SPIKE - Department of Journalism - University of Illinois

Eliminating all but 7

Narrowing the field

Students sift through 72 White House officials to settle on 7 likely candidates

After reaching a conclusion that Throat was in the White House, the students pursued a direct approach. They got the official Congressional Directories for 1972 and 1973, which together listed 72 names of officials in the executive office of the president in order of rank.

Throat had supplied information to Woodward from May 1972 at the time of the Wallace shooting until the tell-tale November 1973 story attribution about gaps in the Nixon tapes. Anyone who had come to the White House after May 1972 or left before November 1973, according to careful student research, was eliminated from the list.

There had been a large turnover after Nixon's re-election in November 1972. Staff members resigned or were promoted to high-level agency jobs. The remaining names were examined line-by-line to learn who could be eliminated from consideration as Throat for other reasons.

Of course, Nixon, Haldeman and Ehrlichman were not suspects and could be eliminated simply because they are deceased. Robert Finch was a counsel to Nixon but returned to law practice in California late in 1972. The other top counsel, Donald Rumsfeld, who is now secretary of defense, left the White House Feb. 1, 1973 to become U.S. ambassador to NATO.

Herbert Klein, director of White House communications, resigned June 5, 1973, after a power struggle with Colson.

Klein's chief deputy, Ken Clawson, died. He would have been dropped from the list otherwise because Woodward and Bernstein wrote an embarrassing story about him and included it in their book and movie. They accused Clawson of writing a fraudulent letter that harmed Edmund Muskie's campaign for president.

Henry Kissinger remained with Nixon after the election as assistant for national security affairs. But he was in Paris, having initialed the Vietnam peace agreement Jan. 24, 1973, at the very time Woodward and Throat were having a parle in a parking garage in the Washington area.

Gen. Alexander Haig, chief deputy for Kissinger, was named by John Dean in his book. "Lost Honor," as possibly Throat. But Woodward publicly declared that Haig was not the man when Haig was considering a run for president. In his book, "Inner Circles," Haig stated his whereabouts at the time of Woodward-Throat meetings. including May 16, when they met at 11 p.m.

Haig said he was meeting in the White House with Brent Scowcroft, his successor, starting at 10:15.

So much for Scowcroft, who also was on the student list.

Clark MacGregor, head of congressional relations, has died.

Peter Peterson, head of international economic affairs, left in 1972.

Kenneth Cole, top assistant to Ehrlichman, died last year.

Ron Ziegler had his own independent position as media spokesman for Nixon. Ziegler got copies of the Wallace reports. But Throat got laughs from Woodward in the parking garage by imitating Zeigler. If he were imitating himself, the authors should have told us.

John Whitaker left early in 1973 to become undersecretary of interior.

Alexander Butterfield, known for his testimony that revealed the existence of the Nixon tapes, left the White House March 14, 1973, to become administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Charles Colson entered private law practice March 10, 1973, but was wired into White House anyway and had the Wallace information. But Woodward never heard of Colson, according to his book.

John Dean was forced to resign April 30, 1973. He was in New York at the time Throat passed information to Woodward.

Leonard Garment was in Southeast Asia at the time Woodward was calling Throat in June 1972, according to Garment's book, "Crazy Rhythm."

Walter Timmons was deputy for congressional relations under MacGregor and stayed in the White House throughout 1973 as assistant to the president for congressional affairs. "I never talk about my days in the White House, and I'm not going to start now," Timmons replied to a request from a student for an interview. Timmons, however, was the subject of an unfavorable story by Woodward and Bernstein, who admitted in their book that it was incorrect. Although it was not personally embarrassing, as was the Clawson story, it seems unlikely that Woodward would slam his source and then have to meet him in a darkened parking garage.

Student research of the Social Security Death Database and newspaper obituaries showed that William Baroody, Lydon K. Allin, Bruce Kehrli, Richard Moore and Stanley Scott died.

Colson aides W. Richard Howard and Desmond Barker were dropped from the student list because it would have been impossible for Woodward not to have known who Colson was if Throat were one if his high-level aides. There was no evidence from previous Woodward stories that there was any input from Colson's office.

Students learned from newspaper files that Charles DiBona, special consultant on energy matters, was new to the White House in February 1973; and Andrew Falkiewicz joined the press office the same month to deal with the foreign press. They could be eliminated.

Larry Higby qualified under the student criteria. Higby was the functioning assistant to Haldeman. Throat knew the people in Haldeman's office and said he would not be a source on a Haldeman story. But Throat also called Higby "a young punk nobody who does what he is told." It is doubtful he was talking about himself or that Woodward and Bernstein would quote him in such a manner if he were.

Jerry H. Jones was on the list, but he worked for the Nixon re-election committee in 1972 and would not have had immediate access to the Wallace shooting information.

Michael Farrell was responsible for arranging White House tours. Woodward and Bernstein have written that Throat had a high-level, sensitive position, so Farrell was dropped.

Twelve names were left on the list. These were men who could not be eliminated for reasons previously applied. But after study and class discussion, five were set aside because of the lack of known access to any of the information Throat passed along to Woodward. They were Richard K. Cook, Tom Korologos, Max Friedersdorf and Wallace Johnson, all congressional liaisons, and Peter Flanigan.

The liaisons worked on Capitol Hill, twisting arms of legislators. They were not privileged to the kind of information Throat had according to their accounts or in knowledge of all other sources developed by the students.

Flanigan was an assistant to the president for business and regulatory agencies. He lived three miles northwest of Woodward in D.C. He had a home and a large family and did not smoke, an associate remembered. As assistant to the president for regulatory agencies, including the FTC, FDA, and SEC, it seemed unlikely that he or his staff would have access to investigative reports on the Wallace shooting, and nothing in his background tied him to Woodward.

Seven names remained.