Phillip F. Nelson - LBJ: The Mastermind of the JFK Assassination

This book is dedicated to my wonderful wife, Karen, without whose love, understanding, and patience I would not have been able to complete it.

Copyright 2011, 2013 by Phillip F. Nelson

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011032137

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62087-610-7

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the people who have been immensely helpful to me in the process of completing this book.

Four years before I started to work on this book, I was fortunate to see one of the broadcasts by The History Channel of the video The Guilty Men, which is also referred to as Episode Nine of The Men Who Killed Kennedy . The 2003 broadcasts provoked a knee-jerk reaction amongst those who were still highly invested in the maintenance of the official governmental lies about Lyndon Johnsons faux legacy; these included Jack Valenti, who Lyndon Johnson had placed in Hollywood knowing that he would be in a position to censor future films which did not conform to the official story of how he had come into office, as well as Lady Bird Johnson, former President Jerry Ford and Johnsons high level aide Bill Moyers. Their threats caused The History Channelin an action not unlike the practice of book burningto cancel any further rebroadcasts of this episode, and with it, episodes seven (The Smoking Guns) and eight (The Love Affair) though all three are still available, along with the original six episodes, on internet websites such as Youtube.

It was the broadcast of The Guilty Menwhich I regard as the single best video ever recorded about the JFK assassinationthat reawakened my interest in the crime of the century, leading me to further research on the subject. This video became the proximate causethe original catalystwhich caused my subsequent immersion into the analysis of previously discovered evidence and conclusions presented by the authors of a number of books, as outlined below. I should have previously acknowledged this in earlier editions of the book but neglected to do so; clearly, the video had more influence on the creation of this book than any single book or other resource. So, Kudos to Ed Tatro, Rick Russo, Barr McClellan, Walt Brown, Greg Burnham, Nigel Turner and all others associated with the production of this video! These researchers and authors prompted me to read all of the books listed in the Bibliography and to eventually come into contact with a number of the authors and researchers who created these books and videos.

For the first edition, they included Noel Twyman, Doug Horne, and Larry Hancock, the authors of some of the best, most comprehensive works on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Noels book covered the complexities of this subject more comprehensively than any other author, and Dougs book added even more depth to that body of information. Larrys book, originally published in 2006, contains a wealth of information he had gathered from his review of thousands of documents, White House diaries, telephone logs, and tape recordings. Moreover, Larry assisted me by doing a peer review of an early draft of the manuscript and continued to offer suggestions as further work on the firstand then the secondedition of the book was prepared.

The author of the most important book ever published on the Warren Commission, Gerald McKnight, PhD, was also very supportive to me before and after the first edition of the book was published. Douglas Caddy, the former attorney for Billie Sol Estes who assisted Estes in his attempt to come clean with the Justice Department in 1984, has also been very helpful to me in gaining a better understanding about that incident and the reasons the effort was unsuccessful. Author James H. Fetzer, PhD, has been particularly accomodating in assisting with a number of improvements for this editionincluding the revision to the shot sequence narrative that is arguably the best summary ever written on that pointas well as supporting the book through his book reviews, essays, and his postings on various Internet forums.

Thanks to one of many acts of kindness by researcher Robert P. Morrow, of Austin, Texas, I made contact with other longtime researchers, including Connie Kritzberg, who was a news reporter/editor for the Dallas Times Herald in 1963; her firsthand memories have troubled her ever since that tragic weekend. Connies account of having a news report she wrote on November 22, 1963, surreptitiously co-opted by the FBI has been added to this edition because of its gravity; it was one of the first indications that unseen forces were already at work to manage the outcome of the case and was one more incident among the many which must not be lost in the shuffle as so many of the details become more and more blurred with time.

The many other books listed in the bibliography have all contributed in some way to the development of this book. They represent the most likely aspects which have been combined and distilled into a story which probably could have been proven in court decades ago, if the facts now known had then been available.

Finally, I am very indebted to Tony Lyons, of Skyhorse Publishing, for the opportunity of having the book professionally redone, and David Schwartz, for his valuable work in transforming the original manuscript into a much easier read while simultaneously strengthening the case regarding Johnsons involvement in JFKs assassination. I am also grateful to Yvette Grant in the Skyhorse production department, whose help with numerous corrections and her meticulous eye was much appreciated. The result is a greatly improved book, one that will be much more likely to eventually cause the general public to begin to accept the awful truth of what happened in Dallas nearly fifty years ago.

INTRODUCTION

When you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains,. however improbable, must be the truth.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(A. C. D OYLE S T HE A DVENTURE OF THE B ERYL C ORONET )

I n 1963, I was a recent high school graduate who had begun working at Chicagos OHare Airport to save money for college; like everyone else alive at that time, I was stunned at the assassination of JFK and confused about the character of the new president, Lyndon Johnson. The only thing widely known about him were stories that magazines such as Look, Colliers, Life , and Time had recently printed; the stories were generally discomforting because they seemed to produce more questions than answers about the new president.

While working in the main terminal one day in the summer of 1964, Henry Wade, the Dallas district attorney, and his wife approached the counter to check in for a flight to Traverse City, Michigan; Wades name had often appeared in news accounts coming from Dallas. They both looked bored and tired after their flight from Dallas but immediately responded when I asked, Are you the Henry Wade of Dallas? Mrs. Wade was the first to respond with a smile and an excited Yes! Henry also managed a little smile, and nodded; there was at least a streak of shyness about him, which came as a surprise for some reason. Apparently, no one else had recognized them, and neither would I have if I hadnt seen their tickets. This was before the Warren Report was published, and I resisted the urge to ask Mr. Wade any questions regarding his most important, if fleeting, case; I merely stated my hope that their work (by their , meaning everyone involved in the investigation and adjudication) would soon resolve the confusion and distress that continued to afflict the country. He said thanks, and left with Mrs. Wade to board the airplane.