Episode 125 · The GaS Digital / Ray Kump Era
Dead President with Russ Baker
with Russ Baker
Dec 7, 2018 · 1:27:52 · 25 segments, 189 moments indexed
- 1 min
Tim opens the special edition, welcomes returning guest Russ Baker, author of Family of Secrets, and pitches the book as a great holiday gift.
2moments
- 0:15Tim welcomes the audience to the show's special edition
- 0:35Russ Baker, author of Family of Secrets, is introduced as a returning favorite
- 3 min
Tim continues promoting Family of Secrets and the journalism site whowhatwhy.org, praising its independence and urging listeners to donate, before setting up the interview topic.
8moments
- 0:48Tim recommends giving Family of Secrets to the know-it-all relative who won't shut up about politics.
- 1:02The book is paradigm-shifting regardless of your ideology, according to Tim's assessment.
- 1:26What makes it work: the book stays absent of ideology while covering JFK, Watergate, and the Bush family's hidden history over fifty years.
- 1:59Russ Baker broke the story about Bush potentially going AWOL from the Texas Air National Guard—the incident that got Dan Rather pulled from air.
- 2:22Tim prefers physical books for nightstand reading but the book is available on Kindle and Audible for lazy listeners.
- 2:41WhoWhatWhy.org is Tim's recommended source for independent journalism without a predetermined agenda.
- 3:06Most sites jumping to conclusions lack real money in sober-minded, rational journalism—but outlets like WhoWhatWhy matter if democracy is to survive it.
- 3:29Tim urges comedians and listeners to donate to WhoWhatWhy because independent journalism affects everyone.
Family of Secretswhoswhothere.orgGeorge W. BushBush familyDan RatherJohn F. KennedyWatergateRuss
- 3 min
Russ Baker discusses the Bush family lineage going back generations, including ancestors hanged as witches or made to walk the plank, and Tim and Ray react to the news of George H.W. Bush's death, joking about his infamous vomiting incident in Japan.
10moments
- 4:04Tim asks how far back Russ traced the Bush lineage and when they started to distinguish themselves among political dynasties.
- 4:32Russ explains his book is being published during George H.W. Bush's death and memorial, drawing criticism for revealing unflattering material.
- 4:49Russ mentions posting excerpts from the book on whowhywhy.org and getting traffic from people interested in critical coverage.
- 5:13Tim argues there's never a bad time for the truth and questions why we treat former presidents like a monarchy when the country was founded rejecting that idea.
- 5:34Question of whether presidents deserve the same reverent treatment as the British monarchy and where that tradition even originated.
- 6:05Tim notes he forgot to mention George Bush had actually died.
- 6:16Russ reveals Bush was 94 years old and had outlasted many people he wronged.
- 6:27Tim observes the media is very sentimental about Bush, despite him having no real disgrace except the vomiting incident in Japan.
- 6:39Bush threw up on the Japanese prime minister, which was so sensitive they had to avoid showing similar footage for the rest of his presidency.
- 6:56Tim jokes that throwing up on someone was essentially Bush's Watergate—his biggest scandal.
George H. W. BushBush dynastyGeorge W. BushAdams family
- 3 min
Baker explains the media's reluctance to criticize dead presidents and details the fabricated incubator story used to justify the first Gulf War, comparing the media's kid-glove treatment of Bush to how they'd treat Obama.
5moments
- 7:57First Iraq War incubator lie: the fake testimony that drove American support for the invasion
- 8:37The supposed nurse was actually a Kuwaiti princess paid to fabricate the story about soldiers throwing babies from incubators
- 8:48Tim notes Obama would never have survived politically if caught orchestrating such propaganda
- 9:05The question of where these operatives and families actually come from—their deeper history and origins
- 9:38His ancestors included someone forced to walk the plank by pirates and someone burned at the stake as a witch
- 4 min
Baker traces the Bush family's rise through ministers to the wealthy, into Brown Brothers Harriman and the Harriman railroad fortune, and Prescott Bush's partnership in the powerful, secretive investment bank.
8moments
- 10:12Bush family called "old money" but wealth only began in the 19th century, tracing back to Rochester, New York connections.
- 10:38One of Tim's great-great-great grandfathers was a founder of Skull and Bones at Yale.
- 11:13Reverend James Bush ministered to very wealthy congregations, establishing the family pattern of serving the wealthy.
- 11:49Reverend James Bush flipped out, abandoned his ministry, and became a Quaker—a latter-day hippie.
- 12:10Samuel Bush rebelled against his hippie father by going deeply into the system and business.
- 12:39Prescott Bush connected with the Harriman family, most known for Union Pacific Railroad and massive finance wealth.
- 12:56Brown Brothers Harriman is the oldest investment bank in the country, private and historically very secretive.
- 13:09Prescott Bush became a partner in Brown Brothers Harriman.
Brown Brothers HarrimanGeorge H. W. BushSkull and BonesHarriman familyPrescott BushReverend James BushRockefeller familyUnion Pacific Railroad+1 more
- 4 min
Baker explains how Brown Brothers Harriman used Marines to protect banana plantation interests, then details the OSS's evolution into the CIA, Allen Dulles's law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, and their prewar business dealings with wealthy Germans who funded Hitler.
7moments
- 14:06When a country's political situation became unfavorable to U.S. business interests, the CIA got the military involved—Guatemala and banana plantations as examples.
- 14:17Tim points out this shocks people but happens all the time, citing U.S. military bases in 120-130 countries.
- 15:14Guest explains that peacetime intelligence gathering historically involved Americans abroad reporting to the State Department, unlike the OSS in World War II.
- 16:07Allen Dulles, longest-running CIA director, was a very close friend of Prescott Bush—George H.W. Bush's father.
- 16:32Tim asks what bonds guys like Dulles and Bush—certain understanding of how the country should work, or financial interests?
- 17:20After World War I, Sullivan and Cromwell handled major munitions manufacturers and owners of coal and mineral mines in Silesia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
- 17:41These same wealthy German and corporate interests funded Hitler, and the story gets complicated from there.
Alan DullesCIAPrescott BushSullivan and CromwellWoodrow WilsonOSSAdolf HitlerVersailles+2 more
- 4 min
Baker describes how Prescott Bush and the Dulles brothers helped German industrialists move money out of the country via shell companies, the McCormack-Dickstein investigation, and the alleged Wall Street plot to have General Smedley Butler lead a coup against FDR.
8moments
- 17:56German bankers supported Hitler because he was pro-business, then tried to move their money out through shell companies and banks in the Netherlands.
- 18:54Prescott Bush and the Dallis family helped Nazi-backed German industrialists get their money out of the country.
- 19:16Congress investigated through the McCormack-Dickstein Committee, shut down the operations, issued fines, but nobody went to jail.
- 19:57Wall Street elements like DuPont and major banks decided FDR was too radical and approached General Smedley Butler to march on Washington.
- 20:28No direct proof that Prescott Bush and Allen Dulles were involved in the anti-FDR plot, but they belonged to the same exclusive social circles.
- 20:52Allen Dulles sat on the board of the National Presbyterian Church, Prescott Bush on the National Episcopal Church, Rockefellers on the Baptist Church board.
- 21:12Jews were culturally excluded from these circles despite Jewish financiers like Otto Kahn being respected in business dealings.
- 21:33Elite secret societies like Skull & Bones at Ivy League schools serve as networks where members pledge lifetime loyalty and keep secrets for career advancement.
Prescott BushAdolf HitlerAllen DullesFranklin RooseveltSkull & BonesRockefellersSmedley ButlerOtto Kahn
- 4 min
They discuss the exclusivity and purpose of Skull & Bones, JFK's warnings about secret loyalties in government, and how this social class became the recruiting ground for CIA covert operations, culminating in the fact both Bush and Kerry were members.
8moments
- 22:01Skull and Bones membership is surprisingly small — around 14 people per year — and now includes women and minorities.
- 22:25Tim interviewed a young woman intern who had been in Skull and Bones.
- 22:45The real danger isn't that everyone in secret societies is sinister, but that members pledge to keep secrets while holding public office.
- 23:13Secret societies like Skull and Bones became key recruiting grounds for the CIA's covert operations apparatus after World War II.
- 24:05In the 2004 election, both George W. Bush and John Kerry — the two major candidates — had been in Skull and Bones.
- 24:20When asked about Skull and Bones, Kerry refused to discuss it, saying it was secret.
- 24:44These secret societies enforce class cohesion among the ruling elite, creating a shared mentality that their rule benefits everyone.
- 25:11The CIA's covert operations people conducted incredibly ruthless activities that Congress and often presidents themselves never knew about.
George H. W. BushGeorge W. BushJohn F. KennedyJohn KerrySkull & BonesHarry Truman
- 4 min
Baker frames the Bush family as servants to concentrated wealth rather than the wealthiest themselves, and connects modern hostility toward Trump from establishment Republicans to this old elite network, while noting policy continuity across administrations.
7moments
- 25:54Bush and his father needed buy-in from the super rich for their agenda, and super-wealthy interests often came to them directly.
- 27:11Trump's attacks on traditional Republicans like the Bush family, especially Jeb Bush in debates, generated significant animosity.
- 27:36The 'deep state against Trump' narrative is misunderstood; it's really about traditional Republican and media opposition to him.
- 27:50The media lionizes George H.W. Bush as a contrast to Trump, despite his actual record being nothing admirable.
- 28:18Bush and Trump had very different demeanor and diplomacy styles, but their actual policies and beneficiaries were remarkably similar.
- 28:30Whether a president acts one way or another, the same outcomes occur: tax breaks go to the rich and resource-grabbing continues worldwide.
- 28:45Tariffs under Trump represent a shift from recent precedent, though protectionism has been part of Republican presidencies since Reagan and Nixon.
Donald TrumpGeorge H. W. BushJeb BushBush familyJeff BezosWorld Economic ForumBill GatesNixon+3 more
- 6 min
Baker explains how George H.W. Bush, despite no intelligence background on paper, was installed as CIA director right after the Church Committee's revelations, positioning him as a supposed reformer while actually being deeply embedded in the agency.
10moments
- 29:24George H.W. Bush was installed as CIA director for just one year, right after the agency's Family Jewels scandal and William Colby's confession.
- 30:04The CIA presented Bush as a clean break—a man with no intelligence background who would reform the agency, but this turned out to be completely false.
- 30:27Bush was actually a deep cover CIA asset, which the public never understood the way they understood Putin's KGB background.
- 31:21The guest started by wondering how George W. Bush ever became president and got re-elected, which led him to investigate his father.
- 32:07When asking people how H.W. became president, they said his father was president; when asking how his father became president, they traced it back through vice president to CIA director.
- 32:43H.W. Bush is the only CIA director in American history to become vice president or president—a unique anomaly.
- 32:59Bush was made CIA director at the moment of maximum peril, when the agency faced congressional investigation and proposals to shut it down entirely.
- 33:46A Nixon tape reveals Kissinger calling Bush "a complete idiot" when Nixon proposed sending him to China as ambassador.
- 34:11The guest discovered a hidden relationship between the Bush family and elements controlling banks, and between these networks and the start of Nixon's political career.
- 34:47Bush was their trusted guy installed to manage a crucial cover-up during the CIA's existential crisis in the mid-1970s.
George H. W. BushGeorge W. BushRichard NixonHenry KissingerWilliam ColbyDonald Trump JrIvanka Trump
- 2 min
Baker walks through his research process discovering the chain of Nixon-era relationships and Prescott Bush's intelligence-community ties that explain why George H.W. Bush was chosen to lead the CIA at that critical moment.
7moments
- 35:13Tim found evidence in Bush's presidential library papers from Zapata Offshore, the company that piqued his interest.
- 35:27Prescott Bush, the father, essentially oversaw Senate intelligence operations and was close to Allen Dulles.
- 35:43Young George H.W. Bush wasn't just in the Navy during World War II—he was in Naval Intelligence.
- 36:00Zapata Offshore made no money despite operating in landlocked countries with no oil reserves.
- 36:19The Washington Post owner and owners of major sports teams all invested in the unprofitable company, arranged through Prescott Bush.
- 36:39George H.W. Bush traveled the world meeting with people who turned out to be intelligence operatives, not oil businessmen.
- 36:57A memo identified him as "Mr. George Bush of the CIA."
George H. W. BushPrescott BushZapata OffshoreAllen DullesSkull and BonesFamily of Secrets
- 3 min
Baker details how Bush's oil company Zapata Offshore never made money yet was funded by powerful figures and operated in landlocked countries, and reveals the declassified FBI document referencing 'Mr. George Bush of the CIA' during Kennedy assassination briefings.
6moments
- 37:06A Variety writer randomly discovers a declassified FBI document about JFK's assassination that mentions 'Mr. George Bush of the CIA.'
- 37:50George H.W. Bush was Vice President and running for president when this document surfaced.
- 38:29The CIA issues a rare public denial claiming it was another George Bush, which itself signals the stakes were extremely high.
- 39:04The researcher finds the other George Bush — not a prominent figure, but a low-level government worker.
- 39:28This other George Bush claims he was recruited by the CIA in 1960, then left a few months after the Kennedy assassination memo was produced.
- 40:02The low-level George Bush says he was like an intern working in records when he was involved in briefings about the Kennedy assassination.
George H. W. BushCIAJohn F. KennedyFamily of SecretsJFK Records Act of 1991
- 3 min
Baker explains his theory of 'doubling'—using identically named decoys to create plausible deniability—illustrated by the CIA producing a low-level janitor-esque 'other George Bush' to explain away the incriminating memo, and the similar John Crichton mix-up.
7moments
- 40:31Tim explains the "doubling" trick: doing two of everything to create plausible confusion and deniability.
- 41:01The John Crichton case: a military intelligence figure tied to Kennedy assassination and Bush also has a different John Crichton at the White House, allowing reporters to dismiss the connection as a mistake.
- 41:42Young George H.W. Bush was traumatized after being chastised for putting reconnaissance details on paper, making him obsessively secretive for life.
- 42:19Bush operated in the shadows his entire career, remaining silent in meetings even during major events like Iran-Contra.
- 42:41The Bush family is never in the center of the photo but always in the background whenever history is being made—by design.
- 43:01Bush Sr. was involved in alleged U.S. attempts to assassinate Zhou Enlai in Hong Kong, including poisoning his rice bowl.
- 43:18Intelligence operatives need deniability and cover; everything about them has to be a lie to be effective in covert operations.
George H. W. BushJohn CrichtonZhou EnlaiKennedy assassination
- 5 min
Baker recounts how a young Bush was harshly disciplined for indiscretion during his naval intelligence days, arguing this trauma explains his lifelong obsessive secrecy and his pattern of never being at the center of any historical photo.
8moments
- 43:56Why the Bush family pushed so hard to get into politics and the Oval Office across generations
- 44:23Reagan could not stand George H.W. Bush, yet made him vice president
- 45:09The Bush family lobbied Nixon in the 1960s to make Poppy Bush—a freshman congressman with no experience—vice president
- 45:38Nixon received a massive lobbying campaign from corporate figures to install Bush as VP, but refused
- 46:13Prescott Bush discovered to be involved in creating Richard Nixon in the 1940s to defeat Jerry Voorhees, a Democratic congressman threatening Wall Street
- 47:02The Los Angeles Times created Richard Nixon's political career through positive press coverage while Prescott Bush was doing business with the paper's owners
- 47:27In 1968, the Bush family pushed Nixon to take Bush as VP again, but Nixon chose Spiro Agnew instead as assassination insurance
- 48:01Nixon selected Agnew as VP knowing about his corruption, laziness, and stupidity—calculating protection against assassination
Prescott BushRichard NixonDon RicklesSpiro AgnewLos Angeles TimesGeorge H. W. BushJerry VoorheesRonald Reagan+1 more
- 5 min
Baker describes the infamous interview where Bush could not remember his own whereabouts on November 22, 1963, and how liberal audiences react angrily to this line of inquiry, building on Kitty Kelly's original discovery.
6moments
- 48:25Bush was in the CIA while believed to be a private citizen, then claims he can't remember where he was during the JFK assassination.
- 49:17Tim notes everyone remembers exactly where they were during major historical events like JFK's assassination, but Bush couldn't recall his location.
- 49:38The guest explains why liberals especially get angry about this topic—they prefer to believe America is fundamentally good rather than capable of domestic assassination conspiracies.
- 50:53Kitty Kelly, a bestselling biographer, first reported that Bush had been interviewed and said he couldn't remember where he was on the day Kennedy was shot.
- 51:45Bush was asked casually by a foreign television crew during a softball interview about where he was when Kennedy was assassinated.
- 52:17Tim describes how Bush turned white and appeared unprepared when randomly asked the JFK question, suggesting he forgot his cover story.
George H. W. BushKitty KelleyJohn F. KennedyTyler, TexasDr. Strangelove
- 4 min
Baker explains his years of research pinpointing Bush in Tyler, Texas at the moment of the assassination, tied to a declassified document showing he called the FBI in Houston to report a possible suspect, and how Bush's signature ironically declassified the very documents that exposed him.
8moments
- 52:55George H.W. Bush was in Tyler, Texas at 1:45 p.m. on November 22, 1963 — we know this because he called the FBI.
- 53:20The Oliver Stone JFK movie came out when Bush was president during a tough reelection campaign, triggering Congressional efforts to declassify JFK documents.
- 53:42Congress voted unanimously or near-unanimously to declassify everything, forcing Bush to sign off on documents about his own involvement.
- 53:57J. Edgar Hoover put these documents on the record to push back against the CIA in their ongoing power struggle — the actual deep state.
- 54:18The deep state isn't a cabal with devil worship; it's factions within the FBI, CIA, and military pursuing their own interests with like-minded people.
- 55:08An FBI Houston office agent documented a call from someone claiming to be George Bush, an oil man, saying he might have a lead on who shot the president.
- 55:40Bush publicly claimed he couldn't remember where he was that day and denies ever calling the FBI — yet his address appears in the declassified document.
- 55:57Tim challenges liberal media outlets to engage with declassified, unchallenged government documents rather than dismiss them outright.
George H. W. BushJ. Edgar HooverCIAFBIJohn F. KennedyOliver Stone
- 3 min
Baker recounts the bizarre story of Bush calling the FBI to implicate his own assistant as a possible Kennedy shooter, complete with a fabricated alibi involving Barbara Bush at a hair salon, and the odd detail that the accused man was found making campaign lawn signs for Bush.
7moments
- 56:27Tim has a chapter called Barbara's Bad Hair Day about Barbara Bush's involvement in the Kennedy cover-up.
- 57:04Bush calls the FBI to report someone was talking about doing something to Kennedy, claiming he should have said something earlier.
- 57:26Bush calls the FBI in Houston despite being near Dallas in Tyler, Texas—an odd choice for reporting a local threat.
- 57:48The FBI agent who took the report is close friends with Bush, a detail conspicuously absent from the official report.
- 58:16The person Bush implicates turns out to be his own assistant—essentially framing his own employee.
- 59:00When the Secret Service goes to the assistant's house, his mother says he's out making lawn signs for George Bush.
- 59:14The man Bush just fingered as Kennedy's potential assassin is making campaign signs for the guy who reported him.
- 3 min
They discuss the intelligence concept of 'block and bridge,' how E. Howard Hunt and other CIA officers were skilled scriptwriters of alibis, and how Bush's own aide orchestrated clearing the falsely accused assistant.
8moments
- 59:34Tim notes people always asked why he's still alive, given how ruthless intelligence operatives are.
- 59:53The constructed cover story is more impressive than the real story, making the subject a more interesting figure.
- 1:00:17Tim describes the scenario: an informant doesn't know where he is, informs on his own assistant, creating a suspicious setup.
- 1:00:45The real art of covert operations isn't committing the crime—it's getting away with it through cover stories and alibis.
- 1:01:10CIA officers in this circle—E. Howard Hunt, David Attlee Phillips—were actors and novelists who understood narrative and drama.
- 1:01:38Intelligence work is essentially scenarios: script writers craft plausible cover stories and plan for everything that could go wrong.
- 1:02:02Using an assistant as a temporary alibi doesn't mean hanging him out to dry—it's exploiting him strategically.
- 1:02:24A top aide drives the accused man to the Secret Service office to provide circular corroboration: lawn sign work as an alibi.
E. Howard HuntDavid Attlee PhillipsCIASecret ServiceMr. ParrottBarbara
- 5 min
Baker argues Kennedy has been mischaracterized by both conservative and liberal media, describing his genuine sympathy for third-world self-determination and how this threatened corporate mining and resource interests, provoking Dulles and the CIA.
9moments
- 1:03:16When Kennedy was shot, the FBI and CIA hated him and thought he was a danger — they were thrilled, but of course couldn't say so.
- 1:03:43Kennedy was shaking things up against the CIA, and the question of whether civil rights and racial factors, not just economics, played a role in his opposition by the elite.
- 1:04:10Kennedy has been misrepresented by the media, and Russ Baker's book presents facts that conflict with what most people have heard.
- 1:04:37Even after recent hagiography about Bush, the facts about his background and behavior patterns remain consistent and verifiable.
- 1:05:20Tim notes that people get mad when he questions a World War Two military record, but his father appreciated this kind of investigative journalism as patriotic.
- 1:05:57Kennedy was not the hawk and lascivious figure the media portrays — even liberal media and books like Cy Hirsch's 'Camelot' get him wrong.
- 1:06:32In his short time as president, Kennedy was already a different man and not only changing but had been a radical even years earlier.
- 1:07:07By the early 1950s, Kennedy was sympathetic to self-determination for third-world countries, which made corporations extracting resources from Africa and South America very uncomfortable.
- 1:07:35The elite identified Kennedy as a problem — Alan Dulles and others were very uncomfortable with him, though they initially thought they could control him.
KennedyJohn F. KennedyRuss BakerAlan DullesDonald TrumpRobert KennedyGeorge W. BushSy Hirsch
- 2 min
Tim and Russ briefly address JFK's health problems and alleged sexual misconduct before agreeing that policy substance matters more than personal scandal, illustrated by an anecdote about a woman fixated only on the Lewinsky affair.
4moments
- 1:08:02Kennedy had Addison's disease, wore a secret back brace, and was in agony much of the time.
- 1:08:39When discussing political leaders, it's important to focus on policy first and foremost, not personal scandals.
- 1:08:56Tim recalls a wedding during the Clinton impeachment where an elderly woman was angry about what Clinton did to "that girl" but had no awareness of his actual policy.
- 1:09:20The media and public want prurience because it's the junk food—it's easier to understand than policy.
- 4 min
Baker describes how Kennedy stacked his cabinet with establishment figures as cover while planning independent moves, and criticizes journalism's institutional failure to provide historical context, using the Spotlight/Boston Globe story as an example.
9moments
- 1:09:49Kennedy's cabinet strategy: hire establishment insiders from Harvard and Yale, then incrementally pursue his own agenda while they're on the team.
- 1:10:25The establishment sponsors wouldn't allow Kennedy to break from their control, no matter what he'd planned.
- 1:10:57Tim defends Nixon as less paranoid than depicted, and argues the media narrative around him may be distorted.
- 1:11:24A major journalist told him his book is 'too raw' and 'too unsettling' for mainstream media to publish.
- 1:12:09Modern investigative journalism is underfunded and limited in ambition compared to what it used to be.
- 1:12:36Journalism refuses to examine why power is situated as it is or maintain institutional memory about how things came about.
- 1:13:00The Boston Globe got awards for Spotlight, but the institution was complicit in covering up the abuse story for decades.
- 1:13:18Once you find one major historical narrative is wrong, you start questioning whether everything you've been taught is false.
- 1:13:32His publisher suggested titling his book 'Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong.'
- 4 min
Baker explains how Nixon angered oil wildcatters and the sugar industry, discusses Nixon's fear of assassination, an obscure alleged plane bombing attempt, and other underreported attacks on presidents including Obama.
10moments
- 1:13:47Nixon refused to honor the oil depletion allowance, angering wealthy oil tycoons like H.L. Hunt and the wildcatters.
- 1:14:06He also refused to do the bidding of the sugar industry, which infiltrates everything Americans eat without their knowledge.
- 1:14:41Sugar interests were the dangerous ones who took money from Nixon and felt they owned him, wanting Castro out because of Cuba.
- 1:14:55Assassination attempts were made on multiple presidents and officials—Gerald Ford, and there was reportedly a plane that tried to bomb Nixon that wasn't widely reported.
- 1:15:14Most people don't remember the attempts against Obama, including someone who shot a high-powered rifle into the White House who was mysteriously released.
- 1:15:33Tim questions what the actual job of the Secret Service is, claiming he and twelve Cub Scouts could have secured it better than they do.
- 1:16:02The media never discusses the complete absence of security around Kennedy on November 22, 1963—the Secret Service simply melted away.
- 1:16:17Video evidence shows a Secret Service agent being ordered away from Kennedy's car, confused, saying 'What the hell?' before being told to get away now.
- 1:16:40One documentary suggested the fatal shot that killed Kennedy came from the Secret Service car behind them, not Oswald—an accidental trigger pull.
- 1:17:01The specific facts around Kennedy's assassination indicate a cover-up engineered at the highest possible levels.
NixonArcher Daniels MidlandKennedyBarack ObamaGerald FordH.L. Hunt
- 3 min
They discuss the total collapse of security around JFK's assassination, alternate ballistics theories, and the strange coincidence that John Hinckley Jr.'s brother had a dinner planned with Neil Bush the night of the Reagan assassination attempt.
10moments
- 1:17:13Tim catalogs the Reagan assassination evidence: autopsy, x-rays, chain of custody, and the lack of official curiosity.
- 1:17:23The shooter Oswald was assassinated, then his killer Jack Ruby died of sudden fast-acting cancer after receiving unwanted injections.
- 1:17:53Tim brings up the Hinckley-Bush dinner connection: John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate Reagan, was scheduled to have dinner with Neil Bush the day Reagan was shot.
- 1:18:22Reagan despised George Bush, his opponent, and it was strange he took him as running mate despite being already popular.
- 1:18:42Reagan's campaign manager left and took Bush's campaign, suggesting an untold story about why Reagan was forced to accept Bush.
- 1:19:08Kennedy also didn't want Johnson as his running mate despite hating him, but at least Johnson gave him the South politically.
- 1:19:30Bush had been wildly ambitious to become president, wanting it back in 1968 and repeatedly throughout the 1970s.
- 1:19:58Bush lacked the charisma and political appeal of Clinton or Obama, with no skin in the political game.
- 1:20:11Bush ran twice for the U.S. Senate and failed both times, meaning he had no realistic path to the presidency unless circumstances made him president.
- 1:20:22Tim compares the situation to House of Cards, the Kevin Spacey political thriller.
Ronald ReaganGeorge H. W. BushJohn Hinckley Jr.John F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonNeil BushHouse of CardsRobert Kennedy+3 more
- 5 min
Baker argues Bush's presidency was driven by raw personal ambition rather than ideological vision, questions whether Dan Quayle was chosen as 'assassination insurance,' and closes with a haunting deathbed quote from CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton about everyone in that room ending up in hell.
11moments
- 1:20:44Tim explains Bush family's 24-year wait to reach the presidency: Reagan gets eight years, then Poppy assumes he'll struggle to win against charismatic Democrats like Gary Hart or Teddy Kennedy.
- 1:21:10Reagan gets shot in March 1981, weeks into his presidency, and the public accepts the Jodie Foster cover story without question.
- 1:21:39Tim notes that while some kooky people exist in America, powerful interests openly support targeted assassinations—Venezuela's Chavez, Castro—making convenient lone-gunman stories suspect.
- 1:22:09During the 1960s and '70s, major civil rights leaders and political threats to the Republican establishment were systematically attacked, not randomly.
- 1:22:31The Hinckley family's connection to the Bush family is so extraordinary Tim's publisher warned him to remove it from his book as too inflammatory.
- 1:23:02The Hinckley brothers were having dinner with Neil Bush the night of Reagan's shooting, and the Hinckley family faced a million-dollar fine from the Reagan-Bush administration that allegedly disappeared.
- 1:23:34Bush's actual presidential accomplishments boil down mostly to circumstance—the Gulf War—suggesting he was never genuinely interested in policy or governance.
- 1:23:58Tim argues Bush Sr. had no philosophy or vision; he famously admitted he lacked a clear perspective, and his son George W. was taught to adopt convenient rhetoric like born-again Christianity with equal cynicism.
- 1:24:27Becoming president was vanity for Bush, not the culmination of deep strategic machinations—he wanted the title and the optics of being a great man.
- 1:24:45Dan Quayle as VP functioned as assassination insurance: inexplicable as a choice except that he was good-looking, making him too ridiculous to remove without raising suspicion.
- 1:25:28James Angleton, dying CIA counterintelligence chief, told someone in a room that he was certain everyone at the table when the CIA began would end up in hell, then looked at a woman and said he was about to join them there.
James AngletonDan QuayleH.W. BushJeb BushJohn Hinckley Jr.Neil BushRonald ReaganGeorge Wallace+6 more
- 2 min
Tim wraps up with jokes about Bush's viral service dog resting by his casket, urges listeners again to buy Family of Secrets and donate to Who What Why, and asks Russ about his upcoming Kennedy book before thanking him and signing off.
6moments
- 1:25:53Tim directs listeners to Twitter to read about George Bush's service dog resting by his casket.
- 1:26:15Family of Secrets will change the way you think about things and spark actual meaningful debates.
- 1:26:36The book shifts perspective not just on H.W. Bush but Kennedy, Nixon, and Ford, showing how H.W. pulled the strings.
- 1:27:02Russ Baker explains the Kennedy investigation is too complicated and needs funding and a team to complete in maybe two years.
- 1:27:18Tim jokes that Bezos should fund the next book since he's coming to the Queen.
- 1:27:30Final plugs: Family of Secrets at whowhatwhite.org, buy it as a holiday gift, and donate to support the work.
Russ BakerFamily of SecretsH.W. BushFordKennedyNixonGeorge W. BushJeff Bezos