Watergate Source, Deep Throat, Dies at 95

Mark Felt was the number 2 man at the FBI during the Watergate Scandal that would eventually end the Nixon Presidency and change the way Americans viewed their government forever. When the story broke about the break-in at the Watergate hotel, Felt's old friend Bob Woodward quickly got in touch with him to get his thoughts. Felt knew immediately that the break-in was orchestrated at the highest levels of the Nixon administration and he decided to help Woodward put pressure on the pace of the investigation. Felt was convinced that the investigation was moving too slowly and that the FBI was being overly tolerant of the stalling tactics of administration officials.

Depending on your point of view, Felt's actions may be described as either patriotic or treasonous. For decades prior to revealing his identity as Deep Throat, the mystery of the source for Woodward and Bernstein captivated the imagination of the entire nation. The theories as to who was actually Deep Throat were wide and varied - and Felt's name was often mentioned as a likely candidate. In fact, the Watergate tapes actually recorded White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman telling Richard Nixon that Felt was Deep Throat - but the administration felt it would be a bad idea to call him out on it. Other theories were also presented to Nixon during this time, so it's difficult to say what the prevailing opinion of the President may have been.

Felt left the FBI in 1973 and was later pardoned by President Ronald Reagan for his role in illegal break-ins of homes in the 1960s. Nixon supported his pardon at the time. Now, with Mark Felt's death, one of the most disturbing chapters in American politics has finally come to a close.