I want to revisit a subject that’s often come up on this board in various ways:

Michael initially didn’t suspect Fredo of having a role in the Tahoe shooting. When he tells Tom, “Fredo? He’s got a good heart, but he’s weak and stupid—and this is life or death,” he was saying that Fredo didn’t have what it took to run the family in his absence, not that he suspected Fredo of treason. But, he may have started suspecting Fredo by the time he got to Havana:

I believe he had Fredo bring the $2 million, rather than Rocco and/or Neri, because he wanted to signal Roth that he still hadn’t dismissed them as possibly complicit in the Tahoe shooting. He may also have been signaling Roth that he didn’t suspect Fredo—the better to make Roth “relax,” as he said to Pentangeli earlier. He may also have wanted Fredo there to determine for himself if Fredo had any role, or knew anything about, the attempt on his life. Many of us here have noted the two suspicious, penetrating looks he gives Fredo: when Fredo asked if anyone he knew was in Havana; and later, when Michael “introduced” Fredo to Ola. His devastated reaction to Fredo’s fatal gaffe at the Superman show may have been his confirmation that his suspicions were justified—rather than suddenly realizing that Fredo, unexpectedly, was the traitor inside his family.

So: if he had any suspicions or doubts about Fredo, why did Michael tell him when and how Roth was planning to assassinate him—and that “Hyman Roth will never see the New Year”? Those revelations potentially put Michael’s life in a possible traitor's hands. And, even if Michael still didn’t suspect him, why would he tell his plans to “weak, stupid” Fredo when he said he didn’t need Fredo to do anything to help him?

Your thoughts?