Sex, Lies and Maybe Murder: The Death of President Warren G. Harding

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01] I'm Kevin, and today we're going to talk about the mysterious death of an American president. Did he die by natural causes, or was he instead murdered by someone quite close to him?

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00] Content Warning, this episode contains discussion of murder. In the summer of 1923, President Warren G. Harding, his wife Florence, and others embarked on an ambitious trip. Called the Voyage of Understanding, the route would take him all the way to the West Coast and even north to Canada and Alaska. Those were places which had never before been visited by a sitting United States president.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_01] But he never made it back home.

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_00] He fell ill in late July. His doctors made him rest at a hotel in San Francisco. They thought he was getting better, but he died suddenly on August 2nd, 1923. It happened as he sat in bed listening to his wife read aloud an article about him.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_01] It was said at the time that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage, but at the insistence of Florence Harding, there was no autopsy done. So for many, a sense of mystery hung over the president's death.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00] Seven years later, after Florence herself had passed away, a Washington insider startled the world when he came out with what he said was the true story of Harding's death. The president, he said, had been murdered. And the killer was none other than his own wife. My name is Anya Kane. I'm a journalist.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_01] And I'm Kevin Greenlee. I'm an attorney.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_00] And this is Murder Sheet.

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_01] We're a true crime podcast focused on original reporting, interviews, and deep dives into murder cases. We're the Murder Sheet. And this is Sex, Lies, and Maybe Murder. The death of President Warren G. Harding.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_01] The idea that President Harding was killed by his own wife shows up in some popular histories and is even addressed on the website of the Harding presidential sites. It is definitely something that people still talk about. So we want to go through it all. And at the end of the episode, we will tell you exactly where we believe the truth lies.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00] To present this theory, we will be reading excerpts from a couple of the books that lay out the crucial points. One of these books is the one that first presented the theory to the world. That is a volume called The Strange Death of President Harding by Gaston Means. Kevin will be reading those experts. But when Means is quoting things said by Harding's wife, Florence, those words will be read by me, Anya.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_01] So who is Gaston Means? Well, that's actually a complicated question. But for now, we will highlight just one item from his extensive resume. Early in the Harding administration, William Burns, a friend of the Attorney General, hired Means to be an investigator for the Bureau of Investigation. That was the forerunner of today's FBI. In this role, Means was thrown into contact with a number of important figures.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_01] He was also in a position to learn a great many secrets. With all of that in mind, let's take a look at his story.

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00] Once you start reading Means' book, one thing that becomes clear early on is that the man doesn't seem to like women very much. Here he is talking about walking outside on an autumn afternoon.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_01] I stopped and picked up a leaf of silver maple. It was stiff with age and curled and cracked to the edges. Its surface was wrinkled and hard, glowing dully in crimson and gold and amber, like the face of a painted old woman. I tossed it aside with disgust.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00] Much of Means' story revolves around his relationship with Florence Kling Harding, who of course was the wife of President Harding. Here, he writes about a meeting with her at the White House.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_01] I found her door slightly ajar when I rapped. Through the aperture, I could see her standing across the room, looking out of a window. I noticed that in her right hand she had gripped some folds of the lace curtains at the window, and this hand was nervously crushing the folds. She turned in a flash at my first wrap and almost ran across the room. Her face, as usual, was in repose. Only her eyes glistened with a repressed excitement.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00] Mr. Means, come in!

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_01] She darted behind me and closed the door herself. Then she sat down as usual on the end of a couch and arranged a pillow at her back. She made a firm effort to appear at ease and unhurried.

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00] I'm feeling fine this morning, she announced. My masseur has just finished her treatment. She tells me that I have the firm flesh of a young girl, see?

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_01] She held up her arm. The loose, violet-colored chiffon sleeves fell away in soft folds.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00] My arms are smooth and firm and white, aren't they? I am very proud of my arms. And you have noticed, I am sure, that my walk has the elastic spring that I had same as a girl. I am really proud of my walk. I have kept myself young, and I always intend to.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_01] No one is ever any older than they feel, was my not very original rejoinder. She held a handkerchief with a narrow lace border, which she crushed in her hands. She reclasped her fingers.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00] Now, Mr. Means, I know men and I know their weaknesses. And about all a good woman can do is to forgive and hope, and hope and forgive. Always expecting happier things in the future.

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_01] There surely seemed nothing for me to say to this.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00] Many public men, many great men, have had their careers utterly ruined, and the lives of all their loved ones totally wrecked by indiscretions. They have had to forfeit everything that was dear to them, by an act of weakness.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_01] She paused, clasping and unclasping her hands. But the expression of her face did not change. She continued.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00] I must now tell you of just such an instance. And I would not speak of it. Only the consequences are growing into a nightmare day and night, like a sword of Damocles hanging over my head all the time. And it is also hanging over President Harding. I am thinking of him more than of myself. I want to save him from his folly. I must save him. And what I am doing now is to save him far more than myself.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_01] After this long ethical preamble, very quickly and out of a clear blue sky, as if impelled almost against her will, she said.

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_00] Warren Harding has had a very ugly affair with a girl named Nan Britton from Marion. It goes back to the actual childhood of this girl.

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_01] Ah, I was to be told the story of Nan Britton after all, and by Mrs. Harding herself.

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00] But you know what? Let's instead listen to the story of Nan Britton as told by herself.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_01] Nan wrote a whole book about her relationship with Harding. It is a fascinating read. And we want to share some of the highlights with you because we think it gives us some invaluable insights into Warren G. Harding and his world. So, Anya will be reading it. But when she quotes President Harding, those words will be read by me, Kevin.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_01] One thing to keep in mind about this book is that this is one of those volumes where you get the idea that there may have been some things happening just between the lines or behind the page that we're not seeing.

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_00] So, Nan grew up in Marion, Ohio, where Harding lived and ran a newspaper. According to many accounts, that newspaper was only successful as it was because of the business acumen of his wife, Florence.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_01] Nan grew up having a childhood crush on Harding, despite the fact that he was decades older than her. But life intervened. Her father died. Her family fell on hard times. They moved away. A couple of years later, when Nan was 18, she wrote to Harding from New York, where she was now living. By this time, Harding was a senator living in Washington, D.C. She asked for his help finding a job in D.C.

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_01] He all but rushed to New York to see her.

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_00] Things got friendly.

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_01] We're now going to read some excerpts from her book, which discusses what happened next. And again, Anya will read most of it. But when she is quoting Warren G. Harding, I will read his part.

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_00] Some kind of convention in New York at that time had made hotel accommodations very scarce. And Mr. Harding confessed that he was obliged to take the one room available in the Manhattan Hotel, the bridal chamber. He asked me to come up there with him so that we might continue our conversation without interruptions or annoyances. The bridal chamber of the Manhattan Hotel was, to me, a very lovely room.

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_00] And in view of the fact that we had scarcely closed the door behind us when we shared our first kiss, seemed sweetly appropriate. The bed, which we did not disturb, stood up on a die. And the furnishings were in keeping with the general refinement of atmosphere. I shall never, never forget how Mr. Harding kept saying after each kiss,

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_01] God! God, Nan!

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_00] In a high diminuendo, nor how he pleaded in tense voice,

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_01] Oh, dearie, tell me it isn't hateful to you to have me kiss you.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00] And as I kissed him back, I thought that he surpassed even my gladdest dreams of him. Between kisses, we found time to discuss my immediate need for a position. And I found Mr. Harding less inclined to recommend me in Washington. In fact, he frankly confessed to me he preferred to have me in New York, where he could come over to see me and where he would feel more at liberty to be with me. There were no intimacies in that bridal chamber beyond our very ardent kisses.

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_00] Mr. Harding tucked $30 in my brand new silk stocking And was sorry he had no more than that time to give me.

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_01] So you see what I meant. She writes about them basically making out. And then she says more or less that while that was literally going on, while they were literally making out, she was also asking him for a job. So there's clearly stuff going on here beneath the surface.

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[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_01] In any case, the couple left the hotel and Harding took her for a job interview with an associate. We will rejoin Nan's book as they were leaving.

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_00] Going down in the elevator, Mr. Harding whispered to me,

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_01] Now do you believe that I love you?

[00:12:57] [SPEAKER_00] We took a taxi back to the Manhattan Hotel. The taxi had not drawn close enough to the curb, and there was a space of perhaps 10 inches between the running board and the sidewalk. Mr. Harding caught his foot and tripped, falling in a very awkward position. His face became red, and he arose the most embarrassed man imaginable. Mr. Harding's blush of confusion after his fall remained a good many minutes and was explained by him.

[00:13:22] [SPEAKER_01] You see, dearie, I'm so crazy about you that I don't know where I'm stepping.

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_00] The bridal chamber at the Manhattan seemed almost to be our home when we returned to it for the second time. Mr. Harding told me dozens of times the thing I had always longed to hear from him.

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_01] I love you, dearie.

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_00] Seemed no less the perfectly natural and normal thing.

[00:13:43] [SPEAKER_01] We were made for each other, Nan.

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_00] He said.

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_01] Okay, so over the coming weeks and months, Nan and Harding continued to see each other. She reports that he kept asking for sex, but she declined to go quite that far. Once, he even raised the issue when they were in the back of a taxi.

[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_00] I was afraid the taxi man would surely hear Mr. Harding's whispered remarks to me, especially when he said over and over again,

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_01] Dearie, are you going to sleep with me? Look at me, Nan. Going to sleep with me, dearie?

[00:14:15] [SPEAKER_00] How I love to hear him say, dearie.

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_01] She wrote about a time in Chicago when they went to a hotel together.

[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_00] In Chicago, we went to a downtown hotel. Here, Mr. Harding registered us as man and wife. I noticed he was conversing with the clerk, and when he joined me, he said in a low voice on the way to the elevator,

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_01] The clerk said if I could prove that you were my wife, he would give us the room for nothing.

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_00] I asked him laughingly what he had replied to that, and he said,

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_01] I told him I was not in the habit of proving my wife's identity, and that I had no objection at all to paying for accommodation.

[00:14:50] [SPEAKER_00] Nevertheless, we were very circumspect while there that morning, and our lovemaking was, as it had been up until then, restricted.

[00:14:59] [SPEAKER_01] So to be perfectly clear, when Nan says their lovemaking was restricted, she means they did not actually have sex.

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_00] Although I was deliriously happy to lie in close embrace with my darling, I just could not even yet permit the intimacies, which would mean severance forever from a moral code, which, while never identified to me by my parents as the one virtue to hold intact, was intuitively guarded by me as such. Mr. Harding has many times said to me that if people were to know that we had been together intimately without indulging in closest embrace, they would not credit the story.

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_00] In fact, he said to me with something like chagrin that the men would say,

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_01] There certainly must have been something wrong with Harding.

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_00] But somehow, it is characteristic of me to be sure of myself, and when once committed to a cause, there is seldom a turning back. And as much as I loved Mr. Harding, the traditional frailty men are wont to attribute to women as the weaker sex did not dominate me. This sureness on my part accounted later on for the total lack of recriminations, a word Mr. Harding very frequently employed.

[00:16:09] [SPEAKER_01] Remember, dearie, no recriminations, he used to say. So, the time did finally come when Nan decided she was ready to have sex with Warren G. Harding. It proved to be a rather memorable occasion.

[00:16:25] [SPEAKER_00] On July 30th, 1917, Mr. Harding came again to New York. He decided we could safely go to a hotel where friends of his in Washington had intimated to him that they had stopped under similar unconventional circumstances, with no unpleasant consequences. I remember so well. I wore a pink linen dress, which was rather short and enhanced the little girl look, which was often my despair. There were no words going up in the elevator.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_00] The day was exceedingly warm, and we were glad to see that the room, which had been assigned to us, had two large windows. The room faced Broadway, but we were high enough not to be bothered by street noises. We were quite alone. I became Harding's bride, as he called me, on that day. The telephone startled us. Mr. Harding jumped up to answer it. He said,

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_01] You've got the wrong party.

[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_00] Almost simultaneously, however, there was a rap at the door. It was unlocked from without, and then two men came in. I could hear them speaking to each other before they entered. One man asked my name. I whispered to Mr. Harding, what shall I say to them? Curiously enough, not feeling much fear in the distress of the situation. I never could explain this to myself, except that I loved Warren Harding so much that if he were with me, it didn't matter what happened.

[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_01] Tell them the truth. They've got us.

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_00] He seemed so pitifully distressed. So I told the man my name, where I lived, where I worked, in answer to queries put to me gruffly. All this information he wrote down on a pad. Mr. Harding sat disconsolately on the edge of the bed, pleading for them to allow me to go. He seemed to base his plea on the argument that we had not disturbed any of their guests, and for this reason, we should be allowed to depart in peace.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_01] I'll answer for both, won't I? He entreated them. Let this poor little girl go.

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_00] They told him he should have thought of that before, and other things I thought were very unkind, considering he had not bound and dragged me there. I'd come of my own free will. I remember he told them I was 22 years old, and I, not realizing that he wanted to make me as old as he safely could, interrupted him and stated truthfully that I was only 20. To almost every argument he advanced in my behalf, they answered, You'll have to tell that to the judge.

[00:18:46] [SPEAKER_00] They intimated that they were sending for a police patrol. I did become frightened then. About that time, one of the men picked up Mr. Harding's hat. Inside was his name, W.G. Harding in gold lettering. And upon seeing that name, they became calm immediately. Not only calm, but strangely respectful. Withdrawing very soon. We packed our things immediately, and the men conducted us to the side entrance.

[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_00] On the way out, Mr. Harding handed one of them a $20 bill. When we were in the taxi, he remarked explosively,

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_01] Gee, Nan, I thought I wouldn't get out of that for under $1,000. Now, it's worth noting the couple had a rather significant age gap, which affected how Nan referred to Harding.

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_00] She writes about one occasion where Harding said something kind to her.

[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_01] Gee, Nan, you'd make a lovely bride.

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_00] I answered him, Would I, darling Warren? I called him Warren very rarely. He used to tease me to say to him, Warren, darling, I love you. And it seemed to delight him to hear me say his name. But I was so much younger than he, exactly 30 years his junior, that somehow it seemed out of tune for me to address him by his first name. I just resorted to endearments, usually calling him sweetheart.

[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_01] The couple met regularly, but one occasion would prove to have lasting consequences.

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_00] The first part of January 1919, I went over to Washington. Mr. Harding sometimes found it difficult to be with me all of the afternoon, and of course I understood this. That particular afternoon and evening, however, he did spend with me up until 1030 or 11 o'clock. We went over to the Senate office in the evening. We stayed quite a while there that evening.

[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_00] Longer, he said, than was wise for us to do, because the rules governing guests in the Senate offices, both decided afterward, were rather strict. It was here we both decided afterwards that our baby girl was conceived. Mr. Harding told me he was liked to have me be with him in his office, for then the place held precious memories and he could visualize me there during the hours he worked alone.

[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_00] Mr. Harding was more or less careless of consequences, feeling sure he was not now going to become a father. No such luck, he said. But he was mistaken. And of course, the Senate offices do not provide preventative facilities for use in such emergencies.

[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_01] It did not take Nan long to realize she was pregnant.

[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_00] The latter part of February 1919, I knew for a certainty that I was to become the mother of Warren Harding's child. I wrote Mr. Harding as soon as my belief was confirmed in my own mind. He wrote that this trouble was not so very serious and could be handled. I honestly felt from the very first that he was more interested in having the child by far than in helping me to handle the problem otherwise.

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_00] But of course, our difficult situation called for a discussion of an operation or other means of procedure. He was a married man and United States Senator from Ohio.

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_01] Nan and Harding arranged to meet in Washington. She took a room at a hotel.

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_00] Mr. Harding came up to my room. I remember well how in spite of the fact that his forehead was wet and he showed other signs of nervousness, he said in the low voice which always soothed me,

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_01] We must go over this thing in a sane way, dearie. And we must not allow ourselves to be nervous over it.

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_00] He was deeply concerned. And in an attempt at a simple solution, he went out and returned with some Dr. Humphrey's number 11 tablets.

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_01] So those were pills which were supposed to induce abortions.

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_00] I even made fun of the tiny white pills. I remember how he smiled faintly at me from the lavatory where he stood washing his hands when I expressed my belief that the pills would not be effective in my case.

[00:22:55] [SPEAKER_01] No faith, no works, Nan.

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_00] He said. He sat in the big chair by the window and took me on his lap. He told me how I had filled him with the first real longing he had known to have children. I told him in mock seriousness that since he had always had such a desire for children, I'd have to raise a family for him.

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_01] All right, dearie, but let's see how this one comes out.

[00:23:19] [SPEAKER_00] He answered facetiously.

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_01] So, Nan did not end the pregnancy. Harding sent her rather large sums of money to support her and the baby. After the child, a girl who named Elizabeth Ann was born, Harding declined to see it. Now, he did, though, accept the Republican presidential nomination.

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_01] This was a reckless thing to do, since he had to know that becoming the Republican candidate for president would dramatically increase attention on him and it would potentially result in his relationship with Nan getting exposed. After he was elected president, Harding continued his risky behavior. He even hosted Nan in the White House.

[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_01] On that first visit, he took her to his private office.

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_00] Once in there, he turned and took me in his arms and told me what I could see in his face, that he was delighted to see me. Not more delighted, however, than I was to see him. There were windows along one side of the room, which looked out upon the green of the White House grounds, and outside, stalking up and down, face rigidly to the front, moved the president's armed guard.

[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_00] But in spite of this apparent obliviousness on the part of the guard, we were both skeptical. And Mr. Harding said to me that people seemed to have eyes in the sides of their heads down there. And so we must be very circumspect. Whereupon he introduced me to the one place where he said he thought we might share kisses in safety. This was a small closet in the anteroom, evidently a place for hats and coats, but entirely empty most of the times we used it.

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER_00] For we repaired there many times in the course of my visit to the White House. And in the darkness of a space not more than five feet square, the president of the United States and his adoring sweetheart made love.

[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_01] Okay, so now you know the situation. President Harding has a child with a woman, not his wife. He's having sex with the mother of his child at the White House in a closet. He is also regularly sending the mother large amounts of money. This is a huge scandal waiting to happen.

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_00] With all of that in mind, let's head back to that meeting between Gaston Means and Florence Harding. The meeting where she told him about Harding's affair.

[00:25:53] [SPEAKER_01] As she paused, I saw that her face was white as chalk under the carefully and daintily rouged and wrinkled surface. And that she was laboring with an inner excitement that was acute. Her immobile countenance seemed to have frozen. Her eyes narrowed and glistened through half-closed lids, like slits covering a raging fire. I really felt alarmed and started to suggest a change of subject when she again made one of her quick, unexpected speeches.

[00:26:23] [SPEAKER_00] This girl Nan Britton has a child, and she claims that Warren Harding is the father of it.

[00:26:29] [SPEAKER_01] At that moment, I was too surprised and astonished to speak.

[00:26:33] [SPEAKER_00] I don't believe it.

[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_01] She snapped.

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_00] I don't believe a word of it.

[00:26:36] [SPEAKER_01] There was no room for question or doubt in her words or accent. She did not believe it. Now that the thing had actually been spoken, she seemed to command herself once more.

[00:26:47] [SPEAKER_00] She told Means that she wanted him to investigate the story of how Nan and Harding's relationship began.

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER_01] The reason why she chose him for this role, according to Means, was because he was just so amazing in every way.

[00:27:00] [SPEAKER_00] I know that you have the ability, for I have tested you out, and I know that you can be trusted. I suppose I might find other investigators with like ability, but I feel sure I can never find one in whom I could place such confidence, and with whom I can share most secret intentions and plans. You have demonstrated to me that nothing can make you break a confidence. You must take this assignment and carry it through successfully. I shall depend on you. Will you?

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_01] I spoke. Do I understand correctly? I am to find out for you through whatever channels I can, just when the improper relations began with your husband and Nan Britton. She was quick to correct emphatically.

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_00] Or if there have been proper relations at all. I am not convinced of that, yet.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_01] I see. I misunderstood. I thought that had been established.

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_00] No!

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_01] Just at that moment, there was a rap on the door. Ms. Harding stood up quickly and said, Come in. President Harding entered.

[00:28:03] [SPEAKER_00] I want to jump in here for a moment just to quickly note the contemporaries all seem to describe Harding as an incredibly good looking man. I personally don't see it, but times and tastes change. To me, he's just kind of a regular looking guy. With that said, it's interesting to see how Means describes him, especially since Means is so harsh in his description of Mrs. Harding. Let's get back to Means' account.

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_01] I also rose to my feet, of course. Harding had on a light overcoat and held in his hand, his hat and gloves. Every time I saw Mr. Harding, I was impressed anew with the real beauty of the man and the charm of his person. I used the word beauty advisedly. He was as handsome as an Apollo. Yet his head and shoulders held a classic grandeur that the mere word handsome was inadequate to express.

[00:28:57] [SPEAKER_00] After a bit of small talk, President Harding leaves. Florence Harding then revealed to Means that she had suspicions about the integrity of some of the men Harding worked with and that she wanted him to investigate them too.

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_01] So for what it's worth, it is certainly true that there were a number of ethically dubious men in the Harding administration. Now that's beyond the scope of what we want to cover in this particular episode, but it was certainly another potentially hugely damaging crisis that was brewing just under the surface. Another thing that was just waiting to become a huge scandal.

[00:29:34] [SPEAKER_00] But our focus today is on Harding's relationship with Nan. Means was able to get his hands on pieces of expensive jewelry that the president had given to Nan. He brought it to Florence for her inspection. He wrote,

[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_01] I had the jewelry wrapped together in white tissue paper and placed in a small pasteboard box. She removed the lid of the box and spread the tissue paper out flat on the surface of the table. All the articles lay exposed. She bent over them, lifting up one by one and putting it down again. Accursed things. Entombed within these glittering baubles were her past dreams, her present happiness, and her future hopes.

[00:30:16] [SPEAKER_00] No husband has any right to give anything away without the knowledge of his wife.

[00:30:22] [SPEAKER_01] She spoke with an ominous mildness. What a picture of hate and wrath was on Mrs. Harding's face as she bent over that table and looked at those articles of jewelry.

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_00] Do you realize that it was as much my money as his? That my money helped pay for these things. It was I who saved and scrimped and sacrificed through years and years and years to save money. And this is what he does with it.

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_01] Mrs. Harding asked means to get even more information and items connecting Nan and the president.

[00:30:56] [SPEAKER_00] I want every scrap of evidence possible. So I will know exactly what to do, what I am to say, and how I shall present my facts to President Harding.

[00:31:06] [SPEAKER_01] This was the first intimation that I had had that she had not yet said anything to the president.

[00:31:12] [SPEAKER_00] I am not ready to act. Yet. I want a confession. I must wait until I can force a complete confession. Continue the surveillance of Nan Britain and keep me advised. And come at once if any emergency arises. My personal maids are instructed that I am to see you at any time you may call.

[00:31:32] [SPEAKER_01] I have not accepted this new assignment, I reminded her. She continued.

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_00] With those things in my possession, I will be master of the situation. I hold the whip hand. Warren Harding will do exactly what I tell him to do. Nan Britain will do exactly what I tell her to do.

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_01] So as you can imagine, that did not go over well with President Harding. Later, Florence would tell means about some of their confrontations and he would record them in his book word for word. So now when we pick this part up, Florence is talking and she's describing a back and forth she had had with her husband. As always, as always, I'm going to read the words of the first lady and I, Kevin, I'm going to take the words of President Harding.

[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_00] Oh, we have had terrible scenes. After one of these scenes, one day I said to him, Warren, I can feel it coming.

[00:32:24] [SPEAKER_01] What?

[00:32:25] [SPEAKER_00] Complete exposure. Then he just seemed to go all to pieces. He said,

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_01] Damn it. Let it come. Let it come. God, I'll be glad to have it coming over with.

[00:32:35] [SPEAKER_00] You will be impeached.

[00:32:36] [SPEAKER_01] I will tell the truth.

[00:32:38] [SPEAKER_00] You will be disgraced.

[00:32:39] [SPEAKER_01] I will tell the truth.

[00:32:40] [SPEAKER_00] You may be imprisoned.

[00:32:41] [SPEAKER_01] I will tell the truth. The exact truth. There can be no jury of 12 American men or women who would send me to jail. But even a jail, a prison, would be peace compared to this. I am no criminal. Let them impeach. God knows I'm sick and tired of it all. I'll be glad to have it over. Glad! Glad!

[00:33:02] [SPEAKER_00] I could only stare at him and gasp, Are you crazy? How he raved. He was insane. He thundered at me.

[00:33:09] [SPEAKER_01] No, I am not crazy. That too would be a relief to go crazy.

[00:33:13] [SPEAKER_00] I could not speak. I had never seen Warren Harding like this. He went on.

[00:33:18] [SPEAKER_01] If they impeach, then do you know what I'll do? Do you want to know? I'll tell you. The world is a big place. And I'll take my child and I'll go away. No one shall keep me from my child. You shall not. You hear me? You shall not.

[00:33:35] [SPEAKER_00] I could only gasp. Warren! Warren!

[00:33:38] [SPEAKER_01] Now I've said it and I mean it.

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER_00] I wondered then why I didn't cry like other women. I am sure any other woman would have cried. I never cry anymore. I used to, long ago. So I calmly said to him, What will you do with me? My voice was as firm as if I were inquiring the time of day. You can do what you damn please. Then I did begin to plead. He was crazy and I knew it. Warren! Warren! Think of our young love! He would not let me finish.

[00:34:08] [SPEAKER_01] Young love! Our young love! Love! I never loved you! Ah! Now you've got the truth! Young love! You ran me down! God in heaven, young love! You ran me down!

[00:34:19] [SPEAKER_00] Those are the very words that President Harding said to me. The very words to me, his wife, for 33 years. Oh, it was a terrible scene. He was insane that night. Well, the next morning he was humble and penitent as usual, for he always had a kind heart. And he begged my forgiveness. I told him that I forgave him. How many times I've had to forgive. But I knew that nothing could ever be the same again.

[00:34:47] [SPEAKER_00] What I had heard that night, I shall never forget. He pleaded that he had lost self-control. It had happened. It would happen again. Sometimes loss of self-control is a means of self-revelation. I had run him down? He would take his child and go away? Well, we would see about that. Those two sentences have churned back and forth, back and forth, in my brain, to the exclusion of everything else.

[00:35:14] [SPEAKER_00] I registered a vow, a solemn vow, that never, never, never should he take his child and go away. From that night, in spite of a spoken word of forgiveness, there has been deep, hidden war between us.

[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_01] Means wrote in his book about a later meeting he had with Florence Harding, one in which she discussed with him the plans the Hardings were making for a journey to Alaska.

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER_00] I am determined that Warren Harding shall be completely under my control. It is because of this, and this alone, that the trip to Alaska is being planned. I am a child of destiny. I must fulfill that destiny. The president is to die first. He will die in honor. The stars have so decreed. There can be no appeal from this verdict. I and I alone shall fulfill Warren Harding's final destiny, which means exactly what is happening.

[00:36:12] [SPEAKER_00] That the real power rests in my hands. Warren Harding will be helpless to do anything ever again without my knowledge and approval. The greatest, richest, most powerful nation on earth shall know the rule of a woman. It is going to tax my ingenuity and every resource of brain and cunning, but I will find a way. Mark that, I will find a way.

[00:36:34] [SPEAKER_01] Had the woman gone stark crazy, I was asking myself if she was talking? But no crazy person could follow such concentration of determined thought.

[00:36:45] [SPEAKER_00] From this day, Gaston Means, from this moment, I want you to know that I begin to live that destiny. I am ruler supreme of my husband, the president of the United States, and his cabinet, Congress, Senate, all the powers that function in governmental machinery. It is I, Florence Kling Harding, who will control and guide that machinery by the touch of my little finger. Just you wait and see. He laughs best who laughs last.

[00:37:12] [SPEAKER_00] In my position now, there is nothing more to wish for. I stand at the summit and see before me the brilliant, glorious goal of power toward which the path lies open. I shall stand on that summit. Mark what I tell you. The world may never really know what one woman with a will of iron has accomplished. But you, Gaston Means, you will know.

[00:37:35] [SPEAKER_01] Okay, so there's not much left to tell. This is very close to where we came in at the very beginning of this episode. While on that trip, Harding became ill. He was taken to a hotel in San Francisco. He was made to rest in bed there. The doctors thought he was getting better, but they were wrong.

[00:37:54] [SPEAKER_00] On August 2nd, 1923, President Harding died. Florence did not give permission for there to be an autopsy. Not long after that, she returned to Washington, D.C., and again had a meeting with Means.

[00:38:08] [SPEAKER_01] Mrs. Harding sat beside the dining table, as usual. Her hair was whiter. Her face was whiter. Her thin, blue, veined hands more restless in their nervousness. She sat with her hands on her lap, clasping and unclasping the four fingers of each. The moment I saw her, I leaped at conclusions, not surmises. Her eyes were uncanny in their brightness. Alert. Cold. Hard.

[00:38:36] [SPEAKER_01] There was no touch of sympathy or hysteria or feeling. A bitter, calculating, determined woman sat in front of me. Her first words were a surprise.

[00:38:47] [SPEAKER_00] Mr. Means, I think you would like a drink, and I know I need one.

[00:38:51] [SPEAKER_01] A decanter had been placed on the table with two glasses. She poured me a drink first and then one for herself. There was a long pause and a silence as deep as eternity. She finally broke the silence with,

[00:39:04] [SPEAKER_00] Mr. Means, I have no regrets. None. But I do need your advice.

[00:39:09] [SPEAKER_01] Then you must tell me first, Mrs. Harding, exactly what happened.

[00:39:14] [SPEAKER_00] As you know, everything was closing in. I learned of dangers of which I had not dreamed. From all directions they came. And then one day, he was writing a letter. I casually asked him to whom was he writing. He replied that he was writing to his old father and Marion. He lied. That letter was to Nan Britton. I intercepted it. No, I have no regrets.

[00:39:39] [SPEAKER_01] Silence again. I watched her face turn even wider. And for a brief moment, her lips quivered. But her voice was clear and firm as she said,

[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_00] I was alone with the president and only about ten minutes. It was time for his medicine. I gave it to him. He drank it. He lay back on the pillow a moment. His eyes were closed. He was resting. Then, suddenly he opened his eyes wide and moved his head and looked straight into my face. I was standing by his bedside.

[00:40:13] [SPEAKER_01] As she paused, I could not refrain from asking the question. You think he knew?

[00:40:18] [SPEAKER_00] Yes, I think he knew. Then he sighed and turned his head away over on the pillow. After a few minutes, I called for help. The papers told the rest. You realize that there is nobody that I can consult with or talk to but you. You have been my friend. Tried in the fires. I trust you. You alone know the whole inside truth of conditions. I want to know to whom his body really belongs.

[00:40:45] [SPEAKER_01] To you.

[00:40:46] [SPEAKER_00] Do I have first claim on it?

[00:40:47] [SPEAKER_01] Yes.

[00:40:48] [SPEAKER_00] Can I prevent an autopsy?

[00:40:49] [SPEAKER_01] Yes.

[00:40:50] [SPEAKER_00] Can Dr. Harding order an autopsy?

[00:40:52] [SPEAKER_01] No.

[00:40:53] [SPEAKER_00] Who can say when and where he shall be buried?

[00:40:56] [SPEAKER_01] That is your prerogative. These questions came in a rapid fire order and I answered them as quickly as possible.

[00:41:04] [SPEAKER_00] How do I know they won't perform an autopsy without saying anything to me?

[00:41:08] [SPEAKER_01] She asked. That can be overcome.

[00:41:10] [SPEAKER_00] How?

[00:41:10] [SPEAKER_01] By guarding the body. For you to notify anybody that you're not going to allow an autopsy, that'd be the height of absurdity.

[00:41:18] [SPEAKER_00] Yes, I see that. And I have seen to that that no death mask was made of the president, notwithstanding this was contrary to all precedent.

[00:41:26] [SPEAKER_01] Should anyone inquire, you have but one objection to an autopsy, of course. And that is, you seriously object to having the body cut up. That's your reason. Many people are bitterly opposed to autopsies. Of course, of course. Was that woman made of stone, I wondered? Never a tear. No emotion. Hard logic. And self-preservation. Again, she paused. I said nothing and she went on.

[00:41:55] [SPEAKER_00] You know how in every way and at all times, in trying to protect my husband, I ran into a solid wall of opposition. Every way I turned, I was balked and laughed at. Warren Harding died in honor. Had he lived 24 hours longer, he might have been impeached. Nothing. Nothing could stem the torrents that were pouring down on us. I have not betrayed my country or the party that my husband loved so much. They are saved.

[00:42:25] [SPEAKER_00] I have no regrets. I have fulfilled my destiny.

[00:42:28] [SPEAKER_01] Then, out of the deep, almost oppressive silence that followed, and as if in answer to my unuttered question, in a stiff, frozen voice, without a tremor, she looked me full in the face and said,

[00:42:42] [SPEAKER_00] Mr. Means, there are some things that one tells nobody.

[00:42:47] [SPEAKER_01] To which I replied, Ms. Harding, there are some things it is not necessary to tell. And from that instant, we understood each other.

[00:42:57] [SPEAKER_00] In short, according to Means, Warren Harding died because he was poisoned by his wife, Florence. And she did this because she wanted to protect his reputation, and perhaps out of some anger at him for the fact that he had been unfaithful to her.

[00:43:10] [SPEAKER_01] So, what do we make of all of this? What, if any of this, is actually true?

[00:43:16] [SPEAKER_00] Let's start with Nan Britton. She wrote the story of her affair with Harding in a volume called The President's Daughter. It's out of copyright, which means that if you were interested, you can find a copy of it for free online. We'll include a link to it in our show notes.

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_01] So, her story rings true to us. We find it full of credible details. And also, when she writes of Harding being in a particular place at a particular time, she turns out to have been absolutely correct, even when that information was not known publicly at the time. Furthermore, in 2015, a DNA test was done that confirmed that Nan's daughter was indeed the child of President Harding. We believe her story to be true.

[00:43:58] [SPEAKER_01] We believe she truly had an affair with the President, as she described in her book, and that he was the father of her daughter.

[00:44:04] [SPEAKER_00] But what about Gaston Means' story?

[00:44:08] [SPEAKER_01] First, we should point out that his book, The Strange Death of President Harding, is also out of copyright, and it's freely available to one and all on the internet. We will again include a link to it in our show notes.

[00:44:19] [SPEAKER_00] His tale has some serious problems. First of all, there is absolutely no evidence to support any of it. No evidence to support the idea he even met Florence Harding, let alone that he did secret investigative work for her.

[00:44:34] [SPEAKER_01] And whether we believe him or not, therefore, it depends in a large part upon his own personal credibility. And that's a serious issue. Maybe I can sum it up best by quoting Wikipedia on this point. When you look up Gaston Means' on their page, they list his occupation. I'm going to read what they say his occupation was.

[00:44:57] [SPEAKER_01] Private detective, salesman, author, bootlegger, forger, swindler, murder suspect, blackmailer, con artist.

[00:45:07] [SPEAKER_00] In other words, this is a man who, at the very least, has a major character problem. We could easily do an entire episode just on him. But here are a couple highlights. At one point, he manipulated himself into a close relationship with a woman who had recently inherited a small fortune from her husband. Most of that money ended up finding its way to him. Shortly thereafter, the woman herself died from a shot from one of Means' guns.

[00:45:35] [SPEAKER_00] He was charged with her murder but was acquitted. Years later, after the Lindbergh kidnapping, Means lied and convinced a wealthy woman he was in touch with the kidnappers. He got her to pay him over $100,000 in ransom. He ended up getting sent to prison for that swindle.

[00:45:53] [SPEAKER_01] Believe us, we could go on and on. This was not an honest man.

[00:45:59] [SPEAKER_00] But wait, there's even more reason to doubt his story. His book was actually ghostwritten by a woman, Mae Dixon Thacker. She later publicly repudiated the book, saying it was untrue and that she had been hoaxed.

[00:46:13] [SPEAKER_01] And yes, there's still more reason to doubt his story. And this is over and above the fact that the story was really dumb. When modern doctors and historians looked at Harding's death, it became clear to them that he died of a heart attack. And the president had a history of heart problems, including symptoms like labored breathing, chest pain, and high blood pressure. In fact, his systolic pressure was often around 180.

[00:46:43] [SPEAKER_01] In other words, this is a situation where he was a heart attack waiting to happen.

[00:46:48] [SPEAKER_00] So on the one side, we have a scenario for Harding's death set out in a wild story told by a known conman, a tale with no evidence that was rejected by the woman who even ghost wrote it. And on the other side, we have a completely plausible medical explanation for what happened, a story that explains everything and fits with all the known facts.

[00:47:08] [SPEAKER_01] We think it is clear that Means made up his story, that Florence Harding did not kill her husband and that he passed away through natural causes.

[00:47:19] [SPEAKER_00] Before we go, we want to say that we decided to do this episode after a recent visit to Marion, Ohio, which is Harding's hometown. We had a terrific time there, met some friendly people, not only at the Marion Public Library, but also at the Harding home. It is well worth a trip if you were in the area, and we want to thank again Marion Public Library for hosting us, and shout out to Kim and the whole gang there.

[00:47:41] [SPEAKER_01] Absolutely. Thanks so much for listening to the Murder Sheet. If you have a tip concerning one of the cases we cover, please email us at murdersheet at gmail dot com. If you have actionable information about an unsolved crime, please report it to the appropriate authorities.

[00:48:05] [SPEAKER_00] If you're interested in joining our Patreon, that's available at www.patreon.com slash murdersheet. If you want to tip us a bit of money for records requests, you can do so at www.buymeacoffee.com slash murdersheet. We very much appreciate any support.

[00:48:29] [SPEAKER_01] Special thanks to Kevin Tyler Greenlee, who composed the music for the Murder Sheet, and who you can find on the web at kevintg.com.

[00:48:39] [SPEAKER_00] If you're looking to talk with other listeners about a case we've covered, you can join the Murder Sheet discussion group on Facebook. We mostly focus our time on research and reporting, so we're not on social media much. We do try to check our email account, but we ask for patience, as we often receive a lot of messages. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening.

[00:49:00] Bye.