In tapes recorded by the former First Lady Jackie Kennedy just months after the death of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, she revealed her suspicions that President Lyndon B. Johnson was behind the assassination.
Recordings Locked Away
The tapes were recorded by famed historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and had been stored in a sealed vault at the Kennedy Library in Boston. Jackie had originally requested that they remain secret for 50 years after her death. However, just years after her mother died from cancer, Caroline Kennedy decided to release the tapes early.
An agreement was made with the ABC network to air the tapes after they decided to cancel a drama series that was based on the Kennedys. The content of the series had reportedly upset members of the family.
Executives at ABC had confirmed that revelations made by Jackie in the tapes were “explosive.” Kennedy allegedly claimed that the Dallas assassination was a part of a conspiracy to hand Lydon B. Johnson the presidency. According to her, LBJ and a group of Texas tycoons arranged the assassination to be done by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Johnson, who was born in Texas, would go on to finish the rest of JFK’s term and win the next presidential election as well.
JFK Worried Johnson Might Become President
Jackie also says that her husband was “worried for the country” about the idea that LBJ might try to run for president after Kennedy’s time was up. He apparently believed that LBJ wasn’t fit to be president, according to the former First Lady:
“…I know Jack said it to me sometimes. He said, ‘Oh, God, can you ever imagine what would happen to the country if Lyndon was president?'”
Watch the video below to see a glimpse at the content of some of these tapes.
Featured image credit: photograph by Tony Frissell via Flickr/cc-2.0.
