Washington: Ted Kennedy, who died Tuesday,
so enraged Richard Nixon that the disgraced president pushed
in 1971 for snooping on the senator for proof he cheated on
his wife, according to once-secret recordings.
And Nixon, who secretly taped some 3,700 hours of his
conversations between February 1971 and July 1973, does not
hide his disappointment and frustration when an aide reports
back that the Massachusetts senator is "very clean."
"The thing to do is to watch him," he says in a September
8, 1971 recording in which Nixon, apparently fearful for his
1972 reelection prospects, lashes out at Kennedy.
Nixon also says he will give the senator, who lost two
older brothers to assassins` bullets, US Secret Service
protection during the campaign to avoid any blame in case
someone targets Kennedy -- then orders aides to use those
official bodyguards as spies.
"Plant one. Plant two guys on him. This could be very
useful," says Nixon, who underlines that the security
arrangement will end when the campaign does and then "If he
gets shot, it`s too damn bad."
"You understand what the problem is. If the son of a
bitch gets shot they`ll say we didn`t furnish it. So you just
buy his insurance," says the president.
The recordings and some transcripts are available online,
on a site curated by Luke Nichter, an assistant professor of
history at Texas A&M University and a leading authority on the
Nixon tapes.
Bureau Report
