Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Joan Felt: Like Father, Like Daughter




From BCN:

News that two Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate scandal have finally confirmed W. Mark Felt's status as the notorious "Deep Throat" source brought "a big grin" to the ex-FBI official's face, his daughter said today.

"I think it's a great moment in American history and in our family, especially for my dad," Joan Felt said outside the Santa Rosa home she shares with her 91-year-old father.

...Joan Felt said today that her father has always lived with honor and what he did is "very patriotic."

Felt is described as a man who keeps to himself, according to Robert Scoffern, a neighbor who lives four doors down from Felt. Felt has lived with his daughter on the Redford Place cul-de-sac for about the last 12 years, said Scoffern.

"We knew he retired from the FBI. We left him alone. Nobody was inquisitive. I don't think anyone got too close to him. He was a private man," Scoffern said today in a telephone interview.

Nick Jones, Felt's grandson, read a statement to the crowd assembled outside the Redford Place family home earlier today. The family considers Felt a hero, according to the statement.

More, from AP:

"The family believes that my grandfather, Mark Felt Sr., is a great American hero who went well above and beyond the call of duty at much risk to himself to save his country from a horrible injustice," a family statement read by grandson Nick Jones said. "We all sincerely hope the country will see him this way as well."

...Felt had expressed reservations in the past about revealing his identity, and about whether his actions were appropriate for an FBI man, his grandson said.

According to the article, Felt once told his son, Mark Jr., that he did not believe being Deep Throat "was anything to be proud of. ... You (should) not leak information to anyone."

His family members thought otherwise, and persuaded him to talk about his role in the Watergate scandal, saying he deserves to receive accolades before his death. His daughter, Joan, argued that he could "make enough money to pay some bills, like the debt I've run up for the children's education."

"As he recently told my mother, 'I guess people used to think Deep Throat was a criminal, but now they think he's a hero'," Jones said.


And for all the liberals who tremble at the mention of the Patriot Act:

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.

Is Felt a hero?

He actually did what the liberals claim could happen under the Patriot Act. He sent FBI agents to illegally break into homes. The man was convicted.

Daughter Joan believes she can "make enough money to pay some bills, like the debt I've run up for the children's education."

No wonder she had that HUGE smile on her face.

Although his daughter and other family members seem to think Felt is a hero, as well as the MSM, I don't.

He's a footnote in American history, and not an entirely noble one.

No comments:

Post a Comment