WASHINGTON -- The death the other day of Judith Katherine Campbell Exner brought to a close one of the most bizarre and ignominious chapters in the history of the American presidency.
As a beautiful young woman, Exner had been involved with some of the nation's most powerful figures in politics, entertainment and organized crime. Yet in the end, she died without fanfare, still the victim of those dedicated to protecting the image of John F. Kennedy.At least one national newspaper's headline announced in a final insult that she had "claimed" to have had an affair with Kennedy. That claim probably could have been made by untold numbers of women -- some verifiable, some not. In Exner's case, it not only was true, but if revealed at the time it could have brought Kennedy's mythical Camelot tumbling down around his ears.
When a group of Scripps Howard editors meeting in Washington in the early '70s was informed that Tim Wyngaard and I were preparing to disclose that Kennedy had had an extraordinary relationship early in his presidency with a woman of questionable acquaintances, we were reminded by several of an unwritten rule in our business not to reveal the affairs of politicians unless there was a direct impact on their performance in office.
Even when the significance of this particular Kennedy escapade was explained in detail, some remained skittish.
In the end, the decision to report this story was to be made by Earl H. Richert, the venerable editor in chief of Scripps Howard Newspapers, who realized clearly its historical importance and who stood ready to take any heat from inside or outside of the company.
Exner, then Judith Campbell, had been introduced to Kennedy by Frank Sinatra, with whom she had had a relationship. She also was a companion now and then of Sam Giancana, head of the Chicago mob and one of the bosses of the American Mafia, who it was to be learned later had been enlisted to help Kennedy in the 1960 presidential campaign and in trying to rid the world of Fidel Castro.
Kennedy and Exner carried on a romance at various points across the country, and she said she ultimately became pregnant and had an abortion. At times, she acted as a courier, carrying messages between the White House and Giancana.
Although the Democratic-controlled committee, chaired by Kennedy loyalist Frank Church of Idaho, was quick to leak information about the activities of Republican administrations, when the long hidden story of the president and the Mafia party girl began to surface, Church took control personally in a desperate effort to keep it from leaking. When the story was reported, he angrily opened an investigation into how it had been obtained.
Amazingly, the first story received sparse attention from editors apparently still captivated by the Kennedy myth and operating under the old rule. Then, New York Times columnist William Safire picked it up and explained its significance in terms that couldn't be ignored.
By this time, Campbell had married a golf professional, Dan Exner, and was living quietly near San Diego doing her best to put all this behind her and quite clearly unsure of her fate if any of it got out. Our story freed her of that concern, and she went public.
In many ways, Judith Exner is symbolic of the tragedies that befell others, including Marilyn Monroe, who became enthralled by the closeness of flawed power.
Dan K. Thomasson writes this column for Scripps Howard News Service.