Betrayal At Bethesda: The Intertwined Fates of James Forrestal, Joseph McCarthy, and John F. Kennedy by J.C. Hawkins

Author:J.C. Hawkins [Hawkins, J.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

How McCarthy’s Death Influenced JFK’s Fate

IN 1953, FBI DIRECTOR J. Edgar Hoover alerted Joe McCarthy some CIA officers had past associations with left-wing organizations that were concerning. The CIA’s Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) run by Frank Wisner was referred to as “Wisner’s gang of weirdos” by Hoover.

McCarthy began looking into Wisner’s links with a Romanian princess who was an alleged Soviet agent during World War II. Not long afterward, the Wisconsin senator became suspicious of members of the CIA’s Georgetown clique, soon claiming that the CIA was a “sinkhole of Communists.”

President Eisenhower dispatched Vice President Richard Nixon to handle contact with McCarthy and work to dissuade him from an investigation of Communist infiltration in the CIA. What no doubt was concerning Eisenhower was the knowledge that the CIA’s forerunner organization, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), was heavily infiltrated by Communists during World War II (see appendix A).

Working with his next-door neighbor, former CIA director Walter Bedell Smith, Nixon was able to shift the focus of investigation away from the intelligence community. Smith had been chief of staff for Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower during World War II. He then served as US ambassador to the Soviet Union after the war before taking over as head of the CIA in 1950 and serving until February 1953, when he was succeeded by Allen Dulles.

The ultimate irony here is that among McCarthy’s list of targets were individuals who’ve since been linked by some researchers to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a dear friend of Joe McCarthy and a staunch anticommunist as well.

McCarthy made his first move against the CIA in July 1953 when he focused on William Bundy as a potential security risk. Bundy’s contribution to an Alger Hiss defense fund raised McCarthy’s suspicions. But he erred in selecting a member of the inner circle of Ivy League-educated CIA analysts favored by CIA director Allen Dulles.

Bundy was backed by his prominent Establishment family, which included brother McGeorge Bundy, later to be President Kennedy’s national security advisor.

When McCarthy tried to subpoena Bundy to appear before his subcommittee, Dulles decided to take him on and make the fight public. In a July 9, 1953, speech on the Senate floor, McCarthy denounced Dulles for his “blatant attempt to thwart the authority of the Senate” and demanded that Dulles appear before the subcommittee.

Instead of continuing the public spat, Dulles came to McCarthy’s office for a private meeting to explain his position. Citing the secret and sensitive nature of the CIA’s mission, Dulles asked to be given immunity from congressional investigations.

Early in his investigation, McCarthy zeroed in on Cord Meyer at the CIA after receiving information from the FBI regarding Meyer’s past associations with left-wing organizations.

A decorated marine in World War II who suffered serious injuries during combat, including the loss of his left eye, Meyer left the service with very strong anti-war views.

He cofounded the United World Federalists in 1947 with James Warburg of the Warburg banking dynasty to further the idea of a one world global state.

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