James Truitt

James Truitt (died 18 November 1981) was an United States journalist, born in Chicago, Illinois and raised by a prominent family in Baltimore, Maryland.

He served as a Naval officer in the Pacific theatre of World War II, then returned to work for the US State Department. He married his first wife, Anne, in September 1947 in Washington, D.C. In spring of 1948 he went to work for "Life Magazine" in New York, then became their Washington correspondent. He spent 3 years with "Life" in San Francisco, then he returned to Washington, DC in May 1960 to become the personal assistant to Phillip Graham at the "Washington Post," where he rose to become vice president. He also worked for "Time", served as publisher of "Art News," and became vice president of "Newsweek" in 1964. He sported a crew-cut haircut, was friends with Cord Meyer and James Angleton, and was known for his intelligence, eccentricity, and social graces.

In 1962 Mary Pinchot Meyer, (Cord Meyer's ex-wife) told Truitt that she was having an affair with President Kennedy. Truitt made notes of the conversation, which years later he showed to journalist Jay Gourley. The notes recorded an episode in July 1962 when Mary Pinchot and President John F. Kennedy smoked marijuana, and include mention of Mary forgetting her slip after one visit and having it mailed back to her in a White House envelope.

In early 1963, Truitt helped extricate Phillip Graham from an ill-advised appearance at a publishers' conference in Arizona, where Graham mentioned Kennedy's affair. {Deborah Davis, 3rd ed. 1991, p. 154} Graham committed suicide on August 3, 1963. Katharine Graham assumed ownership of the "Washington Post."

Later in 1963 Truitt left the "Post" and moved to Tokyo as the Japan bureau chief for "Newsweek". There, Anne Truitt received news that her friend, Mary Pinchot Meyer, had been murdered. Anne called James Angleton to see that Meyer's diary was taken care of, per her wishes.

In a few years, the Truitts returned to Washington and to the "Post".

James Truitt's mental health allegedly declined. In 1969, Ben Bradlee forced him to resign from the "Post", with accusations of mental incompetence. Truitt accepted a settlement in exchange for a signed statement that he would not write anything that was "in any way derogatory" of the "Washington Post". He divorced and moved to Mexico, where he was re-married to Evelyn Patterson (Truitt).

In March, 1976, Truitt granted an interview to the "National Enquirer" -- perhaps in part as a pay-back against Ben Bradlee. Truitt revealed Mary Pinchot Meyer's affair with President Kennedy (as Philip Graham had alleged). Truitt correctly noted that Pinchot Meyer's diary had been found by Angleton after her murder who knew where to find it having been told its location by Anne Truitt from Tokyo. Initially, Bradlee and Angleton denied the story, but it was soon confirmed by Meyer's friends, who spoke to reporters at "Time Magazine", the "New York Times" and "Washington Post", and by others.

James Truitt committed suicide on November 18, 1981, at San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Evelyn later claimed that her husband's papers, including copies of Mary's diary, were stolen by CIA officer Herbert Burrows.

His first wife, Anne Truitt, was a well-respected artist. She wrote several books including "Daybook: The Journal of an Artist" (1984). She died in 2004.

Sources

* [http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/truitt02.htm Interview with James Truitt's widow, Anne Truit]
*Nina Burleigh , "A Very Private Woman : The Life and Unsolved Murder of Presidential Mistress Mary Meyer" (Bantam: 1998) (pp. 23, 124, 129, 140-1, 168-9, 171-2, 193, 211-2, 284, 286-8)
*Oberdorfer, Don. "JFK Had Affair With D.C. Artist, Smoked 'Grass,' Paper Alleges." "The Washington Post" 23 Feb. 1976: pp. A1, A9.
*Bradlee, Benjamin C., "A Good Life". Simon & Schuster: New York, 1995. (pp.270-271, 299).
*Nobilem, Phillip, and Rosenbaum, Ron. "The Circus Aftermath of JFK's Best and Brightest Affair." New Times 9 Jul. 1976: 22-33.
*von Hoffman, Nicholas. "Unasked Questions." "The New York Review of Books," 10 June 1976: 3+.
*Ward, Bernie, and Toogood, Granville. "JFK 2-Year White House Romance." "National Enquirer" 2 Mar. 1976: 1. (Interviews James Truitt, story picked up by Washington Post, NYROB, others.)
*J. DiEugenio, L. Pease, "The Assassinations". 2003 (pp. 341, 344)
*T. Kelly, "The Imperial Post". 1983 (pp. 120, 157, 213-4)