Only two FBI officers were ever convicted for the numerous crimes carried out under the CoIntelPro program. One of them was W. Mark Felt. Ronald Reagan pardoned him.
That’s right! The Great Communicator PARDONED Deep Throat.
Update [2005-5-31 13:54:38 by BooMan]:Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Pardons
Albert Alkek- Clemency for withholding information from federal officials regarding an oil price-fixing scheme.
Gilbert Dozier- Commuted sentence for extortion and racketeering.
W. Mark Felt– Clemency for authorizing FBI agents to break into Vietnam protestors’ offices without warrants.
Junior Johnson- Pardoned for liquor offences committed in the 1950s.
Edward Miller- Clemency for authorizing FBI agents to break into Vietnam protestors’ offices without warrants.
George Steinbrenner- Clemency for making illegal contributions to Richard M. Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign.
Are we sure that W. Mark Felt is DT? Woodstein haven’t confirmed yet – or am I being overcautious?
Not that it would matter at this point (if it’s true) but perhaps they are reluctant to go back on their promise not to reveal until his death.
Woodstein has confirmed (reg. req.):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/31/AR2005053100655.html?sub=AR
they are showing his grandson explaining why he has come forward.
Agreed. I actually laughed out loud for over a minute.
Now we know why he kept his mouth shut.
I kept thinking about how all the conservative nutjobs keep making Reagan into a god, yet Reagan pardoned the man who led to the downfall of another man who is still revered in those nutjobish circles.
It was hilarious in my twisted mind.
Great scoop by BooMan. Great scoop.
since Booman is also a dog, his scoops come in different forms.
But seriously, Booman’s talking points frame the issue and deserve to be circulated across all of the internets
I see that the MSM is not aware of this “small” item.
The AP finally has this at the end of the story, but they don’t credit Booman!
“Felt was convicted in the 1970s for authorizing illegal break-ins at homes of people associated with the radical Weather Underground. He was pardoned by President Reagan in 1981.”
Of two things:
One, the timing of this announcement. What has it bumped from the front pages?
Two: no confirmation as of yet from Woodward and Bernstein (though I did find a transcript from Keith Olbermann’s Countdown show on MSNBC from last February–saying that Bernstein’s ex-wife said it was Felt).
I’m thinking this is the right hand drawing attention away from what the left hand is doing.
is announcing something at 5PM.
Woodward will be doing a story on Thursday.
Woodward, that is, confirmed it.
Don’t you wish we had a “deep throat” now, to meet with a reporter and give secret info.
God yes. Someone with courage.
On a great note: BooMan’s story was picked up by Raw Story!
“W. Mark Felt- Clemency for authorizing FBI agents to break into Vietnam protestors’ [sic] offices without warrants.”
Those break-ins would be 100% legal under the Patriot Act… just shows how far our respect for rights has fallen.
Great point Mrboma, yes indeed that and far worse is now legal in these great United States of America which I can barely recognize from the US I knew when I was a child (40’s) and on up through the rest of the past century till we come to this abomination we now have in power.
are nothing but a huge mulligan expertly crafted over twenty years by the lackies and toadies(ie Rumsfeld and Cheney just to name a few) who surrounded Nixon and watched him go down in flames… The whole theme of the Neo-Cons is to do Viet-Nam over again and do it right this time… this is what is left of the sociological pus that was not adequately treated after Nixon and Viet-Nam and it’s now threatening to send the country into sepsis… I’m feeling a little febrile, how ’bout you…?
second all you say above plus just think of all the ‘new breed’ of the ‘old breed’ we are spawning all through our government and military. We will never be free of this ilk.
BTW just checked the site stats. and there are a lot of people on site right now, if you are not a member and just browing, please join us and make comments, we would love to hear from you.
Please also see the diary New Members, Welcome and do tell us something about you.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2005/5/31/12331/6226
link:
FEBRUARY 28, 1973 FROM 9:12 TO 10:23 A.M. 28
PRESIDENT: Shocking (unintelligible)
DEAN: Now, about White House staff and reporters and the like, and, now, the only, the other person that knows–is aware of It–is Mark Felt, and we’ve talked about Mark Felt, and, uh–I guess, uh–
PRESIDENT: What does it do to him, though? Let’s face it. You know, suppose that Felt come out and unwraps the whole thing. What does it do to him?
DEAN: He can’t do it. It just–
PRESIDENT: But my point is: Who’s going to hire him?
DEAN: That’s right.
PRESIDENT: Let’s face it.
DEAN: He can’t. He’s–
PRESIDENT: If he–the guy that does that can go out and, uh, you mean he’s a–of course, he couldn’t do it unless he had a guarantee from somebody like Time magazine saying “Look we’ll give you a job for life.” Then what do they do? They put him in a job for life, and everybody would treat him like a pariah. He’s in a very dangerous situation. These guys you know–the informers, look what it did to Chambers. Chambers informed because he didn’t give a God damn.
DEAN: Right.
PRESIDENT: But then, one of the most brilliant writers according to Jim (unintelligible) we’ve ever seen in this country–and I am not referring to the Communist issue–this, this greatest single guy in the time of twenty-five or, thirty years ago, probably, probably the best writer in, in this century. They finished him.
FEBRUARY 28, 1973 FROM 9:12 TO 10:23 A.M. 29
DEAN: Uh huh. Well, I think, I, there’s no–
PRESIDENT: Either way, either way, the, the, the informer is not wanted in our society. Either way, that’s the one thing people do sort of line up against. They…
DEAN: That’s right.
PRESIDENT: …they say, well that son-of-a-bitch informed. I don’t want him around. We wouldn’t want him around, would we?