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Uncovering Deep Throat

For those of you who remember the fascinating story of Watergate and the Nixon White House, a pertinent question has always been, "Who was Deep Throat (the as-yet-unnamed source for Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein that helped them break the story)?" It turns out that a group of students and their professor from the Department of Journalism at the University of Illinois think they know; and they're naming names.

First, a little backgroundƒ Watergate literally refers to the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. and was the site of a break-in by five men attempting to bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The term has since been used to describe a set of political scandals that ultimately led to the resignation of then-President Richard Nixon. When the five burglars were arrested during the break-in, it turned out to be the tip of an iceberg and a small indication of the other nefarious actions already underway. Prior to this break-in, scandals were brewing in the Nixon administration. The White House "plumbers" had already been hard at work plugging various administration leaks and the New York Times was in the process of publishing the Pentagon Papers - the secret Defense Department history of the Vietnam War.

In a matter of months, the FBI determined that the burglary was a piece of a large operation of political spying and scandals conducted to boost the Nixon re-election effort. The story became public when an anonymous source began supplying tips to two reporters from the Washington Post, Woodward and Bernstein. The real identity of this source, who came to be known as Deep Throat, has remained an intriguing secret for the last 30 years.

So it was that four years ago Professor Bill Gaines, a two-time Pulitzer-Prize winning former investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, introduced a group of students to the mystery and began the search for the identity of Deep Throat. Using publicly available records from the investigation, transcripts of available Nixon tapes, and Woodward and Bernstein's book, "All the President's Men", the class narrowed and eventually eliminated all possible candidates until they settled on one: Fred Fielding, deputy to former White House counsel John Dean during the Nixon administration.

How did they arrive at this conclusion? First, they focused on the 12 essential clues of the case. From the basic considerations (who worked in the White House and smoked) to the detailed (exactly what details were contained in important case documents), the students closely examined each clue. Systematically investigating all of the clues from the case, they were able to determine which people had access to the most crucial and closely held bits of information to finally focus on Fielding.

There have been many guesses made over the years as to the identity of the informant, including a June 2002 Dateline NBC story in which the Professor pointed a finger at Pat Buchanan. This was later retracted by the students, who claimed their investigation was still in progress an inconclusive at that time. The site covers this issue in a section describing six key players that have, at one time or another, been pegged as likely Deep Throat candidates — and then details why each of these fails upon closer examination. (Be sure to read Pat Buchanan's response, which both proclaims his innocence and in some ways directs the search toward others.)

All of these details are available online at Deep Throat Uncovered, a site dedicated to the investigation by the students and their Professor. Four years and 71 students in the making, the site chronicles their search for Deep Throat by systematically presenting the evidence and eliminating possible suspects. You can join them on the search; read a biography of Fielding, the Professor, and the students; and see the expected media reaction to their findings. For those who remember Watergate — and even those who don't — it's a fascinating read.