SAN FRANCISCO, CA (AP) -- The once mysterious news source known only as "Deep Throat" has died.
W. Mark Felt was 95.
A friend says Felt died in Santa Rosa, Calif., after suffering congestive heart failure for several months.
As the FBI's second-in-command at the time of Watergate, Felt leaked damaging information about President Richard Nixon and his aides to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodwawrd. "Deep Throat" was memorably portrayed by Hal Holbrook in the 1976 movie "All the President's Men" as a shadowy, testy chain-smoker.
Felt insisted his alter ego be kept secret. He finally came forward in May 2005.
In a memoir published in 2006, Felt said he saw himself as a "Lone Ranger" who could help derail a White House cover-up.
Critics called Felt a traitor for betraying the commander in chief. Supporters hailed him as a hero for blowing the whistle on a corrupt administration.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
