John Stanley Pottinger

John Stanley Pottinger (POT-in-jər; February 13, 1940 – November 27, 2024) was an American lawyer and novelist. He held senior federal civil rights enforcement positions under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and later worked in private law, investment banking, and fiction writing.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Pottinger earned his bachelor's degree in 1962 and his law degree in 1965 from Harvard University. After practicing law in California, he entered federal service. He served as director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice from 1969 to 1977. In those roles, he oversaw school desegregation and equal employment enforcement and served as a federal negotiator during the American Indian Movement occupation of Wounded Knee.

He later resumed private legal practice and worked in investment banking before becoming a novelist. His books included The Fourth Procedure (1995). He privately identified Mark Felt as "Deep Throat", the anonymous source in the Watergate investigation, decades before Felt publicly confirmed his identity. He continued writing until his death in 2024.