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J. Stanley Pottinger, who was 84 years old, has passed away. He was a former Nixon administration official who later became a novelist. Pottinger is known for leading an investigation that uncovered the identity of ‘Deep Throat’, a mysterious figure involved in the Watergate scandal who became uncomfortable when questioned about being an anonymous whistle blower.
Written by Clay Risen
J. Stanley Pottinger, a prominent member of the Department of Justice in the 1970s, was likely the only government official to discover the true identity of Deep Throat. Deep Throat was the alias of an individual who shared crucial information with reporters during the Watergate scandal. Pottinger passed away at the age of 84 in Princeton, New Jersey.
Matt, the son of Mr. Pottinger, announced that his father passed away from cancer at a hospital. Before his death, Mr. Pottinger, who later became a successful writer, resided in South Salem, N.Y. He had moved to Princeton to be close to his daughter, Katie Pottinger.
Mr. Pottinger was a key civil rights official in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the Department of Justice during the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. When Jimmy Carter became president in 1977, he requested Pottinger to continue his role in overseeing a grand jury investigation on the illegal break-ins conducted by the FBI.
While W. Mark Felt was testifying, a juror casually inquired whether he had been the individual who assisted journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in their probe into connections between the White House and a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington. Felt had previously served as the deputy director under Nixon at the bureau.
Mr. Pottinger was positioned beside Mr. Felt when he noticed a sudden paleness wash over his face.
Mr. Felt requested for him to say the question again.
Mr. Pottinger inquired about whether he was the anonymous source known as Deep Throat
Mr. Felt hesitated and then declined.
Mr. Pottinger mentioned in 2005 to The New York Observer that he could tell immediately from the way the person carried themselves that they were Deep Throat.
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