![]() ![]() Nonetheless, the heroic-journalist myth became so entrenched that it could withstand disclaimers by Watergate-era principals at the Post such as Graham. They publicly tied prominent Washington figures, such as Nixon’s former attorney general, John Mitchell, to the scandal.īut they missed decisive elements of Watergate, notably the payment of hush money to the burglars and the existence of Nixon’s White House tapes. Woodward and Bernstein did disclose financial links between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the burglars arrested June 17, 1972, at headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, in what was the signal crime of Watergate. However popular, the heroic-journalist myth is a vast exaggeration of the effect of their work. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images Impact exaggerated Woodward and Bernstein wrote a letter to Landesman last year calling the characterization “demonstrably false” and saying Felt was only one of “several dozen” sources they used in their reporting.Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward, left, and Carl Bernstein on March 1, 1974, Washington, D.C. But the movie’s title - which describes Felt as “the” man who brought down the White House - has been controversial. Nixon resigned in 1974 because of public scrutiny over his involvement in the Watergate scandal. “I consider the question to be outside the bounds of our official investigation, so if you prefer, I’ll withdraw the question,” Pottinger told Felt, who asked that the question be withdrawn.ĭebatable: Mark Felt brought down the White House. In reality, Pottinger then told the stenographer to stop taking notes and told Felt that, because he was under oath, he was required to answer honestly. The film cuts off before Felt answers the question. Listening to this over lunch, I probably went white as well. One man raised his hand and asked, ‘Were you?’įelt looked so stunned, Pottinger said, he seemed to go white. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”Īfter Pottinger and the other Justice lawyers were finished with their interrogation, Pottinger, as was the custom, asked if any grand jurors, who are ordinary citizens, had questions for the witness. ![]() “That car coming down the road from up above, down the driveway, coming into relief into our world was such a shocking moment,” she said, recalling the day her parents arrived while she sat in a field holding her infant son. Though she was not an activist for a group actively monitored by the agency, such as the Weather Underground, Joan Felt confirms that she was a “flower child” and really did move to a commune, where her parents tracked her down after three years of being out of touch. Around the same time, Felt’s daughter became involved in a counterculture movement that stood in opposition to the FBI. ![]() The Watergate investigation wasn’t the only drama going on in Felt’s life during the period the film covers. “Watergate is the story of the system, and when the system broke down, one person had to create a new mechanism.”įact: Mark Felt and his wife traveled to a commune to find their daughter. “Watergate is not the story of two reporters,” he told TIME. Mark Felt writer and director Peter Landesman said he made the decision not to focus on the better known reporting work of Woodward and Bernstein so that he could step back from the prevailing Watergate narrative. ![]()
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