Walter Jenkins

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Walter Wilson Jenkins (1963)

Walter Wilson Jenkins (born March 23, 1918 in Jolly, Clay County , Texas , † November 23, 1985 ) was a long-time employee and assistant to the US President Lyndon B. Johnson . An ongoing sex scandal just before the 1964 US presidential election ended Jenkins' political career.

Life path

Jenkins spent his childhood in Wichita Falls , Texas and later studied at the University of Texas , where he graduated after two years without a degree. He began working for Johnson in 1939 when Johnson was a member of the US House of Representatives. That collaboration lasted 25 years, during which Johnson rose from MP to Senator and Vice President of the United States. Jenkins served in the army from 1941 to 1945. After leaving, he married Helen Marjorie Whitehill, with whom he had six children, four boys and two girls. The couple separated in 1970, but the marriage was never divorced. Helen Jenkins died in 1987.

Political career and scandals

In 1951, Jenkins ran for Congress in Wichita Falls, but lost the election due to his conversion to Catholicism.

arrest

Jenkins' political career ended in October 1964 when Washington police arrested Jenkins while having sex with a man in the bathroom of a local YMCA , and a reporter for the Washington Star newspaper learned of the incident.

Johnson tried to stop the Washington Star from making the incident public and brought in his attorney Abe Fortas. Even so, the story got printed in the Washington Star and Jenkins was urged to leave his position as an assistant.

Political reactions

Johnson's opponent in the presidential campaign Barry Goldwater chose not to use the incident as a campaign campaign. Goldwater had known Jenkins from the Senate for many years and served in the same Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) unit. In his autobiography, Goldwater writes: “It was a sad time for Jenkins' wife and children and I wasn't interested in contributing to their private worries. … Winning is not everything. Some things, like loyalty to friends or lasting principles, are much more important ”(translated from English).

Members of Congress led the FBI to investigate possible blackmailing of Jenkins for his sexual identity. The later FBI report, which President Johnson co-controlled, acquitted Jenkins of any possible extortion. However, as a result of the investigation, it became known that Jenkins had attempted to use his influence to get an AFRC colonel reinstated after being dismissed for a sex incident.

Impact on Johnson's Government

President Johnson divided the responsibilities of Jenkins among several clerks after his departure. Johnson's press secretary, George Reedy, later told a journalist in an interview: “Much of the president's troubles can be traced back to Walter leaving. ... The whole story would have been different if it hadn't been for this episode ”(translated from English). Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark said, “Jenkins' resignation deprived the president of the most effective and trusted advisor he had. The consequences would be enormous if the president came in difficult times. Walter's advice on Vietnam could be extremely helpful ”(translated from English).

Late years and legacy

Jenkins left the AFRC in February 1965.

He left Washington and returned to Austin , where he worked as a chartered accountant, management consultant and ran a construction company. He died a few months after a stroke in 1985 at the age of 67.

An American television film entitled Vanished , freely based on Jenkins' resignation, aired in the United States on March 8, 1971.

The play All the Way , which premiered on Broadway in March 2014 and won Bryan Cranston the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actor, describes the Jenkins scandal of 1964.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b New York Times : "Storm Center in Capital", October 16, 1964 , accessed on December 14, 2015 (English)
  2. ↑ Joe Guzzardi: Goldwater refused to exploit a sex scandal involving a top LBJ assistant. In: Opinion / Columnists. lodinews.com, August 31, 2007, accessed December 14, 2015 .
  3. ↑ United Press International: Air Force Reserve Accepts Walter Jenkins 'Resignation (Air Force Reserve accepts Jenkins' resignation). New York Times , February 3, 1965, accessed December 14, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Bart Barnes: LBJ Aide Walter Jenkins Dies . In: Washington Post , Nov. 26, 1985, p. C4. 
  5. ↑ United Press International: Walter Wilson Jenkins, Aide To Lyndon Johnson. Chicago Tribune , November 26, 1985, accessed December 14, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Internet Movie Database: Vanished (TV 1971) , accessed December 14, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Jenkins, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jenkins, Walter Wilson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Assistant to President Johnson
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Jolly, Clay County , Texas
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1985