The history of the the world, the Church, and our nation is rich with an ample supply of traitors and dishonorable men. The thing to keep in mind is that most traitors and dishonorable men, though cowardly by nature, are fully convinced of their own self-righteousness. (See my 2004 blog entry on Adonijah.) The following is my father’s comment on the recent revelation concerning Mark Felt:

Mark Felt’s admission in the July edition of Vanity Fair that he was “Deep Throat”, one of those who supplied inside information to The Washington Post to discredit, disable, and destroy Richard Nixon, should be properly understood.

Mark Felt, then the Associate Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was not a hero. He was a traitor. He betrayed his responsibilities to the President, and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from whose secret, confidential files he excerpted information for transmission to Left-wing “journalists” who sought to undo the results of the 1972 Presidential election in which Richard Nixon trounced George McGovern in a record-breaking landslide.

Mr. Felt was not a hero. He was a resentful, self-aggrandizing, self-serving wretch, used by others to advance their nefarious purposes. It is revealing that the decision to disclose his identity was prodded by family members who thought they could make money from the resulting media coverage.

Felt should be recorded in the history books alongside Benedict Arnold, although the harm done by Felt was greater.

I say all of this as a man in comprehensive disagreement with Richard Nixon’s policies, even as I admired and continue to admire Richard Nixon the man.

While we are on the subject of Watergate, it is important not to forget one of the supposed reasons for the break-in at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.

As spelled out by Gordon Liddy, John Dean who was then a counsel to President Nixon had a girlfriend, Maureen Biser, who later became his wife, Mo Dean. Mo Biser was the roommate of a woman who reportedly provided prostitutes for out-of-town Democrats visiting Washington, D.C.

According to some accounts, the arrangements were processed through Spencer Oliver who, in addition to having been National Chairman of the Young Democrats, was also Chief of Staff to Congressman Dante Fascell (D-FL) who was Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

As the story is told, John Dean was concerned about the possibility that his girlfriend/fiancée would be associated with the prostitute ring as a result of pictures and other records being stored at Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel where Spencer Oliver had his office.

There are many theories about the reasons for the Watergate break-in, and which person in the Nixon Administration promoted it.

In my opinion, history will bear out the predominant role of John Dean, who is said to have initiated the activities which led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, because Mr. Dean did not want his girlfriend and future wife to be popularly known as a high-class call girl.