crime R. M. Nixon committed.

Who said that? Maybe that was not true. Maybe it was the same source who said the Casey lights were out. I am not saying Woodward didn't lie, and it is certainly the charge with the most traction against him, and you are right to bring it up, but well, I just don't know. As I said, I find Woodward a straight shooter. So it would be out of character as I see his character to do so. It was not as if he really needed to do it to feather his nest. He already had it made in the shade.

Yes, yes, of course you're right.

The tapes have them backing away from action against Felt, as he will spill his guts.

But they could not have known that leaving him alone was not enough. They could not have known that, if they didn't give him the top job, he would spill his guts anyway. From that point of view, they didn't--couldn't--know Felt's "terms."

But what I gather from this exchange (thanks for posting it), is that, even within the meltdown, they simply knew Felt would not be a good FBI chief, on character reasons. My reading, anyway.

It's gotten to me, too. I voted for Nixon as soon as I turned 18, and I thought Watergate was a vastly overblown issue. I visited the Nixon Library last year and paid proper homage to a great American.

You are probably right.

But there WAS a time when naming a new director was under serious discussion, at least, and Felt was lobbying for the job. He'd do anything for it, as we have seen.

Nixon's problem was he was far too loyal to his underlings.

That certainly was one of his problems. Loyalty to those who break the law is misguided. But then, Nixon made enough off the cuff comments to encourage a whole battalion to break a whole regiment of laws, including ordering the break in, in general terms, itself. Kissinger said Nixon was just letting off steam. How special. The guy was unfit for office. To suggest otherwise, is an act of partisan self denial. JMO.

Fair enough. I think Nixon may have been the worst president in U.S. history (although it is probably Buchanan), but I still hate the idea of him being prosecuted. I don't know.

Good to see you.

I should have pinged you re your thoughts about the cub reporters being picked by Felt with that interesting article.

And I think you're right; the internet will not let this die. Too many of us cut our political teeth on Watergate.

No doubt. I have to think that much of what happened then and is being massaged now is that Alger Hiss is at the center of the whole mess.

The reds were neck deep in State and Nixon's involvement in HUAC targeted him. For once the French have an appropriate comment, plus ca change, plus se la meme chose. The Post (and the MSM) are circling the wagons to destroy evidence and crow at killing Nixon but their greed (and Felt's family) may not work out like they planned.

In other words, Felt's admission could blow up the hidden past of the communists in this country almost as much as Venona. Somebody lay a flower on Tailgunner Joe's grave, this could get very interesting.

It's times like this that I truly treasure this site.

By the way, your posts on woodward are interesting to me at least.

Apparently Woodward and Felt knew each other for a long time.

As I read this, it appeared that Felt molded the young and eager Woodward as a potential source and use after they first met.

Also, it is obvious that Woodward had this long chapter on their history ready to roll out if and when Felt was ever outed or he came out himself.

In his 1987 book, Veil, Woodward claimed he had interviewed William J. Casey, the CIA director, after Casey had brain surgery and could not speak intelligibly. Woodward didn’t know that, and he made up an interview in which Casey is supposed to have spoken 19 intelligible words. It was clear that this was a falsification not only because of Casey’s condition, but because his hospital room was guarded and Woodward was never admitted to it.

Another Woodward technique is to get information in confidence and break his pledge not to report it in a way that reveals the source. His new book includes statements Hillary Clinton made to Jane Sherburne, a former assistant White House counsel. Sherburne, who is identified in the book as the source, has said in a deposition taken by Judicial Watch that she gave Woodward details of these private conversations on the condition that they not be quoted directly.

Sherburne said Woodward had called just before his book was published to tell her that he had included her one-on-one conversations with Hillary in the book because he had been able to confirm them with other sources. Will Woodward’s employer and peers forgive this betrayal of Sherburne and breach of journalistic ethics as they did his lie about Bill Casey?

Although it would answer a lot of questions that have been raised about Bob Woodward, at this point one can only speculate as to whether he was offered the chance to become a "double-wallet guy," as CIA agents who have two identities are dubbed. It would certainly be understandable if he decided not to adhere to the straight and accepted the submerged patriotic glamour and extra funds that such a relationship would provide. It would also explain the comments of Pulitzer Prize-winning author J. Anthony Lukas, when he wrote in 1989 that Bob Woodward was "temperamentally secretive, loathe to volunteer information about himself," or the Washingtonian's remarks in 1987: "He is secretive about everything." As Esquire magazine put it, summing up in its 1992 article on Bob, "What is he hiding?"

Three days after graduating from Yale, Woodward was sent by the U.S. Navy to Norfolk, Virginia, where he was commissioned as an ensign by none other than U.S. Senator George Smathers from Florida. Bob's assignment was to a very special ship, called a "floating Pentagon," the U.S.S. Wright. The ship was a National Emergency Command Ship-a place where a President and cabinet could preside from in the event of a nuclear war. It had elaborate and sophisticated communications and data processing capabilities. It had a smaller replica of the war room at the Pentagon. It ran under what was called SIOP-Single Integrated Operation Plan. For example, in the event of nuclear war, the Wright was third in line to take full command if the two ahead of it, the Strategic Air Command in Omaha (SAC) and NORAD, were rendered incommunicado. Woodward-straightfacedly-told authors Colodny and Gettlin (Silent Coup) that he guessed he was picked for the ship because he had been a radio ham as a kid.

Aboard the Wright, Woodward had top secret "crypto" clearance-the same clearance researcher Harold Weisberg found had been assigned to Lee Harvey Oswald when he was himself in the Marines. Such clearance in Woodward's case gave him full access to nearly all classified materials and codes on the ship. Woodward also ran the ship's newspaper. Woodward has insisted that possessing a high security clearance is not necessarily indicative of intelligence work.

The Wright carried men from each of the military services, as well as CIA personnel. One of Havill's government sources reported that the CIA would likely have had additional informants on a ship of such sensitivity, adding that "the rivalry between the services was intense."

After a two and a half year stint on the Wright, Woodward was assigned to go to Vietnam. Woodward wrote the Pentagon asking to serve on a destroyer. The wish was granted. One naval captain told Havill that it seemed reasonable Woodward would have a little pull from his previous duty to avoid getting assigned to Vietnam. Another former naval officer disputed that, saying "Nobody got out of going to Vietnam in 1968."

But Woodward did. He was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Fox, based in Southern California. The personnel on board the Fox included an intelligence team, many of whom had studied Russian and Asian languages at the famous armed services language school in Monterey, California.

By 1968, Woodward ran the ship's radio team. In 1969, Woodward was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for his communications work. From there, Woodward moved on to a Pentagon assignment, a job that included briefing top officers in the government. Admiral Thomas Moorer and former secretary of defense Melvin Laird are both on record noting that Woodward briefed Al Haig at the White House during this period. What is suspicious is Woodward's semi-admittance to Hougan that he had done some briefing, and his complete denial to Colodny and Gettlin that he had ever briefed anyone at the White House. Havill notes:

Considering the evidence, Bob Woodward's denial more strongly suggests intelligence than it does his uninvolvement in White House briefings.

Woodward's secrecy about his past, his choice of associates, and what is known of his activities caused Havill to write:

The question, then, begs itself once more. Was Bob Woodward ever a free-lance or retained Central Intelligence Agency liaison officer, informant or operative . . . ? This author got various forms of affirmative opinions from intelligence experts. It would explain his assignment to the Wright and his misleading statements to interviewers. It would make understandable his being able to get out of going to Vietnam in 1968, his extension for an additional year at the Pentagon, his being chosen to brief at the White House and his denials as well. It would also help explain his subsequent high-level friendships with leaders of the U.S. military and the CIA.

It would also explain the role Woodward and Bernstein wittingly or unwittingly played in keeping the CIA's nose clean while making sure the world saw the President's nose was dirty.
The Legacy of Deep Throat

Whatever his background, whatever his connections, one cannot trust what Woodward says as fact. Take, for instance, his account in Veil of his last interview with dying CIA Director William Casey. Havill tracked down Casey's family, friends, hospital security staff and CIA guardians and found that the visit Woodward described was impossible. First of all, Casey was under 24 hour guard by several layers of security: CIA members, hospital security, and Casey's family. And Woodward had already been stopped once while trying to see Casey. According to one of Havill's sources, Woodward was not merely asked to leave, as Woodward reported in his book, but was forcibly shoved into the elevator. And Woodward's story kept shifting. Woodward told a Knight-Ridder reporter that he had gotten in by flashing his press pass. To Larry King, Woodward claimed he just "walked in." But even assuming he somehow managed to get by all of that security, Woodward would still have been the only person to claim that Casey had uttered intelligible words in those last hours. The only other person to make such a claim was Robert Gates, who himself became CIA Director. The family, doctor and medical staff said Casey could not make words at this point, only noises. At least Gates questioned whether he might have been imagining he heard words. Woodward has never retracted his "conversation." In addition, Woodward once said that Casey sat bolt upright, which would seem highly implausible given his rapidly deteriorating state. Onetime CIA Director Stansfield Turner, a friend of Woodward's since 1966, said Woodward told him he'd walked by Casey's room and Casey had waved to him. Casey's bed was positioned in such a way in the room as to make that impossible too.

Likewise, Woodward does not seem to demand authenticity from subordinates. Under his watch as Assistant Managing Editor of the Metro desk, the Post suffered a humiliation of the highest proportions at the hands of one of his hires, Janet Cooke. It was this incident that knocked the Post from its perch as "America's leading newspaper," as it had been called in the wake of its Watergate reporting.

Janet Cooke was a gifted writer with a knack for capturing the essence of the streets of D.C. She went to the Post for a job, and Woodward hired her. More illustrator than reporter, she painted vivid images, if not entirely accurate ones. The latter trait soon brought her trouble.

Cooke's crowning glory-and worst disaster-was a story called "Jimmy's World," about an eight year old heroin addict. The story brought both praise and outrage: praise for the vivid writing, outrage that a reporter could just stand by and watch a kid taking drugs. The controversial story managed to earn a Pulitzer, but only after some arm twisting by the committee head, who overruled the committee's first choice for the prizewinner to pick "Jimmy's World." Some of the committee members hadn't even read the story, but not wanting to appear divisive, they stood together, for better or for worse. Made bold by the award, Janet Cooke's fabrications grew even larger and more personal. She started making up a history for herself that she didn't possess, including training in languages she couldn't speak. Several at the Post, including Woodward, were worried that her story of Jimmy may not be true. They pressured Cooke to produce "Jimmy." Losing the battle to protect her source, it rapidly became clear that she had no source. There was no Jimmy. And for the first time ever, a Pulitzer was returned. The Post was thoroughly embarrassed by a woman under Woodward's direct supervision at the paper.

But Woodward's most stunning deceptions come from the work that launched his career, his tracking of the Watergate story as retold in the supposedly nonfiction work All the President's Men. Adrian Havill found curious discrepancies between accountings of incidents as reported in the book, and the rest of the available facts (see sidebar at right).

Given his role in the Watergate cover-up, and the misrepresentations in his own work, it remains to us a huge mystery why this man is treated with the reverence he is. Considering his behavior, his background, his credibility, and his connections, we now feel compelled to join Adrian Havill in asking who is Bob Woodward? Whom does he serve? Is his career sustained for the purposes of those with a "secret agenda"?

The Deceptions of All the President's Men

Had the book been presented as fiction, readers could not complain. However, the book sits on non-fiction shelves around the world. Maybe it shouldn't.

In his book Deep Truth, author Adrian Havill presents several events in All the President's Men that are, to put it generously, highly suspect. One example is the scene in which Woodward and Bernstein have made their first egregious mistake. They sourced Hugh Sloan's grand jury testimony for a story that Sloan had never told the Grand Jury, showing that Haldeman was one of the inner group at CREEP controlling the mysterious slush fund. In the book, the dejected Woodward and Bernstein walk home in the rain, beaten both physically and symbolically by the elements, with only newspapers over their head to keep them dry. Havill did some checking. It never rained that day. That might seem an inconsequential detail to some, but others will understand that it was a device created to bring drama. How many other "events" were merely fictional devices? Havill found several. For instance, at one point, Carl Bernstein is about to be subpoenaed by CREEP, and Ben Bradlee advised Carl to go hang out at a movie until after 5:00 p.m., then to call into the office. According to the book, Carl went to see Deep Throat, hence the reason for the name "Deep Throat" having been given to Woodward's secret source. But there was no Deep Throat playing anywhere in D.C. at that time. In fact, the theaters were being very cautious, having recently been raided by law enforcement authorities. Not one theater in town was showing Deep Throat.

And speaking of "Deep Throat" . . .

One of the most astonishingly bald-faced inventions was the process by which Woodward and "Deep Throat" allegedly made contact when they needed to speak to one another. In the book, much is made of the spooky, clandestine meetings between "Deep Throat" and Woodward. When Woodward needed to ask "Deep Throat" something, he was to put a flower pot with a red flag in it on his sixth floor balcony, which, we are supposed to believe, this high level source checked daily. When "Deep Throat" wanted to speak to Woodward, a clock would supposedly be drawn in his copy of the New York Times designating the meeting time. But neither of these scenarios fits the reality of where Woodward lived. Woodward, who could remember the exact room number (710) where he met Martha Mitchell just once, evidently had trouble remembering the address at which he had lived. In an interview he once said it was "606 or 608 or 612, something like that." However, Havill found that Woodward's actual address was 617. This is important, because the balcony attached to 617 faced an interior courtyard. Havill poked around and found that the only way to view a flower pot on the balcony was to walk into the center of the complex, with eighty units viewing you, crane your neck and look up to the sixth floor. Even then, a pot would have been barely visible. There was an alley that ran behind the building that allowed a glimpse of the apartment and balcony, but at an equally difficult angle. And in both cases, we are to believe that this source, who strove hard to protect his identify, would walk up in plain view of the eighty apartments facing the inner courtyard or the alley on a daily basis, on the chance that there might be a sign from Woodward. When Havill tried to poke around, just to look at the place, residents of the building stopped him and inquired who he was and what he was looking for. Unless "Deep Throat" was well known to the residents of the building, his daily visits seem to preclude being able to keep his identity a secret.

As for the clock-in-the-paper, the New York Times papers were delivered not to each door, but left stacked and unmarked in a common reception area. There was no way "Deep Throat" could have known which paper Woodward would end up with each morning.

My take as well, hand picked by Bradlee and Felt.

I forgot to ping both of you on this interesting find.