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Back to Work. At the fifth-floor office of the morals division at police headquarters, Jenkins identified himself as Walter Wilson Jenkins, giving his rarely used middle name. He gave his address, birth date and birthplace correctly, but listed his occupation as "clerk." Under questioning by Lieut. Louis A. Fochett, he admitted that he was indeed the President's aide. Fochett immediately telephoned Inspector Scott E. Moyer, chief of the morals division, for guidance. Moyer gave a two-word order: "Book him."
Jenkins and Choka were booked. Since the police had a full set of prints from Jenkins' arrest in 1959, only a thumbprint was taken. At the central cell block in the basement, Jenkins paid a $50 bond and was freed. Forfeiture of the bond is, in effect, a waiver of the right to trial but not a confession of guilt.
It was 10:10 p.m. when Jenkins left the police station. Incredibly, he went on to the White House, worked at his desk until midnight.
Real Trouble. Only two days after Jenkins' arrest, anonymous tipsters began advising newspapers that there was an interesting item on the Oct. 7 blotter of the morals squad. The tips were widely dispersed: a man from Pravda even showed up for a peek. At least one of the tips was traced to the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Republican National Committee was known to be on to the story. Delaware's Republican Senator John J. Williams said he heard of the case several days before it got into print.
Early Wednesday, the Washington Star got the tip, called the White House to check it. With Lyndon and several top aides on the road, Liz Carpenter, Lady Bird's press secretary, was the only White House press staffer on hand. She took the call. Unbelieving and upset, she phoned Jenkins in his office. Within minutes, a distraught Jenkins got in touch with Lawyer Abe Fortas,* an old Lyndon crony, and told him almost hysterically that he was in "real trouble." Fortas called Fellow Lawyer Clark Clifford, a top trouble-shooter in the Truman, Kennedy and Johnson Administrations.
Fortas and Clifford hurried to the Star. "They made what I would regard as a plea to have us not break the story," said Star Editor Newbold Noyes. "I agreed to go along at that time." Clifford and Fortas next called on Washington Daily News Editor John O'Rourke. "There was no pressure," recalled O'Rourke. "I agreed not to break the story—provided it wasn't in print elsewhere. But it couldn't be kept secret." The lawyers paid a third call, this one on the Washington Post's editors. Both Fortas and Clifford later insisted that they acted solely on Jenkins' behalf, and that the President did not even know what was going on.
Cryptic Statement. By 4 p.m., Jenkins, who spent the day at Fortas' home, was nearly out of control. His personal physician, Dr. Charles W. Thompson, summoned there earlier by Clifford and Fortas, concluded that Jenkins was "worn out," had him admitted for an "indefinite" stay at George Washington University Hospital for "high blood pressure and nervous exhaustion."