JOHN DEAN, RICHARD BEN-VENISTE AND CHUCK COLSON ON "DEEP THROAT"

JD: I took Al Haig off my list years ago. He's a Nixon apologist, and Deep Throat was not. I'm surprised what Felt did, but I think it was a noble act.

CC: If my cons get the idea that you can break the law for a noble purpose and justify it, it'll be devastating to their moral training. I went to prison, voluntarily, agreed that I was wrong, I wanted to set a precedent because I've seen the wreckage in our society of lack of moral training.

RB: Possibly Felt broke the law, but I think his value was to offer confidence to the WaPo editors that their investigation was on track. I think his position was nuanced -- private, personal motivations a part. Yet he also witnessed how the FBI, the CIA, the IRS were being corrupted, and he saw the WH breaking the law...he could have gone to his supervisor, but Gray had been discredited; he could have gone to Kleinschmidt, but... so it is ridiculous for these Nixon sycophants to rail against Felt when all they wanted was to protect Nixon and themselves...

JD: I don't think Felt was acting alone. I think Felt, in the long run, did the right thing. I've been there.

CC: I completely dismissed Felt as the source. I had consummate confidence in him as a professional. Don't make a hero who did what I essentially did.

RB: Colson still has an issue with loyalty. The deal is, loyalty is supposed to be to the Constitution, not to a man.

CC: I've always thought that Deep Throat was a composite. RB-V, does the end justify the means?

RB: The perfect is the enemy of the good. Mark Felt didn't do the perfect, but in the end, it was good.