Letter Says Bush Was ‘Touched’ by Perot Call About Children

A recent Washington Post story reported that in 1986, Ross Perot told then-Vice President George Bush that two of Bush’s four sons were said to be involved in improper activities. Perot said a Florida investigator told him that one son had visited a known gun smuggler.

Bush, in an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters to be aired Friday, expressed anger when asked about the incident. “If he was having my children investigated, that is beyond the pale. Leave my kids alone, I say. . . . I am sick about it if it’s true and I think the American people will reject that kind of tactic.”

Perot charged Wednesday that Bush had deliberately distorted the incident, saying he had merely passed along rumors “father to father” that had come to him unsolicited. He also released the following letter, dated Dec. 24, 1986, that he received from Bush shortly after calling him about the matter. Here is the letter’s transcript:

Dear Ross,

Tomorrow is Christmas; and today the gears here are shifting, at least for me. This is the time to count ones blessings--hence this letter.

You see I was very touched by your call(s) about my kids. They are all straight arrows, uninvolved in intrigue and yet the rumor mill links them; and Ross it hurts ‘em.

You understood all this.

What counts in life are honor, family, and friends.

We Bushes are very lucky. These troubled times will pass but caring friends make it easier.

Happy New Year

George