--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Deep Throat stamped his foot. 'A…" description: "\"“Deep Throat stamped his foot. 'A conspiracy like this...a conspiracy investigation...the rope has to tighten slowly around everyone's neck. You build ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/carl-bernstein-10988_journalism_deep-throat-stamped-his-foot-a-conspirac_1156418.jpg" --- # Deep Throat stamped his foot. 'A conspiracy like this...a… ![“Deep Throat stamped his foot. 'A conspiracy like this...a conspiracy investigation...the rope has to tighten slowly around everyone's neck. You build convincingly from the outer edges in, you get ten times the evidence you need against the Hunts and the Liddys. They feel hopelessly finished - they…” quote by Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/carl-bernstein-10988_journalism_deep-throat-stamped-his-foot-a-conspirac_1156418.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/carl-bernstein-10988_journalism_deep-throat-stamped-his-foot-a-conspirac_1156418.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/carl-bernstein-10988_journalism_deep-throat-stamped-his-foot-a-conspirac_1156418.jpg) > ““Deep Throat stamped his foot. 'A conspiracy like this...a conspiracy investigation...the rope has to tighten slowly around everyone's neck. You build convincingly from the outer edges in, you get ten times the evidence you need against the Hunts and the Liddys. They feel hopelessly finished - they may not talk right away, but the grip is on them. Then you move up and do the same thing at the next level. If you shoot too high and miss, the everyone feels more secure. Lawyers work this way. I'm sure smart reporters must, too. You've put the investigation back months. It puts everyone on the defensive - editors, FBI agents, everybody has to go into a crouch after this.' Woodward swallowed hard. He deserved the lecture. -- Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward”” [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Investigative tactics involve gradual pressure, building evidence layer by layer, mirroring legal and journalistic strategies. **In simple terms:** Investigators apply pressure stepwise to gather evidence. Key Takeaway Apply systematic pressure to uncover truth. Themes investigation strategy power media law Mood analytical serious critical Type nonfiction journalistic historical When to use this quote - political scandal - journalistic inquiry - legal battles Key Concepts gradual escalation evidence gathering psychological pressure Questions to Reflect On - Is incremental pressure always ethical? - How to balance persistence with fairness? A Different Perspective May cause collateral damage and ethical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bob-woodward-914083/) [Conspiracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspiracy/) [Conspiracy Investigation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspiracy-investigation-3292381/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Like Conspiracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-conspiracy-1897592/) [Next level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-level/) [Woodward Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woodward-swallowed-3292382/) ## Related quotes > [“Deep Throat stamped his foot. “A conspiracy like this . . . a conspiracy investigation . . . the rope has to tighten slowly around everyone’s neck. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/deep-throat-stamped-his-foot-a-conspiracy-like-this-a-conspiracy-2/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [One of the first things we found out was that the Warren Commission never pursued a conspiracy investigation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-stokes/one-of-the-first-things-we-found-out-was-that-the-warren-commission/) [Louis Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-stokes/) > [“Woodward, a registered Republican, did not vote. He couldn't decide whether he was more uneasy with the disorganization and naïve idealism of McGovern's campaign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/woodward-a-registered-republican-did-not-vote-he-couldn-t-decide/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“It was 9:30 P.M., just an hour from deadline for the second edition. Woodward began typing: A $25,000 cashier's check, apparently earmarked for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/it-was-9-30-p-m-just-an-hour-from-deadline-for-the-second-edition/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“But you're absolutely sure we're right?' The question carried an intensity absent from the previous conversation. 'I remember talking with Henry Kissinger,' she continued,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/but-you-re-absolutely-sure-we-re-right-the-question-carried-an/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“Bernstein looked like one of those counterculture journalists that Woodward despised. Bernstein thought that Woodward's rapid rise at the Post had less to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/bernstein-looked-like-one-of-those-counterculture-journalists-that/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“Back at the office, Woodward went to the rear of the newsroom to call Deep Throat. Bernstein wished he had a source like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/back-at-the-office-woodward-went-to-the-rear-of-the-newsroom-to-call/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The managing editor shared Bernstein's fondness for doping things out on the basis of sketchy information. At the same time, he was cautious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-managing-editor-shared-bernstein-s-fondness-for-doping-things-out/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“Hardly unaware of his image, Bradlee even cultivated it. He delighted in displaying his street savvy, telling a reporter to get his ass moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/hardly-unaware-of-his-image-bradlee-even-cultivated-it-he-delighted/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“Until the August 1 story about the Dahlberg check, the working relationship between Bernstein and Woodward was more competitive than anything else. Each had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/until-the-august-1-story-about-the-dahlberg-check-the-working/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [You might not believe me, but I really don't like conspiracy theories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-simonyan/you-might-not-believe-me-but-i-really-don-t-like-conspiracy-theories/) [Margarita Simonyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-simonyan/) > [I think one of the reasons that we like conspiracy theories is I think that we like to feel like there is a group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-ritter/i-think-one-of-the-reasons-that-we-like-conspiracy-theories-is-i/) [Jason Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-ritter/) > [Of all things, I do like a Conspiracy! It's so interesting!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/of-all-things-i-do-like-a-conspiracy-it-s-so-interesting/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“All the unspoken things that were said with glances and implications. One of the things he liked best about being in a relationship: It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-witt/all-the-unspoken-things-that-were-said-with-glances-and-implications/) [L.A. Witt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-witt/) > [“Hundreds more staff could join the ship in an emergency. (One young Navy ROTC officer, Bob Woodward, who went on to be a prizewinning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/hundreds-more-staff-could-join-the-ship-in-an-emergency-one-young/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) ## More by Carl Bernstein > [I think all good reporting is the same thing - the best attainable version of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/i-think-all-good-reporting-is-the-same-thing-the-best-attainable/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [ The reality is that the media are probably the most powerful of all our institutions today and they, or rather we \[journalists\], too often… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-reality-is-that-the-media-are-probably-the-most-powerful-of-all/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [If you are a great news organization, you can't have the best obtainable version of the truth if your vision and your scale is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/if-you-are-a-great-news-organization-you-can-t-have-the-best/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The people of the United States are entitled to assume that their President is telling the truth. The pattern of misrepresentation and half-truths that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-people-of-the-united-states-are-entitled-to-assume-that-their/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The August 1 story had carried their joint byline; the day afterward, Woodward asked Sussman if Bernstein's name could appear with his on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-august-1-story-had-carried-their-joint-byline-the-day-afterward/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The failures of the press have contributed immensely to the emergence of a talk-show nation, in which public discourse is reduced to ranting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-failures-of-the-press-have-contributed-immensely-to-the-emergence/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The most important ethical issues and the most difficult ones are the human ones because a reporter has enormous power to hurt people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-most-important-ethical-issues-and-the-most-difficult-ones-are-the/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [There had always been black people in and out of our house, and from the outset I had been taught that for them life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/there-had-always-been-black-people-in-and-out-of-our-house-and-from/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The managing editor shared Bernstein's fondness for doping things out on the basis of sketchy information. At the same time, he was cautious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-managing-editor-shared-bernstein-s-fondness-for-doping-things-out/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [Donald Trump is american neo-fascist. The word "neo" meaning "new", has a lot to do with it, a new kind of fascist in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/donald-trump-is-american-neo-fascist-the-word-neo-meaning-new-has-a/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norms, even our cultural ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/for-the-first-time-the-weird-and-the-stupid-and-the-coarse-are/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The Congress is a dysfunctional institution; it's broken. One of our three branches of government is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-congress-is-a-dysfunctional-institution-it-s-broken-one-of-our/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“They walked across 15th Street to the Madison Hotel's Montpelier Room, an opulent French restaurant. Bradlee asked for a corner table, and began the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/they-walked-across-15th-street-to-the-madison-hotel-s-montpelier-room/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“Rosenfeld runs the metropolitan staff, the Post's largest, like a football coach. He prods his players, letting them know that he has promised the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/rosenfeld-runs-the-metropolitan-staff-the-post-s-largest-like-a/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The story was solid. Howard Simons ordered the front page remade for the second edition. Bernstein was more shaken by all this than by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-story-was-solid-howard-simons-ordered-the-front-page-remade-for/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) [Explore all 62 Carl Bernstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) ## More Conspiracy quotes > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [I have a tendency to often share the point of view of the conspiracy theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-cotillard/i-have-a-tendency-to-often-share-the-point-of-view-of-the-conspiracy/) [Marion Cotillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-cotillard/) > [I'm not a conspiracy theorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-baffert/i-m-not-a-conspiracy-theorist/) [Bob Baffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-baffert/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [So Pakistan is a country that I'm very fond of and have spent a lot of time, but it is a country where conspiracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/so-pakistan-is-a-country-that-i-m-very-fond-of-and-have-spent-a-lot/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [In 1999, Hoffmann-LaRoche paid a $500 million criminal fine for leading a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices for certain vitamins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-1999-hoffmann-laroche-paid-a-500-million-criminal-fine-for-leading/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Conspiracy theorists manipulate all tangible evidence to fit their explanation, but worse, they will also point to the absence of evidence as even stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/conspiracy-theorists-manipulate-all-tangible-evidence-to-fit-their/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/people-of-the-same-trade-seldom-meet-together-even-for-merriment-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [ I can assure the conspiracy theorists who have very effectively savaged \[Gerald\] Posner in their books that they're going to have a much, much… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/i-can-assure-the-conspiracy-theorists-who-have-very-effectively/) [Vincent Bugliosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bugliosi/) > [Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. Assume that secret helpers are working behind the scenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/act-as-if-the-universe-is-a-prodigious-miracle-created-for-your/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) [Browse all 886 Conspiracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspiracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Deep Throat stamped his foot. 'A conspiracy like this...a conspiracy investigation...the rope has to tighten slowly around everyone's neck. You build convincingly from the outer edges in, you get ten times the evidence you need against the Hunts and the Liddys. They feel hopelessly finished - they may not talk right away, but the grip is on them. Then you move up and do the same thing at the next level. If you shoot too high and miss, the everyone feels more secure. Lawyers work this way. I'm sure smart reporters must, too. You've put the investigation back months. It puts everyone on the defensive - editors, FBI agents, everybody has to go into a crouch after this.' Woodward swallowed hard. 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