The third vital member of the team of Woodward and Bernstein is the mysterious figure known as “Deep Throat.” The shadowy man was the compass to point the journalist duo in the right direction. An informant in the federal government, it was not until 2005 that the public finally put a name on Deep Throat. William Mark Felt, the former FBI Deputy Director finally announced to the public his identity as Deep Throat, with Woodward and Bernstein confirming this fact (via History). Before this, the three men went to great lengths to hide Felt’s identity.

Between June 1972 to November 1973, Felt spoke with Bob Woodward 17 times, originally confirming leads the pair found, but eventually, began to offer new information to the team. Sometimes, Felt would speak on the phone, but on other occasions, he would meet Woodward in a parking garage in Virginia. Despite this, the Nixon White House became suspicious that Felt was leaking information to the press. Woodward and Bernstein never disclosed any information or provided hints about Deep Throat and spoke about him in vague terms in their book, “All the President’s Men.” 

Still, Felt resigned from the FBI in June 1973 after he was suspected of leaking information to The New York Times. While Bernstein was surprised by how mythical Deep Throat became in American pop culture, he remains as much of a part of the Watergate story as Woodward and Bernstein.