Thread: The Godfather Part II: What exactly did Fredo do?

If you have not seen The Godfather Part II, I recommend watching the movie before reading this thread. It will give away a lot.

Fredo admitted he was in with Hyman Roth and Johnny Ola, but he denied that he was part of the assassination attempt on Michael. I have watched that movie about twenty times now, and what I think is that Michael gave Fredo the impression that he knew Fredo was involved in the scheme but did not know there would be a hit. Fredo fell for the trap and admitted to being involved and gave Michael some important information. However, what could Fredo have done if he did not participate in the assassination attempt? It looks like there is nothing. If Fredo was part of the effort, the only possibility is apparently that he was in on trying to kill Michael. When Fredo spilled the beans about being friends with Hyman Roth and Johnny Ola, Michael understood everything. That is why he tried to have Roth killed that night and why he told Fredo, "I know that it was you." By "it", Michael meant "the traitor in my family" who left the curtains open in Michael's bedroom. Michael had all of the information he needed to conclude that Fredo tried to have him killed. He gave Fredo the impression that he did not believe Fredo had a hit in mind so Fredo would feel okay about giving Michael more information. Michael knew that Fredo was working for Roth and probably had valuable information, and he got it out of him, but he knew that Fredo tried to have him killed.

That is my theory, but The Godfather Part II is one of the most puzzling and complicated movies there is. It is hard to be certain. What do you think?