Posted on 05/31/2005 7:23:55 PM PDT by wagglebee
NEW YORK As news about the identity of fabled Watergate source--he is W. Mark Felt, the former FBI official--spread today, journalists began to weigh in. Here is a selection, to be updated:
Monica Crowley of MSNBC, former aide to Richard M. Nixon: “The Deep Throat name did come up during our conversations and Nixon threw out a couple of names- but even he didn't know for sure who Deep Throat was.
“Nixon had a couple of theories himself. But Mark Felt's name did come up repeatedly while we were talking, but never in a serious context in terms of Felt being The Source. Nixon never referred to Deep Throat as that…he always referred to him as The Source.
“Nixon combed through a lot of documentation and went back in his own mind on who this could be. He dismissed the composite theory and always thought it was one person….Nixon always had a hard time understanding The Source's motivation- why someone would be this disloyal to the president and leak the story to the Washington Post reporters.
“Nixon knew Felt only vaguely.”
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Patrick Buchanan, former Nixon speechwriter, a longtime suspect as Deep Throat, now a syndicated columnist: "I always said that I was not Deep Throat...
"I always believed it was Felt, but kept that private because what he did was so dishonorable I didn't want to tie him to that if it was not true. If it was honorable, why did he keep it hidden so long? I think the man is ashamed of it."
*
Ben Bradlee, editor of The Washington Post during the Watergate probe: "I've never met Felt. I wouldn't know him if I fell on him."
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David Gergen, former White House aide, columnist: "I don't know if we know much about the motive (of Felt) right now. It might well have been a vendetta, but much more about motives has yet to come out."
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Jon Friedman of Marketwatch: “The two most celebrated investigative reporters since Gutenberg just got scooped on their own source! And their journalistic mystique, as the keepers of the "Most Famous Secret" of modern times, has been dramatically devalued….
“And while we're at it, I can't imagine that the executives of the Washington Post Co. (WPO: news, chart, profile) are too thrilled, either. The media behemoth owns the Washington Post, Newsweek and Slate, and yet it was (apparently) scooped by Vanity Fair magazine, of all outlets -- on a story that the Washington Post "owned." The Post has been identified as the Watergate newspaper, enabling it to supersede the all-powerful New York Times on one story, at least.
“Not only has the greatest media mystery of the modern times, and maybe in history, apparently been solved. But a business opportunity has been squandered, too.”
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Harry Smith, at cbsnews.com: “As for Deep Throat being an FBI guy -- Nixon's response would not have been printable.”
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Tim Noah of Slate magazine, in a Washington Post online chat: "It is kind of funny that the Washington Post would be scooped by a monthly magazine about the identity of Deep Throat. It's pretty unlikely that Bob Woodward wouldn't have known the Vanity Fair piece was in the works. Vanity Fair has an elaborate fact-checking process, and I would think a fact-checker at least attempted to contact Woodward to confirm some details in the story....
"When I spoke to Felt a few years ago, he said in no uncertain terms that for an FBI employee to leak details of a criminal investigation to a newspaper would be a terrible betrayal. Felt was a company man....I did think [Deep Throat] was Felt for a long time. Lately, though, I'd been thinking it was Fred Fielding!"
"I always believed it was Felt, but kept that private because what he did was so dishonorable I didn't want to tie him to that if it was not true. If it was honorable, why did he keep it hidden so long? I think the man is ashamed of it."
Funny, I always figured it couldn't be Buchanan because Nixon probably understood that if Buchanan knew enough he would stab him in the back.
I'd like to say that I knew it was Felt, except for the fact I hadn't heard of the gentleman before...
I always thought it was Haig and/or Kissinger.
On to the next mystery! It's the perplexing case of: "Who Still Gives a Shit?"
"When I spoke to Felt a few years ago, he said in no uncertain terms that for an FBI employee to leak details of a criminal investigation to a newspaper would be a terrible betrayal."
There was a crime committed here.
Ha ha ha--at least this will put an end to the DUmmies over at DU who used to constantly speculate that it was the most unlikely people (such as Bush senior).
The DUmmies could never quite grasp the simple fact that it never could have been GHWB. Even if he had wanted to, he didn't know enough.
There was a serious crime committed here....the FBI or people in the FBI brought down a sitting President.
No one should skate and get a free pass on this one.
Yes, Felt illegally leaked confidential FBI files, authorized illegal FBI raids, and has now been tied to Ellsberg's leaking of the Pentagon Papers, peripherally.
...If the FBI was behind Ellsberg's leaking of the Pentagon Papers, then we have ourselves a criminal enterprise posing as lawmen.
for a long time i thought it was al haig
then leonard garment wrote
"in search of deep throat"
claimed it was john sears
i was sooo convinced- and now just ashamed of myself.
Some Freeper on another thread today said that he denied being "Deep Throat" in his book that came out in 1979 called "The FBI Pyramid From the Inside" by Felt, WE. Mark.
Carl Bernstein is currently a contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine.
There were brave men before Agamennon
"God sees the truth, but waits." - Tolstoy
The vibes I'm getting are that this will rebound against the Dems in favor of the injured Repubs. This was an obvious and literal betrayal. When he was anonymous, the Dems could pretend that this was "the voice of God" pronouncing on their behalf.
When the particulars are discovered, we see the mechanism involved, and the grand myth of Truth Revealed is undone.
Also, can Felt demand back royalties? Do W & B owe him money?
MSM isn't idolizing Felt 100%. They must be fully aware that some rocks will be turned over that they don't want turned over.
If I were Charles Colson, I'd really be ticked off. He went to prison for mishandling ONE FBI report. Felt is treated as an American hero for feeding FBI material to the Washington Post. He should have been in prison much longer than Colson. I wish they'd arrest the old f**t.
According to reports I read about the Today Show appearance of Colson and Buchanan this morning, they ARE ticked and were NOT complimentray to Mr. Felt.
I was always thinking "composite" and the talking heads on TV are still saying the same thing.
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