Review: Solving the puzzle of Deep Throat

In this story: A unique position Engaging style RELATED STORIES, SITES

"In Search of Deep Throat; The Greatest Political Mystery of Our Time"
By Leonard Garment
Basic Books
Nonfiction/History
270 pages

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein made their names in 1974, when "All The President's Men" was published. In it, the two detailed a web of deceit and coverup in the administration of Richard Nixon. Much of the scandal mushroomed from a bungled 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate, a Washington residential and office complex. Woodward and Bernstein remain household names; their investigative reporting is credited with unraveling the Watergate affair.

In "All the President's Men," a key source -- a kind of Virgil guiding the two reporters through the interlocking circles of the Nixon White House -- was referred to as "Deep Throat," a name drawn from a notorious porno movie of the time. Deep Throat met Woodward at night in a dimly lit parking garage, offering him clues to the scandal. More than 25 years later, the informant has never been identified. To this day, only Woodward, Bernstein, Ben Bradlee (then the editor of the Post) and Deep Throat himself know who he is. Several writers, including journalists and former Nixon staffers, have taken shots at solving the mystery. None has succeeded.

QUICKVOTE The new book 'In Search of Deep Throat' maintains Watergate source Deep Throat was John Sears. Who do you think was Deep Throat? John Sears Alexander Haig John Dean Somebody else Nobody -- Deep Throat was made up View Results     MESSAGE BOARD Who do you think Deep Throat is? Talk about it     ALSO Read chat transcript with Leonard Garment

Leonard Garment, author of "In Search of Deep Throat," thinks he has solved the puzzle. Whether he has is anybody's guess -- including Garment's -- but his book makes an entertaining read and a fine addition to the growing shelf of Nixoniana.

Garment had a long association with Nixon and his administration. He met the future president in 1963, when Nixon was still smarting from his loss in the previous year's California gubernatorial election. The two became law partners, and after Nixon was elected president in 1968, Garment became an administration consultant and adviser. Because of his insider status, he's been fingered by some as Deep Throat himself, but maintains he's not the Watergate source. Bob Woodward concurs.

But Garment maintains his standing in the administration puts him in a unique position to find out who Deep Throat is. He runs down the suspects, one by one, narrowing his list and discounting selections made by others who picked personalities he says don't fit Deep Throat's description or temperament.

He also doesn't waste much time getting to the point. In the book's first two pages, Garment reveals that Deep Throat could only be Nixon campaign operative and White House aide John Sears. This immediate disclosure of the book's raison d'etre may leave readers wondering why they should invest their time in actually reading the whole thing.

But Garment spins a good yarn, and provides a strong analysis of "All the President's Men" as well as shrewd characterizations of the drama's key players. It helps that Garment hired many of them.

Garment concludes Deep Throat must be a real person, rather than a conglomeration of many sources Woodward and Bernstein relied on but simplified into one character for their book. Garment draws from Woodward and Bernstein's many clues: Deep Throat was politically nonpartisan, an "incurable gossip," a man of rectitude.

He also takes on many theories that have since hardened into conventional wisdom. Garment refutes the idea that the CIA, despite its participation in other dirty-trick-laden plans over the years, was somehow at the center of Watergate. The burglary and coverup had White House imprimaturs, Garment notes, and Vernon Walters -- whom Nixon had named the CIA's second-in-command not long before the break-in -- was asked to participate in the coverup as it developed. Walters declined.

Little of Garment's book is new to Nixon aficionados or Watergate conspiracy theorists, and Garment makes little claim that it is. What makes "In Search of Deep Throat" work is the author's engaging style, combined with occasional hard-nosed reporting. As Garment wonders if a certain Nixon staffer is Deep Throat, he goes through the facts -- and then, often, takes the candidate to lunch or calls him by phone. (Inevitably, the candidates deny the charge.) Being an insider can be handy. But does Garment make his case? John Sears appears to fit a number of Deep Throat's personality and physical traits as recorded in "All the President's Men." But so do others in the story, others Garment rejects as candidates based on their own denials. For example, prior to meeting David Gergen at lunch, Garment writes he hoped that "when I confronted him ... either he would confess or my trial lawyer's instinct would tell me whether he was dissimulating." When Gergen strenously denies being Deep Throat, Garment quickly believes him: "Gergen did not have Deep Throat's voice and manner ... (and) temperament." Garment dismisses other candidates the same way. He's also hamstrung by the same book he uses as his base: If Woodward and Bernstein exaggerated or changed aspects of Deep Throat's character, Garment has been led down a blind alley.

Moreover, since the book was released, John Sears has released a statement categorically denying he's Deep Throat.

But, somehow, it doesn't really matter. The fun of a good mystery is less figuring out the culprit than following the detective (or writer) through the twists and turns of the story. Garment recounts the intricacies of Watergate with an appealing thoroughness and dissects his characters with the relish of the attorney he is. And he's quick to admit he may be wrong. "This is a very strong, well-researched belief, but it's not a slam dunk," Garment says. "I think I've come as close to making an identification as can be made."

"In Search of Deep Throat" may not shine a decisive spotlight on Deep Throat's shadowy old parking garage, but it's a brightly told tale, nonetheless.

Lance Morrow: My memories of Deep Throat
July 27, 2000
'Saturday Night Massacre' attorney general dies
December 31, 1999
Nixon legacy still sparks debate, 25 years after resignation
August 8, 1999

Basic Books

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.