that
can be known for certain about this tale. All the remaining
details are hazy, confusing, or contested. This is not surprising
since two of the people involved in shaping the story are CIA
counterintelligence chief James Angleton and Ben Bradlee.

Relating to the Kennedy murder, much has been written about the
former (and more will come in Probe). Little has been written
about Bradlee (see the sidebar on page 30).

Bradlee, JFK & Meyer

Bradlee's background, and his need to hide it, are important in
his role with Kennedy and in the origin and evolution of the Mary
Meyer story. Bradlee has always tried to suggest that he had a
fairly normal, middle-class WASP background in Massachusetts. In
fact, in his book Conversations With Kennedy, there is a charming
subtext by Bradlee implying that Kennedy comes from a high social
strata to which Bradlee can't relate. For instance, Bradlee makes
Kennedy out to be a fashion plate, changing shirts two or three
times a day. Bradlee has to remind him that common folk sometimes
wear the same shirt two days in a row. Like he does. When he and
Kennedy are talking about the tax code, they commiserate over
there not being enough tax breaks for middle class people like
Bradlee.

Having swallowed this, I was surprised to learn that Bradlee'