Ted.

Hello, Mr. President.

We’re very grieved, and I don’t know who to talk to, but I wanted to call you and tell you that our prayers are with you, and I hope that you will take appropriate action to convey that information to the family, that you might be in contact, where it’s not a problem.

Of course, I will, Mr.—

I don’t want to be—I know they’d all want to talk, but I don’t want to be bothering them. Second, we have asked that a detail be placed with each presidential candidate. We don’t have any authority to do it, but I thought we ought to. [Sorensen acknowledges throughout.] And we’ll have the families covered here and the candidates wherever they are. We had asked, confidentially, the Congress to do that. And we didn’t want to attract attention to it by a lot of publicity and get every crackpot taken care of. We’d asked them to put legislation on [the] appropriation bill, and they had had the hearings, and they were agreeable to doing it. They’re going to report the bill next week. It’s legislation on appropriation bill; we’d have the problem solved. We’re going ahead—we were going ahead and doing it, and I just went ahead and took this action. So I would like for somebody, whoever’s watching the children and things, to know that we’re not trying to spy on them, but there will be some MPs [Military Police]. I’ve asked the Defense Department and—Secret Service doesn’t have enough people; there’ll be Secret Service people in charge, but they’ll have under them some MPs and other police or whoever they want to call on.

The Secret Service has authority to cover presidents, ex-presidents, and Mrs. [Jacqueline B. “Jackie”] Kennedy and her minor children at the moment.[note 2] Jacqueline B. “Jackie” Kennedy was the wife of John F. Kennedy from September 1953 until his assassination in November 1963, and first lady of the United States from January 1961 to November 1963. We ask that they have authority to call on other agencies to help them. They’ve been doing it, and they do have that help, but they don’t have any authority in law to do it, so they started suing individual agents of FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] or Alcohol Tax Control individually for liability. [Slight chuckle.] And so we’re trying to get authority for them to—Secret Service to be able to borrow folks, number one. Number two, we asked for additional authority to cover the princi[ple]—the candidates in the primaries and the nominees of the convention, president and vice president, which are not now covered. So we’re meeting on that, and this is a horrible—

Mr. President, as I understand it, you are taking the action today?

Already taken it. I took it about four or five o’clock this morning.

That’s under some other authority, is that—

I’m just—no, it’s not—it’s just—[slight chuckle] that’s just name, strength, and awkwardness. [Sorensen acknowledges.] No power. I’m just going ahead and doing it, and there’s two little points. You, as a lawyer, because I might have to have your help. The Warren Commission recommended, and [McGeorge “Mac”] Bundy and [C. Douglas] Dillon and them recommended, we have interchange agreements between bureaus where, when the Bureau—Secret Service calls on anybody, they help them.[note 3] McGeorge “Mac” Bundy was dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University from 1953 to 1961, and special assistant to the president for National Security Affairs from 1961 to 1966. C. Douglas Dillon was U.S. secretary of the treasury from January 1961 to April 1965. They do it now, but they don’t do it under formal agreement, and they don’t do it under authority of law. Well, one of these agencies raised the question if we shouldn’t have a law. We also raised the question if it shouldn’t extend to candidates this year. We agreed both, one, that it should extend to candidates and, two, that we should have a law that authorized everybody to help. It shouldn’t be done just informally. So we submitted that quietly, the Secret Service did, to the committees in the Congress and asked that they give them authority on the appropriation bill to cover this year. They told us they would act favorably on it. We’re hoping that that’ll—bill will come out this week. In the meantime, while we’re waiting on that, I’m going ahead and just, in the light of this terrible tragedy, just applying them anyway.

I called you for two specific purposes. One, because I asked for you up here or [Stephen E.] Steve Smith or anybody that I thought was close enough that I could—I wanted to express our deep sorrow and our prayers, number one.[note 4] Stephen E. “Steve” Smith was a financial analyst and Kennedy campaign manager, and the husband of Jean Ann Kennedy. And number two, I wanted you to know what I had done so that you wouldn’t feel that people were invading or trying to inject themselves when the policemen show up, or when MPs start at the gate, or when the Secret Service take charge, that the family wouldn’t think.

Now, if you have any guidance to give me as an old adviser of mine, just give it to me, and I’ll do it. But that is what I’ve done. I’ve ordered the Defense Department to provide what facilities they need to Secret Service. I’ve ordered [J. Edgar] Hoover to provide anything they ask him to do.[note 5] J. Edgar Hoover was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1924 until his death on 2 May 1972. I’ve ordered the Attorney General [W. Ramsey Clark] to draft me any additional authority that he need—thinks we ought to have.[note 6] W. Ramsey Clark was U.S. assistant attorney general from 1961 to 1965; U.S. deputy attorney general from January 1965 to March 1967; acting U.S. attorney general from November 1966 to March 1967; and U.S. attorney general from March 1967 to January 1969. I have talked to the Secretary of Defense [Clark M. Clifford], and I talked to Hoover and talked to Secret Service Director [James J. “Jim”] Rowley four or five times since 3:30, and that’s where we are now.[note 7] Clark M. Clifford was a Washington lawyer; an adviser to presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson; a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 1961 to 1968; chair of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from April 1963 to February 1968; and U.S. secretary of defense from March 1968 to January 1969. James J. “Jim” Rowley was chief of the U.S. Secret Service from 1961 to 1973. So the primary purpose, though, was to express my sorrow and ask you to convey it to Mrs. [Ethel S.] Kennedy and to the family.[note 8] Ethel S. Kennedy was the wife of Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy from June 1950 until his assassination in June 1968.

I appreciate that.

I—

Matter of fact, Steve Smith just came up. He might just [unclear].

I have a call in for him and [Pierre E. G.] Salinger and you.[note 9] Pierre E. G. Salinger was White House press secretary from January 1961 to March 1964, and a U.S. senator [D–California] from August 1964 to December 1964. And, as usual, I guess you just happened to be closer to the phone.

Well, we’re all here. Steve’s here right now.

Thank you. Will you give me any thoughts on this Secret Service thing, if you have any, later?

All right, I will.

Just call me if you ever have any.

Fine, thank you.

All right.

Here’s Steve.

Hello, Mr. President.

Steve, Lady Bird [Johnson]—[note 10] Lady Bird Johnson (née Claudia Alta Taylor) was the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson since 1934, and first lady of the United States from November 1963 to January 1969.

[Unclear] call.

Lady Bird and I are terribly shocked and grieved, and we’re praying with you and hoping for the best and fearing the worst, and we have put a detail around the families of all the candidates, and I just wanted to be sure that they didn’t think that we were snooping or something.

Hello?

Hello.

Yes. Mr. President?

Yes?

Wait just a moment. Senator [Edward M. “Teddy”] Kennedy [unclear].

Hello?[note 11] The Presidential Recordings Program revised the following section of text in 2021 for inclusion in The LBJ Telephone Tapes, a project produced by the Miller Center in partnership with the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library to commemorate the library's 50th anniversary.

Ted?

Yes. Oh, Mr. President, well, you’re very good to call.

Well, we—we’re terribly grieved, Ted. I don’t know what we can do, but anything we can, we want to.

[Unclear.]

And it’s a horrible, tragic thing. I—we have put a detail around the families, and we don’t have authority, but we’re going to ask the Congress to give us that authority. In the meantime, we’re assuming it. We don’t want them to think we’re snooping, though, and the MPs [military police] around are for their—any purpose except to protect them. But I wanted—I placed a call for all of you, and if they haven’t, I told them to get Pierre Salinger or get you or get Steve Smith or to get Ted [Sorensen], and they got him. And if you’ll explain to them here what we are doing, so they won’t—a Secret Service man will be in charge. Under the present law, they can just cover [Kennedy acknowledges] Mrs. [Jacqueline B. "Jackie"] Kennedy, ex-presidents, and the President. We’re extending that to all candidates for the presidency and their families. And the Secret Service will take charge, and they’ll use [Departments of] Defense and Justice people until we get authority, and we’re going to try to get it today.

Well, that’s good. Well, I appreciate it [clears throat] very much. [Unclear.]

Well, it’s a horrible, terrible thing, and we grieve with you, and I wish there’s something we could do. And I don’t want to bother you, but when you’re talking to your mother, please tell her that our thoughts are with her, and our prayers are with you, too, Ted.

Right, sir. Mr. President, thank you very much.

Thank you, Ted.[note 12] End of 2021 revisions. [Pause.] Teddy?

Yes, [unclear].

When is the operation going to be over?

Well, they think about seven o’clock. [Pause.] [Unclear.] [Clears throat several times.] [Very long pause.] [Unclear] a half hour [unclear].

Now, all the reports about Steve, he wasn’t shot, was he?

No, he’s, no, he’s . . . no, he’s fine.

That’s OK. Well, my love to all of you.

Fine. Thanks, Lyndon.