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American Morning

Who Was Deep Throat?

Aired May 08, 2002 - 08:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAL HOLBROOK, ACTOR: I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just follow the money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the shadowy figure from that great film back in 1976, "All The President's Men," is Hal Holbrook, the actor, portraying the infamous Watergate source known as Deep Throat. It was information provided by Deep Throat to investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein at "The Washington Post" that ultimately led to the collapse of the Nixon presidency and the resignation of Richard Nixon.

Deep Throat's identity has been one of the most well kept political secrets in Washington for the past 30 years. But two new books have renewed interest in the mother of all sources. One by Watergate whistle-blower John Dean, who has tried twice before to reveal Deep Throat. Both times he's been wrong. The White House counsel warned of a cancer on the presidency at the time of Watergate, and now he's promising to name Deep Throat on the Internet on June 17. Actually, name names, name the game.

And joining us to talk about this ongoing mystery -- and it is fascinating -- is CNN's senior analyst Jeff Greenfield. Good morning.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Howdy.

CAFFERTY: How does Washington keep anything secret for 30 years?

GREENFIELD: Oh, that's why people are so interested in this.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

GREENFIELD: Because when, you know, they can't. So this secret has allegedly been kept for 30 years. And what's happened here is that John Dean, who was the guy who blew the whistle on the Nixon White House, who did, in 1975, say Deep Throat was Watergate prosecutor Earl Silbert. In 1982 he said it was Al Haig, who was Nixon's chief of staff.

CAFFERTY: Right. GREENFIELD: Now he's taking, I guess this is a third bite at the apple, you know, saying he's going to do it.

Now, the suspicion has focused, most of it, for years, on Mark Felt, who was the number three man in the FBI at the time. He's always denied it.

CAFFERTY: What would the FBI have had to gain at the time, assuming somebody within the bureau was feeding this information?

GREENFIELD: This is what, this is why people really think somebody in the FBI is the most likely suspect. They had opportunity, obviously, because they were part of the investigation. But they had a motive. The Nixon White House and the FBI were at loggerheads over a whole range of issues -- the control of crime in the District of Columbia, a crackdown on anti-war radicals and when J. Edgar Hoover, the only, at the time, FBI director died, right about the time of Watergate, the FBI careerists wanted one of their guys to take over. The Nixon White House wanted one of their people to take over.

So they had what they call motive.

CAFFERTY: All right, let's go through some of the picks that you've singled out as possibilities, I guess, over the years. Speculation has focused on all kinds of people, ranging from Diane Sawyer over at ABC to Al Haig, who we've talked about. Let's look at some of these names and get your comments on them.

GREENFIELD: OK. Let's see what we've got here. All right, Earl Silbert was the original Watergate prosecutor and that's, as I said, one of the people that John Dean back in 1975 said was Deep Throat. Al Haig, who was White House chief of staff during the Watergate explosion...

CAFFERTY: I'm in charge here.

GREENFIELD: Yes, well, that was later.

CAFFERTY: I know.

GREENFIELD: That was under Reagan. He's always denied it. The idea there was that he was trying to save the republic from an increasingly discombobulated Nixon.

CAFFERTY: Didn't Woodward at one point actually say it was not Al Haig?

GREENFIELD: Well, the one that I remember is Leonard Garment, who was a White House counsel under Nixon, fingered John Sears in his book. That's a long time Republican operative. And as to John Sears, Bob Woodward broke his silence and said absolutely, positively not John Sears. And one of the questions is why would a Republican political operative have access to the kind of information that Bob Woodward says he got from his source?

CAFFERTY: Woodward has also allowed as how Deep Throat is still alive...

GREENFIELD: That's right.

CAFFERTY: And it's a man, correct?

GREENFIELD: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Male.

GREENFIELD: Yes. And that's why, look, it's like what somebody once said about Hollywood, nobody knows anything. The real reason why this story stays alive is Washington, the coin of the realm here is information.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

GREENFIELD: Everybody in Washington has to know stuff first. So you remember a few years ago when nobody knew who wrote "Primary Colors" until Joe Klein was outed?

CAFFERTY: Right.

GREENFIELD: That drove people nuts because in Washington if you don't know something, it's impotence of the highest order. This story has been kept quiet for 30 years.

CAFFERTY: And Washington leaks like a sieve. I mean anytime there's a burning issue down there, it's a matter of sometimes just a few hours before stuff starts dribbling out.

GREENFIELD: Right.

CAFFERTY: And this thing has been kept tight.

GREENFIELD: To the point where some people have said there isn't any Deep Throat. It's a composite. Woodward has said flatly absolutely it is somebody. It's a guy and I'll tell you who it is when he dies.

CAFFERTY: All right, you mentioned the front runner. Let's talk briefly again why you think Felt might be, at least he's considered a front runner in this thing.

GREENFIELD: The reason why Mark Felt's always been in the forefront -- although he has denied it in the past -- is he was the number three guy in the FBI. He wanted to become FBI director. He had reason to be angry at the Nixon White House. Initially, the FBI felt the Nixon White House was mucking around with the criminal justice system.

That's, but that's all, as they say, circumstantial.

CAFFERTY: Yes. Who do you think it is?

GREENFIELD: Oh, I can't say.

CAFFERTY: It's a secret.

GREENFIELD: And if I told you, I'd have to...

CAFFERTY: I'd have to kill you, yes.

GREENFIELD: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Yes, I know. Been down that road.

GREENFIELD: And, you know, you're an important guy on this show. I don't want to kill you.

CAFFERTY: Well, I'm not that important. I mean if you killed me, they'd probably get on the air tomorrow.

GREENFIELD: Well, in that case...

CAFFERTY: I'll talk to you later.

GREENFIELD: All right.

CAFFERTY: CNN senior correspondent Jeff Greenfield.

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