Woodward Reveals Sources Behind a Famous Nixon Scene

The world has known for a while that Woodward and Bernstein's famous "Deep Throat" source on Watergate was the late Mark Felt. Now, in a new memoir, Bob Woodward is naming some other sources, including those behind one of the most talked-about scenes he ever put in print: Richard Nixon on his knees, sobbing and praying with Henry Kissinger the day before he resigned the presidency, reports the Washington Post. Critics have long questioned whether it really happened because of the anonymous sourcing, but Woodward now reveals that two Kissinger deputies, Brent Scowcroft and Lawrence Eagleburger, were the sources. The two men, both of whom are now deceased, hadn't seen the moment themselves but said Kissinger described it to them immediately afterward.

Later that night, when a drunk-sounding Nixon called Kissinger asking him not to reveal that he'd cried, both men were secretly on the line—and later relayed the call to Woodward, according to the manuscript of Secrets: A Reporter's Memoir. Kissinger, Woodward now adds, also confirmed the episode to him a year later at a party at the Watergate. Another famous moment: Woodward once scored a deathbed admission about the Iran-contra scandal from CIA chief William J. Casey in the hospital. Here again, critics wondered if the moment actually happened, questioning how Woodward could have gotten into the tightly guarded hospital room. It turns out, he had cultivated sources on Casey's security detail for years, and they let him slip in. Read the full story for more.