ON THIS DAY

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May 31, 2005

Deep Throat revealed as Mark Felt

It was publicly revealed on May 31, 2005 that former FBI official Mark Felt was “Deep Throat,” the anonymous informant at the centre of the Watergate scandal that involved U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration.

Felt (1913 – 2008) was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973. Felt was an FBI special agent who eventually rose to the position of Deputy Director, the Bureau's second-highest-ranking post.

In 2005, at age 91, Felt revealed to Vanity Fair magazine that during his tenure as Deputy Director of the FBI he had been the anonymous source known as "Deep Throat", who provided The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with critical information about the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Woodward, who had long vowed not to reveal Deep Throat's identity while the source was still alive, quickly confirmed Felt's claim. Though Felt's identity as Deep Throat was suspected, including by Nixon himself, it had generally remained a secret for 30 years. Felt finally acknowledged that he was Deep Throat after being persuaded by his daughter to reveal his identity before his death.

BTW:

Felt agreed to provide Woodward and Bernstein with information on a deep background basis, which meant he would neither confirm nor deny his involvement in the investigation. In order to protect his identity, Post editor Howard Simons tagged him as “Deep Throat”, after the widely known pornographic film Deep Throat.

Felt provided Woodward and Bernstein with information about the Watergate cover-up, including details about a slush fund used by the Nixon administration to pay for the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. He also provided information about the White House’s attempts to obstruct justice by concealing evidence of the break-in. Felt and Woodward communicated under a shroud of secrecy, often meeting in a dimly lit parking garage in Rosslyn, Virginia.

It has been reported that Felt, a devout Christian, was ashamed at the pseudonym given to him.

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