[JURIST] A chance encounter in 1970 started the friendship that ultimately created "Deep Throat", Watergate Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward wrote in a WashPost article [registration required] Thursday. On Tuesday, former FBI deputy director W. Mark Felt was confirmed [JURIST report] as the source that helped Woodward and colleague Carl Bernstein break open the Watergate [Wikipedia background] scandal and eventually force the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Woodward said the friendship was "invaluable", and that Felt wanted to protect the FBI from manipulation by the Nixon White House. He noted that Felt was also disappointed at being passed over to succeed J. Edgar Hoover as Director. Woodward and Felt used cloak-and-dagger tactics like secret signals and clandestine meetings to exchange information. Reuters has more.