It was one of the biggest political mysteries of the late 20th century, the identity of the man who helped bring down a modern American presidency.
Sixteen years ago, former FBI deputy director William Mark Felt Sr., then 91, broke his 30-year silence and confirmed he was “Deep Throat,” the anonymous government source who had leaked crucial information to Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
That information led to Richard Nixon becoming the first U.S. president in history to resign.
The Watergate scandal began in June 1972, when five robbers linked to Nixon’s reelection campaign were caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents inside the Democratic National Committee’s office in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate office complex.
Nixon then participated in an extensive cover-up.
Felt fed Bernstein and Woodward a steady flow of information that exposed Nixon’s knowledge of the scandal.
According to their books, “All the President’s Men” and “The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate’s Deep Throat,” Woodward spoke with Felt 17 times between June 1972 and November 1973, either in person or by phone.
The moniker “Deep Throat” referred to a widely viewed pornographic film of the same name that debuted in 1972.
By the end of July 1974, Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate scandal and faced mounting pressure to resign, not only from his enemies in Congress but also from his allies.
On Aug. 8, 1974, Nixon, with impeachment proceedings underway, announced he would resign the office of president effective at noon the next day.
Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as president at noon Aug. 9, 1974.
In 1978, Felt was indicted for ordering FBI agents to search the homes of Weather Underground members and other leftist groups without a warrant. He was found guilty in 1980 and pardoned by President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
During that time, Felt wrote his memoir and claimed he was not Deep Throat, but in May 2005, he announced in a Vanity Fair article, "I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat."
On Dec. 18, 2008, Felt died of heart failure at 95.
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