Posted on: Friday, June 3, 2005

EDITORIAL
'Deep Throat' helped preserve democracy

We now have the answer to one of the enduring mysteries of the Watergate era and the blockbuster investigation by Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward: the identity of their authoritative source "Deep Throat."

That source, by his own admission, is W. Mark Felt, the No. 2 man in the FBI under the late J. Edgar Hoover.

Felt was motivated to help Woodward and Bernstein in part out of disgust over what he felt were the Nixon administration's efforts to subvert justice and misuse the FBI for its own political ends.

But just as importantly, he was also motivated by his own disappointment that he was passed over to head the FBI after Hoover in favor of a Nixon political appointee, J. Patrick Gray.

The Watergate investigators were beneficiaries, at least in part, of the fallout over bureaucratic infighting among Washington insiders.

With his identity known, the debate now centers on whether Felt did the right thing, or if he is merely a glorified turncoat who betrayed his oath of office. Felt argues he did not betray his official responsibilities since he simply confirmed information obtained by The Washington Post or helped steer its reporters in the right direction.

There is a bit of sophistry there. It's entirely possible that Felt violated, if not the law, then at least bureau rules.

But it cannot be denied that Felt's actions helped expose and eventually bring down an administration that was corrupting the American justice system and intelligence services for its own political ends.

The results, in this case, more than justified the means. Without the help of Felt and other brave sources, both named and unnamed, a serious abuse of power might have gone unpunished.

The media in America are today engaged in a deep debate over the use and value of unnamed sources. There's no question that this technique has been abused by unscrupulous reporters or by sources whose only interest is in harming others under the cover of confidentiality.

It's a useful debate. And there is indeed a stronger sense of credibility when a person is willing to tell what he or she knows on the record.

The full story of Watergate relied on skilled and passionate reporting, as well as courageous stands taken by federal judges such as John Sirica and congressional leaders such as Sam Ervin. It is far more than the story of one source.

But there are times and places where an unnamed source is the only way to get at information that is of intense public interest. Felt's cooperation with the Watergate investigation surely falls into that category.