EXCLUSIVE: JFK's Secretary Called His Assassination a 'Professional Political Murder'
In an unpublished memoir, Evelyn Lincoln set forth her opinion about the death of the president.
In the 1920s, Evelyn Lincoln, the determined daughter of a U.S. Congressman from Nebraska, came to the nation’s capital to attend George Washington University. She married a political science professor, Harold Lincoln, and studied law. In 1932, she landed a job on Capitol Hill with a Georgia congressman which she held for the next twenty years.
In 1952, Lincoln volunteered for the U.S. Senate campaign of Massachusetts Rep. John F. Kennedy, whom she had met and admired. When Kennedy was elected, she became his personal secretary. For the next twelve years, Evelyn Lincoln spent as much time in proximity to Senator and President Kennedy as anybody.
“I always had the telephone number where he could be reached,” Lincoln writes in an unpublished memoir recently discovered in the JFK Library in Boston, “and he had a telephone number in case he wanted to call me.”
For more than a decade, Lincoln had unparalleled access to Kennedy and his thinking. She witnessed the crises, pressures, and pleasures of his jobs. She knew his private thoughts about friends, enemies, lovers, and rivals. She was entrusted with his secrets, and she kept them until long after her own death. She was, in a word, reliable.
Lincoln published two books about her time in the White House, "My Twelve Years with John F. Kennedy” in 1965, and "Kennedy and Johnson” in 1968. She died in 1995.
Her unpublished memoir, entitled "I Was There,” was written in the 1980s. It recounts stories from the first two books with additional observations and informed opinions. The manuscript includes an 11-page “Addenda,” published here for the first time, summing up Lincoln’s responses about the two most frequent questions she fielded: about JFK’s private life and his public death.
The manuscript was first made public without fanfare by the JFK Library last year.
Never So Candid
While Evelyn Lincoln occasionally expressed her private thoughts in her two books and interviews, she was never so candid as in the Addenda.
On JFK’s women:
The women who did have relations with him are not publicly announcing that fact for all the world to know but regard the relationship as one of the pleasantries of life. Some of these women are dear friends of mine.
On his death:
From the catbird seat that I had during my 12 years as John F. Kennedy’s Personal Secretary I would have to say that, in my opinion, President Kennedy’s death in Dallas, Texas, was a deliberate professional political murder, planned by a group in government who wanted him removed from office.
Evelyn Lincoln’s Addenda is available for reading and downloading by JFK Facts subscribers.
Evelyn Lincoln’s Addenda
(From the unpublished memoir, “I Was There,” by Evelyn Lincoln. The typescript has been edited for typographical errors only.)
In the past twenty years, following the President’s assassination in Dallas, I have appeared on many, many radio and television talk shows. I have also granted interviews for newspaper and magazine articles, and authors writing books. It has become apparent from all of these interviews that there are two questions that supersede all others: Kennedy’s sex life and his assassination.
I have evaded an answer to both of these questions because I felt that what Kennedy contributed in his lifetime was more important than what he did personally or who conspired to kill him. Since I am rounding out the last third of my diary, and since stories become more farfetched as time goes on, I am making an effort to put these two questions into their proper perspective.
When I went to work for John F. Kennedy as his Personal Secretary on January 3, 1953, he had taken the oath of office to become the United States Senator from Massachusetts. From that day on he insisted that I know exactly where he was and with whom at all times, if I needed to get in touch with him. At that time, he was living alone and was unmarried.
The close relationship did not end with his marriage. I became the one link to whom everyone turned, the family, the friends, the important people, if they wanted to talk to him or leave messages for him. It, therefore, became very important that I know his whereabouts. I always had the telephone number where he could be reached, and he had a telephone number in case he wanted to call me. As for the people he was with, that too, was important, I kept this record for him.
No one can deny that John Kennedy, when he became a United States Senator, was a very attractive young man, with the look of an all-American boy. And that attraction became more evident as time went along.
His reddish brown hair, his tanned face and his ever ready smile showing gleaming white teeth, struck a chord in the hearts of girls and women wherever he went. And on top of that he was also very photogenic.
He has been referred to as a woman chaser, but from my vantage point, it would be more accurate to say that the women chased him. However, being a man he never discouraged them.
John Kennedy worked very hard as a Senator, worked very hard in his campaign for the Presidency, and he continued to strive for excellence after reaching the Oval Office. He, likewise, carried on in spite of pain and discomfort with a bad back. It is reasonable to ask, therefore, how in the world he could have continued to have worked so assiduously, if he would have had relations with all of the women who have been linked with him in the media, books, locker room talk, or by idle rumor. They are giving him more credit than he deserved.
I must say, except for hearsay, I know nothing of Kennedy’s sex life the years prior to January 3, 1953.
I would be the last person to say that John Kennedy did not have relations with women. The women who did have relations with him are not publicly announcing that fact tor all the world to know, but regard the relationship as one of the pleasantries of life. Some of these women are dear friends or mine.
The President enjoyed life the best that he could for 46 years and during that time he did more good for humanity than most people who live to be 100.
The other question, which I will try to answer, to the best of my knowledge is “who conspired to assassinate President Kennedy”
Those threatening words about “assassination,” which my husband, Abe, heard before the President went to Dallas have smoldered in my mind all of these years. I have spent many, many hours trying to figure out who, or what faction, or organization conspired and did the actual planning to bring about his assassination. It is ironic, I feel, that so many of these factions, who felt so strongly against the President had their people in or around Dallas at the time of the assassination. It was reported that radical “nigger-haters” were there; members of the John Birch Society and organized crime were there, as well as, Texans who hated him.
Any one of these factions, I reasoned, could have hired a hit man. I have heard that they come dime a dozen. Likewise, the atmosphere in Dallas at the time was filled with hatred and suspicion. There was terrific infighting going on among the politicians and many of the citizens. The time was ripe to pull this off. Just a few days before, Adlai Stevenson visited Dallas. He was bombarded with tomatoes.
Another thing which bothers me is why so much time and effort is spent on where the bullet hit the body. It seems to me that it is not so much where the bullet hit, as it is, did someone hire a man to fire the shot which hit the body. Kennedy died.
I do not point a finger at any one of the individuals or factions who might have disliked Kennedy so much they had him assassinated, but I am struck by coincidental things which happened along the way — they puzzle me.
Over the years there have been people — there have been organizations — that have wanted to do away with person or persons whom they felt were in their way or did not prescribe [Editor’s note: subscribe?] to their way of life.
Many factions had their reasons for wanting the President to get out of their way. There were those in the 1960 campaign who wanted to stop him, but they were unsuccessful and he became President. As he went along he collected others who saw him a danger to their cause.
He was a Catholic. That gave him a built in opposition right from the start. The anti-Catholic, Ku Klux Klan faction had opposed Al Smith when he ran for the Presidency, and their opposition was one of the factors that helped defeat him. This same faction tried hard to defeat the President, and even though he won, their dislike toward him did not disappear.
There were also many, many people in the United States at that time who were hysterically opposed to the civil rights movement. In 1961 it was considered political bravery to endorse equality before the law in front of an audience of southern whites. The Kennedys brought protection to the freedom riders when at that time the local and state police refused to protect them. A gang of whites, including the Ku Klux Klan attacked the buses of freedom riders in Alabama. Evidence of that opposition was also seen in the difficulty the Kennedys had in upholding the law to integrate the schools in Mississippi and Alabama. Also, the killings of civil rights activists and the violence when the blacks took to the streets. These anti-civil rights organizations and groups, who didn’t want the President to proceed further in his efforts on behalf of the colored people, were outwardly opposed to him. Likewise, J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the F.B.I. detested Dr. Martin Luther King, whom the Kennedys had befriended in 1960, and did everything possible to destroy him.
Ngo Dinh Diem’s wife [Editor’s note: Diem was a bachelor; Lincoln is referring to Madame Nhu, the wife of Diem’s brother/adviser who was also killed.] who at the time of her husband’s [correction: “brother in law’s”] death was traveling all over the United States charging that the President was turning his back on Viet Nam. As soon as she learned that her husband [correction: “brother in law”] had been killed, she lashed out hysterically against the President, calling him a “murderer.” She and her followers were vehement. And that was in November 1963.
There was resentment, to be sure be the terrorist revolutionists in the communist community for the successful handling by the President in standing up against Khrushchev in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Their subversive operations were no doubt disturbed their being outsmarted and their prestige was at stake.
Within many countries where dictators hold sway there are groups or individuals who dislike or hate our form government. They could easily be persuaded to enter into any scheme or plot to do away with a President, even given ample funds to pursue this objective.
The underlying current that ran through all the mob activity was their inability to regain their massive operations in Cuba, after Castro had overthrown the Batista regime. The Mob and extreme right-wing elements, with the assistance of the CIA, together with the Cuban exiles were constantly conspiring to overthrow Castro.
The Eisenhower Administration, and especially Richard Nixon who was a rabid communist hater, went along with the Bay of Pigs plan devised by these same elements, and this plan was passed along to President Kennedy, who approved it. The President, however, when it became apparent that the plan would fail, unless there was American military intervention, called the operation off.
He antagonized the Cuban exiles and the CIA by his refusal to go along with the plan, and the CIA was likewise infuriated when the President said he would like to blow the CIA to pieces because of their mishandling of the plan. The antagonism between various members of the CIA and the President continued throughout his administration.
Thus a linkage grew between the Mob, the CIA and right-wing extremists over what they felt was the President’s moderation toward Castro, his civil rights proposals, his drive for peace and the Kennedys’ crusade against organized crime. Therefore, it is logical to conjecture that these elements could have formed a conspiracy to assassinate the President.
It is understandable why Hoffa and organized crime should dislike the President. Robert Kennedy, the President’s brother, while Chief Counsel for the Senate Rackets Committee and also as Attorney General, and supported by the President, worked hard to rid this country of syndicated crime — a very worthwhile endeavor. Hoffa, head of the Teamsters Union, was indicted (later sent to prison). That brought animosity, not only among the Teamsters Union, but also other organized crime operations, who were fearful that the Kennedys might investigate them. The Attorney General was planning massive attacks on the Mob’s Las Vegas base as late as October 1963. Therefore, if any member of organized crime would desire to make a contract with a hit man to assassinate the President, one of these men would certainly be Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa.
After the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, and there was no military involvement, the President felt that the time was ripe to promote the cause for peace. And because of this desire on the part of the President he expressed his concern over the involvement or the United States military in Viet Nam and said following an off the record meeting on Viet Nam “l am going to phase out the withdrawal of American forces in Viet Nam. I know I’ll be criticized, but I have been criticized before.”
In a report by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and General Maxwell Taylor on October 2, 1963 they stated that it was their objective to terminate the major part of the United States military involvement in Viet Nam by 1965.
Likewise, one of the first questions the President was asked at his Press Conference at 4:00 pm on October 31st was:
“Mr. President, back to the question of troop reductions, … is there any speedup in the withdrawal from Viet Nam intended?”
The President answered:
“Well, as you know, when Secretary McNamara and General Taylor came back they announced that would expect to withdraw a thousand men from South Viet Nam before the end of the year, and there has been reference to that by General Harkins. If we are able to do that, that would be our schedule.”
Two days before the President went to Texas, on November 19, 1963, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara speaking to the New York Economic Club stated that “a major cut in defense spending is in the works.”
All of these actions by the President and his administration inflamed the radical right, and more specifically the Birch Society, whose main purpose to be in existence was their ardent hatred of communism. H. L. Hunt, a Dallas oil multimillionaire, led the attack on the President and had made threatening remarks about him.
As a follow-up on the Birch Society’s dislike of the President handbills were distributed on the streets of Dallas a few days before the President’s visit, which were emblazoned with the words “Wanted for Treason” and underneath was a picture of Kennedy.
But that was not enough, when the President flew into Dallas on November 22nd he was greeted with an ad in the Dallas Morning News. It was a black bordered, full page ad with scurrilous attacks on his policies. This ad was co-sponsored by Nelson Bunker, son of H. L. Hunt, and John Birch Society members.
There were others in Texas who were upset with the remarks of cuts in defense, besides Hunt, and they were the big operators in the armaments industry, and much of that industry was based in Texas. Whenever there is a war or a buildup in our defense, the armaments industry profits tremendously! And so does the oil industry, in that it takes gallons and gallons of oil and gas to operate the military equipment.
The President also had political adversaries, who would stand to gain greatly if something happened to Kennedy.
Richard M. Nixon was, no doubt, very upset when the President defeated him in the Presidential race in 1960. Nixon based his entire political career on communism and therefore it is understandable that he would be in agreement with the plan that was put together by the Cuban exiles and the CIA to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. And then there was that strange alliance between Nixon, the Cuban exile forces and members of the CIA who participated in the Bay of Pigs.
It is strange that many of these CIA members were later involved with Nixon’s break in of the Watergate office of Lawrence O’Brien, and also worked in the Nixon administration in other “dirty tricks” operations.
Clint Murchison, Jr., a Texas oil tycoon was a big contributor of Nixon, as well as one of Lyndon Johnson’s earliest political supporters. Nixon spent November 20-21, 1963 in Dallas in a Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Association meeting, leaving shortly before Kennedy arrived on November 22.
There was no doubt that Lyndon B. Johnson was upset when the President defeated him in the race for the Presidential nomination in 1960. Mr. Johnson, however, was successful in his maneuver to be on the ticket with him as the Vice Presidential nominee, but once he became Vice President he never quite accepted his secondary role.
His fading importance in the Kennedy administration, together with the pending investigation of Bobby Baker’s shady activities, which were sure to involve him, gave him cause for concern. As soon as Baker’s problems began in September 1963 Johnson’s close friend, Abe Fortas, became Baker’s attorney. Fortas was replaced in November 1963 by Edward Bennett Williams, who defended Teamster Jimmy Hoffa.
Johnson, realizing that he might be dropped from the President’s ticket in 1964, left Washington the end of October to go back to his ranch in Texas to await the President’s visit — over three weeks ahead. And many or his associates went with him.
J. Edgar Hoover, the Director or the FBI, who more or less ignored the activities of organized crime before Robert Kennedy became Attorney General was also a good friend of Clint Murchison, Texas oil tycoon. Murchison paid Hoover’s hotel bills when he stayed at the Del Charro Motel in California, which was owned by Murchison. And as has been previously mentioned, Murchison was a backer of Lyndon Johnson and had been involved with Bobby Baker and the Teamsters. And, of course, Hoover was a close friend of Lyndon Johnson.
J. Edgar Hoover, who loathed Robert F. Kennedy as much as he did Dr. Martin Luther King, kept voluminous personal files on John F. Kennedy’s activities, which he used to his own advantage. With the opening of Hoover’s secret files under the Freedom of Information Act it has been shown that rumors, hearsay, trivia and potentially embarrassing information was compiled and saved. However, little attempt was made to check any of this information for accuracy. Lyndon Johnson had access to Hoover’s secret files and many a rumor was started by them through all of this unchecked information.
There is definitely an intertwining of people and factions in much of the opposition and efforts to “stop” or destroy the President.
In the Parkland Hospital in Dallas following Kennedy’s assassination, Mr. Johnson maintained that there had been a conspiracy before he rushed out to get on Air Force One. However, soon after returning to Washington, he hurriedly set the wheels in motion to build a case against Lee Harvey Oswald as being the lone assassin. By executive order on November 29, 1963, he created the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination.
Then months later the Warren Commission, without calling many, many witnesses who might have been helpful, and without the benefit of withheld information by Hoover’s FBI, filed its report confirming that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin.
Not satisfied with the Warren Commission report, after two years of investigation, the House Committee on Assassinations determined that there was conspiracy.
From the catbird seat that I had during my 12 years as John F. Kennedy’s Personal Secretary I would have to say that, in my opinion, President Kennedy’s death, in Dallas, Texas, was a deliberate professional political murder, planned by a group in government who wanted him removed from office.
In remarks intended for delivery to the Texas Democratic State Committee in the Municipal Auditorium in Austin, on November 22, 1963, the President would have said: “So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation’s future is at stake.”
The President did not have the opportunity to run for reelection in 1964. Had he lived there would not have been a Viet Nam war and hopefully there would not have been a lost generation of young people who lost faith in our government.
Reading Evelyn Lincoln's words, with her speaking as the person who was in the "Catbird's Seat", namely the one who saw everything that occurred within the Oval Office and the Cabinet, gives us a unique view of the inner workings of the Kennedy White House.
Regarding her view of the assassination, Mrs. Lincoln refreshingly steps away from the minutiae of the how and the who, and instead discusses the why of the story. She explains in great detail that, during the course of his administration, John F. Kennedy made many powerful enemies. They did not just disagree with JFK, they loathed and despised him. As someone who was himself alive at the time, I saw this firsthand. In 1963, you either loved JFK or hated his guts. This disdain crossed party lines as well. There were Democrats who hated Kennedy, such as Alabama Governor George Wallace, and there were Republicans such as Chief Justice Earl Warren who adored the President. And at the time I myself once got into a fight with a kid in a school lunch line over that "n****r lover Kennedy".
This is a part of the JFK story that I find gets little coverage. Because of the nation's sense of shock and horror over the President's murder, as well as the subsequent "Camelot" mythology, the division and hatred that was sweeping America in 1963 was shoved down the memory hole. It was deliberately kept from public knowledge in order to keep the ugliness of what really happened at bay. It should also be known that Jackie Kennedy had been fascinated with the works of the famous scholar of mythology Dr. Joseph Campbell, and used many of his ideas to bring the near deification of JFK into popular culture.
What Mrs. Lincoln implies is that while there are many suspects who could have committed the act, that it happened at all in such a hostile environment is indictment enough. Actor Donald Sutherland's words as "Mr. X" from the movie "JFK" indeed strike home-"It was in the wind. Like Caesar he is surrounded by enemies, but it has no name, yet everyone in the loop knows."
In other words, JFK's enemies didn't have to plan or do anything. They instead turned their backs and did nothing. Indeed , they may have even had foreknowledge of threats against the President's life, but they did not act to prevent it, for they had everything to lose if Kennedy was reelected, and everything to gain if he was killed.
Once again, to quote "Mr. X"- "So does it really matter who shot from what rooftop? Part of the scenery, right?"
This is one more piece in solving the puzzle. As I stated in my book, "Down the Rathole", I was told by someone who was associated with David Sanchez Morales, that it was green lit by Lyndon Johnson but the Miami office of the CIA planned and executed an American President. The details are laid out in the book and all information that has come forward in the past 10 years points to this conclusion. Open the books on Miami, both personnel and operations and the truth can finally be shown to the American people. It would be a cleansing of past crimes that would lead to a better country. We now have 18 intelligence agencies instead of 3-5. The CIA now openly brags about their operational capabilities? Open the books and reform the entire structure. It might be our only chance.