LBJ: The Mastermind of JFK's Assassination

[Terry Mauro]

Terry, insofar as your confusion about why Johnson could have possibly been behind the assassination, the book will explain it all. Regarding his decision not to run for reelection, it was because he realized that he would probably be defeated and his ego could not handle that possibility, just as it caused him to run a passive and perfunctory campaign for the presidential nomination in 1960. He feared losing in the general election to Nixon, but thought that getting on Kennedy's ticket was the only realistic way he could ever make it into the White House. Which is why he ran a brutal campaign for the vice-presidency, even blackmailing JFK to be nominated. By 1968, he had so mishandled Vietnam that he had virtually no chance of being re-elected.

You really need to read the book to understand the complexity of the plot.

I am not confused about LBJ's involvement in the JFK murder/cover up. I am mystified that anyone would believe such a fairy tale. There is no basis in fact to support such a story.

And I understand the complexity of the plot. I have lived most of my life in the post-JFK era, and I've seen what's been done to this country by the killers of JFK.

[Phil Nelson]

I am not confused about LBJ's involvement in the JFK murder/cover up. I am mystified that anyone would believe such a fairy tale. There is no basis in fact to support such a story.

And I understand the complexity of the plot. I have lived most of my life in the post-JFK era, and I've seen what's been done to this country by the killers of JFK.

This is no fairy tale; its the only believable possibility and it is based upon facts all the way through, as demonstrated by the 1,827 citations to other works. If you can't get past your pre-conclusions, formed before you've read it, it might be best if you not read the book because you need to have an open mind as you read it.

If you should decide to plow through it anyway, you are welcome to challenge it point by point and I will respond to them. I suggest you might want to consider starting by trying to find Lyndon Johnson in the Altgens photo of the motorcade coming down Elm Street. Only two people have reacted to the first shot(s) in that photo, JFK and LBJ. The former is grasping towards his throat; the latter isn't in the photograph. Go figure.

[William Kelly]

This sounds like a vitally important book. As U.S. Marshal Clint Peoples once told me about LBJ, "It is about time that the truth comes out." I certainly plan to purchase your work.

Ranger Peoples is probably the biggest "hero" in my book, as illustrated in this excerpt:

Clearly, Estes's checkered past causes anyone to be skeptical about his general credibility; therefore the veracity of his statements regarding Johnson's involvement is open to debate. Yet one man—a man whose impeccable credentials and highly regarded reputation among Texas law enforcement officials, a man who knew Estes for more than two decades and was responsible for his finally being arraigned—Texas Ranger Captain Clint Peoples, felt that Estes's unique knowledge of Johnson's history of criminal conduct was the key to solving the "crime of the century." Captain Peoples made the judgment that Estes was then a convincing witness who should be listened to; clearly, Peoples considered the man's character at that point in time and felt that it justified giving him an equal measure, at least, of the "benefit of the doubt" so long extended to Lyndon B. Johnson. After working on his own time for many years to break the Wallace murders open, and tie him directly into the Kennedy assassination as well, as he was about to announce his findings, his car was broadsided by a large truck, immediately killing him. According to Madeleine Brown, who had gotten to know him and had furnished information to him regarding Mac Wallace, "His wrists showed marks (that apparently were caused) from handcuffs." Captain Peoples knew too much and was still a threat to certain people and institutions as late as 1992. The statements made by Billie Sol Estes, therefore, are vindicated not by the author but by the estimable Ranger Captain Clint Peoples, whose intimate knowledge of the people and events related to this sorry chapter of American history more than offset any sway of doubt about the veracity of Estes.

Thanks for your support (and purchase). I think you won't be disappointed.

Now that we have a number of researchers and historians who know the Texas details, perhaps these questions can now be answered.

John Simkin has a question on the table that has yet to be addressed, as far as I know.

John wanted to know if LBJ's private secretary Mildred Stegll, who was given responsibity for LBJ's Oval Office tape recordings, is related in any way to the county sheriff Howard Stegall, who investiaged the murder of federal Agriculture agent Henry Marshall.

And I want to know if there's any connection between Jack (Jacob L.) Puterbauch and the Marshall murder investigation. Puterbauch represented the Democratic National Committee in the arrangements for the Dallas motorcade and luncheon site, but he was officially employeed by the Foods Trade Staff of the Department of Agriculture under John Brown. While Puterbauch reported to Brown, he worked closely on the motorcade route with Betty Harris, who worked for Sam Bloom.

When Marshall first started investigating the role of Billy Sol, he was offered a better job in a DC office, and declined. I was wondering if we could identify who pulled that string, and if Puterbauch, reportedly a friend of Freeman, was also involved in that case.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Thanks for your response to this Phil, but it's not enough. If LBJ was involved, then it's a clear cut answer - is Mildred related in any way to Howard Stegall, LBJ's secretary?

It's a clear cut answer, not one that you can hem and hawl about.

And it's a question that we should should have the answer to rather that just speculating about.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

[Guest Robert Morrow]

William Kelly, I would love to know the answers to your questions.

Terry, Lyndon Johnson was a stone cold killer long BEFORE the JFK assassination. He was putting out hits on people while vice president - the murder of Henry Marshall is just one such example in June, 1961.

Read Madeleine Duncan Brown's book and you can find out what Lyndon did to Dale Turner, the black nanny of Madeleine's 2 boys. MAKE HER DISAPPEAR FOREVER the next day after Dale Turner spotted Lyndon and Madeleine in a hotel hallway. LBJ would/could have killed her and thought nothing about it.

Read about all the killings that Billie Sol Estes details: http://home.earthlink.net/~sixthfloor/estes.htm

Mr. Stephen S. Trott

Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division

U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, D. C. 20530

RE: Mr. Billie Sol Estes

Dear Mr. Trott:

My client, Mr. Estes, has authorized me to make this reply to your letter of May 29, 1984. Mr. Estes was a member of a four-member group, headed by Lyndon Johnson, which committed criminal acts in Texas in the 1960's. The other two, besides Mr. Estes and LBJ, were Cliff Carter and Mac Wallace. Mr. Estes is willing to disclose his knowledge concerning the following criminal offenses:

I. Murders

1. The killing of Henry Marshall

2. The killing of George Krutilek

3. The killing of Ike Rogers and his secretary

4. The killing of Harold Orr

5. The killing of Coleman Wade

6. The killing of Josefa Johnson

7. The killing of John Kinser

8. The killing of President J. F. Kennedy.

Mr. Estes is willing to testify that LBJ ordered these killings, and that he transmitted his orders through Cliff Carter to Mac Wallace, who executed the murders. In the cases of murders nos. 1-7, Mr. Estes' knowledge of the precise details concerning the way the murders were executed stems from conversations he had shortly after each event with Cliff Carter and Mac Wallace.

In addition, a short time after Mr. Estes was released from prison in 1971, he met with Cliff Carter and they reminisced about what had occurred in the past, including the murders. During their conversation, Carter orally compiled a list of 17 murders which had been committed, some of which Mr. Estes was unfamiliar. A living witness was present at that meeting and should be willing to testify about it. He is Kyle Brown, recently of Houston and now living in Brady, Texas.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Robert Morrow

[Phil Nelson]

Now that we have a number of researchers and historians who know the Texas details, perhaps these questions can now be answered.

John Simkin has a question on the table that has yet to be addressed, as far as I know.

John wanted to know if LBJ's private secretary Mildred Stegll, who was given responsibity for LBJ's Oval Office tape recordings, is related in any way to the county sheriff Howard Stegall, who investiaged the murder of federal Agriculture agent Henry Marshall.

And I want to know if there's any connection between Jack (Jacob L.) Puterbauch and the Marshall murder investigation. Puterbauch represented the Democratic National Committee in the arrangements for the Dallas motorcade and luncheon site, but he was officially employeed by the Foods Trade Staff of the Department of Agriculture under John Brown. While Puterbauch reported to Brown, he worked closely on the motorcade route with Betty Harris, who worked for Sam Bloom.

When Marshall first started investigating the role of Billy Sol, he was offered a better job in a DC office, and declined. I was wondering if we could identify who pulled that string, and if Puterbauch, reportedly a friend of Freeman, was also involved in that case.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Thanks for your response to this Phil, but it's not enough. If LBJ was involved, then it's a clear cut answer - is Mildred related in any way to Howard Stegall, LBJ's secretary?

It's a clear cut answer, not one that you can hem and hawl about.

And it's a question that we should should have the answer to rather that just speculating about.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Well then excuse me for not having the right answer to the question. Perhaps you didn't pick up on the fact that there was yet another Stegall around the White House, an LBJ aide and, evidently, Mildred's husband; isn't that pertinent? Maybe with that knowledge, the answer to John's original question can be more readily found? So, no, the answer to your question will not be revealed in this book. If you think that the resolution of the entire assassination puzzle turns on that point, then you will be disappointed.

I don't claim that this book answers every conceivable question about who knew whom or who knew what and it certainly won't be the last word on the subject. In fact, it seems that there are plenty of people ready to take pot shots at it even before they've read it, so I'm fully expecting a barrage of criticisms about it as soon as people do. But I expect at least as many will find long hidden answers in it, to the many questions that still remain about what really happened in the years leading up to the assassination as well as the aftermath.

Though the initial publicity about it is focused on the research community, the real objective of the book is to reach the mainstream audience, many of whom haven't read a JFK book in over forty years. Many of those folks will have their interest in the subject reawakened by the premise of the book because they have harbored suspicions about Johnson all of this time but have never read a compelling account which places him at the center of the conspiracy.

[William Kelly]

Now that we have a number of researchers and historians who know the Texas details, perhaps these questions can now be answered.

John Simkin has a question on the table that has yet to be addressed, as far as I know.

John wanted to know if LBJ's private secretary Mildred Stegll, who was given responsibity for LBJ's Oval Office tape recordings, is related in any way to the county sheriff Howard Stegall, who investiaged the murder of federal Agriculture agent Henry Marshall.

And I want to know if there's any connection between Jack (Jacob L.) Puterbauch and the Marshall murder investigation. Puterbauch represented the Democratic National Committee in the arrangements for the Dallas motorcade and luncheon site, but he was officially employeed by the Foods Trade Staff of the Department of Agriculture under John Brown. While Puterbauch reported to Brown, he worked closely on the motorcade route with Betty Harris, who worked for Sam Bloom.

When Marshall first started investigating the role of Billy Sol, he was offered a better job in a DC office, and declined. I was wondering if we could identify who pulled that string, and if Puterbauch, reportedly a friend of Freeman, was also involved in that case.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Thanks for your response to this Phil, but it's not enough. If LBJ was involved, then it's a clear cut answer - is Mildred related in any way to Howard Stegall, LBJ's secretary?

It's a clear cut answer, not one that you can hem and hawl about.

And it's a question that we should should have the answer to rather that just speculating about.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Well then excuse me for not having the right answer to the question. Perhaps you didn't pick up on the fact that there was yet another Stegall around the White House, an LBJ aide and, evidently, Mildred's husband; isn't that pertinent? Maybe with that knowledge, the answer to John's original question can be more readily found? So, no, the answer to your question will not be revealed in this book. If you think that the resolution of the entire assassination puzzle turns on that point, then you will be disappointed.

I don't claim that this book answers every conceivable question about who knew whom or who knew what and it certainly won't be the last word on the subject. In fact, it seems that there are plenty of people ready to take pot shots at it even before they've read it, so I'm fully expecting a barrage of criticisms about it as soon as people do. But I expect at least as many will find long hidden answers in it, to the many questions that still remain about what really happened in the years leading up to the assassination as well as the aftermath.

Though the initial publicity about it is focused on the research community, the real objective of the book is to reach the mainstream audience, many of whom haven't read a JFK book in over forty years. Many of those folks will have their interest in the subject reawakened by the premise of the book because they have harbored suspicions about Johnson all of this time but have never read a compelling account which places him at the center of the conspiracy.

Hey Phil,

I didn't expect the answers to these two questions to be in your book, though i will get a copy and read it and maybe even write a review of it.

I know LBJ is the guy who inherited the throne and then turned it into a toilet.

What do you mean there's another Stegall LBJ aide around the White House?

Can you tell us more?

And If you don't know the answers maybe somebody else does.

If you don't like it being here, I'll start another thread on these questions.

I just thought those who have studied LBJ and the Texas Agricultural scandals would know the answers.

Good luck with your book and I hope it does get a mainstream audience.

Bill Kelly

[William Kelly]

Bill, I don't know what relationship might have existed with the Stegall's. In Caro's last book, he referred to "Glynn Stegall, whose hands would shake as Lyndon Johnson humiliated him in front of this wife." Glynn was one of his aides (practically all of whom were from Texas), so it is likely that Mildred was his wife(?)

Puterbaugh (who I think came from Wisconsin) is probably one of the least researched people around Johnson. I got some info on him from Larry Hancock but I don't know if he had been with Johnson long enough to have been involved in the Henry Marshall investigation. It's unclear how much he might have known in advance, but he was sent to Dallas to help ensure that the Trade Mart would be selected for the luncheon and that the motorcade route was designed to go through downtown on Main Street instead of Elm, and that it would take the fateful zig-zag around Dealey Plaza. He was also on hand at Love Field to do last minute revisions in the vehicle sequence, ensuring that the photographers (and others normally at the head of the motorcade) were repositioned farther back. Strangely, even though he and Cliff Carter were both there operating as a team in preparing for the Dallas visit, they both avoided any reference to the other one in their statements and testimony; it was as if that information was being withheld, something that Johnson's invisible hand would have probably orchestrated.

Sorry I can't offer more help on those particular questions.

Phil

Thanks Phil,

I missed this post earlier.

Glynn Stegall - Mildred Stegalsl, and the Sheriff. That makes three Stegalls.

Are they related? Not necessarily so, but possibly, even probably.

An obit for any of them should tell us.

Thanks,

BK

[Douglas Caddy]

I am not confused about LBJ's involvement in the JFK murder/cover up. I am mystified that anyone would believe such a fairy tale. There is no basis in fact to support such a story.

And I understand the complexity of the plot. I have lived most of my life in the post-JFK era, and I've seen what's been done to this country by the killers of JFK.

This is no fairy tale; its the only believable possibility and it is based upon facts all the way through, as demonstrated by the 1,827 citations to other works. If you can't get past your pre-conclusions, formed before you've read it, it might be best if you not read the book because you need to have an open mind as you read it.

If you should decide to plow through it anyway, you are welcome to challenge it point by point and I will respond to them. I suggest you might want to consider starting by trying to find Lyndon Johnson in the Altgens photo of the motorcade coming down Elm Street. Only two people have reacted to the first shot(s) in that photo, JFK and LBJ. The former is grasping towards his throat; the latter isn't in the photograph. Go figure.

No one knows what another person is thinking. However, in LBJ’s case we may eventually know some of his thoughts – especially those stemming from his guilt complex of being aware of and involved in the planning of the assassination of JFK. Barr McClellan maintains that the key lies in obtaining the records of the psychiatrist whose professional assistance was sought by LBJ after he left the Presidency.

I have always believed that LBJ might have been driven crazy by the mobs of people that gathered daily outside the White House when he was president who shouted in unison, “Hey, hey, LBJ, who you going to kill today?” Of course, these mobs were outraged about LBJ’s decisions that escalated the Vietnam War after Kennedy’s death, which ultimately resulted in over 56,000 Americans being killed in combat. Little did the mobs know that their daily screams of anger were like a thousand daggers hitting LBJ’s heart since he was only too aware that he was sitting in the Oval Office courtesy of his participation in killing the President whom he had served as Vice President.

There were half a dozen major scandals – ranging from Billie Sol Estes to Bobby Baker – that were about to burst open in 1963. Witness the cover of LIFE magazine about LBJ’s criminal activities that was scheduled for publication about the time of the assassination but then suddenly withdrawn when JFK was shot. With JFK dead, LBJ was able, with the help of J. Edgar Hoover and his cronies on Capitol Hill, to derail the investigations into these scandals.

[Terry Mauro]

I am not confused about LBJ's involvement in the JFK murder/cover up. I am mystified that anyone would believe such a fairy tale. There is no basis in fact to support such a story.

And I understand the complexity of the plot. I have lived most of my life in the post-JFK era, and I've seen what's been done to this country by the killers of JFK.

This is no fairy tale; its the only believable possibility and it is based upon facts all the way through, as demonstrated by the 1,827 citations to other works. If you can't get past your pre-conclusions, formed before you've read it, it might be best if you not read the book because you need to have an open mind as you read it.

If you should decide to plow through it anyway, you are welcome to challenge it point by point and I will respond to them. I suggest you might want to consider starting by trying to find Lyndon Johnson in the Altgens photo of the motorcade coming down Elm Street. Only two people have reacted to the first shot(s) in that photo, JFK and LBJ. The former is grasping towards his throat; the latter isn't in the photograph. Go figure.

No one knows what another person is thinking. However, in LBJ’s case we may eventually know some of his thoughts – especially those stemming from his guilt complex of being aware of and involved in the planning of the assassination of JFK. Barr McClellan maintains that the key lies in obtaining the records of the psychiatrist whose professional assistance was sought by LBJ after he left the Presidency.

I have always believed that LBJ might have been driven crazy by the mobs of people that gathered daily outside the White House when he was president who shouted in unison, “Hey, hey, LBJ, who you going to kill today?” Of course, these mobs were outraged about LBJ’s decisions that escalated the Vietnam War after Kennedy’s death, which ultimately resulted in over 56,000 Americans being killed in combat. Little did the mobs know that their daily screams of anger were like a thousand daggers hitting LBJ’s heart since he was only too aware that he was sitting in the Oval Office courtesy of his participation in killing the President whom he had served as Vice President.

There were half a dozen major scandals – ranging from Billie Sol Estes to Bobby Baker – that were about to burst open in 1963. Witness the cover of LIFE magazine about LBJ’s criminal activities that was scheduled for publication about the time of the assassination but then suddenly withdrawn when JFK was shot. With JFK dead, LBJ was able, with the help of J. Edgar Hoover and his cronies on Capitol Hill, to derail the investigations into these scandals.

In my view LBJ acted like a scared man. He thought he would get the JFK treatment if he didnt go along with the program.

I recall one of his daughters speaking to a crowd gathered in Austin TX in 1994(?) for the opening of the LBJ library. She said her father did not have a problem with the student protesters, his real fear came from what she described as "right wing" elements.

LBJ's comments about running a "Murder Inc." gives some insight into his view of the JFK murder.

Ironically the man who helped to start the Vietnam war Mc George Bundy would leave the White House to become President of the Ford Foundation. From his position with the Ford Foundation he would fund "New Left" radical/terrorist groups like the Weatherman, Black Panthers etc. The "New Left", movement that lead the riots and protest of the 1960's was created in part by the same man who launched the war in Vietnam in the first place.

[Terry Mauro]

William Kelly, I would love to know the answers to your questions.

Terry, Lyndon Johnson was a stone cold killer long BEFORE the JFK assassination. He was putting out hits on people while vice president - the murder of Henry Marshall is just one such example in June, 1961.

Read Madeleine Duncan Brown's book and you can find out what Lyndon did to Dale Turner, the black nanny of Madeleine's 2 boys. MAKE HER DISAPPEAR FOREVER the next day after Dale Turner spotted Lyndon and Madeleine in a hotel hallway. LBJ would/could have killed her and thought nothing about it.

Read about all the killings that Billie Sol Estes details: http://home.earthlink.net/~sixthfloor/estes.htm

Mr. Stephen S. Trott

Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division

U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, D. C. 20530

RE: Mr. Billie Sol Estes

Dear Mr. Trott:

My client, Mr. Estes, has authorized me to make this reply to your letter of May 29, 1984. Mr. Estes was a member of a four-member group, headed by Lyndon Johnson, which committed criminal acts in Texas in the 1960's. The other two, besides Mr. Estes and LBJ, were Cliff Carter and Mac Wallace. Mr. Estes is willing to disclose his knowledge concerning the following criminal offenses:

I. Murders

1. The killing of Henry Marshall

2. The killing of George Krutilek

3. The killing of Ike Rogers and his secretary

4. The killing of Harold Orr

5. The killing of Coleman Wade

6. The killing of Josefa Johnson

7. The killing of John Kinser

8. The killing of President J. F. Kennedy.

Mr. Estes is willing to testify that LBJ ordered these killings, and that he transmitted his orders through Cliff Carter to Mac Wallace, who executed the murders. In the cases of murders nos. 1-7, Mr. Estes' knowledge of the precise details concerning the way the murders were executed stems from conversations he had shortly after each event with Cliff Carter and Mac Wallace.

In addition, a short time after Mr. Estes was released from prison in 1971, he met with Cliff Carter and they reminisced about what had occurred in the past, including the murders. During their conversation, Carter orally compiled a list of 17 murders which had been committed, some of which Mr. Estes was unfamiliar. A living witness was present at that meeting and should be willing to testify about it. He is Kyle Brown, recently of Houston and now living in Brady, Texas.

Robert,

What happened as a result of Billie Sol Estes willingness to work with Justice Department to solve all of these murder's ordered by LBJ ?

[Guest Robert Morrow]

William Kelly, I would love to know the answers to your questions.

Terry, Lyndon Johnson was a stone cold killer long BEFORE the JFK assassination. He was putting out hits on people while vice president - the murder of Henry Marshall is just one such example in June, 1961.

Read Madeleine Duncan Brown's book and you can find out what Lyndon did to Dale Turner, the black nanny of Madeleine's 2 boys. MAKE HER DISAPPEAR FOREVER the next day after Dale Turner spotted Lyndon and Madeleine in a hotel hallway. LBJ would/could have killed her and thought nothing about it.

Read about all the killings that Billie Sol Estes details: http://home.earthlink.net/~sixthfloor/estes.htm

Mr. Stephen S. Trott

Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division

U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, D. C. 20530

RE: Mr. Billie Sol Estes

Dear Mr. Trott:

My client, Mr. Estes, has authorized me to make this reply to your letter of May 29, 1984. Mr. Estes was a member of a four-member group, headed by Lyndon Johnson, which committed criminal acts in Texas in the 1960's. The other two, besides Mr. Estes and LBJ, were Cliff Carter and Mac Wallace. Mr. Estes is willing to disclose his knowledge concerning the following criminal offenses:

I. Murders

1. The killing of Henry Marshall

2. The killing of George Krutilek

3. The killing of Ike Rogers and his secretary

4. The killing of Harold Orr

5. The killing of Coleman Wade

6. The killing of Josefa Johnson

7. The killing of John Kinser

8. The killing of President J. F. Kennedy.

Mr. Estes is willing to testify that LBJ ordered these killings, and that he transmitted his orders through Cliff Carter to Mac Wallace, who executed the murders. In the cases of murders nos. 1-7, Mr. Estes' knowledge of the precise details concerning the way the murders were executed stems from conversations he had shortly after each event with Cliff Carter and Mac Wallace.

In addition, a short time after Mr. Estes was released from prison in 1971, he met with Cliff Carter and they reminisced about what had occurred in the past, including the murders. During their conversation, Carter orally compiled a list of 17 murders which had been committed, some of which Mr. Estes was unfamiliar. A living witness was present at that meeting and should be willing to testify about it. He is Kyle Brown, recently of Houston and now living in Brady, Texas.

Robert,

What happened as a result of Billie Sol Estes willingness to work with Justice Department to solve all of these murder's ordered by LBJ ?

Terry, Excellent question. Billie Sol Estes started going public with this stuff in the 1980's - 10 years after LBJ's death - 20 years after most of the killings - at the urging of Texas Ranger Clint Peoples who had been following some of these cases for decades. I think Billie Sol came under intimidation - possiblity from mafia that he knew - and he backed out of helping Justice. I also think that there were people in government who really did not want these crimes solved because it would open a whole can of worms for them as far as THEIR criminal liability. A good example would be George Herbert Walker Bush who was wielding a LOT of power as Vice President in the 1980's - and in MY opinion was involved on the CIA end of the JFK assassination.

Beyond that, the real person to ask is DOUG CADDY who was Billie Sol Estes lawyer at the time and who is ALSO an Education Forum member.

[Phil Nelson]

The following is a copy of a post I just put on the JFK Lancer forum. I'll add in other excerpts in later weeks.

I thought I'd start by offering up a little snippet which illustrates Johnson's cunning and mendacious behavior. This is only one such instance, the book is filled with them, because that was the kind of person he was and it's long past time that people understand that, since most of the early biographies of him were written by people he "commissioned" to put the right spin on them. The result was, that is how he is described, over and over again in those biographies, and even the most current obsequious books (e.g. the Unger's and Randall Woods) on him and his administration. Half of the objective of this book is to dismantle the "conventional wisdom" that he was a man really dedicated to "service" to America. Not true, despite his commendable efforts to push through the very programs that he himself had personally suppressed for three years before (and in some cases, for decades before, including real civil rights initiatives - irrespective of the watered down, toothless carcass of a bill known as the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

As the book shows, Johnson suppressed JFK's legislative efforts and his foreign policy initiatives, and repeatedly sabotaged him through his "back channels" to the military and intelligence agencies. He did so in order to put himself into the position of being able to "change the subject" immediately after the assassination; this would help him establish himself as a man worthy of re-election since he was obviously such an effective and brilliant president.

This was all part of his original plan (which began in 1958-59) to execute a coup de'etat in order to become president, knowing that that was the only way he could possibly do so because of his "southern" base. From the first sentence of the book, strengthened on practically every other page, it is clear that Johnson considered it his destiny to become president and that nothing could get in his way to achieve his childhood dream. He was nothing if not a very skilled and meticulous planner, and this would be his ultimate project.

Read on. . .

Johnson’s World War II “Service”

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Lyndon Johnson decided that his political career required that he get himself into the navy. He went to visit Admiral Chester Nimitz, a Hill Country native, who signed the necessary forms installing him as a lieutenant commander, even though he had no training or experience to justify such a position. He originally wanted to be assigned to a job in Washington but went to undersecretary of the navy James V. Forrestal to get orders to conduct an “inspection tour” of West Coast training programs with his administrative assistant, John Connally, who had enlisted in the Naval Reserve. Johnson’s lack of training was the cause of his failure to salute an admiral. His reflection on this was characteristically self-absorbed: “I did not fully appreciate that my uniform completely concealed my status as a congressman” and “the fact that I looked like any other junior officer and . . . was expected to salute my superiors.” Perhaps Johnson felt that maybe the admiral erred in not saluting him, Congressman Lyndon Johnson.

While serving his country in California, he spent many weeks in Los Angeles, where one of his financial supporters, who was counsel for Paramount Pictures, “arranged things” for Johnson and John Connally to attend screenings and parties and long sessions with a Hollywood photographer and voice coach who helped him improve his speaking style and photography posing skills as dispatches came in describing the fighting going on in such places as the Bataan Peninsula and the Makassar Straits.

Apparently, the contrast between Johnson’s wartime experiences and the battles being waged in faraway places caused his mistress, Alice Glass, to be disillusioned with something in his character. After five months of politicking and partying on the West Coast, he decided that he needed to increase his responsibilities by getting an overseas assignment; his secretaries back in Washington had been telling his constituents that his present location was unknown but that he was en route to the war zone in the Pacific. He was finally dispatched to the Pacific with two other congressmen as “observers,” and General Douglas MacArthur realized that they might be helpful to him in relation to his own political necessities; evidently, Johnson had subjected MacArthur to his famous “treatment” at some point, given the bounty he would bring back to Washington, as we will shortly see.

In early June, he arrived in northern Australia, within what was considered a combat zone. Commander Johnson, like the other observers, accompanied a squadron assigned to bomb an enemy airfield. The mission of June 9 was code-named “Tow Nine,” and it involved eleven Martin B-26A Marauders—fast, twin-engine bombers—of the 22nd Bombardment Group from Port Moresby, New Guinea. Their target was Lae airdrome, an important Japanese installation on New Guinea’s northern coast. Up to this point, the stories of Johnson’s short ride in a Marauder are consistent; from here on, however, two completely different versions emerge. The first is his own, which was subsequently reshaped into an account that interestingly appeared in a 1964 book titled The Mission, by Martin Caidin and Edward Hymoff; its appearance, just as Johnson was preparing his run for the presidency, was certainly timely, and made for interesting conjecture as to whose idea it was to write the account at that time. Caidin was an already established aviation writer, best-known for books on space exploration and WWII in the Pacific; Johnson had doubtlessly heard of his books and apparently “commissioned” him to create another one.

The second version of Johnson’s ride on a Marauder couldn’t have been more completely different than the one conveniently appearing in the 1964 book. But considering that it was the one told by veterans who were actually there, it seems to be the more believable story. The following excerpts of the story of Johnson’s “mission” were taken from the “B-26 Marauder Historical Society’s” Web site:

"The fact is LBJ never got within sight of Japanese forces. His mission, like so much of his life, was a lie . . . The exact origins of the contrived decoration remain unknown. Major General R. K. Sutherland, MacArthur’s chief of staff, made the award in MacArthur’s name on June 18, 1942, just nine days after the alleged episode. The following day Brigadier General W. F. Marquat wrote Johnson, filling LBJ’s request for a signed copy of the citation. In his cover letter, Marquat stated, “Of course, your outstanding bravery in volunteering for a so-called suicide mission in order to get a first-hand view of what our Army fliers go through has been the subject of much favorable comment since your departure. It is indeed a great government we have when members of the Congress take THOSE chances in order to better serve their fellow men in the legislative bodies. You surely earned your decoration and I am so happy about your having received the award.”

"Clearly, the perception of Johnson’s valor as characterized in General Marguat’s letter was not shared by aircrews at the sharp end. Far from the "suicide mission" the general alluded to, 22nd Bomb Group airmen had a far calmer attitude toward Lae. As attested by records and combat veterans, the group lost twice as many aircraft over Rabaul, the naval-air bastion on New Britain, as at Lae. Recalled Colonel Leon G. Lewis, USAF (Ret), who flew with Lieutenant Hayes in Shamrock, "The targets, Lae and Salamaua, were milk runs; on the other hand, Rabaul was a tough mission. We were not aware at the time of Lyndon Johnson’s write-up for the Silver Star; they were scarce for aircrews.

"The decoration remains a sore point with many 22nd Bomb Group veterans. The Hare’s crew chief, retired Master Sergeant W. H. Harrison, said, "As to the strangeness of LBJ’s Silver Star . . . no other crew member aboard 1488 received one." Equally adamant was the Hare’s regular gunner Robert Marshal, who said, "We didn’t know (LBJ) was awarded the Silver Star until the book came out. We didn’t like it. If he got it, then so should everyone else on the mission." In truth, if any decoration was awarded the various observers on the mission, it should have been the Air Medal. Ordinarily presented for five or more missions, it was regarded by aviators as an "I-was-there" award; a means of setting apart those who have performed a combat function. Award of the Silver Star—even had Johnson’s citations been accurate—was an insult to every man who earned the medal. (emphasis added)

The two leading biographers of Johnson commented about his Silver Star, in a report done by CNN titled, The Story of LBJ’s Silver Star, by Jamie McIntyre, CNN military affairs correspondent, and Jim Barnett, CNN Producer:

"Robert Caro:

“The most you can say about Lyndon Johnson and his Silver Star is that it is surely one of the most undeserved Silver Stars in history," Caro said. "Because if you accept everything that he said, he was still in action for no more than 13 minutes and only as an observer. Men who flew many missions, brave men, never got a Silver Star . . . I would say that it's an issue of exaggerations," Caro said." He said that he flew on many missions, not one mission. He said that the crew members, the other members of the Air Force group, were so admiring of him that they called him Raider Johnson. Neither of these things are true.”

"Robert Dallek:

“What I concluded, was that there was an agreement, a deal made between LBJ and Gen. MacArthur. And the deal was Johnson would get this medal, which somebody later said was the least deserved and most talked about medal in American military history. And MacArthur, in return, had a pledge from Johnson that he would lobby FDR to provide greater resources for the southwest Pacific theater. . . It matters that the record is accurate because it speaks volumes about the man, about his character, about his place in history, about judgments that historians make on him," Dallek said. "Is he to be trusted?"

When Johnson returned from his horrible war experience, he initially told others that he really didn’t deserve the medal, even stating that he wouldn’t wear it. He even wrote a letter of formal refusal, stating that “I cannot in good conscience accept the decoration” and had the letter typed, ready for his signature; but the letter was filed away, unsigned and never to be mailed. He even arranged to have the Silver Star presented to himself: in public, several times. He purchased a jeweler’s quality “battle ribbon” emblematic of the Silver Star at a store in Washington and wore it often in public appearances; once at an American Legion post in Fort Worth, he had the commander pin it on him as “a crowd of Legionnaires cheered and Johnson stood before them, head bowed, face somber, hardly able to blink back the tears.” To make sure people recognized it, he would place his left hand on his lapel and pull it forward and back, waving it, as he extolled his own heroic and patriotic, death-defying actions during his twenty-minute airplane ride.

Joe M. Kilgore was a Texan who knew Lyndon Johnson well; during the twenty years he worked for him, he finally realized that Johnson would believe only that which he wanted to believe, often confusing that with what was the truth; in fact he actually believed in many things that were categorically untrue, yet he believed them completely. In some cases—such as his grandfather dying at the Alamo--they were relatively harmless; in others, such as his belief that he, and he alone, knew how to beat back the communists in Vietnam, they were highly destructive. According to Kilgore, after years of patting himself on the back for his gallantry in action, Johnson went from feigning suprise at receiving the Silver Star—and uttered doubts about whether it was deserved—to complaining that it was "only" the Silver Star; he came to believe that he had been short-changed and should have had a higher medal, such as the Medal of Honor . . . “He believed it totally.” This trait of Johnson’s—to become convinced that the lie was the truth, no matter what the facts were—would play itself out over and over throughout his career.

[Guest Robert Morrow]

George Reedy was an INTIMATE Johnson aide since 1951. Especially read his second quote below. Lyndon Johnson was a very mentally sick man, not just a "master manipulator" but a cunning sociopath and serial murderer along the lines of Ted Bundy (charming ... then he kills you).

George Reedy, former press secretary for Lyndon Johnson: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/George_Reedy

George Reedy on Lyndon Johnson:

• "He may have been a son of a bitch, but he was a colossal son of a bitch."

• "Not only did Johnson get somewhat separated from reality, he had a fantastic faculty for disorienting everybody around him as to what reality was."

• "What was it that would send him into those fantastic rages where he could be one of the nastiest, most insufferable, sadistic SOBs that ever lived and a few minutes later really be a big, magnificent and inspiring leader?"

In his book, Lyndon B. Johnson: A Memoir by George Reedy… Reedy is quoted on his book flap as calling LBJ “a bully, a sadist, lout, and egoist.” He describes LBJ as “magnificent, inspiring leader; the other that of an insufferable bastard.”

[Phil Nelson]

George Reedy was an INTIMATE Johnson aide since 1951. Especially read his second quote below. Lyndon Johnson was a very mentally sick man, not just a "master manipulator" but a cunning sociopath and serial murderer along the lines of Ted Bundy (charming ... then he kills you).

George Reedy, former press secretary for Lyndon Johnson: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/George_Reedy

George Reedy on Lyndon Johnson:

• "He may have been a son of a bitch, but he was a colossal son of a bitch."

• "Not only did Johnson get somewhat separated from reality, he had a fantastic faculty for disorienting everybody around him as to what reality was."

• "What was it that would send him into those fantastic rages where he could be one of the nastiest, most insufferable, sadistic SOBs that ever lived and a few minutes later really be a big, magnificent and inspiring leader?"

In his book, Lyndon B. Johnson: A Memoir by George Reedy… Reedy is quoted on his book flap as calling LBJ “a bully, a sadist, lout, and egoist.” He describes LBJ as “magnificent, inspiring leader; the other that of an insufferable bastard.”

Damn, those are great quotes from Reedy; sorry I missed them. But, I did manage to include numerous others which said the same thing :-)

[Phil Nelson]

The following paragraphs come from the last pages of the Introduction; they establish the book's premise that Johnson's motive was stronger than anyone else's:

Of all the possible candidates mentioned variously in hundreds of books and in all the unpublished theories, the logical starting point might be this: Who was the single likeliest person who made the final decision to take “executive action” and brazenly assassinate the thirty-fifth president of the United States? Specifically, who, among the many enemies of JFK, met all of the following criteria:

a. Who had the most to gain?

b. Who had the least to lose?

c. Who had the means to do it?

d. Who had the apparatus in place to subsequently cover it up?

e. Who had 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?

There is really only one person who matches the above criteria so completely: Lyndon Baines Johnson, the thirty-sixth president of the United States, who succeeded his predecessor by the most unique method possible. A defect in the Constitution allows for politicians having craven and criminal character flaws and a sociopathic/egomaniacal personality disorder to rise to positions of enormous power and position themselves to be installed into the office of vice president of the United States. This office has never been one to which an otherwise successful politician has aspired; it had always been there only as second place for an “also ran” candidate, who might aspire to the presidency in a future term. But Johnson knew that at his age, he didn’t have any future terms to wait out, and when he came to the realization that he could not win the presidential nomination in 1960, he aggressively campaigned—even blackmailed JFK, who had already picked Senator Stuart Symington for the position—for the vice presidency.

Johnson was uniquely matched to all the criteria noted above, as the most likely person behind JFK’s assassination. In the first few chapters, it will become clear that he met each criterion set forth in subparts a, b, c, and d below. By the last section of the this book, it will also be clear that subpart “e” also applies, just as clearly and certainly as do the first four:

a. The most to gain.

His lifelong dream—obsession, actually—was to become president of the United States. His resolve to achieve this dream only increased each time he repeated it, and he repeated it often to others; one can only speculate how many more times he repeated it to himself, but it probably became a mantra repeated daily.

b. The least to lose.

Consider the impending indictments, possible prison time, and the permanent loss of his presidential aspirations—which he viewed as his divine and inevitable destiny, as will be seen—in the absence of taking this action. He was facing an enormous choice: either proceed with the plan and go to the White House, or drop the plan and go to prison, running the risk of still more of his previous crimes coming to the attention of the public.

c. The means to do it.

There was no absence of enemies of JFK who would eagerly participate in the objective in their own limited way. Johnson had been a friend to many of them, and their common wish was bound to surface during their social affairs. The conversations he had with his good friend and neighbor of nearly twenty years, J. Edgar Hoover, might have even centered on this plan since the point at which he enlisted Hoover to help force Kennedy to accept him as the vice presidential nominee. His many “back channels” to the highest officials of the Pentagon and the CIA—many of whom were increasingly desirous of replacing JFK as quickly as possible—would provide him access to the key tools he would need to execute the plan and its immediate cover-up.

d. The apparatus in place to cover it up.

Once he was sworn in as president, the entire federal government would be his to run, and all other governmental entities would also be under his control through the basic and natural deference people treat the president of the United States, including individual local officeholders, such as Dallas Police Captain Will Fritz and Henry Wade, the district attorney.

e. The kind of narcissistic/psychotic/sociopathic/mendacious personality capable of rationalizing the action as acceptable and necessary, as a means to the ultimate end, as well as the resolve and determination to see it through.

Only someone whose conduct was unconstrained by his conscience could possibly be implicated in such a heinous act as the murder of the president. Lyndon B. Johnson was such a person. As this book will show, he had engaged in numerous crimes during his political career, including stealing his elections from his college days and even in the inconsequential “Little Congress” through his initial election to the Senate in 1948. Subsequently, we will show that he became involved with mobsters and was paid off by them for protecting their illegal activities; furthermore, his involvement with convicted con man Billie Sol Estes, who implicated Johnson in several murders, will be shown, including the fact that he had his own “hit man,” Malcolm “Mac” Wallace. Johnson had even managed to corrupt the Texas judicial system such that Wallace was given, incredibly, a five-year suspended sentence after being found guilty of first-degree murder. We will also show that two of his aides in the White House, Bill Moyers and Richard Goodwin, became so concerned about his behavior that they independently consulted psychiatrists to discuss those concerns; both of them would resign in due course. Barr McClellan, who knew him and worked for him as an attorney, called him “psychopathic” and said, “He was willing to kill. And he did.” Moreover, he also stated that “his criminal career was capped with the assassination of President Kennedy.”

This book will describe numerous other events and actions involving Johnson throughout his career, from his younger years through his congressional years, then as majority leader of the Senate and vice president and later as president. It will show his dark side as it has never been shown before; his visage will become clearer as a truly loathsome, arrogant, and criminally ruthless man who would stop at nothing to reach his goals. Every time LBJ was slighted by the “best and brightest”—the younger, Ivy League people who called him “Colonel Cornpone” and worse—his resolve to make good on his promise increased. After all his years climbing his way up the ranks of Congress, after all his work to get to where he was as “second in command,” and after having forfeited his treasured, powerful position as the Senate majority leader, the derision of so many people in the administration rankled him beyond words. Notwithstanding the fact that he “detested every minute” as vice president, he was horrified at the prospect of losing it, knowing what was in store for him was the prediction of his own grandmother, who had said since he was a child that he would one day wind up in a penitentiary.