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My Lips Are Sealed
Deep Throat has finally emerged from the great abyss surrounding the Watergate scandal that led to Richard Nixon’s eventual resignation. Many theories have been floated as to who this person might have been that virtually changed the make up of the nation and to the world to some extent. The identification of this “source”, as the newspapers have called him for decades, actually came forward by his own admission. W. Mark Felt ended the great mystery this week. Although it was believed by many people for years that Felt was Deep Throat, he admitted, and The Washington Post confirmed, that he was in fact the person who leaked information to two reporters about Watergate.
Without going through the entire case, obviously this leaked information lead to the Watergate investigation that ended with a beaten President Nixon’s shameless departure via helicopter from the White House grounds. Felt, who was the former number two man in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is quoted on
www.MSNBC.com
as saying that “I spent my entire adult life working for the government, and I always tried to do what I thought was right and what was in the best interest of this country and what would protect the safety of this country.” This raises an interesting question for every law enforcement officer, on every level, in this country. When is it permissible for any law enforcement officer, based on his or her own thought process, to release information that is known to be confidential? Does the level of potential ramifications that may be involved in the case or their personal opinion of its ethical adaptation, override their commitment to the confidential sanctity that all of law enforcement must be committed to in confidential matters? Although the media has vilified the original intent of many phrases such as “For Your Eyes Only” and “Strictly Confidential” by watering down their importance, confidentiality is the key to most successful investigations.
Leaks have always been something that has concerned law enforcement managers. And while it is not unheard of for the leak to come from law enforcement officers assigned to the case, it has never been at a level that we now realize. The most prominent era for these internal leaks was in the late seventies and eighties when Sheriffs across the country were being enticed by large sums of money to forward intelligence information to those involved in illegal drugs and to simply turn their head while a plane, which was coincidentally loaded with drugs, landed in their jurisdiction. Many search warrants, which were believed to be a sure thing, have ended up with not a seed being found. Investigators were left scratching their heads wondering how all that intelligence was of no avail. Many of these Sheriff’s were indicted and sentenced and are long gone based on their activities, but the scar of betrayal to other law enforcement officers is still very real.
The confidentiality that is in question does not include covering for “bad cops” who are in fact criminals themselves. This type of exposure, through the appropriate chain of command, is imperative. But, when we get to the point that officers are looking suspiciously at their fellow officers during intelligence briefings, we are entering a very dangerous area. The possibility of harm to a fellow officer, based on these leaks, is a concern that is very real and potentially very lethal. Without the feeling of trust between brother and sister officers, the bad guy comes out with the advantage. Looking over your shoulder and whispering in circles that may exclude a particular officer based on suspicion is not a comfortable place to be. If you have noticed, the majority of these officers, who according to them felt compelled to make the leak, especially those leaks to the media, came from officers who were disenchanted with their own career paths, were the recipient of some disciplinary action or otherwise criteria that led to the release. They can say that they leaked the information for the good of the country, for the good of man, or because a voice in their head instructed them to do so, but most often revenge is the motive. It if was so pressing upon their psyche to release the information, why did they wait until a personal issue was confronting them?
And even now, Felt’s timing has to be questioned. Why has he waited all these years to admit to his actions? According to a 1999 article in The Hartford Courant, felt once told his son that being Deep Throat “was nothing to be proud of… that you (should) not leak information to anyone.” According to the article, his family members persuaded him to come forward so that he could receive accolades that he deserves before his death. His daughter argued that he could make enough money to pay some bills.
Now that Felt has identified himself, some are saying that his actions were not that of a criminal, as many people in the past have identified the anonymous leakster. Some in fact, insist that he is a hero. That, my friends, is a matter of opinion.
For further information, visit www.voice4victims.com
If you are interested in having Mr. Hall speak at your next club or group meeting, please email contact information to:
SHall BadgeNotes@aol.com
061305
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