Mark Felt, formerly the number two executive at the Federal Bureau of Investigation is being hailed by some as a true American hero. Why? Because, as it has been revealed, he is the infamous “deep throat” who is responsible for bringing down the administration of Richard Nixon and, ultimately, forcing him to resign his office. The resignation of a sitting president was certainly a first in American history, but I’m not sure why any clear thinking person believes that Mr. Felt is a hero.

Upon taking office, Mr. Felt swore an oath. It is one that is common to those who are appointed to serve the interests of the United States. It reads:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Did Mr. Felt live up to this oath? I suppose an argument could be made, at least that in his mind, that Mr. Felt saw a wrong, and that he felt obliged to do something about it. That would appear to be his obligation, to bear true faith and allegiance to the laws of the United States; but did Mr. Felt faithfully discharge the duties of the office to which he was appointed?

Well, let’s see. Did Mr. Felt step forward with information of a crime? No, he made copies of the information and passed it to a reporter. Did Mr. Felt stand before a federal attorney and make this information available to prosecutors? No, he assumed the identity of a title for a pornography film and remained behind the scenes. Well, then did he eventually take the stand and give testimony under oath in a courtroom? No, he didn’t do that either.

What Mr. Felt did do is he remained on the payroll of the United States government (a hefty sum of money) until he was eligible for retirement (more hefty sums of money) because Mr. Felt thought more about his own personal financial situation than he did about standing up and being counted as a real American hero. He might have been that, if not for the fact that Mr. Felt lacked the spine and obviously the conviction to do the right thing. So he did not fulfill his solemn pledge as a high ranking official of the United States, and he didn’t do it because he wanted to protect his entitlement to monetary compensation as a civil servant.

Note: This is not about the administration of Richard Nixon. To be sure, Mr. Nixon acted in a manner that discredited himself and the office of the President. Mr. Nixon, however, took the heat and when he realized that his administration was no longer viable, he resigned in disgrace. Mr. Felt didn’t do that. Mr. Felt remained anonymous for three decades, and obviously for good reasons. He too disgraced himself, the office he held, the law he took an oath to uphold. Hero? No, Mr. Felt is not a hero. He is at best a disgusting sleaze who benefited tremendously from his salary and pension over many, many years. Anyone who thinks that such a man is an American hero needs to have their heads examined.

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