Official and Confidential

by Anthony Summers

  Chapter 29

  The assassination of President Kennedy is a vast subject served by myriad books. This author’s expertise derives from his work on the book Conspiracy, NY, Paragon, 1989, and TV documentaries. For this chapter, Robert Morgenthau, Burke Marshall, William Manchester, Edwin Guthman, Mark Felt, and Joseph Schott, discussed the way H. and RFK heard the news. Bill Koras and Joe Kelly recalled H.’s visit to the races the day after. Other new interviews included those with former FBI Asst. Director Courtney Evans, Rep. Hale Boggs’ son Thomas, Ruth Paine, James Hosty – the agent who handled Oswald before the assassination – and Oswald’s widow Marina. Col. Philip Corso discussed early information about an Oswald ‘double’, and the late Aaron Kohn described Guy Banister. Former agents Paul Scranton and George Davis were asked about FBI contacts with Aleman, and Ed Becker, and former agents Julian Blodgett and George Bland discussed the FBI and the Marcello threat. Col. Corso also recalled H. saying the case remained a ‘mess.’ Joe Dolan told of RFK saying the FBI now no longer worked for ‘us.’ H.’s ‘shock’ is in the Nov. 22 note in F6135–6, WHCF, Box 188, LBJL. Johnson’s concern about his own safety is in H. to Tolson, Nov. 29, OC92. Schlei’s memory is in his Oral History, JFKL. Johnson’s note of H. telling him ‘Evidence not strong,’ is in LBJ notes, Nov. 23, Appointment file (Diary Backup), Box 1, LBJL. H.’s ‘big mouth’ comment about Earl Warren is a notation on a UPI report, Apr. 24, 1964, in FBI file 62–109060. A study of Hosty’s name in Oswald’s address book is in HSCA, Report, p. 232, and The Oswald Papers, an unpub. ms. by Paul Hoch. Parts of Banister’s FBI file were kindly supplied by Dale Myers, and John Davis shared an interview of Aaron Kohn. Johnson’s theories on the case are drawn from DeLoach to T., Apr. 4, 1967, FBI file 44-24696, a Walter Cronkite int. of LBJ, Oct. 3, 1969, LBJL, Atlantic Monthly, Jul. 1973, and Wall Street Journal, Jan. 30, 1992. The Malnik-Weiss conversation is in FBI log MM877-C, kindly supplied by Hank Messick. Of course, I have referred throughout to the Reports and accompanying volumes of the Warren Commission and the House Cttee. on Assassinations.

  Chapter 30

  William Manchester described his 1964 meeting with H., and George Ball, and Nicholas Katzenbach described their impressions of H. H.’s relations with Lyndon Johnson were described by Mrs Johnson, Hugh Sidey, George Reedy, Madeleine Brown, Richard Goodwin, and Cartha DeLoach. Allan Witwer was discussed by Wm. Lambert, Robert Pelaquin, Wallace Turner, David Nevin, Joseph Dolan, and Richard Billings, and himself granted an interview. Robert Sherrill spoke of White House pressure on Life. Former Asst. Director Charles Bates and George Ball recalled H.’s intervention when British Prime Minister Wilson visited. Former Deputy AG Laurence Silberman described his examination of the Official and Confidential files, and former agents Harold Leinbaugh and Kenneth Whittaker, and former AG Ramsey Clark, Bill Brown, and Dr Joseph Rankin discussed the Walter Jenkins affair. Laurence Silberman and former Asst. AG Robert Mardian discussed the Goldwater incident, as did John Daley, Edwin Guthman, and Jeffrey Shulman. LBJ FBI files include 58–7086, 943830, 47–50152, and 47–44945. FBI reports on Peter Lisagor were released to the author in 1989 and 1991. Congressional investigation of FBI abuses at the Atlantic City Convention are in IC6. The FBI report alleging that a Goldwater aide used prostitutes is Jones to DeLoach, Oct. 23, 1964, Mardian Papers, HIW.

  Chapter 31

  The late Ralph Abernathy was interviewed in 1989. Wm. Dufty and Gore Vidal spoke of rumours that H. had black blood, and Robert Parker recalled H.’s early comments on King. The FBI attitude to civil rights was discussed by John Williams, former agents Roy Moore, Neil Welch, former Asst. Directors Cartha DeLoach and Charles Bates, and Tip O’Neill, Cornelius Gallagher, Don Edwards, and Joe Waggoner described H.’s leaks about King to the Congress. Efforts to smear him in the press were covered in interviews with Ben Bradlee, former AG Nicholas Katzenbach, John Herbers, David Kraslow, Mike Royko, Eugene Patterson, Newbold Noyes, and former agent Joseph Woods. The FBI’s response to King’s assassination was discussed with former AG Ramsey Clark, Mitchell Rogovin, and former agents Arthur Murtagh and Donald Wilson. Philip Melanson, the late Gregory Stone, and former agent Frenchie LaJeunesse were interviewed on the murder of RFK, while Connie Ring and Donald King spoke of H.’s attitude to Edward Kennedy. The best source books on King are those by David Garrow (Bearing the Cross, NY, Morrow, 1986, & The FBI and Martin Luther King Jr., NY, Norton, 1981), and by Taylor Branch (Parting the Waters, NY, Simon & Schuster, 1988). H.’s birth certificate, filed only on September 21, 1938, is DC no. 419530-D. Daniel Selznick kindly provided his interview of Cartha DeLoach talking about King and prostitutes. Arthur Murtagh testified to a colleague’s joyous reaction to the Mississippi killings in Nov. 1978, HSCA, VI, p. 117. Pres. Johnson’s comment on ‘the sovereignties’ is in the Burke Marshall Oral History, Oct. 28, 1968, p. 30, LBJL. H.’s ‘mores’ and ‘alley cat’ notations are at Oct. 7, 1964, FBI file 94–8–350–1323, and Oct. 14, 1964, FBI file 100–106670480/4. The undated draft of the anonymous letter to King is in OC24. Useful sources on King’s death are the HSCA Final Report, and The Murkin Conspiracy, by Philip Melanson, NY, Praeger, 1989, Tolson’s ‘Goddamn the Kennedys’ is in The Bureau, by Wm. Sullivan (see Bibliography), p. 48. The RFK autopsy pictures are in OC97. The FBI reaction to Chappaquiddick is at Boston to H., Jul. 19, 1969, FBI 94–55752–108.

  Chapter 32

  Dr Edmund Keeney and Dr Robert Choisser were interviewed on H.’s health, Mark Felt and Jack Danahee on Tolson’s. J. Edgar Nichols told of his father’s role as Nixon adviser, and H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Pete Pitchess, John Connally, and Kenneth Whittaker described H.’s relations with Pres. Nixon. Former Hong Kong Legat Dan Grove was a key source on Marianna Liu. Ehrlichman, Haldeman, Joe Trento, and Jack Anderson, recalled H.’s attempt to smear Nixon aides as homosexuals, and Charles Krebs, Billy Byars, Jr., the late Skitch Hendrix, Roy Parkin, David Rowell, and detective Don Smith provided information on H.’s alleged behavior with young boys. Documents on alleged bugging of Nixon are in John Dean’s testimony, WAC, III, 981, staff memo, Jun. 12, 1973, NP; WHT, Sept. 15, 1972, Feb. 16, Feb. 23, Feb. 27, and the transcript of a Nixon/Dean conversation, Mar. 13, 1973, Submission of Recorded Presidential Conversations to House Cttee. on Judiciary; and cf. (Agnew) IC6, pp. 164, 193ff, 483. Nixon and Liu are the subject of Director to SAC San Francisco, Aug. 18, 1976, FBI file 105–40947–8. The INLET coverage is at IC6, pp. 19, 52, 642ff. The homosexual smear of Nixon aides is in DeLoach to T., Jun. 11, 1969, OC119; H. to RN, Sept. 3, 1969, W. Hse. Staff Files, JDE, NP.

  Chapter 33

  Kenneth Clawson discussed the FBI and Vietnam protests. Former Asst. Director Charles Bates, SAC Richard Held, Jr., Bill Thomas, Larry Heim, and George Moore filled in the details of the smearing of Jean Seberg. Wesley Swearingen and Lynn Atkinson talked of the FBI and the Black Panthers, and Ray Cline, Noel Gayler, and former CIA Director Richard Helms discussed H.’s attitude to the CIA. H.’s comments on Kent State are in H. to Tolson, May 11, 1970, FBI file 44–45339. Good sources on COINTELPRO are COINTELPRO, by Nelson Blackstock, and The COINTELPRO Papers, by Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall (see Bibliography). Robert Hardy’s testimony is in Hearings, House Select Cttee. on Intelligence, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., Pt. 3, pp. 1050ff, 1133. The FBI and the Black Panthers are extensively covered in IC3 and 6. The smear of Jean Seberg is in FBI files 157–13876, 157–3912, 157–13870, and in Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story, by David Richards, NY, Berkley, 1983. The Dick Gregory episode is at WP, Mar. 10, 1978; H. to SAC Chicago, May 15, 1968, p. 104 of Ward Churchill’s book, supra.; and H. to SAC Chicago, Apr. 23, 1968, Black Nationalist files, RR; IC3, p. 189. Prof. Herbert Parmet kindly supplied his Nov. 1988 interview of Richard Nixon. Tom Huston’s testimony is in IC2, pp. 3ff. Dean’s remark that H. had ‘lost his guts’ is Dean to N, Apr. 30, 1974, submission of Recorded Presidential Conversations to Hse. Cttee. on Judiciary.

  Chapter 34

  The raid on H.’s garbage was recalled by Charles Ell
iott and Jack Anderson. Kenneth Clawson described H.’s ‘jelly fish’ comment on former AG Ramsey Clark, and Edmund Muskie and Henry Reuss discussed FBI surveillance. Former Asst. AG Robert Mardian recalled H.’s threat to ‘tell all.’ Daniel and Patricia Ellsberg, and John Ehrlichman, were interviewed on the Ellsberg affair. Daniel Selznick’s interview of Cartha DeLoach provided information on the aging H.’s schedule. Patrick Buchanan’s advice to N. of Feb. 12, 1971 is in From: The President, Richard Nixon’s Secret Files, ed. Bruce Oudes, NY, Harper & Row, 1989, p. 217. H.’s view of Women’s Liberation as ‘subversive’ is at H. to SAC SF, May 7, 1970, FBI file on WL Movement, RR. The assertion that H. proposed the Kissinger taps is in RN, I, by Richard Nixon, NY, Grosset & Dunlap, 1978, p. 479, in Years of Upheaval, by Henry Kissinger, Boston, Little, Brown, 1982, pp. 120, 1115, and in White House Years, by Henry Kissinger, Boston, Little, Brown, 1979, p. 252. Sullivan’s assertion that H. was ‘not of sound mind’ was in LAT, stay 15, 1973. While the description of Sullivan’s fall was from many sources, an especially useful source for this final phase was the Mardian Papers, HIW.

  Chapter 35

  Hobert Mardian and John Ehrlichman discussed their Oct. 3, 1971, meeting, and Mardian was most helpful for the chapter as a whole. H. R. Haldeman and former SAC Kenneth Whittaker recalled H. and RN at Key Biscayne. David Young and Gordon Liddy described events prior to Watergate, Larry Cohen passed in Sullivan’s comments on H.’s knowledge of Nixonian taping, and Andrew Tully recalled his revealing interview with H. N.’s White House discussion about the transcripts is in WHT, Oct. 3, 1971. The report on H. is Ehrlichman to N., Oct. 23, 1971, WHSF, NP. Nixon’s denial of any H. blackmail is in his book, RN, II, by Richard Nixon, NY, Grosset & Dunlap, 1978, p. 75, and in a Nixon interview kindly supplied by Prof. Herbert Parmet. Seymour Hersch’s book, The Price of Power, NY, Summit, 1983, refers to missing transcripts at p. 398, and see Glanzer to Silbert, May 7, 1973, and the statement of Robert Mardian, taken by FBI Inspector Meincke, May 11, 1973, Mardian Papers, HIW. Nixon’s fear that H. would ‘pull down the temple’ is at WHT, Oct. 25, 1971, p. 3. Liddy’s reported claim that he had killed a man is in An American Life, by Jeb Magruder, NY, Atheneum, 1974, p. 175.

  Chapter 36

  Former reporter Mark Frazier was interviewed about his Harvard Crimson report, and forensic toxicologist Dr Michael Slade described thiophosphate. Scott Armstrong, Emily Sheketoff, and Nathaniel Akerman confirmed that Watergate investigators were told of operations against H.’s house, and Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, H. R. Haldeman, and Felipe DeDiego, were interviewed on the subject. Frank Sturgis’ comments were kindly obtained by Dan Christensen. Dr Bell’s widow Marilyn recalled H.’s plastic surgery, and Cartha DeLoach spoke of H.’s last days. Jack Anderson described his congressional testimony about FBI snooping, and Jay Robert Nash and Hank Messick said their books were found in H.’s house after his death. James Crawford, Dr Robert Choisser, Dr James Luke, and Dr Richard Welton discussed H.’s death, and Neil Gallagher and Egil Krogh were asked about Krogh’s alleged later comment. H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Richard Kleindienst, and Gordon Liddy were interviewed about Administration reactions to the death, and undertaker Wm. Reburn and neighbors Helen and Anthony Calomaris described events at H.’s house. Former FBI clerk Joe Diamond told of the destruction of documents, and congressional investigators Mark Gittenstein and Robert Fink described the inquiry into the fate of H.’s files. Former Newsweek reporter Anthony Marro was interviewed about the FBI’s reported removal of documents after Tolson’s death. Hunt’s reported involvement in assassination plots is in Jim Hougan’s book, Secret Agenda, NY, Morrow, 1978, p. 5, and in Life, Mar. 1990. The numerous burglaries suspected to be linked to the Watergate crew are listed in ‘The Unsolved Break-Ins,’ by Robert Fink, in Rolling Stone, Oct. 10, 1974. A document on ‘possible burglaries’ at H.’s home is in Director FBI to Special Prosecution force, DJ, Nov. 28, 1973, NA. Roy Cohn recalled his last meeting with H. in Esquire, Nov. 1972. Jack Anderson’s testimony on FBI snooping is in Hearings, Subcttee. of Cttee. on Gov’t Operations, 92 Cong., 2nd Sess., May 1, 1972, pp. 2437ff. N.’s reported call to H. on the last night is in notes of a conversation with Helen Gandy by Ladislas Farago, Farago Collection, Mugar Library, Univ. of Boston. H.’s death certificate, no. 72–03405, is at HSF8. Nixon’s response to the news was described by John Ehrlichman to the author, but see also, J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets, by Curt Gentry (see Bibliography), p. 28. Haldeman’s note on ‘skeletons,’ dated 9:15 A.M., May 2, 1972, is in WHSF, NP. Richard Kleindienst’s testimony on action after H.’s death was Dec. 1, 1975 in DES, p. 2, and DES – with the draft staff report obtained by the author – is the principle source. Mark Felt’s ‘dead horse’ remark is cited in the DES staff report.

  Epilogue

  Former Asst. Directors Cartha DeLoach and Mark Felt, Neil Welch, race official Bill Koras, Dr Edward Elson, nephew Fred Robinette, goddaughter Marianita Mattusch, neighbor Anthony Calomaris, cemetery staff Ethel Robertson, Lee Jenney and Audrey Jones discussed H.’s burial and events following his death. Godson J. Edgar Nichols described visits to the grave, and niece Dorothy Davy recalled Annie Hoover’s social aspirations. Psychiatrist Dr Harold Lief and psychologists Dr John Money and Capt. Gaye Humphreys offered opinions on H.’s personality. Documents used included J. Edgar Hoover Memorial Tributes in the Congress, Washington, DC, US Govt. Printing Office, 1974, and the Masons’ Tribute of Admiration and Affection, Oct. 1, 1972, Scottish Rite Temple. The Dean-Nixon exchange is in Blind Ambition, by John Dean, NY, Simon & Schuster, 1976, p. 265, citing Watergate tapes, Mar. 13, 1973, but (for variant) cf. submission of Recorded Presidential Conversations to Hse. Judiciary Cttee., Mar. 13, 1973, p. 122. Doubt about Tolson’s ‘mental competency’ is in a report by investigator Philip Haire, Jul. 9, 1973, WAC, NA. Medical texts used were ‘Some Aspects of the Development of Authority,’ Journal of Analytic Psychology, Jul. 1977 and (on Himmler) The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, by Erich Fromm, London, Pelican, 1987, pp. 398ff. H.’s comments on pornography were in This Week, Aug. 25, 1957 (reprinted for circulation by FBI), H. testimony Hse. Appropriations Subcttee., Jan. 30, 1957, p. 203, American Legion magazine, May 1961, and Inside the FBI, by Norman Ollestad (see Bibliography), p. 62. The closing quote by Walter Mondale is from IC6, p. 64.

  LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN NOTES

  BI Bureau of Investigation document

  CP Cummings Papers

  CR Congressional Record

  D The Director, by Ovid Demaris, New York, Harper’s Magazine Press, 1975

  DES Inquiry into the Destruction of Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s Files and FBI Recordkeeping, Hearings, House Government Information and Individual Rights Subcommittee, 1975

  DJ Department of Justice

  EL Dwight D. Eisenhower Library

  EPUA Morris Ernst Papers, University of Texas at Austin

  ER Eleanor Roosevelt

  F From the Secret Files of I. Edgar Hoover, edited by Athan Theoharis, Chicago, Ivan Dee, 1991

  FBI FBI document number

  FDRL Franklin D. Roosevelt Library

  GC Bearing the Cross, by David Garrow, New York, William Morrow, 1986

  GF The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr., by David Garrow, New York, Norton, 1981

  H J. Edgar Hoover

  HC Hoover Collection (J. Edgar Hoover Foundation), Temple of the Supreme Council, Thirty-third Degree, Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Washington, D. C.

  HH Herbert Hoover Papers

  HHL Herbert Hoover Library

  HIW Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

  HSCA Hearings and Appendices of the House Committee on Assassinations, 1979

  HSF Hoover Staff File

  HSTL Harry S. Truman Library

  HT Harry Truman

  IC Hearings before the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities of United States Senate, 94th Congress, 1st Session, 1976

  INTP
ERF Summary Report, The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies, Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, U.S. Senate, Book V, 1976

  JFK John F. Kennedy

  JFKL John F. Kennedy Library

  LAT Los Angeles Times

  LBJ Lyndon Baines Johnson

  LBJL Lyndon Baines Johnson Library

  LC Library of Congress

  MLK Martin Luther King, Jr.

  NA National Archives

  N Richard Nixon

  NP Nixon Papers

  NYP New York Post

  NYT The New York Times

  OC Official and Confidential Files (OC 1, for example, refers to OC vol. 1)

  POF President’s Official Files, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library

  PC Private Collection (Lou Nichols’ papers)

  RFK Robert F. Kennedy

  RG65NA Record Group 65, Civil Reference Division of the National Archives (mostly scrapbooks containing Hoover news clippings)

  RR FBI Reading Room

  SRIA Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans, Book III, Final Report of Select Committee to Study Governmental Activities, U.S. Senate, 1976