Woman reveals JFK affair on ‘Rock Center’
>>> an explosive claim from a former white house intern. mimi says she had an affair with president john f. kennedy that lasted some 18 months. she details the story in "once upon a secret." natalie is here with that.
>> meredith sat down with ms. alford for an interview for "rock center" with brian williams which airs wednesday. they talked about the president's darker side and why she kept the story a secret for so long.
>> most mornings when i woke up i thought, i don't want to get up and write this book. i want to hide under the covers.
>> reporter: what made you get out from under the covers?
>> when you keep silent you think it's keeping you safe. in fact, it's deadly.
>> reporter: the secret, claims alford started in the summer of 1962 when the 19-year-old debutante from a prominent new jersey family began what she says was an 18-month affair with president john f. kennedy . it was revealed in 2003 when it was written in a biography that a tall, slender, beautiful white house intern was rumored to be among the president's paramours. at the time mimi issued a short statement and then disappeared. now she is talking and says her first close encounter with the president took place in this indoor heated pool at the white house . the invitation came from the president's aide dave powers who asked her and two other staffers to join us for a swim, never mentioning the "us" included jfk.
>> so you were 19, four days into your internship at the white house and you're in the swimming pool with the president of the united states .
>> it didn't seem unnatural. just because everybody was friendly. i went back to work afterward.
>> you just dried off and went back. nobody blinked?
>> no one said anything.
>> she was invited back to the white house residence and then taken on a private tour of some of the rooms by the president where she then lost her virginity to him in jackie kennedy 's room.
>> you said, i wouldn't call it making love but i wouldn't call it nonconsensual. he manoeuvred me, so short of screaming i don't think i could have thwarted his intentions. it sounds like you did feel overpowered.
>> i think overpowered in the sense that he was the president. he was this unbelievably handsome man, 45 years old. not overpowered physically that someone grabbed me and made me do something that i wasn't really willing to do because i really think i was willing to do it.
>> several people tied to the jfk administration confirm alford was an intern and had special access to the president.
>> more on wednesday when meredith joins us in studio. you can catch the full interview on "rock center with brian williams " wednesday night at 9:00/8:00 central time here on nbc.
