Deepthroat, not the movie

As many of you know, it has been revealed that W. Mark Felt was the man that helped Bob Woodward in his reporting of the Watergate scandal which brought down the Nixon administration. What I find curious, if not a little annoying, is the following. How can anyone refer to Mr. Felt as a villain??? Let's review the facts:
1. Subordinates of Nixon authorized and hired former CIA and armed services men to break into the Watergate Hotel where the Democratic headquarters were.
2. Although Nixon did not personally direct the burglary, he was aware of and involved in the cover up. (If you disagree, then read the transcript of the infamous tapes, especially the one where Nixon asks how much it will cost to get rid of the scandal and John Dean replies that it would be $1 million to which Nixon replies that money could be gotten).
3. It was the cover up that forced Nixon to resign and many of his subordinates to wind up in prison after their convictions for obstructing justice.
So, obviously, the Nixon administration was involved in wrongdoing. The Washington Post, led by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward reported the Watergate scandal. Since there was an active effort by the White House to hide the facts, Mr. Felt, "Deepthroat", helped Woodward "get to the bottom" of the scandal.
Now, if you are a person who helps reveal a crime or helps reveal a scandal, I certainly don't see how you can be depicted as a villain. Obviously, it would have been a lot easier to look the other way and go on about his business and not tell anyone what was going on. But that's how strong and partisan feelings run even after 32 years. The ones from the Nixon crowd who call Mr. Felt a villain are far too partisan to call him anything else remotely objective.