LBJ: MASTERMIND OF THE JFK ASASSINATION
AND COLOSSUS
John Delane Williams
Phillip
Nelson has recently authored two books on LBJ and the JFK assassination; LBJ:
Mastermind of the JFK Assassination
[1] and LBJ: From Mastermind to
"Colossus". [2] The titles simply promise more than Nelson
delivers. Nelson doe a very good job of bringing together the works of others
and ties them together well. However, LBJ was a poor candidate for the
"mastermind" of the JFK assassination. That Lyndon Johnson was a
scoundrel of the worst sorts was widely known, and Nelson went to great lengths
to remind us of Johnson's nefarious activities. But does it add up to Johnson
being the "mastermind" of the JFK assassination? In my opinion, Nelson
makes a better case for James Jesus
Angleton as being the "mastermind" than for Lyndon Johnson.
The
Hearings of the Senate Rules Committee
One aspect of the reporting that Nelson got
particularly garbled was in regard to the hearing held by the Senate Rules
Committee regarding Lyndon Johnson's relationship to Bobby Baker. Hearings were
taking place on November 22, 1963; Donald Reynolds was being questioned
regarding the transaction of selling
Johnson a life insurance policy, with Bobby Baker serving as a middle man. [3]
Nelson somehow completely got this muddled: "[Senator] Curtis was on the
Senate Rules Committee chaired by [Senator John] Williams, which was in the
process of secretly interviewing Don Reynolds as JFK was being
assassinated." (p. 581) The one correct part of this statement is that
Senator Curtis (R-NE) was indeed on the committee. The actual chair of the
committee was B. Everett Jordan (D-NC). Senator John Williams, (R-DE) was not
only not the Chair (The Democrats were in the majority of the Senate, with a
Democrat chairman selected; the Democrats held a 6-3 advantage in the
committee); Senator Williams wasn't even on the committee. It may seem to be
parsing words, but the meeting on 11/22/1963 was a closed session, not a secret
session. And the Don Reynolds interview
ended at 1 PM EST (12:00 Noon, Dallas time), so that the Reynolds interview
ended a half hour before the assassination occurred. On the same page (p. 581), Nelson first
indicates that there were seven Democrats on the Senate Rules Committee (The
committee's actual name was the Senate Rules and Administration Committee);
just four lines later, Nelson stated (correctly) that there were six Democrat
members on the committee. Fact checking does not seem to be Nelson's forte.
What
would the Characteristics of a "Mastermind" be?
Nelson
(p. xv, Introduction, Book One) lists five characteristics for the mastermind
of the assassination:
a. Who has the most to gain?
b. Who has the least to lose?
c.
Who has the means to do it?
d. Who has the apparatus in place to
cover it up?
e. Who has the kind of
narcissistic/sociopathic personality capable of rationalizing the
action as acceptable and necessary, together
with the resolve and determination to see
it through?
I
would grant that these are necessary, but not sufficient, characteristics for
the mastermind; I would posit three additional characteristics:
f. Who has a sufficiently strong
intellect to carefully plan the details of the action?
g. Who is sufficiently grounded in
their psychological functioning so as to gain the support
of other necessary high level plotters?
h. Specifically, who would be trusted
by James Jesus Angleton, J. Edgar Hoover, General
Curtis LeMay and the other Chiefs
of Staff, the top Mafiosi, and the moneyed oilmen?
I'm
afraid that LBJ fails miserably on the new criteria. In fact I don't think any
one person would fill the bill, if for no other reason than the last criteria.
But LBJ wouldn't even be considered. He lacked in particular, sufficient
intellectual ability. The one thing Johnson learned how to do was find the weak
spots of a person he wished to use, a skill honed by him from J. Edgar Hoover.
But that skill wouldn't be of much use in planning the assassination. Johnson
was probably among the least able in terms of his psychological functioning.
His probable bipolar disorder [See Hershman, 4] would have rendered Lyndon
unable to function as a leader of people who were his intellectual superiors
with somewhat more stable psychological functioning. Their egos would have been
on a par with LBJ's. And at the time of the planning of the assassination,
Johnson was the Vice-President. An earlier Texan vice-president was James Nance
Garner, who famously summed up the Vice-Presidency as "not worth a bucket
of spit." [5] Lyndon was so little involved with his Vice-Presidential
duties that he left D.C. in October for additional 'planning' of the short
Texas visit by President Kennedy. In other words Johnson's presence at the
capital was unnecessary.
Nelson's
Scenario for the Assassination
Nelson
envisioned three teams in and around Dealey Plaza. Team 1 would be on the sixth
floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building. Oswald would take a shot
from the window with his Italian Mannlicher-Carcano rifle to implicate him as
the assassin. Mac Wallace would be in charge of making the scene fit Oswald as
the shooter. Wallace had reportedly been involved with several murders on
behalf of LBJ, and his presence would help insure LBJ's cooperation in the
aftermath of the assassination. If the plot unraveled, LBJ stood to be a big
loser with Wallace's presence. In fact, there is strong evidence that Wallace
was present, though that evidence was not brought forward until 1998 when a 6
point fingerprint match from a box on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book
Depository (TSBD) was reported by Walt Brown at a press conference in Dallas. [6] Nelson
acknowledged that some critics labeled these results as inconclusive. Apparently
Nelson did not see a later article when a 34 point match was reported, until
after he finished the first book. Nelson does address the 34 point match in his
second book. Team 2 would be composed of three French/Corsicans who presumably were
stationed near the overpass by the grassy knoll directly facing the flow of
traffic. This team included Lucian Sarti, a Corsican drug trafficker and
killer, and two unnamed members of the Marseilles mob, according to Christian
David, who had turned down the contract to kill Kennedy. [7] The third Team
would be furnished by the Mafia, stationed either at the Dal-Tex Building, the
County Records Building, or both. If the shot that hit the curb and then ricocheted
from the curb that hit James Tague had emanated from the second floor of the
Dal-Tex Building, it would have been a near miss of the limousine. Also, if the
plan was to have Oswald take one of the shots, apparently this part of the plan
didn't work out. Oswald was seen approximately 90 seconds after the shots were
fired at John Kennedy, in the second floor lunchroom, with an open bottle of
cola; he was seen by Officer Marion Baker, a motorcycle driver who had been
part of the protection for President Kennedy in the motorcade, and by TSBD Superintendent Roy Truly. Oswald
did not appear to be breathing hard. Further, he was not seen nor heard on the
stairs directly after the assassination by three women employees. These three
employees, along with a fourth woman, had been watching the Kennedy Motorcade
from a fourth floor window in the TSBD. Two of the women, Victoria Adams and
Sandra Styles, began walking down the stairs seconds after the assassination
occurred. They neither heard anyone on the stairs during their descent from the
fourth floor, nor did they see anyone else until they were departing the
building, when they met a large black man, also a TSBD employee. Another of the
women, Dorothy Ann Garner, situated herself by the stairs and elevator, where
she would have seen anyone descending or ascending either the stairs or
elevator. Only after the police arrived did any one go up or down the stairs or
elevator. It appears that Oswald was telling the truth when he said he'd been in
the lunchroom eating his lunch. It is unlikely that he had been on the sixth
floor at the time of the assassination. [8]
Planning
the Assassination
At
least two (and probably three) plots for the assassination preceded Dallas, all
in the month of November, 1963. First was the planned shooting of President
Kennedy from a high point in Kennedy's route to and/or from the Army-Navy
football game played in Chicago on November 2. Secret Service agent Abraham
Bolden informed the Secret Service in Washington details of the plan, which
included a patsy and a team of shooters. The trip to Chicago was cancelled. [9] A plan to kill JFK in Tampa was planned for
November 18. A patsy there, Gilberto Lopez, had a brother who was studying in
Russia; Lopez, like Oswald, also was involved with the Fairplay for Cuba
Committee. The Tampa attempt was cancelled when the organizers of the
assassination learned that their plan had been found out. Lopez travelled to
Dallas, was present at the assassination, and would return by way of Mexico
City to his former home in Cuba. There is the possibility that an assassination
was planned for Miami also, but was aborted. These aborted assassinations would
seem to be CIA-Mafia plans. [10]
Clearly,
LBJ was unlikely to have played a role in these aborted attempts, other than
perhaps to hope one of them was successful. But Nelson has LBJ playing a major
role in Dallas. Part of that role was security stripping. [11] Presumably, Johnson might have had an inkling
of the two aborted assassination attempts (or three, including Miami). Only
after the failure in Tampa on November 18 would the Dallas attempt be fully in
play. Fairness would suggest the central figure in the plot was James Jesus
Angleton of the CIA. Angleton would have set up the patsy, perhaps served as a
liaison to the Armed Services, and would have coordinated the Mafia's role
(obtaining the assassination team led by Lucien Sarti, as well as a Mafia team,
and put Jack Ruby in place to kill the patsy; the Mafia also would eliminate
persons deemed dangerous to the plot after the assassination). The actual
coordinator for Johnson was reported to be Cliff Carter, according to Billie
Sol Estes. [12] Other than supplying Mac Wallace to be on the sixth floor to
leave a trail for Oswald as patsy, and security stripping in the Dallas
motorcade, Johnson's real role would
seem to have been in the next conspiracy, the cover-up of evidence. [13] The
cover-up was Johnson's master stroke. But even in the cover-up, LBJ would need
substantial help from the CIA, the military, the secret service, the FBI, and
the Dallas police. It seems entirely unlikely that either the CIA or the
military would follow plans delivered by LBJ. More to the point, the CIA and
military insulated themselves from exposure; if the plot failed and was
exposed, Johnson would likely be implicated by Mac Wallace being present on the
sixth floor of the TSBD. The area around Dealey Plaza was teeming with Mafia,
which could lead to their being implicated. I can't imagine J. Edgar Hoover
paying much attention to a plan from LBJ. More likely, regarding the
assassination, LBJ would have been involved on a "need to know"
basis. Presumably, there was a contingency plan for an assassination in Dallas
if the other attempts failed. His part of the plan likely was delivered to him
through someone like Cliff Carter. The most important part of LBJ's involvement
was to cover-up the conspiracy.
Nelson
presumed LBJ had the guile to plan all of the important aspects in the
assassination in Dallas.LBJ couldn't even get President Kennedy to allow a
change in the seating arrangements; LBJ wanted Governor Connally and Senator
Yarborough to change their seating in the two limousines. This was denied by
President Kennedy. A reason that neither the CIA nor the military would likely
listen to any of Johnson's ideas was that Johnson was a known loose cannon.
Even as the planned assassination was unfolding, Johnson was unsure as to whether
he might also be a target, in addition to President Kennedy. Nelson describes
this in vivid detail (pp. 472-485). Johnson started ducking BEFORE any shots
were fired, which tells us two things; LBJ knew when and where the shooting
would take place; and Johnson's own insecurities had him fearing for his own
life. Such a man could not be trusted with any information that might implicate
any of the main plotters.
The
scene that Nelson describes at the airport may well be accurate. Nelson claims
that the reason for Johnson being sworn
in on the tarmac was to give others time to place the body of President Kennedy
on Air Force Two (Vice-President Johnson's airplane) and the ornamental casket
on Air Force One, the plane in which
Johnson insisted that he travel back to Washington. Time would also be needed to
move Johnson's luggage to Air Force One. Johnson need not know why this was
being done, only that it needed to be done.
What
happened from that point on is well covered in Douglas Horne's Inside the AARB. [14]
The
President's body was transported to the Bethesda Naval Base morgue in a body
bag. A pre-autopsy surgery-mutilation of the President's body was performed by
Dr. Humes, a military pathologist. Then the body was taken outside and placed
in the ornate casket, and brought back in as if it had just been delivered.
Military brass, who were not pathologists, directed the three military
pathologists as to what they could and couldn't do; eventually the brass got
the written autopsy report that seemed to suit their needs. This part of the
cover-up is mainly in the hands of the military, with perhaps some help from
the Secret Service. This, of course is the short version. Horne's five volumes
provides riveting detail as to the criminality of the botched medical evidence.
The
Colossus
While
Nelson points out many of LBJ's transgressions, one area not addressed is
Lyndon's fathering of children out of wedlock while being married to Lady Bird.
The name Mary Margaret Wiley is in the name appendix with no page number, nor
is she mentioned in the first book; she is addressed in the second book. It is
surprising that Nelson is so circumspect in this area. Nelson acknowledges that
LBJ brought Mary Margaret Wiley to Washington from Texas, and that she was a
favorite mistress. She "suddenly" married one of LBJ's key aides,
Jack Valenti. Apparently Valenti agreed to allow the affair to continue after
the marriage. As would happen, Mary soon became pregnant and a daughter,
Courtenay, was born. Nelson only intimates that LBJ may have been the father. [15]
Another former mistress, Madeleine Brown, was not so circumspect. She indicated
that, as an adult, Courtenay would often appear in public with Jack Valenti,
her legal father. She was taller than Valenti, and Courtenay wore her hair in
such a way that her large ears (like Lyndon's) showed prominently. In
Madeleine's view, Courtenay was letting people know who her actual father was
[16].
Madeleine
had had a son with Lyndon, Steven Mark Brown, born on December 27, 1950.
Madeleine and Lyndon first met at a celebration of Johnson's "winning"
the 1948 Democratic U.S. Senate nomination over Coke Stevenson, the infamous
Box 13 election where Johnson stole the nomination away from Stevenson. Three
weeks later, LBJ and Madeleine Brown became lovers. While Lyndon was doting to
Steven, it was clear that he would never acknowledge Steven as his son. Nelson
said very little about Madeleine Brown, other than that she and LBJ had a son
together. [17]
LBJ
and his Jewish Connection
In
contrast to giving the LBJ-Brown affair the short shrift, Nelson goes on for 25
pages about LBJ's Jewish connections. Nelson claims first to not be construed
as being anti-Semitic, then tells us that LBJ's maternal grandmother was Jewish
and that LBJ was very pro Zionist in regard to Israel. It should also be
pointed out that so have been the majority of American congressmen and
senators, as well as presidents, pretty much to the present. There is no
indication that the American position has changed one iota on Israel's right to
exist, nor the United States' obligation to provide significant monetary aid to
Israel. As recently as March, 2015, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to
the U.S. Congress, criticizing President Obama's negotiations regarding Iran's developing nuclear capabilities.
The
Attack on the USS Liberty
In
fairness to Nelson, the "Jewish Connection" serves as a lead-in to
the linchpin of the second book. Though long kept a secret, perhaps President
Johnson's most heinous act as president was the destruction of the USS Liberty.
On the fourth day of the six day war, June 8, 1967, Israel attacked the USS
Liberty, which was in international waters near Israel and Egypt. Before the war
supposedly began, Israel had eliminated the airplanes of the Egyptian military
(which included at least 30 Soviet airplanes). In a sense, the six day war was
practically over on the "first day". According to Nelson, the
planning of this war was a joint effort of the United States and Israel. The
United States (or rather, Lyndon Johnson) wanted to enter the war to eliminate
President Nasser of Egypt. To accomplish this, the Israelis were supposed to
sink a designated American ship and the blame assigned to Egypt, setting the
stage for American entry into the war, according to Nelson. This scenario
considered the possibility that the Soviet Union may enter the fray, thereby
precipitating World War III. In such a case, Johnson and the military,
according to Nelson presumably intended to use a first strike of nuclear weapons against the Soviets were they
to signal their entry into the war. The designated vessel, chosen probably by
its name, was the USS Liberty. [18]
Two
weeks prior to the six Day war, the USS Liberty, docked in the Ivory Coast, was
ordered to proceed to the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt at full
speed (18 knots). At 8 AM Washington time on June 8, 1967, three Israeli Mirage
jets (with their insignias painted over) began strafing the USS Liberty with
30mm cannons, rockets and napalm. The ship was also attacked by three torpedo
boats, all with clear Israeli markings. The pilots of the jets would have seen
the huge American flag, and before the shooting started, persons on the USS
Liberty waved to the pilots, who waved back.
The
next phase of the attack was the firing of torpedoes at the Liberty by three
Israeli gunboats. The Liberty out- maneuvered four torpedoes, but the fifth
left a 22 foot by 39 foot hole on the starboard side, which should have sunk
the Liberty, but did not. Gunboats then circled the USS Liberty. Several
sailors were ordered to abandon the ship into lifeboats, which were also
attacked by the gunboats. Because the Liberty had not yet sunk, it would mean
that survivors would be able to testify that they were attacked by the Israeli
military, not Egyptian, delaying the entry of the U.S. into the war. Twice, rescue
of persons on the Liberty was denied by persons in Washington (most likely
Lyndon Baines Johnson, along with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara). In
fact McNamara ordered planes that had been sent to rescue USS Liberty survivors
to abort their mission and return to their base. President Johnson reportedly made the comment, that he didn't
give a damn if the ship sank, he would not embarrass his allies. [19]
It
is inconceivable that McNamara's instruction was not given to him by the
Commander in Chief (Johnson). Presumably, the hope was that the ship and its
crew would all perish. The ship made it to Crete, where they were told to continue
to Malta; perhaps it might sink on its way there. The ship made it to Malta on
June 14, 1967. Of the original 294 crew members aboard, 34 had been killed in
the attack, and at least 172 more were wounded. Fortunately, because the USS
Liberty got to Malta after the end of the six day war, the U.S. was precluded
from entering the war. The sailors aboard the USS Liberty were the heroes of
this incident. A total news blackout was imposed. The crew members were warned,
"You are never, repeat never, to
discuss this with anyone, not even your wives. If you do, you will be
court-martialed and end your lives in prison, or worse." [20]
The
reporting of the USS Liberty attack by Israel is the highlight of the two
books. The megalomania of the Commander in Chief is clearly evident. Nelson's
reporting of the events is preceded by several books, but just as important,
the many websites that have been created by survivors of the incident, in
defiance of the warning they received in Malta. Doing a Google search of
"USS Liberty" brings literally hundreds of sites. And perhaps to no
one's surprise, there is a controversy not unlike the Warren Report. Those trying
to "save appearances" [21] for President Lyndon Johnson, the American
military, the American government, the Israeli military and the Israeli
government maintain the lie that the attack was a simple mistake of
misidentification by the Israeli military.
Some comments
Nelson
has taken on a massive effort in getting
over 1200 pages among the two books published in short order. Toward the
end of the second book, Nelson admits that his works were written from a
prosecutorial approach, presenting the worst case scenario against Johnson.
This affects his reportage on the USS Liberty as well. The approach used by
Nelson is called "advocacy research". Advocacy research bolsters the case
for a particular outcome, which typically is at best a partial truth. The book
by Robert Allen [22] is a much more even (and much more in depth) consideration
of the available information. The differences from Nelson's presentation are in
the details, but they are important. Whatever the intentions of the United
States was, the large presence of Soviet ships (at least 70) led to the U.S.
speaking on the hot-line to Russia at the time of the Six Day War, and both
sides were apprised of the other's concerns; a nuclear war with the Soviets was
very likely off the table. Both the Soviets and LBJ would have liked the
removal of Nasser. The Soviets were ready to unleash their military if Israel
did not pull back from their offensive against Syria; the U.S. was also opposed
to the Israeli invasion into Syria. The American planes that were called back
from aiding the USS Liberty were prepared to attack whomever was attacking the
USS Liberty. The attack by Israel was deemed to be deliberate, and they (e.g.
Moshe Dayan) knew that the ship was American. The Israelis also knew the ship
was a spy ship, collecting information from both the Egyptians and the
Israelis. In the Israeli view, they could not be sure whether the Americans
were sharing information with the Soviets or Egyptians, justifying the attack,
at least to them. [23]
With
the caveats here presented, the second book has enough kernels of truth to
render it worthy of reading. For those of us in the JFK research community who
had never been aware of the USS Liberty's being needlessly sacrificed, Phillip
Nelson has been of service for bringing this incident to our attention.
Also worth considering is that, as a conspirator
to the assassination, Lyndon Johnson would face the same charge as whomever
were the masterminds. Several of Johnson's transgressions appear to have been
treasonous, but with extraordinarily strong efforts to cover them up.
Notes:
1.
Nelson, P.F.(2011, 2013). LBJ: The
Mastermind of the Assassination. New York: Skyhorse.
2.Nelson,
P.F. (2014). LBJ: From Mastermind to
"Colossus". New York: Skyhorse.
3.
Williams, J.D. & Conway, D. (2001). The Don Reynolds Testimony and LBJ. Kennedy Assassination Chronicles. 7,1,10-28.
4.
Hershman, D.J. (2002). Power Beyond
Reason: The Mental Collapse of Lyndon Johnson. Fort
Lee, NJ: Barricade Books.
5.
Cox, P. (2014). John Nance Garner and the
Vice-Presidency-In Search of the Proverbial Bucket.
//www.cah.utexas.edu/news/press_release.php?press=press_bucket
6.
Brown, W. (1998). TSBD Evidence Places LBJ 'Hitman' in Sniper's Nest. Extra
Edition of JFK Deep Politics/Deep
Politics Quarterly, 3,3. A. Nathan Darby made a six point match of
Mac Wallace's fingerprint to the previously unidentified fingerprint found in
the sniper's nest at the TSBD. Later, a 34 point match confirmed Wallace's
presence on the sixth floor of the Depository, reported in Brown, W. (2001).
Malcolm Wallace Fingerprint: "It's Him!!" JFK/ Deep Politics Quarterly,
7,1,4-6. Among the critics of identifying Wallace from the fingerprint
were Glen Sample and Mark Collom, who earlier wrote The Men on the Sixth Floor (1997). Garden Grove CA: Sample Graphics.
Sample & Collom had hypothesized
that Wallace was present on the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository
at the time of the assassination. It seemed strange that they would question a
finding that gave evidence that their earlier assertion was likely true.
7.
Twyman, N. (1997). Bloody Treason.
Rancho Santa Fe, CA: Laurel Publishing, p. 414.
8.
Ernest, B. (2012, 2013). The Girl on the
Stairs. Gretna, LA: Pelican. Also see Williams, J.D. (2014). The Girl on
the Stairs- Was Oswald even on the Sixth Floor at the Time of the
Assassination? JFK-E/Deep Politics
Quarterly. 1, 2,3-16.
9.
Bolden, A. (2008). The Echo from Dealey
Plaza. New York: Harmony Books. See
also, Williams, J.D. (2008). Echo from Dealey Plaza: Abraham Bolden. The Dealey Plaza Echo, 13, 1,1-4.
10.
Waldron, L. & Hartmann, T. (2005). Ultimate
Sacrifice. New York: Carroll & Graff.
11.
Palamara, V. (1993). The Third Alternative-Survivor's Guilt: The
Secret Service and the JFK Murder. Pittsburgh: Author.
12.
Estes, B.S. (2005). Billie Sol Estes: A
Texas Legend. Granbury, TX: B.S. Productions., Also, see Williams, J.D.
(2005). Estes Named Cliff Carter as the Master Strategist in the JFK
Assassination. JFK/Deep Politics Quarterly,10,4,13-19.
13.
Williams, J.D. (1999). Lyndon B. Johnson and the Assassination Conspiracies. JFK/Deep Politics Quarterly, 4,2,25-28.
14.
Horne, D.P. (2009). Inside the AARB: Vol. I-V. Amazon.
15.
Nelson (2014). pp. 153-154.
16.
Williams, J.D. & Severson, G. (2001). Interview
with Madeleine Brown, November 17-18.
17.
Brown, M.D. (1999). Texas in the Morning.
The Love Story of Madeleine Brown and President
Lyndon Baines Johnson. Baltimore: The Conservatory Press.
18.
Nelson, (2014), pp. 375-408.
19.
Bamford, J. (2001). Body of Secrets.
New York: Doubleday, p. 226.
20.
Nelson (2014). p. 390.
21.Barfield,
O. (1965). Saving the Appearances: A
Study in Idolatry. New York: Harcourt Brace & Jovanovich,
22.
Allen, R.J. (2012). Beyond Treason.
Create Space.(Available through Amazon.com.) This undoubtedly is one of the
better presentations of the USS Liberty and its abandonment by President
Johnson.
23.
Allen, (2012), pp. 393-342. Another excellent source is Hounan, P. &
Simpson, J. (2003). Operation Cyanide:
Why the Bombing of the USS Liberty Nearly Caused World War III. Chatham Kent, UK: Mackays of Chatham. A
pro-Israeli view that emphasizes that the attack on the USS Liberty was simply
a misidentification is Cristol, A.J. (2002). The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Israeli Attack on the Navy Spy Ship.
Dulles,VA: Brassey's Inc. (Books International).
Published in the Dealey Plaza Echo, (2015). 18, 2, 19-24.
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