Quote:
Originally posted by Sidd Finch
We all know, or should know, what would've happened if the disclosure had been public. The Admin would have immediately gone into full destruction mode -- destruction of evidence, and destruction of character. They would've smeared him as a sour-grapes purveyor of falsehoods, and possibly worse, and by doing this they would've drawn public attention away from the facts of the crime committed and towards the allegations about the accuser. As Hoover's former No. 2, he knew this better than anyone.
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It was interesting to hear the (unerased) tapes of Haldeman and Nixon speculating it was Felt, but that he would go public with everything if they tried to out him. Classic prisoner's dilemma, at least of a sort.
It's an interesting question whether, at any given point, there was already enough evidence that it would have hastened the fall or if it could have cut off the investigation. I suspect that by the time Nixon and others knew it was Felt, there was already enough info that the die was cast.
