It's now official: Bob Woodward has confirmed that the former second in command at the FBI, W. Mark Felt, was Deep Throat, the main source for Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate, which brought down President Richard Nixon. The secret was finally let out in a Vanity Fairarticle, in which Felt admitted that he was the deep cover source that Woodward and Bernstein vowed never to reveal until after his death.
The Vanity Fair story said Felt had admitted his "historic, anonymous role" following years of denial.
In a statement today, Woodward and Bernstein said, "W. Mark Felt was 'Deep Throat' and helped us immeasurably in our Watergate coverage. However, as the record shows, many other sources and officials assisted us and other reporters for the hundreds of stories that were written in The Washington Post about Watergate."
Felt's guidance to Woodward -- provided on "deep background" in secret meetings -- helped keep public attention focused on the June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington's Watergate office and apartment complex, and on a subsequent cover-up effort. This ultimately led to a congressional investigation that revealed the role of Nixon and a number of his top aides. Under threat of impeachment, Nixon resigned in 1974.
Woodward, Bernstein and Bradlee had kept the identity of "Deep Throat" secret at the source's request, saying his name would be revealed upon his death. "We've kept that secret because we keep our word," Woodward said.
But with the Vanity Fair article and the family's statement, the three decided today to break their silence.
Bradlee said today, "The thing that stuns me is that the goddamn secret has lasted this long." He was the Post's executive editor during Watergate and now is a vice president of the newspaper.
