Deep Throat (Watergate)
Deep Throat was the name given to the secret informant who leaked information about United States President Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal. That scandal would eventually lead to the resignation of the president and prison terms for White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and presidential adviser on domestic affairs John Ehrlichman.
The name Deep Throat came from an X-rated movie of the same name, see Deep Throat (movie).
Four people are said to know the identity of Deep Throat: Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post investigative reporters he was giving information to; Benjamin C. Bradlee, their executive editor; and Deep Throat himself.
Over the years, there have been a number of hints and guesses as to the identity of Deep Throat. It has been proposed that "Deep Throat" is a literary device rather than an actual person. Woodward has stated that Deep Throat is an actual male person and not a composite. He also said that Deep Throat has agreed that his identity will be revealed upon his death, which implies that Deep Throat is still alive. Alexander Haig was a popular suspect for being Deep Throat, but this has been denied by both Haig and Woodward. Other candidates have included Henry Kissinger, CIA officials Cord Meyer or William Colby, and FBI officials L. Patrick Gray, W. Mark Felt, Charles W. Bates, Robert Kunkel, and then Nixon advisor Patrick Buchanan. In April of 2003 White House lawyer Fred Fielding (assistant to John Dean) was alleged to be Deep Throat.