Felt Legacy is Complex

Now that we know the identity of Deep Throat, the simplistic analysis of the Watergate scandal begins to break down. Nixon is still a tragic figure who destoyed his Presidency but the heroic reporters and the noble betrayer begin to look tarnished as the LA Weekly tells us more about Felt's history of illegal breakins at the FBI.

Felt, in fact, was indicted and convicted in federal court in 1980 of directing nine illegal break-ins, aimed at domestic political targets, when he was boss of the COINTELPRO operation. Felt thus became the highest-ranking FBI official to be convicted of criminal charges since J. Edgar Hoover became head of the bureau in 1924.