14. He Installed A Secret Taping System in The Whitehouse Nine Years Before Richard Nixon Did
Richard Nixon aided his own political downfall by installing a tape-recording system in the Oval Office and other areas of the White House in 1971 which later documented incriminating conversations relating to the Watergate Scandal - but JFK had beaten him to the idea. In 1962, Kennedy had a taping system secretly installed in both the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office, which then transmitted recordings down to the White House basement. It is believed JFK wanted to accurately capture historical discussions under his presidency - including during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Civil Rights Movement - so he could later produce extensive memoirs.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.