The Fifth Assassin: Brad Meltzer details his research into presidential assassinations

January 15, 2013

Writer

Today on radio, Glenn invited author Brad Meltzer onto the program to discuss his new book The Fifth Assassin. While the book is fictional, Meltzer did extensive research into the history of assassinations and assassination attempts throughout history and found some startling connections between them. He also spoke with former President George H.W. Bush about what it was like to live knowing that there were people out there who want to see you dead. Listen to the revealing conversation HERE and check out The Fifth Assassin HERE.

Rough transcript of the interview is below:

GLENN: Brad Meltzer is a good friend of the program. He's a "New York Times" best-selling author. He's the host of the show on The History Channel decoded. He has numerous best-selling books. His new book is called "The Fifth Assassin" and he actually picks up something that I'm really intrigued about and that is and I wish more people knew. The assassins of presidents in the past have a lot in common a lot in common. And his new book is what if they not had a lot in common, what if they were all working towards sort of the same goal. Brad is here to explain, and tell us about his new book.

VOICE: Thank you pal.

GLENN: Tell me the theory of your new book.

VOICE: You hit it on the head. I started with a guy coming to me, and he said Brad, I work at a museum in Washington D.C. that almost nobody knows about, and you've got to see what we have here. I get all these crazy letters from people all the time from people who see the TV program and just tell me what you have. And I have pieces of Abraham Lincoln's skull, and I have the bone of the John Wickes booth and I have actually the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln. Would you like to see it? And the government has these things. He didn't have artifacts from the Lincoln assassinations. He had the other assassinations as well. And it got me to thinking what do these assassins have in common and that's the topic it's a serial killer is meticulously re-creating all of the assassinations of all of the past presidents from John Wickes booth to Lee Harvey Oswald and wants to be "The Fifth Assassin". That's the plot but the theory is what they do have in common, when you look at the assassins. The Secret Service did a study, if you look at all of the assassins who have killed a President they basically have nothing in common. They basically have every social economic background. They're young and old. If you look at the four that did kill a President it's amazing. None of them did drugs. They weren't big drinkers. All four were surprisingly and outrageously neat and none of them except when they pulled that trigger was identified as a troublemaker. And what's interesting to me three out of the four of them were in their 20s. But beyond that they were all kind -- these are the two things I couldn't shake is one thing they had in common they were all for men with a cause. And we all know the power of that. But when it comes to assassins they can be divided into two categories. Howlers and hunters. And the howlers will send scary notes and there's a bomb threat but the good news is they rarely follow through. They just want attention so howling enough noise is enough for them. It's different with hunters though. Hunters actually research and prepare, and plot and follow that path to a goal. Howlers though, aren't interested in hunting and hunters aren't interested howling. And needless to say from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald all four assassins were hunters.

GLENN: There's also the one thing they had in common too is a Socialist with the exception of Boothe, a Socialist or Communist agenda.

VOICE: Yes. It's very interesting. You know -- when you look at the background it's amazing. Sometimes -- listen I write these novels I make it up. We know that's half of the fun of it. But I'm researching these things and I'm going wait a minute, at the time when you look at McKinley there was a plot to murder the top seven leaders around the world, and then oh wait this is also true anarchists are also running around when you see not just McKinley's time but Garfield's time, and then you also see it with Lee Harvey Oswald. And wait a minute am I making this plot up for this book or is the plot already there and of course, you know it is amazing when you see those things in common.

GLENN: So George H. W. Bush helped you with this.

VOICE: He did. A couple of years ago HW 41 the dad who just got out of hospital wrote me best fan letters I ever got saying he loved my novels and would I sign a copy for him. And listen you're the President I'll send you a free book. You get a free book out of me.

GLENN: Wait wait wait. Not this President. Some presidents double, triple, quadruple.

VOICE: Yes. I see I cued that up for you. And he's helped me with three books now, and listen I can make whatever I want, and we all know there are a few people that really know what it's like to sit in the White House and know for sure that someone is out there that wants to kill you. I went to Bush, and I said to him what's it's like. And were you scared for those moments. And he said I wasn't really scared. And I kept going back to him, and saying were you scared when this happened? And he's always pretty forthright. He's at the age of 88 years old there's no bravado. He's like Brad I'm drawing a blank. I've been tense. Scared is easy. And it made me think that when you think of a construction worker out on the edge of a girder, you know the fear of heights on the skyscraper is not part of the job. I think that's how it is for many U.S. presidents. Even though that fear is there it's not part of the job. Those details that Bush gave me I put in my book. When you read it you think wait, that seems real. And that's why. Because I like to have that source there.

GLENN: In today's world where they're talking about gun control and everything else. Does it make you tense to write a book where you're talking about "The Fifth Assassin". I know that the President isn't the President in the book. You know what people will say.

VOICE: I've been working on this book for two years. Little did I know. For me it's amazing. When I heard about the shooting in aurora your Newton, Connecticut so many of Ussery act what does this world come to. When I looked at it I saw this part of animal that's been part of the American experience. But a quiet 20-year-old sociopath who keeps to themselves and almost delusional in their approach. Their profile has been haunting us for more than a century. We've been here for a century and a half.

GLENN: Tell me what you think. I think that the best fiction writers which I would put that in the category. The best ones that are ones that will tell you the truth what is possible. You're a fiction writer what do you care. You look at all these scenarios. What's feasible. I could tell a book about and people will by buy. What do you think happens next if the President does massive executive orders and starts to remove guns from our society? What do you think happens?

VOICE: What I worry putting aside the guns for a minute. I've spent two years how the Secret Service keeps the President safe. One of the persons said this flat out they do penetration testing. What they do there's people in the government who're hired to break into the Pentagon or doing it since World War II, and now we've taken to a new level. And he broke into the inauguration, and got underneath the President's seat where the President sits where the parade is. Forget about the guns issue right now. Think about how many hunters are out there. If it's that easy that it's happening. To be completely honest with you it scares me how easy it is. If you use history as your guide we have to learn something from these assassinations. It was until until Garfield went down that the Secret Service realized we;ve got to protect him. In the case of JFK every time you're trying to imagine a circle that's getting smaller, and smaller trying to protect him.

GLENN: Brad Meltzer called "The Fifth Assassin". You're in a real treat.

VOICE: I want to mention one thing to you. You and I talked about Camp David a while back. I loved this detail. Camp David is a real life service. Is that people know Camp David from accords and what they are. Camp David is a President's playground. They can go there and play golf, and skeet shoot and what they have there most important thing is no press, and so when Bill Clinton said his allergies prevented him from going there. But when he learned that the press was barred from there his allergies disappeared.

GLENN: I will tell you that with this President his hand in our pocket is preventing him from going to Camp David. It allows him to go to Hawaii.

VOICE: I know. It's a little more expensive than a helicopter ride to Camp David. I love Camp David, and finding out things. There are real secrets on the estates. I know you love the insider stuff. They go from where the Secret Service compound and go underneath. And I won't tell you where it comes out. In those details it's amazing when you think about the security.

GLENN: I would hope you change some of these details.

VOICE: I did change the change of security point.

GLENN: Let's not make this a how to book.

VOICE: I always try to change the security protocols. And the that the and that you people to read your book but not at the cost of our security. We always change the security protocol.

GLENN: Thank you Brad.

Legal warfare strikes France's conservative hope

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An all-too-familiar story unfolded in France this week: the is law being weaponized against a "far-right" candidate. Does that ring a bell?

Glenn was taken aback earlier this week when he learned that Marine Le Pen, a popular French conservative, had been banned from the 2027 election following a controversial conviction. The ruling shocked French conservatives and foreign politicians alike, many of whom saw Le Pen as France’s best conservative hope. President Trump called it a "very big deal," a view shared by French commentators who fear this marks the end of Le Pen’s political career.

But this isn’t just about France—it’s a symptom of a larger threat looming over the West.

A double standard?

Fmr. President Sarkozy (left) and Fmr. Prime Minister Fillon (right)

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As of Sunday, March 30, 2025, Marine Le Pen led the polls with a commanding edge over her rivals, offering French conservatives their strongest shot at the presidency in years. Hours later, that hope crumbled. Found guilty of embezzling EU funds, Le Pen was sentenced to two years of house arrest, fined €100,000 ($108,200), and banned from public office for five years, effective immediately.

Glenn quickly highlighted an apparent double standard. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy and former Prime Minister François Fillon faced similar—or worse—corruption charges, yet neither was barred from office during their political runs. So why Le Pen, and why now? Similar to Trump’s "hush money" trial, legal troubles this late in the election cycle reek of interference. The decision should belong to voters—France’s largest jury—not a courtroom. This appears to be a grave injustice to the French electorate and another crack in democracy’s foundation.

This is NOT about France

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This pattern stretches far beyond France; it’s a tactic we’ve seen before.

In early 2025, Bucharest’s streets erupted in protest after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round of its presidential election. Călin Georgescu, a rising conservative, had clinched an unexpected victory, only to have it stripped away amid baseless claims of Russian interference. His supporters raged against the decision, seeing it as a theft of their voice.

Both Georgescu and Le Pen echo the legal barrage President Trump endured before his 2024 win. The Left hurled every weapon imaginable at him, unleashing unprecedented lawfare. In America, the Constitution held, and the people’s will prevailed.

Now, with Tesla vandalism targeting Elon Musk’s free-speech stance, a coordinated pushback against freedom is clear—spanning France, Romania, the U.S., and beyond.

The war on free will

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Trump’s 2024 victory doesn’t mean lawfare is dead; Europe shows it’s thriving.

France and Romania prove its effectiveness, sidelining candidates through courts rather than ballots. Glenn warned us about this years ago—when the powerful can’t win at the polls, they turn to the gavel. It’s a chilling trend of stripping voters of their choice and silencing dissent, all the while pawning it off as justice. The playbook is polished and ready, and America’s turn could come sooner than we think.

How Melania Trump is inspiring the next generation of fashion

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First Lady Melania Trump’s impeccable style has long captivated admirers across the globe, but for one young woman, it sparked a creative revolution.

Lorelai, a young Glenn Beck fan who requested a degree of anonymity, first met Glenn while attending America Fest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona with her grandmother. An aspiring fashion designer and illustrator, Lorelai shared with Glenn some of her sketches of characters from Glenn’s latest book, Chasing Embers. She also explained how Melania Trump became the cornerstone of her artistic journey, inspiring her to craft modest yet beautiful clothing that redefines modern fashion.

Melania Trump’s elegance—stunning, powerful, and undeniably feminine—first captured Lorelai’s attention during the First Lady’s time in the White House. Unlike the casual, often immodest trends dominating her peers’ wardrobes, Melania’s wardrobe exuded grace and sophistication. From tailored coats to flowing gowns, her choices were a masterclass in balancing boldness with dignity, a philosophy that resonated deeply with Lorelai. This admiration grew into inspiration as Lorelai began designing apparel specifically with Melania in mind, aspiring to design pieces that could match the First Lady’s grace. She strove to reflect Melania’s breathtaking style in her sketches in an effort to demonstrate how modesty can be beautiful.

The First Lady’s poised and graceful presence has redefined modesty for the modern era. To Lorelai, the First Lady’s style proves that more fabric offers boundless room for imagination, allowing personality to shine without sacrificing dignity. Melania embodies this perfectly—her fashion commands attention with stunning, memorable elegance. Inspired by this, Lorelai’s mission is to craft clothing for her generation that mirrors Melania’s influence, blending contemporary flair with classic beauty.

After her meeting with Glenn at America Fest, Lorelai’s passion and resolve have only deepened. Through fashion and art, Lorelai hopes to inspire others with the same grace that Melania Trump exemplifies. Below are some of Lorelai's sketches she was eager to share with Glenn.

Melania Trump: First Lady

I really adore First Lady Melania Trump’s grace and timeless beauty. She is extremely intelligent and brave but also strong and poised. Her fashion style displays these traits. I was inspired to create these outfits for our First Lady in hopes that she would see these drawings. -Lorelai

Melania Trump: Lady Liberty

We, as a country, will be celebrating next year our 250th anniversary of independence. The designs that inspired this patriotic gown came from Lady Liberty and Lady Columbia art. I also love our American flag, and this design is a combination of all three. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Character Art (Ember)

I chose to draw the characters Sky, Azaz and Ember from Glenn Beck and Mikayla G. Hedrick’s Chasing Embers series. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Concept Art (Ember)

I was inspired to draw a younger and teen version for Sky and Ember. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Character Art (Sky)

Chasing Embers Concept Art (Azaz)

I also gave multiple outfits designs for Sky and Azaz. I loved that their personalities and character development meant in my mind a wardrobe development too. -Lorelai

Glenn: Government workers bought luxury cars with YOUR tax dollars

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The deep state isn’t a conspiracy theory — it’s a reality. And the corrupt, free-spending Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is just one example of how Washington insiders enrich themselves.

A little-known agency in Washington perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with our bloated, corrupt government: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. It should be the poster child of everything that Elon Musk is exposing.

The agency was established in 1947 under the Labor Management Relations Act to serve as an independent agency mediating disputes between unions and businesses — a noble mission, perhaps. But like so many government institutions, it has rotted into something far removed from its original purpose.

The FMCS goes beyond mismanagement into blatant corruption and theft.

What was once a mechanism for labor stability has morphed into an unchecked slush fund — an exclusive playground for bureaucrats living high on taxpayer dollars.

The FMCS is a textbook case of government waste, an agency that no one was watching, where employees didn’t even bother showing up for work — some hadn’t for years. And yet they still collected paychecks and spent government money — our money — on their personal luxuries.

Luxury cars and cell phone bills

The Department of Government Efficiency discovered how FMCS employees used government credit cards — intended for official business — to lease luxury cars, cover personal cell phone bills, and even subscribe to USA Today. The agency’s information technology director, James Donnan, apparently billed taxpayers his wife’s cell phone bill, cable TV subscriptions in multiple homes, and personal subscriptions.

FMCS officials commissioned portraits of themselves and hung them in their offices, and you footed the bill. They took exotic vacations and hired their friends and relatives to keep the gravy train rolling.

The FMCS goes beyond mismanagement into blatant corruption and theft — and it went on for decades, unnoticed and unchallenged.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the FMCS — a necessary and long-overdue move. But the FMCS is just one of many agencies within the federal government burning through billions of taxpayer dollars. How many more slush funds exist in the shadows, funneling money into the pockets of bureaucrats who produce nothing? How many government-funded NGOs operate in direct opposition to American interests?

Perhaps the most disturbing question is why Americans tolerate such corruption. Why do so many Americans tolerate this? Why is the left — supposedly the party of the people — defending the very institutions that rob working-class Americans blind?

Corruption beyond bureaucracy

The recent rallies led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and their socialist acolytes claim to be a grassroots uprising against corruption and greed. But GPS data from these rallies tells a different story. The majority of attendees aren’t ordinary citizens fed up with the status quo. They’re professional activists — serial agitators who bounce from protest to protest.

Roughly 84% of devices tracked at these rallies were present at multiple Kamala Harris events. A staggering 31% appeared at over 20 separate demonstrations, tied to Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and pro-Palestinian causes.

Many of these organizations receive federal grant money — our tax dollars — and they’re using those funds to protest the very policies that threaten to cut off their financial lifeline.

This isn’t democracy in action. This is political theater — astroturfing perfected. And the American taxpayer is funding it.

Rooting out corruption

Trump was a battering ram against this corrupt system. Elon Musk is a surgeon, meticulously exposing the infection that has festered for decades — and that’s why the leftists hate him even more than they hate Trump. Musk threatens to dismantle the financial web that sustains their entire operation.

When we allow the government to grow unchecked and our leaders to prioritize their own wealth and power over the good of the nation, figures like Trump and Musk are necessary. Rome didn’t fall because of an external invasion but rather due to internal decay that looked an awful lot like what we see today.

We must demand better. We must refuse to tolerate this corruption any longer. The FMCS may be gone, but the fight to root out this deep-seated corruption is far from over.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Did the CIA hide the real truth behind JFK's assassination?

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Many were disappointed by the recent release of the JFK files, frustrated by the apparent lack of answers to decades-old questions. The problem? They’re asking the wrong question.

Everyone wants a "who"—a smoking gun, someone to blame. It’s understandable; Americans crave justice for a slain president, to hold the culprits of one of the 20th century’s greatest crimes accountable. But the real answer isn’t a "who"—it’s a "what." That "what" is the CIA and proof of their nefarious dealings since the 1960s.

In his most recent TV special, Glenn delves into the JFK files, where he found the crucial information that everyone else seemed to miss. Be sure to watch the TV special here.

The CIA's Dirty Fingerprints

Did Oswald act alone? I tested the Warren Commission's "lone gunman" narrative and discovered something SHOCKING.

Watch the full experiment TONIGHT at 9PM ET only on https://t.co/Ki1CX633fq pic.twitter.com/DwNSUFXJ1r
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) March 26, 2025

While the recent JFK files don’t explicitly pin the assassination on the CIA, the evidence between the lines is compelling.

If you follow Glenn on X, you’ve seen his newest artifact: an exact replica of Lee Harvey Oswald’s rifle. Glenn tested it at the range, attempting to replicate the notoriously difficult shot Oswald allegedly made that fateful day in Dallas. While Glenn shares more takeaways in his TV special, one thing stood out immediately: the rifle’s abysmal quality, its shoddy scope, and the odd caliber of ammunition it uses.

Oswald’s rifle, a Mannlicher-Carcano, is chambered in 6.5mm—an unusual caliber. Much like today, the average gun store in the ‘60s didn’t stock 6.5mm rounds. The largest known supply was owned by the CIA, who had shipped the ammo from Greece after World War II. Suspiciously, there’s no record of where Oswald got his ammunition, but the JFK files confirm that the gun store where he bought the Mannlicher-Carcano had CIA connections.

It’s well-known that Oswald defected to the USSR and lived there before returning to the U.S. The JFK files reveal that from the moment he touched down stateside, the CIA tracked him like a hawk. They followed him across the country and even to Mexico City—but, conveniently, seemed to lose him in Dallas just as President Kennedy arrived. What a coincidence.

Whether by design or gross incompetence, the CIA greased Oswald’s path, letting him slip unhindered into that sixth-floor Book Depository window.

The Cover-Up

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If the JFK files aren’t the smoking gun many hoped for, why did the CIA fight so hard to keep them buried?

The answer is trust. Hard as it may be to imagine today, Americans in the ‘60s trusted their government—at least more than they do now. This cover-up preserved that trust longer than it might have lasted, allowing the CIA to pull off more scandals before the public caught on. From Benghaziand 9/11 to COVID-19 and January 6, the same dirty marks found in the JFK files stain these events. It’s about saving face. The files make the CIA look incompetent at best, complicit at worst.

This might feel like common knowledge today—especially to Glenn’s audience—but 40 or 50 years ago, saying such things could land you in the loony bin. It’s taken 60 years of growing suspicion to reach this point. Imagine if the JFK files had been available back then. Could we have stopped six decades of CIA shenanigans in their tracks?

The thought is chilling.

What Now?

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The files don’t name a mastermind or explicitly confirm the darkest JFK assassination conspiracies that have swirled for decades—but they’re far from empty. They expose a disturbing truth: the CIA’s unchecked power in the ‘60s echoes into today.

In one of his most exciting TV specials yet, Glenn delves deep into the files, proving why we can’t ignore these revelations. Stop chasing a "who" and start demanding accountability for the "what." Only by confronting this can we hope to rein in the agency that’s dodged scrutiny for too long.

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