# Deep Throat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 1999, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610 "1999-05-31T20:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 1999, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/1 "1999-05-31T20:33:00Z")
Get your minds out of the gutter, you pervs. I was reading a book about Watergate and I was wondering about the identity of “Deep Throat”. The book mentioned several possibilities: Robert Bennett, Ken Clawson, Mark Felt, David Gergen, Alexander Haig, Bobby Ray Inman. I once read that Woodward was surprised that his identity had stayed secret this long and that he would “eventually” reveal who Deep Throat was. So my question is: Who do you think he (or she) was? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/2 "1999-06-01T02:34:00Z")
Woodward has said he will reveal DT’s identity after the source’s death. I think it’s more fun to keep it a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/3 "1999-06-01T04:26:00Z")
I considered Al Haig for awhile but as sleazy an opportunist as he is, I would have thought that (were it actually him) he would have come forward after Nixon died. My gut feeling has always been that Deep Throat was none other than Diane Sawyer. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/4 "1999-06-01T15:35:00Z")
I have wondered for a long time: What happens if Woodward dies **before** Deep Throat? Is DT named in Woodward’s will, or is it written down elsewhere, or something? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/5 "1999-06-01T15:35:00Z")
I have wondered for a long time: What happens if Woodward dies **before** Deep Throat? Is DT named in Woodward’s will, or is it written down elsewhere, or something? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/6 "1999-06-01T15:38:00Z")
Keeves: Was the double-post an error or do you just like saying Deep Throat? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/7 "1999-06-01T16:00:00Z")
Read on the news a year or so back that they claimed it was Diane Sawyer. Really. & why not? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/8 "1999-06-01T16:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I have wondered for a long time: What happens if Woodward dies before Deep Throat? Is DT named in Woodward’s will, or is it written down elsewhere, or something? I read a book about Woodward and Bernstein’s writing of the book _The Final Days_. W&B promised their sources for that book that they would not reveal their identities in the book, but they had all the original interviews sealed and stored (by a university library if I recall correctly) so that future historians would be able to use the information they gathered. Presumedly they have done the same with their Watergate information. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 1999, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/9 "1999-06-01T16:22:00Z")
Maybe I’m confused, but didn’t I see video proof that it was Linda Lovelace? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 1999, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/10 "1999-06-02T05:03:00Z")
I’m a bit young to know alot about Watergate (mid 20’s), but I have been told many times that Diane Sawyer was Deep Throat. * * * “I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 1999, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/11 "1999-06-03T19:56:00Z")
What am I missing here re Diane Sawyer? Is the joke going over my head, or is there some actual connection between Watergate and Diane Sawyer that I don’t know about? I think it’s entirely possible that there was no DT. Remember, he didn’t provide any information; he only confirmed what W&B already knew. Their bosses had made it clear that they needed multiple confirmations on everything, so maybe they just made up a mysterious guy in a parking garage. – Greg, Atlanta ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 1999, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/12 "1999-06-03T21:40:00Z")
IIRC Diane Sawyer was a White House staffer in '72-'73. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 1999, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/13 "1999-06-03T22:55:00Z")
When confronted with it DS denied she was DT, of course. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 1999, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/14 "1999-06-03T23:20:00Z")
Didn’t any of you people see the movie? Deep Throat was Hal Holbrook. Sheesh! * * * The Dave-Guy “since my daughter’s only half-Jewish, can she go in up to her knees?” J.H. Marx ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/15 "2000-11-08T20:22:50Z")
Sorry to re-open old wounds, but this is prompted by Bravo’s recent re-airing of _All the President’s Men_. I noticed the very first time I ever saw it that Hal Holbrook, who plays Deep Throat, also appeared to provide the voice for Ken Clawson. So today I got curious and went to IMDB to see who is credited as providing Ken Clawson’s voice. No one is listed. As far as the credits go, Ken Clawson never appears in the movie. Anybody have thoughts on this? ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/16 "2000-11-08T20:48:44Z")
I heard a theory recently that Deep Throat was Kissinger! Kissinger knew that it was all about to be discovered and revealed all to protect himself. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/17 "2000-11-08T21:35:40Z")
No no no! Deep Throat was two teenage girls who accidentally got to be White House dog walkers and stumbled onto the secret information. What, I’m the only one who saw “Dick”? (Wait, that really sounds bad.) ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/18 "2000-11-08T21:43:23Z")
Okay, this is a bit of a reach, but James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle have written up an article about the sources cited in the sequal to _All the President’s Men_, _The Final Days_. The book is _After the Fact,_ and it may well be the source cited above by my electronic cousin, Mike King. In that article (“Instant Watergate,” pp. 395-424), which is essentially a tutorial on historical methodology, they analyze the style of writing that Woodward and Bernstein use and the point of view from which the various characters are portrayed, and make some intriguing guesses as to whom was supplying information to the journalists. They can do this because _The Final Days_ is written in a different perspective than their first book. The methodology is questionable, but it makes for a “good guess.” They draw these conclusions: - David Eisenhower and Patrick Buchanan were key sources for Nixon family and background material. - Alexander Haig and Henry Kissinger did _not_ talk to W & B for this book. - White House attorney J. Fred Buzhardt was quite the gabber. Buzhardt was part of the crisis control team formed to counteract the revelations of the White House break-in. Buzhardt was also very close to Alexander Haig. His point of view is used the most extensively in _The Final Days_, and is probably the person W & B mention interviewing seventeen times in the making of the book. Buzhardt has admited to contributing information to W & B (as has David Eisenhower). Buzhardt, by virtue of his close relationship to Haig, could have supplied some of the very sensitive Deep Throat information that points to Alexander Haig, and could be an excellent candidate for the mythical Deep Throat. Except for one thing: he’s been dead since 1984. That leads to another possibility, that Deep Throat is a compilation of reliable sources designed to protect the contributors and also to prevent any one person from being identified as a confidential source. This is an often-used journalistic, but not historical, technique. The invention of such a character would allow W & B to “spice up” the story with the parking lot scenes and the taxi switch-ups, making the book more exciting, but still allow them to report the facts as they learned them. If I remember correctly (and I’m sure I’ll be proven otherwise in a hurry if I don’t), Deep Throat is not cited as providing any additional information for _The Final Days_, which would make sense if “he” were a mosaic character in the first book. He would be an unsuitable character for a book that purports to be a work of so-called “hot history,” which is how TFD is written. My best guess: Deep Throat is Buzhardt, Buchanan, and Eisenhower, with perhaps a few others tossed into the mix as confirmation sources. We’ll just have to wait and see. But remember, if Deep Throat never existed, he can’t really “die” either, can he? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/19 "2000-11-08T21:55:35Z")
Let me point out a mistake I made above. Buzhardt could have _confirmed_ some of the information that W & B had. He also could have supplied a lot of the non-DT information, and Buchanan or Eisenhower could have confirmed that in the guise of Deep Throat. As stated by GregAtlanta Deep Throat wasn’t really a supplier of information, but “he” was several people contributing and confirming, it works out. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610/20 "2000-11-09T18:09:01Z")
Len Colodony (probably misspelled) did a book called “Silent Coup” in which he claimed --among other things— that DT was Haig on the grounds that Haig knew Woodward from when W was in the Navy working as a liason officer, where he’d have met Haig mre or less frequently. Thus, the story goes, Haig knew a journalist that could be relied on to keep his pie hole closed where it counted. And as was said above, Haig was just the guy to do a Senajus on Tiberius Dick. I believe the author of the book was sued by John Dean because of allegations that Dean manipulated events to become the behind the scenes author of Watergate. I think also that Gordon Liddy was sued by Dean for repeating the substance of the book (as it related to Dean) on his radio show. Supposedly, the mission of the WG break in that was busted was to get a book out of a desk in an otherwise empty office in the WGate Demo HQ. A&E did a bit called “The Key to Watergate” that discusses this, but not the DT angle. It seems pretty stupid to me, but the story (as I recall it)is that the book in the desk had pictures, phone numbers, and names of hookers in it that Democratic out-of-towners would use as a sort of menu for after hours entertainment. They’d supposedly then use the (bugged) phone at the desk to call to arrange liasons, and these calls could then supposedly be enough to somehow blackmail the guys into whatever. What is even more far-fetched is that it’s alleged that the customers would indicate in writing in the book who they were, what they wanted from which service provider, etc., and that getting the book via a break-in (along with the telephone tapes made from HoJo’s across the street) would then provide totally damning evidence against the lot. IMHO, they only thing they’d have got (assuming the story is true, which is a stretch) is some ambiguous stuff on a lot of guys going by “John Smith”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-throat/610.md?page=2)