Was The CIA Behind JFK's Assassination? - Annie Jacobsen’s Shocking Story

Duration: 9:12 1425 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

The podcast explores the enduring mystery surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, specifically examining whether it was an act of strategic deception by intelligence agencies or a genuine tragedy with deeper implications. The discussion highlights Robert F. Kennedy's persistent assertion that his uncle and father were killed by the CIA, noting how such claims often lead to speculation about nation-state involvement rather than lone actors. While acknowledging that some theories might seem unbelievable years later, similar to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) cases where information is withheld for decades, the speaker leans toward a theory involving Cuba and potential payback from a foreign power. This perspective suggests that if records were released revealing such involvement, it would likely trigger nuclear war or other catastrophic consequences, which explains why certain truths remain obscured even after many years. A central anecdote involves Dr. Bud Wheelan, described as the first director of the Directorate of Science and Technology at the CIA and a brilliant figure who built the Corona satellite program before becoming associated with Area 51. During an interview arranged by pilots from the A-12 Oxcart program, Wheelan was initially friendly but explicitly forbade Annie Jacobsen from asking questions regarding JFK's assassination or related topics. He warned that she could fact-check his work until publication, but once her book came out, they would never speak again—a statement he framed as a standard professional code rather than a threat. This interaction left a profound impression on the speaker, who felt Wheelan was protecting sensitive information about missile technology and national security matters that were too dangerous to disclose publicly at the time. The narrative takes a chilling turn when Dr. Wheelan unexpectedly calls Jacobsen from his home phone shortly after her book's publication, seemingly intending to share secrets before passing away just weeks later. However, upon returning the call, she is informed by a young woman on the other end that he never called and has since died, confirming that the opportunity to learn the truth was lost forever. This event reinforces Jacobsen's husband's earlier observation that certain knowledge about JFK's death should have remained unknown to her. The story underscores the lengths taken by intelligence professionals to maintain secrecy, illustrated further by a separate incident where Wheelan lent his private plane to a neighbor only for it to explode days later—a tragic accident he attributed simply to poor judgment rather than any conspiracy involving Kennedy. Further investigation into CIA lore reveals that immediately after JFK's assassination in 1963, Director Allen Dulles and the five top directors of different directorates were summoned to a basement meeting where they reportedly emerged white-faced, suggesting they had been informed about something grave regarding the event. Although Jacobsen could not directly ask Wheelan for confirmation due to his earlier restrictions, other sources suggested that such classified records exist because revealing them would be too dangerous for civilization itself. The consensus among hundreds of CIA employees interviewed was a lack of evidence pointing to an internal assassination plot by the agency itself, contrasting sharply with RFK's public stance and highlighting the tension between official narratives and historical speculation involving nation-states like Cuba or Russia. Ultimately, the discussion concludes that while some theories may seem crazy without proof, the potential for nuclear escalation makes it plausible that certain truths about JFK's death are intentionally kept hidden to prevent global catastrophe.

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Where do you think things get back to the truth? So, if when you look at UFOs, you see strategic deception, what do you think when you look at something like JFK? You've got RFK who's saying, "I'm telling you right now the CIA killed my" I think he says both uh his uncle and his father. Um but certainly his uncle. Do you go strategic deception, they're dragging this out to keep people guessing, but really this is going to end up being innocuous, or do you go, "Yeah, that actually makes sense." I That might fall into the just don't make me do it category. Like, you know, I I think it's RFK Jr.'s opinions about that are very interesting. That's his father and his uncle. That's very interesting to me. I don't put a judgment on that. Uh it's really more I'm more trying to get at the the facts. So, So, I have no reason to think that's true. Again, that's the kind of like the the UAP you think they don't reveal? Like, so many years later. Of course it is totally crazy, but my feeling is and I'm going to tell you an interesting story about JFK in a minute. Um my feeling is that and this is pure speculation is that whatever the answer is, and my eye goes toward Cuba. It's too I mean, killing a United States president. Whoever did it. There's going to be some payback in Let's just say the facts came out. And it was a nation-state. There would be payback involved. How could there not be? How could a president reveal that and not be asked to And now you have Let's point right there at that book, nuclear war. That would be my speculation. But here You want an interesting anecdote about the JFK. Always. Okay. So, Dr. Bud Wheelan was incredibly interesting for me to interview, the mayor of Area 51. That was his terminology for himself. The first director of the Directorate of Science and Technology at CIA. Incredibly brilliant person. Didn't give interviews to a lot of people. Had given some, but definitely had not spoken about Area 51 before. He agreed to talk to me because I was interviewing a number of the A-12 Oxacart pilots who said, "You got to talk to Annie." So, he let me come up to his ranch in Santa Barbara and interview him for a number of hours. The minder in between us, cuz there's always kind of a liaison between you and someone in the agency, not always, but often, and certainly at his level, said to me, "By the way, you may not ask any questions about JFK." Interesting. So, of course, I'm like, "What do you mean?" Like I I mean, but I you know, I was reporting Area 51. I really wanted him to talk to me on the record about Area 51. My answer was, "Of course." I didn't ask, but it was in the back of my mind. It was in the back of my mind. Never asked. Wheelan said a really interesting thing to me at the conclusion of our interviews. He said, and he was so patient with me. I mean, he even had the drawing papers out. He was explaining to me how missile technology worked. He was just like so many of those people, he was so incredibly gifted, such a such a consummate professional. Remember, he's he built the first satellite program called Corona for the United States. Like, he was a a bunch of firsts. I thank him in the end of the book here and list some of the things he did. And he said to me, when the interview was closing, "Okay, so, by the way, until your book publishes, whatever you need, fact checking, you want to double-check a quote, you want photographs, you want, I'm happy to oblige. But the day your book publishes, we will never speak again. Which is such a CIA s- interesting sort of like Mhm. Wow, that's like must be some kind of code and it just was a it sticks with me cuz it was so shock- it was such a shocking thing to say and it was so interesting. And sure enough, you know, no contact from Dr. Bud Wheelon. Flash forward maybe one or two or three years later. I'm in my house and I say to my husband, "Honey, have you seen my cell phone? Like where is it? It's usually in my back pocket or something." And he said, "Oh, yeah, it rang. It's right over there." And I pick it up and it says missed call. Dr. Bud Wheelon. He called me. I said, "Kevin, oh my god, what?" He's going to tell me about JFK. That's all I can think of, right? And I said, "What do I do?" And Kevin said, "Call him back." And I was like I was like I'm nervous. I got to pre- He said, "No, just pick up just call him back. He called just a few minutes ago." So I stepped out onto the balcony and I'll just never forget that moment because I'm like looking out over downtown Los Angeles from my balcony going, "I'm about to learn the secret of JFK of JFK's assassination. He's having like a near deathbed, you know, moment. He's decided to tell someone and it's me." I hit redial. A woman answers the phone, young. I mumble my name. "This is Annie Jacobsen." She goes, "Yes, Annie." And I said, "Um Dr. Wheelon just called me and I'm returning his call." And she said, "No, he didn't." And hung up. Whoa. And that was it. Whoa. And he died just a few weeks later. Really? That give me the chills. And my husband said to me, "You were not supposed to know who killed JFK." I'm so crestfallen. You didn't answer that call when it came in, Annie. have been. Okay, so here's another one. Really, and I my husband is right because there there is a story about about Wheelon that I did ask him. Which of cuz of course when I learned back back up when I learned like don't ask him about you cannot ask me about it JFK. Of course I had to like Google, you know, or rather read in books like what is what does he know? And what I learned was that when JFK was assassinated Dulles Allen Dulles took the five top directors of the different directorates of the CIA down into the basement for several hours. Several hours immediately after JFK was assassinated. And the story goes that they all came up white-faced. So that whatever really happened, those five people were told. That's the that's one story. And another story I learned from asking around different agency people, you know, I can't ask him about JFK, but why do you think that is? And another one told me a story. They said, you know, Wheelon in the '70s, I think it was, had a private plane that he used to fly around in a lot. And one day he lent his plane to his neighbor and the plane blew up. Whoa. And I asked him that during our interviews. I said, "Why do you think that plane blew up?" And he said, "You shouldn't lend your plane to your neighbor." And that's it. No follow-up question there. Mhm. Cuz the follow-up question would have been, "Was it linked to JFK?" So, you know, I mean, we're we're talk we're talking about all of this with levity, but it's a very serious issue. That's the only reason why I can think that those records are still classified is because it's too dangerous. And I would think that has to do with a nation-state. I mean, I have interviewed literally hundreds of people that have worked for the CIA, and none of them ever have given me an indication that it was an inside that the CIA assassinated JFK. That's certainly what Robert F. Kennedy makes public that he thinks. But, you know, what do I know? And the real question is is what does he know? If you like this conversation, check out this episode to learn more. Nuclear war is the only event other than an asteroid strike that could end civilization. If you believe your enemy is vicious and wants to kill you, you're going to create programs