The Death of Deep Throat

Mark Felt, the mysterious Watergate FBI source known as Deep Throat to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein died last week at the age of 95. While Felt played a pivotal role as the snitch in the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1973, I found it especially interesting that Felt himself was indicted in 1976 for for authorizing illegal searches of the homes of some friends and relatives of subversive Weather Underground members.

Felt said that he "knew the searches were outside the law, but felt the actions were in the best interests of the country."

Even though he was convicted, fined, and, within a few months, pardoned by President Reagan, I found it so ironic that Felt was essentially guilty of the same crimes as Richard Nixon, without the vilification that haunted Nixon for the rest of his life.

There is a very thin line between patriotism and criminality. Richard Nixon and Mark Felt have much more than Watergate in common when it comes to crossing that fragile line.