FBI deputy was Deep Throat

Wednesday, 1 June 2005 12:00 AM

One of politics most enduring mysteries has been ended with the confirmation of the identity of Deep Throat.

Former deputy FBI chief Mark Felt admitted to Vanity Fair that he leaked information on the Watergate scandal to journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

The Washington Post which ran the stories which brought down President Richard Nixon later confirmed Mr Felt's identity.

The identity of Deep Throat has been a matter of intense speculation for decades and today's revelations are the final secret from one of the most controversial eras in American politics.

President Nixon resigned in 1974 - the only president to do so - after the Washington Post connected a burglary at Democrat campaign headquarters with the president's office.

The details of the Watergate scandal are extremely complex, but revolved around the discovery of a plot sanction by Nixon to bug the campaign offices of his Democrat rivals.

Its revelation, and that of the White House's subsequent attempts at a cover up and to influence the FBI's investigation saw impeachment hearings launched against Nixon and his eventual resignation.

Full Watergate chronology

It was Deep Throat who fed the Washington Post reporters with the information they needed to continue running the story.

Their story, including meetings in shadowy underground car parks, was immortalised in the book and film All the President's men .

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