Felt Lied to Grand Jury

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new book about "Deep Throat" by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward says W. Mark Felt denied being the Watergate source during a 1976 grand jury appearance, according to USA Today. The book, "The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat," says Felt hastily withdrew his denial when a Justice Department official reminded him he was under oath, according to the newspaper, which said it obtained a copy from a Virginia bookstore that mistakenly put copies out for sale. ...In the grand jury incident, Woodward wrote that Felt's actions enabled the Justice Department official who was questioning him to realize that he had been "Deep Throat." A grand juror asked whether Felt was "Deep Throat" and Felt replied, "No." The Justice Department official, Stanley Pottinger, offered to have the question and answer withdrawn as being outside the bounds of the investigation, after reminding Felt that he had sworn to tell the truth. "Flushed," Woodward writes, "Felt very rapidly requested, 'Withdraw the question.'" Because the question was withdrawn, technically Mark Felt didn't lie to the grand jury. Technically speaking. When asked by a grand juror whether he was "Deep Throat," Felt lied. He had sworn to tell the truth. He didn't. Is that how a great American, a heroic figure, behaves? No. Well, maybe if you admire cowardly, spiteful liars, you could consider Felt a hero. If Felt deserves a lofty place in American history, then the bar is set dreadfully low.