Mystery revealed. Too bad.

(Assignment #3: Deep Throat and Online Journalism)

In an August 9, 1999 Chatterbox interview by Timothy Noah in ”Slate,” Mark Felt denied he was “Deep Throat” and said he was involved, but was “not guilty of disclosure, leaking it to the press, or anything like that.” Of course he denied it! According to a June 1, 2005 article, also by Noah, those actions were illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

A few years later and the story turns a corner. Felt’s role was revealed in a Vanity Fair Roundtable article by John D. O’Connor and confirmed June 1 on washingtonpost.com (FBI’s No. 2 Was ‘Deep Throat’). Bob Woodward, who kept the secret until Felt came forward, published “How Mark Felt Became ‘Deep Throat’” June 2. The order of appearances is a bit ironic. Felt went to Woodward in ’72 because he trusted him.

So why did O’Connor publish in Vanity Fair rather than the Post in 2005? Susan Jones said, “In spilling his long-kept secret to Vanity Fair, Felt scooped (and surprised) the Washington Post, which has lived up to its end of the agreement to say nothing about Deep Throat's identity until the leaker had died,” in her June 1, GOPUSA article on the issue. Bad form, O’Connor. Scooping the paper that kept your client’s secret… tsk, tsk. Jones also says VF paid “an undisclosed amount” for the story.

Now we’re getting to the meat of it. A 30-year secret is exposed because family members want to pay some bills (Vanity Fair). That’s kids for ya’.

But was it wise to come forward, even this late in the game? If a man in the prime of his career did not want to be associated with ratting out the president, how equipped is he now? His character is now under fire.

Jones’s article reads “’He had the trust of America's leaders and to think that he betrayed that trust is hard for me to fathom,’ Nixon's former White House Counsel Charles Colson told the Associated Press.” Comments like this make me wonder where loyalties are supposed to lie. Sure, at the time he was the No. 3 FBI guy. He was sworn to uphold and protect blah blah blah. But at what cost? Is swearing into the FBI grounds for covering up presidential wrongdoing? I may be naïve, but my understanding of ALL government positions is that they are supposed to uphold the law, not break it and cover up for each other.

Unfortunately, the “Slate” article series brings up Felt’s involvement in similar break-ins. So much for good government employees.

Another slate article brings Felt’s motives into question. Was he trying to protect the country? According to Jack Shafer’s writing, all he was trying to protect was his “turf.” The story implies that being passed over to head the Bureau lit a fire under Felt to destroy his competition. Whether patriotic or petty, his reasons for leaking to the press were his, and at this point they don’t really matter. It happened. It’s over.

I’m more concerned with the death of a mystery. (I know, I’m supposed to love finding answers, but this is different.) This was something aspiring journalists could look to if they ever had a question about protecting a source. In a time when reporters are falling into disrepute and news agencies are more about the dollar than the story, it’s nice to see that there were, at least once, people who would keep their word. Two reporters, an editor and an informant were all who knew the identity. That was cool. Icy cool.

Now the world can picture a white-haired man leaning on a walker when they accuse “Deep Throat” of being a traitor or a hero. That’s a little anticlimactic for me. His reputation was larger than life and that makes it hard for anyone to live up to it. I hope his kids are proud of themselves.

I personally feel he did the right thing by bringing problems to light. If he knew the president and his staff were up to no good, it was his duty to tell someone. In a situation where the “bad guys” are top White House officials, knowing who to trust can be a bit tricky. Should he be punished for breaking a 1972 law? No. Statutes are out and what’s done is done.

Should Felt’s family capitalize on his ability to keep a secret and their ability scoop the publication and reporters who risked their reputations to help him keep it. HELL NO!

As for Woodward, Bernstein and the Post, I don’t think they obstructed justice. (Again, I’m naïve at times.) I think they did what they had to do to tell the people what their elected officials were up to. In doing so, they proved that journalists, contrary to some of today’s standards, can be trusted to keep their word.