Deep Throat's Morality Message

Felt said he was "only doing his duty" and did not seek to bring down Nixon over the cover-up of a break-in at Democratic Party offices in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. …

…“I don’t think (being Deep Throat) was anything to be proud of,” Felt indicated to his son, Mark Jr., at one point, according to the article. “You (should) not leak information to anyone.”—MSNBC

Vanity Fair is reporting a story that says Mark Felt, former second in command at the FBI under Nixon, was indeed the background informant, "Deep Throat," who provided direction and substance for Woodward and Bernstein’s Watergate scoop 32 years ago. The first thing that comes to mind hearing this revelation after all these years is, why didn’t Felt go on record at the time if he knew how pervasive the corruption was?

I have taught my children that it is not being a tattle-tale to report on someone’s wrong-doing if the wrong-doing might hurt others. The obvious “high crimes and misdemeanors” of Nixon’s impeachable regime were worthy of being brought to light the minute anyone of conscience knew about them. A person in Felt’s high-up position had an obligation to protect and defend the US Constitution, and by abrogating that responsibility--choosing to meet Woodward only surreptitiously, in dark alleyways and garages, so as not to be identified, and only giving bits and pieces of the whole picture--he belongs in the category of coward and cheater, not of hero. John Dean heard the call, and came forth, even if belatedly. A hero would have come forth publicly and saved the country months of polarizing senate hearings and a stagnant executive branch with a Vietnam War going on that was getting ignored. A brave hero would not have thought of his own consequences as he chose to tell fully what he knew about laws that were being broken and oaths that were being waived.

According to the Washington Post:

The article concluded, "Felt, having long harbored the ambivalent emotions of pride and self-reproach, has lived for more than 30 years in a prison of his own making, a prison built upon his strong moral principles and his unwavering loyalty to country and cause.

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."--Groucho Marx