The leaker of secret information that brought down US President Nixon revealed

Watergate remains one of the world's most famous political scandals of all time. The scandal revolved around US President Richard Nixon giving his aides the green light to illegally break into the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington on June 17, 1972, to install a wiretap on the telephones. Five "burglars" were arrested in the incident, helping authorities track down the ring behind the incident, including the most senior figures in the White House.

The incident caused Mr. Nixon to become the first and only US President to resign before the end of his term, in 1974.

The Felt family's revelations, published in an article in Vanity Fair magazine in 2005, shocked two famous reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. It was the source of information, code-named "Deep Throat", who asked Woodward and Bernstein to keep his identity a secret until after his death. Thanks to Deep Throat's confidential information, the two reporters wrote articles that exposed the Watergate scandal that shocked public opinion in 1973, helping the Washington Post win the prestigious Pulitzer Prize that same year.

For a long time after the Watergate scandal, the question “Who is Deep Throat?” has been asked over and over again, and explained with various theories and speculations in countless books, movies, television shows, and online. America has become obsessed with this shadowy figure who has gone to great lengths to conceal his whereabouts and his relationship with Washington Post reporters.

The tapes reveal that as early as 1973, President Nixon himself suspected Felt of leaking classified information to the press. Although Felt was often cited as a suspect, he consistently denied being Deep Throat. In his 1979 memoir, the former FBI deputy director wrote: "I never disclosed information to Woodward and Bernstein or anyone else." Even six years before deciding to come forward, Felt said: "To disclose information would be contrary to my duty as a loyal FBI agent."

According to multiple sources, after the death of J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI in May 1972, Mr. Felt, then serving as deputy director of the agency, wanted to take over the leadership. Unfortunately, President Nixon appointed Pat Gray to replace Hoover. Mr. Felt was reportedly extremely angry with this, as well as the president's use of Gray to block all investigation efforts, in order to cover up information about the Watergate scandal.

So when Woodward called Felt to ask about the Watergate investigation, the veteran FBI official agreed to talk. But Felt laid out a series of strict requirements for his cooperation. He refused to be identified or quoted, even anonymously, and agreed only to verify information the reporters had already gathered and refused to provide new information. Of course, Felt’s demands were met. Woodward also only contacted him when he needed to confirm extremely important details.

The two men initially spoke by phone, but Felt soon became concerned that his personal phone might be tapped. So he and Woodward devised a secret code and began meeting secretly in the middle of the night in a parking lot. A few months later, Felt confirmed the reports of Nixon’s reelection committee’s ties to the Watergate break-in. He also warned Woodward about the involvement of higher-ranking officials in the administration, including the White House chief of staff himself.

After the Felt family's confession in 2005, both Woodward and Bernstein expressed concern that the prolonged public attention to the Deep Throat mystery might have led to an exaggeration of the former FBI Deputy Director's role in uncovering the Watergate scandal. These reporters reminded the American public that other sources, such as secret Nixon White House tapes, the U.S. Senate Watergate hearings, and the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling, were all important in clarifying the truth.

Mr. Felt's image in the 2017 Hollywood film "Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House"

According to the Guardian, rumors circulated in the US in the mid-2000s that the Felt family had decided to reveal Deep Throat’s identity for money. At the time, in 2005, Felt’s daughter was having financial difficulties, while his health and memory were declining.

Mr. Felt died on February 18, 2008, at the age of 95. To the American public, he remains a "hero", in stark contrast to Edward Snowden, who was considered a traitor for leaking classified information about the US government to the press.