"Who shot John?"
Thanks, anon. Was looking for the right tape. Carlson got the date wrong, and Jefferson Morley got it right: Oct. 8, 1971. That's when Nixon raised the question rhetorically to CIA Director Helms, "Who shot John?"
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/06/05/nixon-helms-cia-jfk-assassination-00037232
The tape:
http://nixontapes.org/rmh/587-007a.mp3
Nixon raises the question @17:30.
Morley suggests one interpretation, implicating Castro. But Nixon wouldn't have raised the question with Helms if the CIA had no relevant info, soโฆ
http://nixontapes.org/rmh.html
Postscript:
A scene was deleted from Oliver Stone's "Nixon". It was deleted after Helms threatened to sue, but it was released later on the director's cut. Ultimately, Helms didn't sue.
The scene imagines a very private conversation at CIA HQ. It's a fictional portrayal, but it captures something of the deep tension between the two men, and the scene pivots onโฆ just that.
Morley's "Scorpion's Dance" quotes Sen. Baker:
"Nixon and Helms, observed Sen. Howard Baker, 'had so much on each other, neither of them could breathe.'
And now we know why."