SUBJECT FILE
The Target
History remembers the martyr. The young president cut down in his prime. Camelot ended by an assassin's bullet. The stolen future.
But every intelligence organization keeps files on the men they watch. And the Central Intelligence Agency watched John Fitzgerald Kennedy very carefully—not because he was their enemy, but because he was an outsider who had the presumption to think he could give them orders.
This is that file. Not the hagiography. Not the myth. The assessment.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
SUBJECT ASSESSMENT — DOMESTIC POLITICAL
SUBJECT
KENNEDY, John Fitzgerald
35th President of the United States (1961-1963)
DATE OF BIRTH
29 May 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH
Brookline, Massachusetts
EDUCATION
Choate, Harvard (1940)
STATUS
DECEASED 22 NOV 63
[ OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PORTRAIT ]
JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY
35th President
JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY
35th President
SUBJECT DECEASED
22 NOV 1963
22 NOV 1963
The image America remembers. Young, handsome, vital. What the image concealed: Addison's disease, chronic back pain, daily amphetamine injections. The healthiest-looking sick man in politics.
FAMILY BACKGROUND — THE KENNEDY OPERATION
PRINCIPAL FAMILY CONNECTIONS
KENNEDY, Joseph Patrick Sr.
Father. Financier. Political architect. Irish Catholic striver.
Bootlegger (Prohibition era). Stock manipulator (pre-SEC). Organized crime connections (Costello, Giancana). Nazi sympathizer as Ambassador to UK, 1938-40—rooted less in ideology than in Irish hatred of British Empire. Blackballed from Boston Brahmin social clubs despite wealth. Never accepted by WASP establishment. Architect of sons' political careers as vehicle for family legitimacy.
KENNEDY, Joseph Patrick Jr.
Eldest son. Original political heir. Deceased 1944.
Killed in Operation Aphrodite. Was groomed for presidency. Jack was the backup.
KENNEDY, Robert Francis
Brother. Attorney General 1961-63.
Chief counsel to McCarthy Committee. Later: Aggressive prosecution of organized crime (straining father's old alliances).
The old man never forgot where he came from. East Boston Irish, son of a saloonkeeper, clawing his way up through bootleg liquor and stock manipulation. He hated the British the way only an Irishman can—eight hundred years of the boot will do that. The WASPs at the country clubs blackballed him. The Brahmins tolerated his money but never him. So he decided his sons would have what he couldn't: the appearance of belonging. Choate. Harvard. The right friends. He bought the schools, the newspapers, the politicians. But you can't buy your way into the ownership class. You can only rent access. Joe knew this. Jack never understood it. — CDJ
THE ACCIDENTAL CANDIDATE
Subject was not originally intended for political career. Elder brother Joseph Kennedy Jr. was groomed from childhood for public office—athletic, charismatic, politically aggressive. Subject was the bookish second son, frequently ill, more interested in writing than campaigning.
12 AUG 1944
Joseph Kennedy Jr. killed over English Channel during Operation Aphrodite (experimental drone aircraft mission). Father's political ambitions immediately transferred to surviving son John.
1945-1946
Subject pivoted from journalism career to politics. Father activated network of contacts, financiers, and media allies for Congressional campaign.
He was never supposed to be president. That was Joe Jr.'s inheritance—the crown the old man had been building since Prohibition. Jack was the sickly spare who wrote books and chased women. Then Joe died, and the investment portfolio was adjusted. But here's the thing: Jack believed the myth his father was building. He'd grown up in wealth, gone to the right schools, summered in Hyannis Port. He didn't carry his father's chip because he'd never felt the rejection directly. He thought the money had bought them entry. He thought Choate and Harvard had made him one of them. He didn't understand that certain doors don't open for Irish Catholics, no matter how many elections you buy. The WASPs who ran things—the Dulleses, the Bundys, the Harrimans—they saw him clearly: a bootlegger's son who'd gotten above his station. — CDJ
THE 1960 CAMPAIGN — ACQUISITION METHODS
⚠ OPERATIONAL NOTE — ELECTORAL IRREGULARITIES
West Virginia primary (May 1960): Kennedy campaign distributed substantial cash payments through local political machines. Documented payments to sheriffs, county officials, and precinct captains. Source: FBI surveillance of Kennedy campaign operatives.
MAY 1960
West Virginia primary victory—considered decisive in nomination fight. Campaign expenditures exceeded $2 million in a state where average income was $1,500/year. Father's associate stated: "We bought every sheriff in the state."
NOV 1960
General election: Kennedy defeated Nixon by 112,827 votes nationally. Illinois margin: 8,858 votes. Texas margin: 46,233 votes. Chicago vote totals delivered by Mayor Daley's organization with documented assistance from Sam Giancana's network—per FBI surveillance.
They bought the presidency. Old Joe called in every favor from every thug he'd ever known. Giancana delivered Chicago. The Teamsters delivered the union vote. The newspapers Joe owned or influenced delivered the narrative. Nixon knew. Everyone knew. He didn't contest it because that's not how the game was played. You lost, you waited your turn. But they all knew the price of that victory—and who would eventually come to collect. — CDJ
POLITICAL RECORD — THE COLD WARRIOR
Subject's pre-presidential political record reveals positions significantly divergent from posthumous reputation as liberal reformer.
⚠ DOCUMENTED CONTRADICTION
Subject's reputation as liberal icon contradicts documented Senate record on key issues.
1953-1954
Brother Robert served as assistant counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Subject maintained friendship with McCarthy, visited McCarthy's home socially. Subject was only Democrat not to vote for McCarthy censure in 1954 (claimed hospitalization prevented vote—timing questioned).
1960 CAMPAIGN
Subject attacked Eisenhower administration from the RIGHT on defense policy. Promoted "missile gap" theory (later proven false). Accused administration of weakness on Cuba, promised aggressive action.
APR 1961
Authorized Bay of Pigs invasion. Operation planned under Eisenhower but approved and launched under Kennedy administration. Subject personally signed operational authorization.
1961-1963
Vietnam military advisors: Increased from 900 (Eisenhower) to 16,300 (November 1963). Authorized expansion of covert operations, approved use of napalm and defoliants, signed off on strategic hamlet program.
The liberal martyr voted with McCarthy. The peace president tripled the troops in Vietnam. The Camelot myth erased twenty years of political record—the red-baiting, the saber-rattling, the votes that would have made him indistinguishable from Nixon if he'd lived. Gore Vidal said it best: if Kennedy had survived, he'd be remembered like Lyndon Johnson—a warmonger who killed two hundred thousand Vietnamese. Death was the best thing that happened to his reputation. — CDJ
THE IMAGE OPERATION
Subject's public image was a carefully constructed political product, managed by family apparatus from earliest career.
2 AUG 1943
PT-109 incident. Subject's patrol torpedo boat rammed and sunk by Japanese destroyer. Standard Navy inquiry would have examined command decisions leading to collision. Father's intervention converted incident into heroism narrative. New Yorker article (father's connections), subsequent book, became cornerstone of political biography.
1955-1956
"Profiles in Courage" published. Won Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Primary authorship: Theodore Sorensen. Subject's contribution: outline, editorial direction, name on cover. Pulitzer jury initially rejected book; reversed after intervention by Arthur Krock (NYT columnist, Kennedy family ally).
POST-1963
"Camelot" mythology established through coordination between Jacqueline Kennedy and Theodore White. Mrs. Kennedy specifically requested Life magazine article compare administration to Arthurian legend. Mythology subsequently amplified by Schlesinger, Sorensen memoirs.
They were always better at the story than the substance. Joe Kennedy understood that politics was public relations—he'd made his first fortune in Hollywood. PT-109 was a disaster that became a legend. "Profiles in Courage" was a book he didn't write that won a prize he didn't earn. And Camelot? That was Jackie's masterstroke. One word to one reporter, and history bent. — CDJ
PERSONAL VULNERABILITIES — EXPLOITATION POTENTIAL
⚠ SECURITY ASSESSMENT — COMPARTMENTED
Subject's personal conduct created multiple vectors for intelligence exploitation by foreign services and domestic actors.
MEDICAL VULNERABILITIES:
- Addison's disease (adrenal insufficiency) — managed with cortisone, concealed from public
- Chronic lumbar pain — Dr. Max Jacobson ("Dr. Feelgood") administered amphetamine injections, including during Vienna summit with Khrushchev
- Multiple additional medications: painkillers, anti-anxiety agents, stimulants. White House physician records indicate subject took up to 12 medications daily
RELATIONSHIP VULNERABILITIES:
- Judith Campbell Exner — simultaneous relationship with subject AND Sam Giancana. FBI documented over 70 phone calls between Campbell and White House, 1961-62
- Mary Pinchot Meyer — Georgetown socialite, ex-wife of Cord Meyer (CIA). Relationship ongoing at time of subject's death. Meyer murdered October 1964; diary retrieved by James Angleton (CIA Counterintelligence)
- Ellen Rometsch — East German national, alleged GDR intelligence connection. Deported August 1963 to prevent Senate investigation
- Numerous additional relationships documented by Secret Service, FBI protective surveillance
Every intelligence service in the world knew about the women. The Soviets knew. The Cubans knew. Hoover had files thick enough to sink a battleship. And so did we. A president who sleeps with a mob boss's girlfriend, with the ex-wife of a CIA officer, with a possible East German agent—that's not a security risk. That's an asset waiting to be activated. The only question was who would use the leverage first. — CDJ
THE BREAK WITH THE APPARATUS
Subject's relationship with intelligence and military establishments deteriorated following Bay of Pigs failure.
17-19 APR 1961
Bay of Pigs invasion. Subject refused additional air support. Operation failed. Subject stated privately he wished to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds."
SEPT 1961
Director Dulles, Deputy Director Bissell, Deputy Director Cabell—all removed. First time in Agency history that DCI was terminated by a president.
10 JUN 1963
American University speech. Subject called for end to Cold War, nuclear test ban treaty, peaceful coexistence with Soviet Union. Speech not coordinated with State Department, Pentagon, or National Security Council. Viewed internally as unilateral break with established policy.
11 OCT 1963
NSAM 263 signed. Authorized withdrawal of 1,000 military personnel from Vietnam by end of 1963, complete withdrawal projected by end of 1965. Document classified. Policy reversed within four days of subject's death (NSAM 273, drafted 21 November 1963, signed 26 November 1963).
He was never one of them. He was a useful instrument who forgot his place. The Irish boy thought he could give orders to his betters. Dulles had been toppling governments for United Fruit while Kennedy was still chasing coeds at Harvard. The men who built the invisible government—the Wall Street lawyers, the investment bankers, the old OSS hands—they'd been running American foreign policy since before Jack was born. They served the interests that mattered: the corporations, the banks, the empire. Presidents came and went. The permanent government abided. And this... upstart... this bootlegger's son... thought he could fire Allen Welsh Dulles? Thought he could make peace with the Soviets without permission? Thought the presidency meant he was in charge? The arrogance. The presumption. Four days after Dallas, NSAM 263 was void. That's how long it took to restore proper order. — CDJ
ASSESSMENT
FINAL ASSESSMENT — SUBJECT STATUS AT TIME OF TERMINATION
Subject represented escalating threat to intelligence community operational autonomy. Post-Cuba posture shift indicated willingness to pursue détente without regard for established national security frameworks.
Subject's family connections to organized crime elements created complex operational picture. Same networks used by Agency for Castro elimination planning were connected to subject's father and, through Campbell relationship, to subject himself.
Subject's personal vulnerabilities provided multiple potential exploitation vectors. However, subject's public standing and family resources made conventional leverage approaches inadvisable.
Subject had indicated intention to restructure intelligence community following projected 1964 reelection. Specific plans included: revocation of covert action authority, congressional oversight expansion, potential prosecution of operational personnel for Cuba-related activities.
Assessment: Subject evolved from asset to obstacle. Factional threat to continued institutional operations. See separate file: CONTINGENCY LANCER.
He was his father's son—an outsider who thought money could buy anything, including command of the men who actually owned things. But here is what the Kennedys never understood: the presidency is a service position. You don't run the empire. You front for it. The real decisions are made by the permanent government—the Wall Street lawyers like Dulles, the bankers, the men who sit on the boards of United Fruit and Standard Oil and ITT. They've been running things since long before any Kennedy got off the boat. Presidents come and go. They serve at the pleasure of the interests that matter. Jack forgot this. He thought winning an election made him the boss. He fired Dulles like Dulles was the help. He talked about peace like peace was his decision to make. The WASPs who built the invisible government did not take orders from Irish bootleggers' sons. They never had. They never would. What happened in Dallas wasn't assassination. It was labor discipline. The help got uppity. The help was let go. — CDJ
• • •
This is the man they killed. Not a saint. Not an innocent. An outsider who bought his way to the table and then made the mistake of thinking he owned it. The Dulles file shows you the ownership class. This file shows you the striver who forgot his place. Between them, you have the architecture of November 22nd, 1963.
Dallas wasn't good versus evil. It wasn't even faction versus faction. It was the permanent government reminding everyone how things actually work. Presidents serve. They don't command. And when one forgets that—when a bootlegger's son starts acting like he owns the place—the owners correct the error.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am not unsympathetic to John Kennedy. By the end, he may have been trying to be a better man than his raising allowed. The American University speech was genuine. NSAM 263 was genuine. But the myth of Camelot does no one any favors. Understanding what happened in Dallas requires understanding that Kennedy was never the insider he believed himself to be. He was Irish Catholic new money in a WASP old-money world. His father knew this—Joe Sr. never stopped fighting, never stopped feeling the exclusion. But Jack believed the myth. He thought Choate and Harvard and Hyannis Port had made him one of them. He thought the presidency meant he was in charge. His crime was not betrayal—it was presumption. He gave orders to men who had been running empires while his grandfather was still tending bar in East Boston. The permanent government does not take direction from the help. — CDJ]
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