The FBI was in a period of turmoil. J. Edgar Hoover had died earlier that year, and Nixon had appointed L. Patrick Gray acting director. Gray got good reviews for his conduct but was considered a political appointee. He had been an aide to Nixon when Nixon was vice president in the 1950s. Gray's loyalty to Nixon conflicted with his FBI job, and it was learned later that he destroyed documents that may have implicated the White House early in the investigation.

      Gray was away at his home in Connecticut for long weekends. He had an apartment in Washington but was not known to smoke or drink alcohol. His top aide, Mark Felt, wrote that early in the investigation Gray had been asked by Atty. Gen. Kleindienst to fire Felt because the White House staff was sure he was a leak. Gray refused, Felt wrote.

      In the course of their investigation, students found their own Deep-Throat-type source who had been close to the FBI Watergate investigation. The source said that some officials in the FBI deliberately set out to cast suspicion on Felt as a leaker to get him removed from his powerful position.

       The students found another reason to doubt Throat was in the FBI. The FBI knew days after the burglary that a $25,000 check meant for Nixon's campaign fund was in the bank account of one of the burglars. It took the Post six weeks to learn about this, and the information did not come from Throat, "All The President's Men" states.

       The FBI knew of Segretti the first week of its investigation. It took the Post two months to learn of his involvement, and the Post got the story through a source other than Throat, who merely confirmed.

       An examination of the FBI reports by the class and their relationship to the newspaper stories showed few cases of FBI reports lifted word for word. Some of the information was remarkably identical, but examination of the class database showed that the reporters had talked to the same people the FBI interviewed.

       For instance, Hugh Sloan, finance director for the re-election committee, and employees of his office were Woodward and Bernstein sources at the time, they later revealed. Their information was more important to uncovering the Watergate conspiracy than anything Throat is known to have provided. FBI officials, seeing in print the same facts they got from these unidentified Post informants, attributed the stories to a leak in their own house.

       In October 1972, FBI agents filed reports about several attempts by Bernstein to contact them for information. One report relates that Bernstein, refused information on the Segretti story, offered to tell an agent the identity of their source if he would meet with him.

       The agent got approval for the meeting from his superiors and met Bernstein late at night on a Washington street corner. Bernstein was obviously using bait to fish for information. But Bernstein would only say of the source: "It is a very high level." The agent said he provided nothing in return.

       Why would Bernstein be harassing the FBI for information if Woodward had a source there? If the top officials of the FBI were the source, how could they allow an agent go out and be told that it was one of them?

       One FBI report examined by students showed that an agent was directed to check the facts in a Post story, which was attributed to FBI files, about Segretti's efforts to sabotage the Democratic campaign. "The attached news article states, 'According to FBI reports, at least 50 undercover Nixon operatives traveled throughout the country trying to disrupt and spy on Democratic campaigns.'" the FBI report states.

       The published information, under Woodward and Bernstein's bylines, had come from Throat, according to their book.

       But the FBI report continued: "The foregoing statement is absolutely false. The FBI's investigation of the Watergate incident, other than learning of Segretti's activities, did not develop any information as to other individuals (Nixon operatives) who traveled throughout the country trying to disrupt and spy on Democratic campaigns."

       The FBI study of the Post story also pointed out other facts in the story attributed to the FBI files that were not a part of its investigation.

       Another deduction could be made. The reporters revealed in their book that Throat had told Woodward that the Nixon tapes missed sections. The Woodward and Bernstein story in the Post attributed this information to sources in the White House and none other.

       In the book, at page 333, the reporters revealed their story "quoted anonymously Deep Throat's remark that there were gaps of 'a suspicious nature' which 'could lead someone to conclude that the tapes have been tampered with.'" There it was in the Nov. 8, 1973, issue of the Post: the same quote as in the book, and attributed to one of their White House sources.

       Also, the FBI did not investigate the circumstances surrounding the tapes. All of that came out in testimony of White House officials.

       Therefore -- if the reporting and attribution is correct -- Throat was no place other than the White House.

       How could Mann be wrong? Is it that when Woodward said he talked to his FBI source he meant a source of information from the FBI, not in the FBI? Or was he being coy with his fellow reporters to help conceal his source?