BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)

Subject: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: robomatic
Date: 31 May 05 - 05:35 PM

For those of a certain age, it is significant to note that former FBI agent W. Mark Felt has 'fessed up to being the inside informant to Woodward and Bernstein who earned the monicker "Deep Throat" and was protrayed in the movie "All The President's Men" by that wonderful actor Hal Holbrook.

"Follow The Money"

And here is the clicky to the New York Times:


Former F B I Official says he was Deep Throat

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Bobert
Date: 31 May 05 - 07:26 PM

Well, well, well...

Heck, I always thought it was Spiro Agnew???? Jus funnin'... Spiro was kept way outtta the loop...

But I've been thinkin' that what we need is another "Deep Throat" today but, hey, with all the liein' that's going down that Bush has allready been caught doin', like who would care???

Not the American people, that one things that is fir sure...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: GUEST
Date: 31 May 05 - 08:03 PM

dang..it was LINDA LOVELACE...lol!
i saw the movie...hehehehe

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 31 May 05 - 08:15 PM

Gee, imagine how history would be changed if Felt had got the promotion he craved. Don't get mad, get even!----John

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Ebbie
Date: 31 May 05 - 08:17 PM

Wash out your mind with soap, Clinton. hehehe, indeed. :)

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: robomatic
Date: 31 May 05 - 08:33 PM

Several thoughts:

There are so many folk out there who weren't around for the head trip many of us were of age to remember called Watergate. We are also entering a new era with its own threat scenario and new global issues. So this revelation comes right on the edge of who cares-ville. Apparently those who were up on the niceties of the Watergate era knew who he was and that he might be a contender for the leaker.

Also, he's of an advanced age and this is his last hurrah, his last chance to put a little spin on his reasons for giving Administration insider help to Woodward & Bernstein.

Still, its nice to remember an era when a free and independent news organization could defy a powerful Administration which kept a serious enemies list.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Bill D
Date: 31 May 05 - 08:39 PM

well, I for one, admire the man greatly for doing what he felt NEEDED doing, even though it was counter to his usual practice. He was half proud and half ashamed to have had to do that. Give him credit....he didn't actually tell Woodward the answers, he just guided him a bit.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Peace
Date: 31 May 05 - 08:41 PM

Yeah, Far be it for a Federal Law Enforcement Officer to tell someone about a law having been broken. Wouldn't happen today, however, so I suppose he deserves a pat on the back, huh?

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: number 6
Date: 31 May 05 - 08:53 PM

My hat goes off to him.

I agree with Bruce and doubt if it would happen today.

Great to have this mystery on who he was come to truth.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Greg F.
Date: 31 May 05 - 09:47 PM

If anyone deserves one, this man should be awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Nancy King
Date: 31 May 05 - 10:12 PM

Ladies and gentlemen, our long national guessing game is over. I'm glad he owned up to it himself, instead of Woodward and Bernstein outing him after his death. Three cheers for Mr. Felt!

Felt was not among the most talked-about possibilities, either. Apparently the only person who guessed was Ronald Kessler, who figured it out while writing his book, "The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI." I heard a radio interview with him today. Interesting.

We did a lot of speculating -- some serious, some not -- in this thread a few years back. We didn't come close to the real deal.

I'm glad we finally know!

Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Kaleea
Date: 31 May 05 - 10:52 PM

Jeepers, how many times have FBI big guns been duking it out with their current president?   Things that make you go, Hmmmmmmmmm.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Pauline L
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 01:18 AM

Robomatic said, "Still, its nice to remember an era when a free and independent news organization could defy a powerful Administration which kept a serious enemies list." So true. Also it was a simpler era technologically. Meeting someone in a dark parking garage after seeing a potted geranium in a certain place on someone else's balcony -- those things would be tracked electronically so easily today. Just imagine a GPS device implanted on Felt, Woodward, or Bernstein. How awful!

I agree heartily with Bill D. I have tremendous respect for the man who took such risks to do what he believed was right. He may have been PO'd by being passed over for a promotion but he may well have had the same motive as people from CRP (Committe to Re-Elect the President) and the Republican Party. They initially supported Nixon but were disgusted when they found out some of the things he had done. Deep Throat knew so much more about what had happened and was arguably so much more disgusted than the small fry. Hats off to Deep Throat.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: GUEST,saulgoldie sans cookie
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 08:23 AM

It all goes back to the classic dilema of following orders versus doing the right thing. The current climate of fear coupled with, as Pauline pointed out, the technological advancements make doing the right thing less and less likely. Oh, and the increasingly corporate media who have lost all perspective on what it means to find and report the real story.

BTW, where are the conserevative apologists? There is not nor has there ever been any excuse for what Nixxon did. How do you spin that?

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Rapparee
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 08:44 AM

Nixon was no more a true Conservative than Bush is.

Nixon was a political opportunist who would use any means to achieve the end he wanted, including the destruction of the Constitution. Felt was (and is) a great American.

And the Nixon Whitehouse actually had a pretty good idea who "Deep Throat" was. However, if they said anything they were afraid he'd really spill the beans. From a quote from NBC News, playing a tape of Nixon talking to his staff about Felt:

Nixon: "Is he Catholic?"

"No, Jewish."

N: "God, they got a Jew in there?"

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 11:11 AM

Not only did Nixon, Dean et. al. commit crimes, they didn't even get their anti-Jewish sentiments right. According to Sam Donaldson, this morning, Felt is not Jewish. But I guess if it sounds Jewish it is...to that mind-set.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: GUEST,Marks
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 04:38 PM

Conservative apologist?

Here's one:


http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8242

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: jpk
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 06:03 PM

never would have thought,but he went to highschool right here in twinfalls, idaho,of all places.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: jpk
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 06:04 PM

that was the class of 31.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: jpk
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 06:12 PM

p.s.now if someone would spill the beans on all the rest,we might could turn this place around.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: robomatic
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 06:35 PM

John in sunset:
Not only did Nixon, Dean et. al. commit crimes, they didn't even get their anti-Jewish sentiments right. According to Sam Donaldson, this morning, Felt is not Jewish. But I guess if it sounds Jewish it is...to that mind-set.

The dialog you're responding to does not make Nixon an anti-semite. I've heard Jews say weirder and worse (and I've called 'em on it). Nixon helped defend Israel, had a Jewish Secretary of State, etc.

There's plenty of other things to hang him for, but the anti-semite tag always seemed over the top to me.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Peace
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 06:49 PM

I'm with Robo on this one. Nixon was lotsa things including being a crook, but he wasn't anti-Semitic. No more than Johnson should be perceived as anti-Black. Indeed, Johnson was important to the civil rights movement because of legislation he signed into law. All that despite his Texan pronunciation of the word 'nigrah'.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 07:25 PM

The administration party line about Felt ranges between; bad bahavior and treason.
They will have to demonize Felt even more before this settles down.

or

There for the grace of the next whistle blower/anonymous source goes Bush.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Bobert
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 07:44 PM

Seems this has sparked off a firefight within the old timers who were in the administration of the intellegence community... Both Woodward and Berstein are to appear on NBC tomorrow morning... Ought to be interesting... Also, keep yer eye on Pat Bucannon who is gonna do a little self-righteous soap box time....

Liike I said, ouhtta make fir a nice little food fight...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 08:09 PM

Robomatic-
I've heard blacks use the N word amongst themselves and that doesn't make them racist against blacks...but it sure as hell would make me suspect if I used that word about them.---John

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 08:17 PM

The old and new conservative guard have to roast or demonize Felt, if for no other reason than to discourage current and future whistleblowers.

I'd like to see him given a medal of valor. It took great courage to do what he did at the time, whatever his personal motives might have been.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Peace
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 08:21 PM

'Voltaire once said, "In this country it is good to kill an admiral from time to time, to encourage the others [pour encourager les autres]."'

I do appreciate what Felt did--it took guts. Where are people like that these days? Sad, huh?

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: robomatic
Date: 01 Jun 05 - 08:51 PM

John: It's true that usage of various terms are considered not just by situation but by who gets to use 'em. For the reasons I already stated I think Nixon gets a fair measure of slack. There are other cases where he said things about Jews that weren't terribly flattering, but he was in private and, y'know, its called freedom of speech.

I had a pretty sheltered upbringing, I was brought up to inherently respect other races and creeds and be quietly proud of my own. As a student I remember a line from the once popular (and now barely mentioned) movie "Z" where some police officials are reviewing student dossiers and a comment is made: "he's half-Jewish. They consider themselves superior even to Jews." That line got a laugh from the audience (of young, liberal, non-Jewish students) so I accepted that Jews are looked upon differently than I had supposed, and apparently Nixon had his views which I do not consider anti-semitic in any harmful sense.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Voltaire's famous line "pour encourager les autres" was from his famous tale "Candide" (turned into an Opera by Leonard Berstein BTW) specifically directed at the hanging of Byng by the British. I lifted the following excerpt from here:

The original quote is by Voltaire in Candide


Dans ce pay-ci, il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres.
In this country it is good to kill an admiral from time to time, to encourage the others.


He's referring to the execution of Admiral John Byng in England in 1757. Sent in 1756 to prevent the French from taking Minorca, he arrived when the island was already under siege and, after an indecisive naval engagement, withdrew without relieving the siege. He was court-martialed and executed for "failure to do his utmost". This brought charges that he had been used as a scapegoat for ministerial failure. On his tombstone it says "bravery and loyalty were insufficient securities for the life and honour of a naval officer".

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
So one might take it that the English in matters of naval warfare were not people to mess around with. On the other hand, in the Operetta Ruddigore by Gilbert & Sullivan there is a charming song where a brave young tar sings about confronting a French Frigate, but as the song continues one realizes that the English actually fled before it!

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 12:43 AM

Nobody finds it strange, I suppose, that if "Deep Throat" had such dire concerns, that he didn't go to Patrick Gray, his superior, and tell him of his concerns. Rather he elected to go to a couple of neophite reporters because he was pissed that he didn't get Gray's job. Right?

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 08:20 AM

The purge at the CIA recently and the establishment of the administration's Special Intelligence office at the Pentagon was a effort to plug the leaks in the dyke.

Also there have been FBI agents to come forward but have been marginalized by "mainstream" media. The woman FBI agent who was a translator and claimed the administration was fabricating reports for the FBI to repeat is but one example.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Bobert
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 08:29 AM

Is that the Fox News spin, Doug? I will give them credit for imagination...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 08:48 AM

Patrick Gray, I understand from the usual liberal sources, was a political hack appointed by Nixon as FBI director. His resume did not include professional work with the FBI, CIA, or any other security organization. He had every reason to protect Nixon and his associates.

I suppose Felt could have brought his concerns to Gray, if he'd been incredibly naive. I don't really find what Felt did "strange," just incredibly brave. Apparently Woodward had gained his confidence as a friend previously over a number of years, after a chance meeting at the White House when he was a Navy courier.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: robomatic
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 09:05 AM

I have been very suspect of the FBI on more than one level since the Twin Towers were hit. They have been critiqued by their own people, most prominently by a female agent who released a long 'memo' to the Press.


Meanwhile, for those who want to make a selfless hero out of the actions of a senior official who arguably could have used his influence within the system, check out today's story in the New York Times:

In the Prelude to Publication, Intrigue Worthy of Deep Throat

It brings out the notable fact that although Woodward and Bernstein and The Washington Post broke the inside Watergate story and protected the identity of Felt, Felt and his family gave the 'revelation' story to Vanity Fair. Isn't this apparent ingratitude? Well, apparently the Felt family were trying to make the best deal they could.

I do not blame the Felt family. Why shouldn't they look after their own interests? But a confidential source is just that. Felt didn't write the stories. Felt didn't do the research or the the leg-work. He provided vital bits of assistance. That's what it means to be a confidential informant. No more.

They don't give medals to confidential informants (yet).

Part of the 'value' to the current story is that his identity was kept for so long, and there are enough people around at this time to care. If the story was revealed say, twenty years from now, it would be a footnote.

And let us not overlook the fact that in the book and especially the movie, highlighting the role of the confidential source, giving it a suggestive name, filling the role with the wonderful character actor Hal Holbrook, gave it a dramatic intensity that probably outweighs its importance in real life.

Rob's Parable: There is a local chain of very (deservedly) successful fish restaurants in the Boston area. One of their logos is a grinning thick-lipped fish. A few years ago I heard that the artist who was paid a fixed fee to come up with the logo sued the owners for more money. This struck me as unjust. The restaurant chain spent many years building a reputation for good food and service. If they hadn't had that logo they would have had some logo. (I don't know how the situation was resolved).

Similarly, Deep Throat played a minor yet near pivotal role in The Post's Watergate story. Does he deserve to have a share in the story of his own identity? Certainly. Does he deserve a cut of the overall Watergate Story?

That's for the courts to decide!

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Peace
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 09:55 AM

'Nobody finds it strange, I suppose, that if "Deep Throat" had such dire concerns, that he didn't go to Patrick Gray, his superior, and tell him of his concerns. Rather he elected to go to a couple of neophite reporters because he was pissed that he didn't get Gray's job. Right?'

He reported a crime. His motives are his. The crime was Nixon's.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: DougR
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 02:02 PM

I don't suppose it would occur to anyone here that Mark Felt could have reported his findings to L. Patrick Gray, his boss at the FBI, right? Instead, in order to express his displeasure with Nixon for not appointing him to the Director position when Hoover died, he decided to turn to the press. Now that he has "outed" he and his family will be receiving millions of dollars from book publishers.

Yep, a true patriot. He violated the oath he took when he joined the Bureau, and yet he is being hailed as a hero.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: frogprince
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 02:25 PM

I just detoured to look for the oath administered to FBI agents; I found a couple of references to it, and some debate about the specific substance of it, but not a copy of it. Can anyone come up with it? Would like to see if Doug has at least a debateable point or not.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Haruo
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 02:30 PM

Bobert wrote

Heck, I always thought it was Spiro Agnew???? Jus funnin'... Spiro was kept way outtta the loop...

I wonder if this FBI yokel also wrote Mrs. Agnew's Diary for the National Lampoon during the Watergate years. That column was usually a month or two ahead of the Washington Post with the scoops. We'd see the latest in the papers and go "where have I read that before?" It was always Mrs. Agnew.

Haruo
who was a freshman at Yale when it all came down

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 03:28 PM

Impuning Mark Felt by suggesting he was angry over being passed over for a promotion is to misunderstand the entire history of The FBI and Mark Felt's place in it.   The FBI as we know it now is not what it was shortly after the death of Edgar Hoover, when Mark Felt first started feeding info to Woodward (not Bernstien people, just Woodward)

Many of the men in my family were in Law Enforcement from the 1930s right on to the present day.. a couple in the FBI. As a result, I've had more than my share of expsoure to the history of the agency. I do believe however, that the average American knows very little about it's origins, its evolution and the crisis that was going on within the Agency at the time of Watergate.

I would suggest that to truly grasp his motives requires a good working knowledge of the entire Hoover Era, the denegeration of the Agency into an arm of Presidential Vengeance and the massive re-structuring that took place after Hoovers death. Felt was not so much pissed about not getting the top job as he was about the direction the Agency was going to continue in, a direction he and many other veterans of the earlier days wanted to see reversed. Much of what those fellows wanted eventually did take place and The Agency bgan working better with local and State level Law Enforcement. But..that's a whole 'nuther story...

This is not a simple thing as people are making it out to be. I do hope Mark Felt is well enough to communicate his own complex reasons for doing what he did since we could all learn a lot about the Era from such disclosures.

I am a little sad that Felt's family was apparently motivated by greed in pushing him to out himself. His original agreement with Woodward was ironclad and indeed, The Washinton Post had to scramble to make sure that it was the felt family that had nullified the agreement by their actions before they confirmed the story.

We shall see, folks, we shall see.

Don't judge the fellow unless you have enough of an understanding of the times and the situation at the FBI to make such a Judgement. I'd suggest we all just shut up and listen for a few days before pontificating anywhere. The subject is far too serious for quips. Woodward and Bernstien will be on Larry King tonite for those who get CNN. I don't suspect ole Larry will do nthe topic justice, but it should be an interesting hour.

FYI - I'm a 41 year old recovering NYer who well recalls watching Nixon resign and the stunned silence of my parents, grandparents and extended family who gathered to watch the event unfold. That act birthed a new world for them.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 03:42 PM

Felt felt betrayed for being passed over? Well that dog just don't hunt. Bernard Kalb says that Felt was #3 on a list for promotion.
You don't get passed over by the #2 guy when you are #3.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: jpk
Date: 02 Jun 05 - 06:55 PM

regardless of right or wrong,would you trust him enough to want him watching your back in a firefight.i think not.also he still broke the law,2 wrongs 2 make a right.i would like to know just what was in it for him,i'm willing to bet he didn't do it out of the goodness of his hart.and yes,what nixon did in the cover up was wrong,but no more so than most other pol's dirty dealings,none of them really have any clean underware they can air out.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 08:25 AM

Doug-

You are repeating yourself. Are you losing your memory?

You do usually end up saying the same thing but your last post borders on the obsessive.

I'm concerned.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: GUEST,Larry K
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 09:34 AM

It is truly ironic that Mark Felt was later convicted of orgainizing an ilegal break in and pardoned by Reagan.   In court he said that the need to gather evidence was more important than the constitution or the rule of law.   HOW IRONIC.   The left called Felt a villan at the time and criticized Reagan.   Now they call him a hero.

Funny- my definition of a hero is not a person who committed a crime, hid in anyominidy, and than continued to lie about it for years saying it wasn't him.

Woodward also lied about it in a Playboy interview when he said that Deep Throat wasn't someone in the intelligence community. He also portrayed Deep Throat as a heavy smoker and drinker even though Felt didn't drink, and had given up smoking long before Watergate.   (is there a pattern for liberals- the more you lie the bigger the hero you are.   I know, Felt lied and nobody died)

Someone made the comment that no one today would do what Felt had done.   How about Linda Tripp who exposed the wrongdoings of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.   She had the courage to do it without anominity.   Far braver than Felt.   If Felt is a hero, than Tripp should be a saint.    How about the whistle blowers of Enron?   They also did not hide behind an anonomous source.

The legacy of Woodward and Bernstein is that reporters believed they made the news rather than reported the news.   They also believed they controlled the agenda and thought it was their right to bring down anyone they disagreed with.   That has resulted in Jayson Blair, Dan Rathergate, Steve Crofts alar story, the NBC exploding car story, the Newsweek phony Koran story, and numerous other examples of made up journalism.   At Least Woodward and bernstein did their homework, worked hard, and got numerous confirmations before proceeding.   The rest of the media could learn from that.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 01:25 PM

I had a very long discussion with my father last night, a retired Law Enforcement Officer, about this whole Brouhaha over Mark Felt. I wish I could have transcibed the whole thing for folks here and for posterity - it was that informative. He was on the Job when Watergate broke as a story and had known G Gordon Liddy quite well when he was a Prosecuter. His opinion of Liddy swings back and forth - I wish he'd write down all his Liddy stories someday. In many ways, I expected my dad's perspective to on Felt to be much harsher than it actually was.

He explained to me that under the law at the time, Felt could have been indicted on a variety of serious charges for what he did, none of which would have ever held up in the end. true, he did get convicted of some part in the Nixon nonsense, but so did lots of other people. He also stated that Felt's options, while limited were not so limited as to preclude going to the House Subcommittee. He further explained some of the seriously nasty things that befell others within The FBI and the Administration who dared try and put the brakes on what was going on.

What a freaking mess! I was 8 when the Watergate Break-in happened, so some if this was quite a revelation. I'd suggest folkd uder the age of 50 do some heavy reading before leaping to any conclusions - and.. talk to your parents as I did. There's a lot to learn.

My dad began the conversation telling me that Felt was technically guilty of Treason and ended it by saying Felt remains the one and only figure who clearly never intended to profit from his wrongdoing. I got the imprression that My dad admires him for that despite disagreeing with going outside of Law Enforcement. It's funny, my Dad even faults Serpico for that. He's a big believer in going up the chain of command until you find somebody whose honest enough to help. What an optimist!

Dad and I both agree that the terms of Felt's agreement were so ironclad as to make it evident he wished to take this to his grave. There are now serious allegations that Felt's daughter, who is in very serious debt, is exerting undue influence over an elderly and infirm man. She has moved into his home and controls his finances. Her profit motive is very distrubing.


Whatever people may feel about what Mark Felt did back then, it's clear that absent the daughter's pushing, he would have died with his secret. I find that sad.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Ebbie
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 01:51 PM

It seems to me that your quarrel is with Reagan. This is what Reagan had to say in the pardons:

"Their (Felt and Miller) convictions in the U.S. District Court, on appeal at the time I signed the pardons, grew out of their good-faith belief that their actions were necessary to preserve the security interests of our country. The record demonstrates that they acted not with criminal intent, but in the belief that they had grants of authority reaching to the highest levels of government.

"America was at war in 1972, and Messrs. Felt and Miller followed procedures they believed essential to keep the Director of the FBI, the Attorney General, and the President of the United States advised of the activities of hostile foreign powers and their collaborators in this country. They have never denied their actions, but, in fact, came forward to acknowledge them publicly in order to relieve their subordinate agents from criminal actions.

"Four years ago, thousands of draft evaders and others who violated the Selective Service laws were unconditionally pardoned by my predecessor. America was generous to those who refused to serve their country in the Vietnam war. We can be no less generous to two men who acted on high principle to bring an end to the terrorism that was threatening our nation."

Linda Tripp - "She had the courage to do it without anominity" LK Very admirable she was, yes indeed. The kind of friend one looks for all one's life.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 02:05 PM

Tripp.
I think she was caught by surprise that she didn't get the bookdeal, Film rightd, TV chat show appearances or the positive feed back she thought she was going to get.
Tripp puts a whole knew spin on the saying ' a friend in NEED is a Fiend indeed'

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 02:08 PM

bet Tripp can type and spell better than I can though! hahaha

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 02:27 PM

Thanks Ebbie for posting the text of Maek Felt's Pardon - very informative indeed.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: DougR
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 06:29 PM

Dave's Wife: On reflection, I think your Dad is right. Felt should have gone either to Leon Jaworski (sp?) who was the Watergate Special Prosecutor, or the appropriate Congressional committee.   I suspect that he didn't do that because it would definitely have cost him his job and he had a family to support. I think you are probably right that had his daughter not pushed him, he would have taken the secret to his grave. He evidently suffers from dementia now and is easily led.

Had he gone to his immediate superior, L. Patrick Gray, as I suggested, he probably suspected that that would be the end of it and he would still have been in hot water. Gray was a close friend of Nixon.

Donuel: Felt, technically, was number three in the Bureau at the time, but he was actually number 2. The real number 2 was Edgar Hoover's live-in buddy who was even sicker than Hoover at the time.

Charlie Noble: fear not for me! It must be crystal clear to you, but I have no idea what you are talking about.

I heard the Larry King "softball" show last night, and stayed tuned to watch Dan Rather twist in the wind when Larry finally asked him about the fake documents he tried to use to bring down GWB. I enjoyed watching him sweat (Rather not King) and he still is arrogant enough to intimate that he was right.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Peace
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 06:35 PM

He WAS right. Just like Bush is right. It's all a matter of spin and perception.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Deep Throat' Revealed (non bawdy)
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 09:01 PM

DougR - thanks for actually reading my post and considering it. It was opinions such as yours that led me to have that in-depth conversation which lasted a couple of hours. I'm glad I took the time since I learned quite a bit about my dad's feelings on the subject and other events of the same era.

Because of my age (born in 1964), I and most people in my 'generation' had our perception of the events molded somewhat by our exposure to the film, ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN and the book of the same title if we actually bothered to read it. If all you saw was the film, you'd come away with a view that exaggerated the importance of Mark Felt's role to the investigation and also get the impression that he was the only guy within the administration that was talking. It's quite clear now that Deep Throat's contributions were helpful, but not as crucial as they are currently being celebrated to have been.

I'm glad you can find something to agree with in Dad's reasoning and I appreciate your comments about the likly outcomes of any of Felt's other options. Having spent his life in the service of the Law, it will never be possible to convince my Dad that there wasn't SOME way for Felt to have exposed all this legally and through some proper Channel. Maybe that's wishful thinking on his part, and he admits that it may in fact be just that.


I hate to keep harping on the same thing over and over again, but I feel the victim in this latest twist is Mark Felt himself. This is so clearly NOT what he intended to be the resolution of the mystery of Deep Throat's Identity. He could have easily cashed in on his involvement 20 years ago had he wanted to and been treated far more kindly than he will be now.

I found it sickening the sight of his greedy daughter literally pushing this elderly man out in front of a media throng so he could be filmed waving to them. What kind of parasite prostitutes their impaired parent that way?