One of the great mysteries of U.S. politics appears to have been solved: the identity of Deep Throat. On Monday the Washington Post confirmed former FBI official Mark Felt was the paper’s secret source that helped unravel the Watergate scandal and topple President Richard Nixon. At the time, Felt was the number two man at the FBI. He is now 91 years old and living in California Vanity Fair broke the story Tuesday morning. Later in the day, after Felt’s family spoke publicly, the reporters who unraveled the Watergate story — Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein — confirmed Felt was their secret source. The Watergate scandal began on June 1972 when the D.C. police arrested five men for breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel. It turned out the men were connected to President Nixon’s re-election team. But it took years for the story to unfold. With the help of Deep Throat, Woodward and Bernstein uncovered a series of startling revelations that brought down the Nixon government.

• A $25,000 cashier’s check earmarked for the Nixon campaign wound up in the bank account of one of the burglars.

• Attorney General John Mitchell controlled a secret fund for intelligence operations against the Democrats.

• Nixon’s top aide John Ehrlichman oversaw a special covert unit known as the Plumbers that burglarized the office of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers.

By the end of the Watergate scandal, Nixon was forced to resign to avoid impeachment. In addition more than 30 government and Republican campaign officials were convicted of charges including perjury, burglary, wiretapping and obstruction of justice. On Tuesday Mark Felt’s family said they hope he will now gain his proper place in history.