This Hero Helped Break the Watergate Scandal Which Led to Nixon's Resignation

Apr. 27 2023, Published 4:50 p.m. ET

The Watergate Scandal is so deeply embedded in the psyches of Americans that anytime something remotely unseemly happens, the word "gate" is attached to it. In fact, Merriam-Webster has included the suffix in its online words at play section. The real Watergate happened from 1972 to 1974 during former president Richard Nixon's administration and was the main reason why he resigned in August 1974.

There were three men who played pivotal roles in breaking the Watergate Scandal wide open. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were two of them, both reporters working for The Washington Post. The third was their source, a man known only to them by the name Deep Throat. Who was he? Here's what we know.

What exactly was the Watergate scandal, and who was Deep Throat?

On June 14, 1972, the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. were burglarized. All five men were arrested, two of which had information on them that was traced back to the White House. "Three of the men were Cuban exiles, one was a Cuban American, and the fifth was James W. McCord, Jr., a former CIA agent," per The History Channel. McCord was on the payroll of the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP).

According to Vanity Fair, "Funds for the break-in, laundered through a Mexican bank account, had actually come from the coffers of CRP, headed by John Mitchell, who had been attorney general during Nixon’s first term." Why did five men with strong ties to the Republican party break into the biggest Democratic campaign office? Two reporters smelled a rat.

Woodward and Bernstein continued writing about the case, which kept it in the forefront of everyone's minds. And while Nixon and the White House denied any involvement, the reporters suspected otherwise. Woodward was in touch with a source known only to him by the name of Deep Throat who was "consistently confirming or denying confidential information for the reporter, which he and Bernstein would weave into their frequent stories, often on the Post's front page," via Vanity Fair.

They would meet in secret in an underground parking garage, where Deep Throat would quietly relay information. Thanks to this relationship and the intrepid reporting of Woodward and Bernstein, Nixon resigned when it was clear an impeachment was on the horizon. For decades, reporters attempted to uncover the identity of Deep Throat to no avail — until a piece in Vanity Fair ripped everything wide open. In a July 2005 interview, former F.B.I. agent Mark Felt came forward and admitted he was Deep Throat.

Why did Mark Felt decide to become Deep Throat?

Mark is described as someone who believed wholeheartedly in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was born in 1913 and was raised on the idea that the F.B.I. was made up of heroes and patriots. They were do-gooders and saviors. That's what he wanted to be, and that's what Mark Felt believed in. He finally joined the bureau in 1942 at the age of 29, after graduating from George Washington University Law School. His mentor was F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover, which says a lot.

In 1971, a very paranoid Richard Nixon was convinced that "someone (a government insider, Nixon believed) was leaking details to The New York Times about the administration’s strategy for upcoming arms talks with the Soviets." The President asked Felt to suss out the people responsible for the leaks. However, Felt was uncomfortable with "wiretapping suspected leakers without a court order." Nixon then created what was called the Plumbers unit, "ex-CIA" types who were DIY spies and were eventually involved in Watergate.

Soon, tensions between the White House and F.B.I. increased and reached a frenzied peak after the break-in at the Watergate. Felt believed he was "fighting an all-out war for the soul of the bureau," as he was repeatedly stonewalled when trying to go further up the chain of command. Despite constantly being accused, Felt never admitted to being Deep Throat. It's clear he felt there was no other option but to go the press. While it was the right thing to do, it feels as if Felt was really protecting the bureau that he loved so much.

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