Leak: Why Mark Felt Became Deep Throat

Notes

c h a p t e r o n e Notes abbreviations used in notes and bibliography ATU: Albany (NY) Times Union BG: Boston Globe CT: Chicago Tribune CIA: Central Intelligence Agency cointelpro: FBI contraction for counterintelligence program FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation FOIA: Freedom of Information Act HEP: Henry E. Petersen Main File, FBI HRC: Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin JECL: Jimmy E. Carter Library LAT: Los Angeles Times LPG: L. Patrick Gray III Main File, FBI NARA: National Archives and Records Administration NYT: New York Times RMNL: Richard M. Nixon Library RWRL: Ronald W. Reagan Library SAC: Special agent in charge SCPCA: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities SIU: Special Investigations Unit (the “plumbers”) SMOF: Staff Member & Office Files SOCXFBI: Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI WBWP: Woodward and Bernstein Watergate Papers WCS: William C. Sullivan Main File, FBI WDN: Washington Daily News WFO: Washington Field Office, FBI WG: Watergate Main File, FBI WHCF: White House Central Files WHSF: White House Special Files WIDI: Watergate Inspection Division Investigation, FBI WMF: W. Mark Felt Main File, FBI WP: Washington Post WS: Washington Star WSJ: Wall Street Journal WSPF: Watergate Special Prosecution Force 201 202 notes to pages 1–3 introduction 1 Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, All the President’s Men (New York: Simon & Schuster , 1974), 243; Gary Arnold, “Meticulous . . . and Incomplete,” WP, 4 April 1976, 107. 2 Bob Woodward, The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate’s Deep Throat (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), 104–105, 215. Before Woodward embraced it, the most persuasive analysis of the institutional motive was journalist James Mann’s 1992 article in The Atlantic, in which he famously concluded that the fabled secret source was most likely Mark Felt. Not privy to Deep Throat’s identity, Mann worked backwards, basing his analysis on the details provided in All the President’s Men; a Washington reporter’s familiarity with how the U.S. government worked; and his own involvement in the Post’s early coverage of Watergate , which included working on some stories with Woodward. James Mann, “Deep Throat: An Institutional Analysis,” Atlantic, May 1992, 106–112. For a slightly more cynical take on the “turf” explanation, see Jack Shafer, “Why Did Deep Throat Leak?” http://www.slate.com/id/2120148/, 2 June 2005. 3 After Playboy published excerpts of All the President’s Men in its April 1974 issue, Felt immediately became a prime suspect because he had been passed over for the directorship . The first publication to nominate Felt as Woodward’s secret source was The Washingtonian magazine; see John Limpert, “Deep Throat: If It Isn’t Tricia It Must Be . . . ,” Washingtonian, June 1974, 17; see also David Corn, “Deep Throat: More Hero Than Not,” http://www.thenation.com/blog/156174/deep-throat-more-hero-not, 1 June 2005. 4 “Higher Authority,” The Nation, 2 May 1981, 516; Athan G. Theoharis, ed., with Tony Poveda, Susan Rosenfeld, and Richard Gid Powers, The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide (Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1999), 130–131. Some observers may see a distinction between surreptitious entries carried out by private groups for the purposes of political espionage and ones designed by the FBI to gather information in counterterrorism cases. But federal prosecutors and courts did not. 5 W. Mark Felt, The FBI Pyramid: From the Inside (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1979), 258. Three days after the break-in, acting Director Pat Gray ordered that FBI field offices conduct, under the personal supervision of the agents-in-charge, an “absolute, thorough , immediate [and] imaginative investigation.” Later, an internal FBI investigation mounted after Gray’s departure reported that “investigating agents, supervisory personnel and Bureau officials connected with the Watergate case were quizzed on two occasions to determine if they felt there were any leads they were not permitted to pursue. In all instances the answer was ‘no.’” Earl J. Silbert, the lead prosecutor of the Watergate burglars, has also stated that “the FBI did a terrific job investigating the case,” apart from the improper aspects of the relationship between acting director Gray and John Dean. L. Patrick Gray III with Ed Gray, In Nixon’s Web: A Year in the Crosshairs of Watergate (New York: Times Books, 2008), 63; OPE Analysis, “FBI Watergate Investigation,” 5 July 1974, 45–46, WG, FBI FOIA; Leon Friedman and William F. Levantrosser, eds., Watergate and Afterward: The Legacy of Richard M. Nixon (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992), 47. The White House received...