One of the most intriguing players in the Watergate scandals that mesmerized the U.S. from 1972-74 was nicknamed Deep Throat after the title of a popular adult film of the time. Deep Throat was an anonymous source who provided important clues to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, reporters for The Washington Post that helped them unravel the web of burglary, dirty tricks, payoffs, perjury and coverups emanating from the Nixon White House.
These illegal activities all fell under the heading of Watergate, a political scandal that led finally to the resignation of Richard Nixon as president.
The identity of Deep Throat was one of the best-kept secrets of the 20th century. It was only in 2005, over 30 years after the Watergate scandal broke, that Deep Throat was revealed to be W. Mark Felt, the deputy director of the FBI at the time.
Reporters are not the only ones who need to shield the identities of valued sources.
Given the sensitivity of Felts position, and the journalistic ethic that requires protection of sources, it is perhaps not surprising that Deep Throats identity was so well hidden for so long.
But reporters are not the only ones who need to shield the identities of valued sources. Sensitive issues arise all the time in economic policy and geopolitics. Principals may be willing to share information with trusted associates, but only if their names are not revealed.
This kind of cooperation preserves access to information in the future and provides a valuable service to readers if the information can be shared.
This point was brought home in a recent article in The New York Times in which Arvind Subramanian, chief economic adviser to the government of India, while referring to U.S. economic weakness said, People cant be too public about these things.
With that in mind, read on for my notes after a private dinner I had in my hometown of Darien, Connecticut. I was able to speak with best sources on the inner workings of the U.S. Treasury bond market. You wont want to ignore his warning...
All the best,
Jim Rickards
for The Daily Reckoning