The Exner File.

• Author: O'BRIEN, MICHAEL
• Position: Judith Campbell Exner, John F. Kennedy's mistress

Truth and fantasy from a president mistress

THE DEATH OF JUDITH CAMPBELL Exner on Sept. 24, 1999, reminds us of the enormous impact she had on the reputation of President John Kennedy and on media coverage of the private lives of public figures. Exner had a two-year affair with Kennedy, and because of her gangland connections and Kennedy's CIA connection, their relationship became a public scandal when it was revealed in 1975.

Of all the Kennedy sex scandals, the Exner story may be the one that troubles his admirers most. It is also a tale that remains clouded with uncertainty. Exner changed it several times, amplifying her original confession of an affair into bizarre claims about her role in a conspiracy involving Kennedy and the Mafia. The first accusations were bad enough; the later ones would seriously injure Kennedy's reputation as president, if true. For that reason, it's important to be clear about which of Exner's claims we should believe, and which appear to be fantasy.

The name Judith Campbell Exner burst into the national headlines on December 17, 1975. A month earlier the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (the Church Committee), in its report on CIA assassination attempts, had discreetly stated that a "close friend" of President Kennedy had also been a close friend of mobsters John Roselli and Sam Giancana. After her identity had been leaked to The Washington Post, Exner, then 41, called a press conference. Sitting next to her second husband Dan Exner, a golf pro, and hiding behind large sunglasses, she denied any knowledge of underworld activities. Two years later, in her autobiography, My Story, Exner recounted her sexual tryst with JFK and her simultaneous relationship with Giancana, plus her friendship with Roselli. That the president would share the sexual favors of a Mafia don,s girlfriend was shocking and frightening.

A short, dour, homely Sicilian, Sam Giancana held court at the Armory Lounge in Forest Park, Illinois, ordering murders and managing his crime empire. An extraordinary criminal, Giancana had allegedly been responsible for more than two hundred murders up to 1960. A leading member of the La Cosa Nostra, the national crime syndicate, Giancana was Chicago's Mafia boss, the successor to Al Capone. His crime network ranged from protection rackets to numbers games, loan sharks to bookmakers. He had served time in prison and been arrested more than 70 times, including three times for murder. Giancana's friend and associate, John Roselli, represented the Chicago mob on the West Coast.

Born Judith Immoor, Exner grew up in Pacific Palisades, California where her father worked as an architect. The family was well off, but when Judith was 14, her mother nearly died in an auto accident. Traumatized, Judith withdrew from high school and was privately tutored. At 18, she married the alcoholic actor William Campbell, but after an unhappy marriage they divorced in 1958. Stunningly beautiful, she resembled actress Elizabeth Taylor and became a regular at Hollywood parties. One evening in 1959 she met singer Frank Sinatra, and they engaged in a brief affair.

Then on the evening of February 7, 1960, Campbell met then-Senator John Kennedy and his entourage at Sinatra's table at the Sands lounge in Las Vegas. After perfunctory introductions, Kennedy conversed with all the women at the table, but focused on Campbell. When he listened to her, she recalled in her autobiography, "it was as if every nerve and muscle in his whole body was poised at attention. As I was to learn, Jack Kennedy was the world's greatest listener." The next day Kennedy invited her for lunch on the patio of Sinatra's suite. Again he seemed to have "an almost insatiable interest in what and who I was." They talked for three hours.

After their Las Vegas encounter, Kennedy phoned her constantly, telling her how much he missed her and wondering when they could meet again. "He called almost every day," said Campbell, "no matter where he was, or how tired." They finally rendezvoused on March 7, 1960, at the New York Plaza Hotel, where they had their first sexual encounter. In Florida in late March, Sinatra introduced Campbell to a man named "Sam Flood." It took a while for Campbell to learn that this new friend was actually Sam Giancana. Was it just a coincidence, critics wondered, that within a two month period Sinatra's introductions had sparked Exner's romances with a future president and a notorious criminal? Was Giancana using Exner because she was Kennedy's girlfriend? In her autobiography Exner dampened such speculation. It "never occurred to me that Sam's interest in me was simply because of my association with Jack Kennedy." She added, "Sam never asked me for anything."

On April 6, 1960, Kennedy invited her for dinner at his Georgetown home while Jackie was away. Exner...