The Ironic Twist To The “Deep Throat” Story
Wednesday, June 1st, 2005More information has been released concerning the identification of “Deep Throat.”
W. Mark Felt violated FBI and Justice Department policies by sharing with reporters information about the Watergate scandal, but it’s not clear whether he broke any laws, several former federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Not that anyone at the Justice Department is expressing a desire to prosecute the 91-year-old old Santa Rosa, Calif., resident. Even if it were determined that the former No. 2 official at the FBI violated laws by providing tips as “Deep Throat,” more than 30 years have passed and the statute of limitations on prosecution has expired.
I don’t think that anyone wants to see law enforcement go after this guy. He’s over 90 years old and his physical and mental health are starting to deteriorate. However, I found the following revelation worth noting:
Felt’s decision to keep quiet, however, made possible another moment that linked him to Nixon, Barrett said. When Felt was on trial for authorizing illegal break-ins during the 1970s at homes of people associated with the radical Weather Underground, Nixon testified on his behalf.
And after Reagan pardoned Felt in 1981, he received a bottle of champagne and this brief note from the disgraced former president: “Justice ultimately prevails.”
Of course, there is no way we can know if Nixon had any idea that Felt had supplied the information which brought him down. I tend to think that he didn’t know, for the reason that Nixon was known to be terribly vindictive, and he would not have helped Felt if he had known.
Still, Nixon telling “Deep Throat” that “Justice ultimately prevails” has got to be one of the biggest ironies of the Twentieth Century.
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June 1st, 2005 at 10:39 pm
Nice point Nick.
I never thought of those events that way. The whole story how he became Deep Throat gives me the creeps. Sounds petty to me. Of course, bureaucrats can do strange things.
June 1st, 2005 at 6:58 pm
Count of Sleeping With The Teacher
Today’s dose of NIF – News, Interesting & Funny … It’s Wictory Wednesday