Was There A Second 'Deep Throat' -- Working for Nixon?

By: Joe Strupp Was there a second Deep Throat during The Washington Post's Watergate investigations more than 35 years ago?

Perhaps. But this one was apparently leaking information to the Nixon administration about the Post.

D.C. investigative veteran Max Holland, of www.washingtondecoded.com and other reporting outlets, has penned a piece for the November Washingtonian magazine, not yet online, that raises the likelihood that someone was keeping Nixon's people informed about the Post, and unmasked Deep Throat source W. Mark Felt to the White House as early as 1972.

Holland does not nail down a final person he claims revealed Felt's sourcing to the Nixonians. But he offers a string of possibilities and declares that deceased Justice Department Criminal Division chief Henry Peterson told John Dean that Felt was the primary Post source.

Where Peterson found out is not clear, but Holland presents a list of candidates, several also deceased, from among lawyers working for or in touch with the Post at the time.

Holland also cites a 1972 Oval Office recording of a conversation between Nixon and former Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman -- made public in 1996 -- in which Haldeman names Felt and later says the Post leaker is "a legal guy."

The Washingtonian November issue is on news stands, but the article is not on the Web site yet. Holland said he plans to post it on his site later this week.