Letter to the Editor: Mark Felt's Heroism

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The following was originally published in the New York Times. Read it HERE.

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To the Editor:

As Mark Felt's lawyer and co-author, I strongly take issue with statements in ''W. Mark Felt, F.B.I. Official Who Became 'Deep Throat,' Is Dead at 95,'' the Dec. 19 obituary of Mr. Felt.

The obituary equates the clear criminality of the infamous Watergate break-in -- a common burglary -- with the warrantless F.B.I. entries into the homes of Weather Underground supporters that Mr. Felt authorized for national security.

In Mr. Felt's prosecution, five attorneys general and President Richard M. Nixon testified that national security entries need no warrant, and the court eventually agreed.

The only quibble was whether presidential authorization could be implicit (per Mr. Felt and Mr. Nixon) or must be written.

Mr. Felt authorized these entries (or ''black bag jobs'') because of concern about activities of members in the Palestine Liberation Organization in the United States after the terrorism at the Munich Olympic Games and about the Weather Underground, which had claimed responsibility for bombing several government buildings and whose predecessor group had in 1970 been preparing antipersonnel nail bombs to kill and maim innocent Fort Dix soldiers.

Mark Felt was a great hero, undeserving of such shabby treatment.


John D. O'Connor
San Francisco, Dec. 22, 2008

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John D. O’Connor is the San Francisco attorney who represented W. Mark Felt during his revelation as Deep Throat in 2005. O’Connor is the author of the book, Postgate: How the Washington Post Betrayed Deep Throat, Covered Up Watergate, and Began Today’s Partisan Advocacy Journalism.

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