I was one of those who believed there was no Deep Throat — that Woodward and Bernstein simply made Deep Throat up out of a composite. But it turns out W. Mark Felt was Deep Throat.
The weird thing is that Felt apparently kept his secret because he believed that Deep Throat was perceived as a criminal, telling his son, that being Deep Throat “was [not] anything to be proud of. … You (should) not leak information to anyone.”
Well, yeah, you should if doing so exposes the sort of criminal conspiracy that the Nixon administration created. Felt is certainly an American hero for helping the Washington Post expose corruption at the highest levels of the government.
Give the man a medal. And, in related news, just where are these intrepid investigative journalists working today? 60 Minutes II perhaps?
Source:
Washington Post Confirms ‘Deep Throat’ ID. Greg Sandoval, Associated Press, March 31, 2005.