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JFK. (Suspects galore)
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Suspects Galore
H. L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt (H.L. Hunt) was born in 1889 in Illinois. By the time he died eighty-five years later on November 29, 1974, he had become the richest man in the world. He made his fortune in oil and was a major business and political figure in Texas.
He was a rabid right-wing extremist with deep intelligence connections in both the CIA and the military. He had often been heard criticizing the Kennedys and on one occasion reportedly expressed his desire to see President Kennedy shot.
The day before the assassination, Eugene Hale Brading visited Hunt at his office in Dallas. The next day, Brading was arrested immediately after the killing. He was stopped getting off an elevator in the Dal-Tex building. He claimed he had gone to the third floor to find a telephone. He identified himself as Jim Brading, one of four aliases he used. He was a courier and liaison man for the Mob, with ties to Carlos Marcello, and had a record of thirty-five arrests. He was also traced to a hotel in Dallas, which was visited the night before the killing by Jack Ruby. After questioning, the police released Brading.
It has always been thought that shots came from an upper floor of the Dal-Tex building, which is much better positioned in terms of field of fire than the Book Depository, including the ricochet that hit the curb and injured James Taque as he stood near Market and Commerce Streets. Just why Brading was in that building at the precise moment President Kennedy was killed has never been explained. What his connection to Jack Ruby and H.L. Hunt has also never been explained. But there obviously was one.
After Kennedy was killed, H.L. Hunt had one of his security staff, John Curington check out the security of the Dallas Police Headquarters. The report made to Hunt about midnight that evening, confirmed that security at the Dallas jail was non existent.
Hunt was connected to a number of extremists with military backgrounds, including General Charles Willoughby and General Edwin Walker. Willoughby had worked for MacArthur during the war as chief of intelligence in the Pacific. Described as a profound racist and anti-Semite, he shared with Hunt a strong opposition to the eastern seaboard influence in the CIA and Department of State.
Walker was a rabid right-winger who had been relieved of his command by President Kennedy for distributing John Birch Society literature in Germany. Both of these men had valid reasons for hating Kennedy and both had access to and influence over many extreme right-wing groups operating in and around Texas and the South.
H.L. Hunt was also linked with Sergio Arcacha-Smith, head of a radical group called the Cuban Revolutionary Council. Some Kennedy researchers believe it was a group such as this that was responsible for the JFK assassination plot. The big problem with both the pro and anti-Castro groups as potential suspects in Kennedy�s assassination is why they waited so long to getting around to doing it. The Bay of Pigs fiasco had occurred almost two and a half years prior to the killing of the President, so both groups were either long on patience or short on administration skills for it to take them thirty months to actually get around to doing something about it.
The night before Kennedy was killed, a party was held at the palatial home of oil millionaire Clint Murchison. There were some very powerful people gathered there, including Richard Nixon, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, H.L. Hunt, undoubtedly the richest man in the land, John McCloy, a director of Chase Manhattan Bank, one of the biggest financial institutions in the land, and Lyndon Baines Johnson, within twenty fours to find himself the most important man in the land.
According to ex-CIA agent Robert D. Morrow, sometime during the evening, most of this group retired, along with others, for a private meeting. He claimed in a book he wrote, First Hand Knowledge: How I participated in the CIA-Murder of President Kennedy, �Interestingly, on the eve of the assassination, Hoover and Nixon attended a meeting together at the Dallas home of oil baron Clint Murchison. Among the subjects discussed at this meeting were the political futures of Hoover and Nixon in the event President Kennedy was assassinated.�
It was during this evening that Madeleine Brown claimed Johnson told her that he would not have any more problems with Kennedy after the next day.
Whatever was discussed that night, the fact that President Kennedy was going to be hit in Dallas was becoming almost common knowledge. Marty Underwood, who served under Kennedy and Johnson as an �advance man� stated, �the CIA, the FBI and the Mafia knew that the hit was going down on November 22.� This information came to Underwood from his direct contact with CIA agent Winston Scott, station manager for the agency in Mexico City. Underwood also said that up to eighteen hours before JFK was shot, �we were getting all sorts of rumours that the President was going to be assassinated in Dallas; there were no if�s, and�s or but�s about it.� When Underwood told Kennedy about these reports, the President said, �Marty, you worry too much about me.�
If a conspiracy did develop to kill Kennedy, just who could have been involved? The passing of time and the disappearance of so many of the leading characters by natural and unnatural causes has clouded the issue, and it is more than likely that in a conspiracy mode, not everyone involved knew everything about the plot, but only enough to enable them to do their part in it.
Early in 1963, there were rumblings of discontent within many sections, all aimed towards the Kennedys. Organized crime, the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, right-wing extremists, the military, big business, pro and anti-Castro Cubans; it was a formidable list of enemies to have batting against you. Many people within these groups were connected into others, within their separate areas, and it was inevitable that the pervasive anti-Kennedy feelings would reach out to the rich industrialists and oilmen of Texas and the south.
Some of these units had strong alliances with others. The CIA had worked with the Mafia; the various military intelligence agencies are often entwined. When Robert Kennedy went after organized crime, his war on the Mob quickly affected people not only within their ranks, but also in the branches of legitimate business they controlled through people such as Jimmy Hoffa.
Officials in the FBI and the CIA were also becoming more and more concerned with the actions of the Kennedy brothers who had discovered how dangerously out of control these groups had become.
The anti-Castro groups felt betrayed by Kennedy because he had pulled the plug on their fight against the Cuban dictator, following the abortive Bay of Pigs fiasco. The pro-Castro activists were equally determined to avenge Kennedy�s attempts to isolate and blockade them into economic submission, following his successful defusing of the missile crisis. They seemed more than willing to participate in an assassination attempt on the �gringo� from the White House they hated.
There was at least 100 groups that had developed around the pro and anti-Castro faction including DRE, Alpha 66, SFNE, FRD, CRC, Commandos-L, FPCC, the July 26 Movement and the Cuban Revolutionary Movement. To say there was an abundance of potential assassins available would have been to dramatically understate the situation.
However, it seems improbable that any of these cliques would have moved to murder the nation�s top executive without either the approval or neutralization of the U.S. military.
There were plenty of top brass who were incensed by Kennedy�s action over the Bay of Pigs disaster; his Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signing with the Soviets and the moves he was making to withdraw troops from Vietnam, leaving that struggle to be resolved on a local rather than an international level.
Texas oilmen and military -- industrialists, strongly staunch friends of Johnson, were horrified to see the way Kennedy�s policies were moving, particularly the way they would impact on armament developments, and also the abolishment of the highly lucrative oil-depletion allowance.
Once a decision was reached that Kennedy had to go, it was then a matter of organizing the machine to carry out the operation. Some believe that this could have involved planning support from the CIA, FBI, the military and the Secret Service. The gunmen for the assault on the President could have been supplied by the Mob, right-wing extremist groups and or pro/anti-Castro units.
If any or all of these scenarios were being played out, it would have to indicate a conspiracy of some sort, but there was specific evidence in that direction which takes it beyond the realm of fantasy and sensationalism.
Silvia Odio
Gaeton Fonzi, a distinguished investigator for two Congressional probes into the Kennedy assassination, and the author of one of the more distinguished books on the crime called The Last Investigation claimed, �� the Silvia Odio incident absolutely cries conspiracy�. in fact I have no hesitation in declaring the Kennedy assassination a conspiracy based strictly on Silvia Odio�s consistently credible testimony�and that our investigation proved it true.�
Just who was she and what was her evidence?
A twenty-six-year-old recently divorced mother, she came from a rich and prosperous Cuban family. Castro had imprisoned both of her parents and she had managed to escape, first to Puerto Rico with her husband and children. There, she had run into marital problems, divorced her husband and then moved to Dallas.
Odio was an active member of the Cuban Revolutionary Junta (JURE) an anti-Castro group. Late in September 1963, she testified to the HSCA, 3 men, 2 Cubans and an American, visited her and asked for help in soliciting funds for activities against Castro. One of the men was introduced to her as Leon Oswald. She testified that she learned that the men had just arrived in Dallas from New Orleans and that Oswald had been introduced into their group, and that he was �great, a kind of nut.� Odio definitely identified the American as Lee Harvey Oswald, and this was confirmed by her sister, Annie, who was present in the apartment when the men called.
It was subsequently believed that the two men who accompanied Oswald that day, did not belong to JURE, but were members of Alpha 66, an extreme right-wing organization that had been involved with the CIA and the Mafia in trying to murder Castro as part of Operation Mongoose. The leader of Alpha 66, Antonio Veciana, testified at the HSCA, that he had met Oswald along with Maurice Bishop, who was really David Atlee Phillips, a senior CIA operative, and later Chief of the CIA�s Western Hemisphere Division. It was also believed that Bishop/Phillips was Oswald�s control agent. Silvia Odio�s father, Amador, was linked to Veciana through one of the many plots designed to murder Castro.
The Odio incident is strong evidence that there was a conspiracy. It showed without doubt that Oswald was working in some way with some group in a plan to kill Kennedy. He was not working alone. Gaeton Fonzi wrote: �Odio was one of the few witnesses in the Kennedy probe who had not exploited her role or capitalized on her notoriety. She refused interviews- despite being offered large sums of money- and had gone into hiding.�
www.crimelibrary.com...
H. L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt (H.L. Hunt) was born in 1889 in Illinois. By the time he died eighty-five years later on November 29, 1974, he had become the richest man in the world. He made his fortune in oil and was a major business and political figure in Texas.
He was a rabid right-wing extremist with deep intelligence connections in both the CIA and the military. He had often been heard criticizing the Kennedys and on one occasion reportedly expressed his desire to see President Kennedy shot.
The day before the assassination, Eugene Hale Brading visited Hunt at his office in Dallas. The next day, Brading was arrested immediately after the killing. He was stopped getting off an elevator in the Dal-Tex building. He claimed he had gone to the third floor to find a telephone. He identified himself as Jim Brading, one of four aliases he used. He was a courier and liaison man for the Mob, with ties to Carlos Marcello, and had a record of thirty-five arrests. He was also traced to a hotel in Dallas, which was visited the night before the killing by Jack Ruby. After questioning, the police released Brading.
It has always been thought that shots came from an upper floor of the Dal-Tex building, which is much better positioned in terms of field of fire than the Book Depository, including the ricochet that hit the curb and injured James Taque as he stood near Market and Commerce Streets. Just why Brading was in that building at the precise moment President Kennedy was killed has never been explained. What his connection to Jack Ruby and H.L. Hunt has also never been explained. But there obviously was one.
After Kennedy was killed, H.L. Hunt had one of his security staff, John Curington check out the security of the Dallas Police Headquarters. The report made to Hunt about midnight that evening, confirmed that security at the Dallas jail was non existent.
Hunt was connected to a number of extremists with military backgrounds, including General Charles Willoughby and General Edwin Walker. Willoughby had worked for MacArthur during the war as chief of intelligence in the Pacific. Described as a profound racist and anti-Semite, he shared with Hunt a strong opposition to the eastern seaboard influence in the CIA and Department of State.
Walker was a rabid right-winger who had been relieved of his command by President Kennedy for distributing John Birch Society literature in Germany. Both of these men had valid reasons for hating Kennedy and both had access to and influence over many extreme right-wing groups operating in and around Texas and the South.
H.L. Hunt was also linked with Sergio Arcacha-Smith, head of a radical group called the Cuban Revolutionary Council. Some Kennedy researchers believe it was a group such as this that was responsible for the JFK assassination plot. The big problem with both the pro and anti-Castro groups as potential suspects in Kennedy�s assassination is why they waited so long to getting around to doing it. The Bay of Pigs fiasco had occurred almost two and a half years prior to the killing of the President, so both groups were either long on patience or short on administration skills for it to take them thirty months to actually get around to doing something about it.
The night before Kennedy was killed, a party was held at the palatial home of oil millionaire Clint Murchison. There were some very powerful people gathered there, including Richard Nixon, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, H.L. Hunt, undoubtedly the richest man in the land, John McCloy, a director of Chase Manhattan Bank, one of the biggest financial institutions in the land, and Lyndon Baines Johnson, within twenty fours to find himself the most important man in the land.
According to ex-CIA agent Robert D. Morrow, sometime during the evening, most of this group retired, along with others, for a private meeting. He claimed in a book he wrote, First Hand Knowledge: How I participated in the CIA-Murder of President Kennedy, �Interestingly, on the eve of the assassination, Hoover and Nixon attended a meeting together at the Dallas home of oil baron Clint Murchison. Among the subjects discussed at this meeting were the political futures of Hoover and Nixon in the event President Kennedy was assassinated.�
It was during this evening that Madeleine Brown claimed Johnson told her that he would not have any more problems with Kennedy after the next day.
Whatever was discussed that night, the fact that President Kennedy was going to be hit in Dallas was becoming almost common knowledge. Marty Underwood, who served under Kennedy and Johnson as an �advance man� stated, �the CIA, the FBI and the Mafia knew that the hit was going down on November 22.� This information came to Underwood from his direct contact with CIA agent Winston Scott, station manager for the agency in Mexico City. Underwood also said that up to eighteen hours before JFK was shot, �we were getting all sorts of rumours that the President was going to be assassinated in Dallas; there were no if�s, and�s or but�s about it.� When Underwood told Kennedy about these reports, the President said, �Marty, you worry too much about me.�
If a conspiracy did develop to kill Kennedy, just who could have been involved? The passing of time and the disappearance of so many of the leading characters by natural and unnatural causes has clouded the issue, and it is more than likely that in a conspiracy mode, not everyone involved knew everything about the plot, but only enough to enable them to do their part in it.
Early in 1963, there were rumblings of discontent within many sections, all aimed towards the Kennedys. Organized crime, the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, right-wing extremists, the military, big business, pro and anti-Castro Cubans; it was a formidable list of enemies to have batting against you. Many people within these groups were connected into others, within their separate areas, and it was inevitable that the pervasive anti-Kennedy feelings would reach out to the rich industrialists and oilmen of Texas and the south.
Some of these units had strong alliances with others. The CIA had worked with the Mafia; the various military intelligence agencies are often entwined. When Robert Kennedy went after organized crime, his war on the Mob quickly affected people not only within their ranks, but also in the branches of legitimate business they controlled through people such as Jimmy Hoffa.
Officials in the FBI and the CIA were also becoming more and more concerned with the actions of the Kennedy brothers who had discovered how dangerously out of control these groups had become.
The anti-Castro groups felt betrayed by Kennedy because he had pulled the plug on their fight against the Cuban dictator, following the abortive Bay of Pigs fiasco. The pro-Castro activists were equally determined to avenge Kennedy�s attempts to isolate and blockade them into economic submission, following his successful defusing of the missile crisis. They seemed more than willing to participate in an assassination attempt on the �gringo� from the White House they hated.
There was at least 100 groups that had developed around the pro and anti-Castro faction including DRE, Alpha 66, SFNE, FRD, CRC, Commandos-L, FPCC, the July 26 Movement and the Cuban Revolutionary Movement. To say there was an abundance of potential assassins available would have been to dramatically understate the situation.
However, it seems improbable that any of these cliques would have moved to murder the nation�s top executive without either the approval or neutralization of the U.S. military.
There were plenty of top brass who were incensed by Kennedy�s action over the Bay of Pigs disaster; his Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signing with the Soviets and the moves he was making to withdraw troops from Vietnam, leaving that struggle to be resolved on a local rather than an international level.
Texas oilmen and military -- industrialists, strongly staunch friends of Johnson, were horrified to see the way Kennedy�s policies were moving, particularly the way they would impact on armament developments, and also the abolishment of the highly lucrative oil-depletion allowance.
Once a decision was reached that Kennedy had to go, it was then a matter of organizing the machine to carry out the operation. Some believe that this could have involved planning support from the CIA, FBI, the military and the Secret Service. The gunmen for the assault on the President could have been supplied by the Mob, right-wing extremist groups and or pro/anti-Castro units.
If any or all of these scenarios were being played out, it would have to indicate a conspiracy of some sort, but there was specific evidence in that direction which takes it beyond the realm of fantasy and sensationalism.
Silvia Odio
Gaeton Fonzi, a distinguished investigator for two Congressional probes into the Kennedy assassination, and the author of one of the more distinguished books on the crime called The Last Investigation claimed, �� the Silvia Odio incident absolutely cries conspiracy�. in fact I have no hesitation in declaring the Kennedy assassination a conspiracy based strictly on Silvia Odio�s consistently credible testimony�and that our investigation proved it true.�
Just who was she and what was her evidence?
A twenty-six-year-old recently divorced mother, she came from a rich and prosperous Cuban family. Castro had imprisoned both of her parents and she had managed to escape, first to Puerto Rico with her husband and children. There, she had run into marital problems, divorced her husband and then moved to Dallas.
Odio was an active member of the Cuban Revolutionary Junta (JURE) an anti-Castro group. Late in September 1963, she testified to the HSCA, 3 men, 2 Cubans and an American, visited her and asked for help in soliciting funds for activities against Castro. One of the men was introduced to her as Leon Oswald. She testified that she learned that the men had just arrived in Dallas from New Orleans and that Oswald had been introduced into their group, and that he was �great, a kind of nut.� Odio definitely identified the American as Lee Harvey Oswald, and this was confirmed by her sister, Annie, who was present in the apartment when the men called.
It was subsequently believed that the two men who accompanied Oswald that day, did not belong to JURE, but were members of Alpha 66, an extreme right-wing organization that had been involved with the CIA and the Mafia in trying to murder Castro as part of Operation Mongoose. The leader of Alpha 66, Antonio Veciana, testified at the HSCA, that he had met Oswald along with Maurice Bishop, who was really David Atlee Phillips, a senior CIA operative, and later Chief of the CIA�s Western Hemisphere Division. It was also believed that Bishop/Phillips was Oswald�s control agent. Silvia Odio�s father, Amador, was linked to Veciana through one of the many plots designed to murder Castro.
The Odio incident is strong evidence that there was a conspiracy. It showed without doubt that Oswald was working in some way with some group in a plan to kill Kennedy. He was not working alone. Gaeton Fonzi wrote: �Odio was one of the few witnesses in the Kennedy probe who had not exploited her role or capitalized on her notoriety. She refused interviews- despite being offered large sums of money- and had gone into hiding.�
www.crimelibrary.com...
The Mob Theory.
Interesting speculation.
Sam (momo) Giancana
It has been claimed that Joseph Kennedy, the powerful and ambitious patriarch of the Kennedy clan, had done a deal with Giancana to guarantee that he would arrange to rig the presidential election in Illinois, a critical state for campaigning candidates, and ensure that his son John would become president. The mobster had also helped raise money for JFK�s crucial West Virginia primary campaign, or had arranged to pay off appropriate political figures. Judith Exner, one time girl friend of Giancana, admitted to Larry King on television in 1992 that she repeatedly acted as a courier, shipping satchels of money between the Chicago boss and John Kennedy. This money was used to help Kennedy the underdog defeat Hubert Humphrey, who was the favourite.
One thing that no one has ever been able to explain satisfactorily. The Kennedys were worth at this time somewhere between $400/600 million. With that kind of money, why would they need someone like Giancana to help them buy a state as sparsely populated as West Virginia?
The Mob had agreed to help, but obviously expected something in return. They did not count on the new president and his brother returning the favour by going after them with a vengeance.
Giancana later cursed JFK, complaining, �We broke our balls for him and gave him the election and he gets his brother to hound us to death.�
The relationship between Giancana and the Kennedys became even more complicated when it was revealed that Giancana�s girlfriend, Judith Exner, was also having an affair with John Kennedy when he was in office. She had even telephoned him at least seventy times since he had been inaugurated at the White House, a fact that had been discovered by FBI chief, J. Edgar Hoover. On March 27, 1962, Hoover apparently persuaded the President to discontinue the relationship. Or at least make sure the telephone connection was broken off.
Jimmy Hoffa
If Carlos Marcello hated the Kennedys and Sam Giancana despised them, Jimmy Hoffa, president of the Teamsters Union was also a likely candidate in the hate Kennedy stakes. Hoffa had been a major target of the organized crime crusade and had been involved in many verbal confrontations with Bobby Kennedy. By 1962, Bobby had established an entire division within the Justice Department charged with the sole task of bringing Hoffa down.
According to information that came from a Louisiana Teamster official called Edward Partin, Hoffa was seriously considering having Bobby Kennedy and maybe even his brother murdered to stop the harassment he was facing.
Partin went to visit Hoffa in his office in Washington, in June 1962. The Teamster boss discussed two probable murder plans, one involving blowing up Bobby�s house on his Virginia estate, and the other having him shot dead by a sniper using a high-powered rifle fitted with a telescopic sight. This plot apparently escalated to also include Bobby�s brother. In 1979, the House Assassination Committee examined this in more detail and concluded:
�There is solid evidence�that Hoffa, Marcello and Trafficante -- three of the most important targets for criminal prosecution by the Kennedy Administration -- had discussions with their subordinates about murdering President Kennedy.�
There is certainly no doubt that the Mob was beneficiary of the death of Kennedy. House Assassination Committee Counsel Robert Blakey also speculated, �the most plausible explanation for the murder of Oswald by Jack Ruby was that Ruby had stalked him on behalf of organized crime. The fingerprints of organized crime are all over Jack Ruby.� Blakey concluded at the time of the Committee�s report: �The Mob did it. It�s a historical fact.�
Santo Trafficante Jnr
In 1992, Frank Ragano, long time lawyer and personal friend of Santo Trafficante, disclosed conversations he had with Trafficante and Hoffa, both clients of his, and with Carlos Marcello. In essence they evolved around a conspiracy to murder John Kennedy. On July 23, 1963, Hoffa told Ragano that he had to impress on Trafficante the need for urgent action to remove Kennedy. Ragano passed on the message.
After the assassination, Hoffa spoke to Ragano, expressing his delight at the killing. �Did you hear the good news? They killed the son-of-a-bitch bastard.� This meant that Johnson would now get rid of Bobby. Early in December 1963, Hoffa told Ragano, �I told you they could do it. I�ll never forget what Carlos and Santo did for me.� Later, in New Orleans, Marcello who was awaiting approval of a huge Teamsters loan from their vast pension fund, told Ragano, "When you see Jimmy, tell him he owes me and big.� The loan was approved.
Just before he died in 1987, Trafficante told Ragano, �We shouldn�t have killed John. We should have killed Bobby.�
In 1966, Sam Giancana decided to move his base of operations from Chicago to Mexico City. He was leaving his nominated man �Teets� Battaglia to run the syndicate with the help of Tony Accardo and Frank Nitti, two other senior Mafia bosses. In a long, rambling conversation with his brother Chuck, he said he would be running deals, not only for the Mob, but also in conjunction with the CIA.
He also claimed �We took care of Kennedy.� This is the gist of what he recalled:
Jack Ruby had been the Chicago Mob�s man in Dallas for years, running clubs, gambling rackets and narcotics. Giancana had used Johnny Roselli as his liaison with Marcello, Trafficante and the CIA. He had chosen Ruby to kill Oswald because of his tight relationship with the Dallas police and his ability to infiltrate into its inner workings. According to Giancana, Oswald, like Ruby, had ties not only to the Mob, but also into the CIA, he had in fact been a spy for the US government while he had lived in the Soviet Union.
Back in America, Oswald had linked up with Guy Bannister, who operated a private-detective agency in New Orleans, using it as a front for covert CIA domestic operations and also Cuban exile activities, in addition to the work he did for the Mob. Oswald�s strange White Russian contact George Mohrenschildt was also apparently a confidante and business associate of Sam Giancana.
Johnny Roselli, 1943 mugshot
He told his brother that the funding for the assassination operation on President Kennedy came from wealthy right-wing Texas oilmen. He also confirmed that Johnny Roselli had been closely involved liasing with Bannister to select Oswald as the fall guy in the plot to kill the President.
Working under Giancana, Roselli co-ordinated the assassination attempt through Bannister, Bob Maheu, the aide to Howard Hughes, former CIA director Charles Cabell and Frank (Sturgis) Fiorini of the CIA, a key figure in the anti-Castro movement. Giancana said that the conspiracy went right to the top of the intelligence agency and it also included Lyndon Johnson and one-day-to-be-President Richard Nixon, who just happened to be in Dallas the day Kennedy was shot.
The assassination had taken months to plan and prepare and dozens of people had been involved with the original plan calling for a possible hit in a number of cities, including Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago as well as the ultimate destination-Dallas.
The planning had involved top people in the Dallas Police Department and Mayor Earle Cabell, brother of former CIA director Charles Cabell. Professional hit men had been hired, top-notch marksmen, including Charles Harrelson (the father of actor Woody Harrelson) and Jack Lawrence, whose car was reportedly found parked behind the picket fence atop the grassy knoll. There were also two Cuban exiles involved, men who were closely linked into Santo Trafficante Jr. According to Sam Giancana, the man who fired the shots from the sixth floor of the Book Depository was not Oswald, but Richard Caine, a Chicago-based ex-police officer and close associate of the mob boss.
There were two other gunmen on the scene, according to Giancana. One was Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit, who has been identified by some researchers as the �Badgeman� the elusive, phantom figure in police uniform seen behind the picket fence just as the shooting commenced, and recorded on a photograph by Mary Moorman. After the assassination, Tippit�s job was to follow Oswald and kill him, so as to silence the so-called �master� suspect. For some reason, the police officer backed off on this assignment and was himself killed by another CIA assassin, also operating as a Dallas police officer called Roscoe Anthony White. Although Oswald was accused of carrying out the murder of Officer Tippit, it is also thought that at least two gunmen were involved, using two different handguns to murder the officer.
Sam Giancana finished his long, rambling story to his brother by saying, �On November 22, 1963, the US had a coup; it's that simple. The government of this country was overthrown by a handful of guys who did their jobs damned well.�
It is an amazing story and one that can never, of course, be verified. Then again, it can not be simply denied just because it is sensational. Giancana cannot be questioned about it, because on June 1975, he himself was executed, shot six times in the head, while frying sausages in the basement kitchen of his luxurious home in Chicago.
www.crimelibrary.com...
Interesting speculation.
Sam (momo) Giancana
It has been claimed that Joseph Kennedy, the powerful and ambitious patriarch of the Kennedy clan, had done a deal with Giancana to guarantee that he would arrange to rig the presidential election in Illinois, a critical state for campaigning candidates, and ensure that his son John would become president. The mobster had also helped raise money for JFK�s crucial West Virginia primary campaign, or had arranged to pay off appropriate political figures. Judith Exner, one time girl friend of Giancana, admitted to Larry King on television in 1992 that she repeatedly acted as a courier, shipping satchels of money between the Chicago boss and John Kennedy. This money was used to help Kennedy the underdog defeat Hubert Humphrey, who was the favourite.
One thing that no one has ever been able to explain satisfactorily. The Kennedys were worth at this time somewhere between $400/600 million. With that kind of money, why would they need someone like Giancana to help them buy a state as sparsely populated as West Virginia?
The Mob had agreed to help, but obviously expected something in return. They did not count on the new president and his brother returning the favour by going after them with a vengeance.
Giancana later cursed JFK, complaining, �We broke our balls for him and gave him the election and he gets his brother to hound us to death.�
The relationship between Giancana and the Kennedys became even more complicated when it was revealed that Giancana�s girlfriend, Judith Exner, was also having an affair with John Kennedy when he was in office. She had even telephoned him at least seventy times since he had been inaugurated at the White House, a fact that had been discovered by FBI chief, J. Edgar Hoover. On March 27, 1962, Hoover apparently persuaded the President to discontinue the relationship. Or at least make sure the telephone connection was broken off.
Jimmy Hoffa
If Carlos Marcello hated the Kennedys and Sam Giancana despised them, Jimmy Hoffa, president of the Teamsters Union was also a likely candidate in the hate Kennedy stakes. Hoffa had been a major target of the organized crime crusade and had been involved in many verbal confrontations with Bobby Kennedy. By 1962, Bobby had established an entire division within the Justice Department charged with the sole task of bringing Hoffa down.
According to information that came from a Louisiana Teamster official called Edward Partin, Hoffa was seriously considering having Bobby Kennedy and maybe even his brother murdered to stop the harassment he was facing.
Partin went to visit Hoffa in his office in Washington, in June 1962. The Teamster boss discussed two probable murder plans, one involving blowing up Bobby�s house on his Virginia estate, and the other having him shot dead by a sniper using a high-powered rifle fitted with a telescopic sight. This plot apparently escalated to also include Bobby�s brother. In 1979, the House Assassination Committee examined this in more detail and concluded:
�There is solid evidence�that Hoffa, Marcello and Trafficante -- three of the most important targets for criminal prosecution by the Kennedy Administration -- had discussions with their subordinates about murdering President Kennedy.�
There is certainly no doubt that the Mob was beneficiary of the death of Kennedy. House Assassination Committee Counsel Robert Blakey also speculated, �the most plausible explanation for the murder of Oswald by Jack Ruby was that Ruby had stalked him on behalf of organized crime. The fingerprints of organized crime are all over Jack Ruby.� Blakey concluded at the time of the Committee�s report: �The Mob did it. It�s a historical fact.�
Santo Trafficante Jnr
In 1992, Frank Ragano, long time lawyer and personal friend of Santo Trafficante, disclosed conversations he had with Trafficante and Hoffa, both clients of his, and with Carlos Marcello. In essence they evolved around a conspiracy to murder John Kennedy. On July 23, 1963, Hoffa told Ragano that he had to impress on Trafficante the need for urgent action to remove Kennedy. Ragano passed on the message.
After the assassination, Hoffa spoke to Ragano, expressing his delight at the killing. �Did you hear the good news? They killed the son-of-a-bitch bastard.� This meant that Johnson would now get rid of Bobby. Early in December 1963, Hoffa told Ragano, �I told you they could do it. I�ll never forget what Carlos and Santo did for me.� Later, in New Orleans, Marcello who was awaiting approval of a huge Teamsters loan from their vast pension fund, told Ragano, "When you see Jimmy, tell him he owes me and big.� The loan was approved.
Just before he died in 1987, Trafficante told Ragano, �We shouldn�t have killed John. We should have killed Bobby.�
In 1966, Sam Giancana decided to move his base of operations from Chicago to Mexico City. He was leaving his nominated man �Teets� Battaglia to run the syndicate with the help of Tony Accardo and Frank Nitti, two other senior Mafia bosses. In a long, rambling conversation with his brother Chuck, he said he would be running deals, not only for the Mob, but also in conjunction with the CIA.
He also claimed �We took care of Kennedy.� This is the gist of what he recalled:
Jack Ruby had been the Chicago Mob�s man in Dallas for years, running clubs, gambling rackets and narcotics. Giancana had used Johnny Roselli as his liaison with Marcello, Trafficante and the CIA. He had chosen Ruby to kill Oswald because of his tight relationship with the Dallas police and his ability to infiltrate into its inner workings. According to Giancana, Oswald, like Ruby, had ties not only to the Mob, but also into the CIA, he had in fact been a spy for the US government while he had lived in the Soviet Union.
Back in America, Oswald had linked up with Guy Bannister, who operated a private-detective agency in New Orleans, using it as a front for covert CIA domestic operations and also Cuban exile activities, in addition to the work he did for the Mob. Oswald�s strange White Russian contact George Mohrenschildt was also apparently a confidante and business associate of Sam Giancana.
Johnny Roselli, 1943 mugshot
He told his brother that the funding for the assassination operation on President Kennedy came from wealthy right-wing Texas oilmen. He also confirmed that Johnny Roselli had been closely involved liasing with Bannister to select Oswald as the fall guy in the plot to kill the President.
Working under Giancana, Roselli co-ordinated the assassination attempt through Bannister, Bob Maheu, the aide to Howard Hughes, former CIA director Charles Cabell and Frank (Sturgis) Fiorini of the CIA, a key figure in the anti-Castro movement. Giancana said that the conspiracy went right to the top of the intelligence agency and it also included Lyndon Johnson and one-day-to-be-President Richard Nixon, who just happened to be in Dallas the day Kennedy was shot.
The assassination had taken months to plan and prepare and dozens of people had been involved with the original plan calling for a possible hit in a number of cities, including Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago as well as the ultimate destination-Dallas.
The planning had involved top people in the Dallas Police Department and Mayor Earle Cabell, brother of former CIA director Charles Cabell. Professional hit men had been hired, top-notch marksmen, including Charles Harrelson (the father of actor Woody Harrelson) and Jack Lawrence, whose car was reportedly found parked behind the picket fence atop the grassy knoll. There were also two Cuban exiles involved, men who were closely linked into Santo Trafficante Jr. According to Sam Giancana, the man who fired the shots from the sixth floor of the Book Depository was not Oswald, but Richard Caine, a Chicago-based ex-police officer and close associate of the mob boss.
There were two other gunmen on the scene, according to Giancana. One was Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit, who has been identified by some researchers as the �Badgeman� the elusive, phantom figure in police uniform seen behind the picket fence just as the shooting commenced, and recorded on a photograph by Mary Moorman. After the assassination, Tippit�s job was to follow Oswald and kill him, so as to silence the so-called �master� suspect. For some reason, the police officer backed off on this assignment and was himself killed by another CIA assassin, also operating as a Dallas police officer called Roscoe Anthony White. Although Oswald was accused of carrying out the murder of Officer Tippit, it is also thought that at least two gunmen were involved, using two different handguns to murder the officer.
Sam Giancana finished his long, rambling story to his brother by saying, �On November 22, 1963, the US had a coup; it's that simple. The government of this country was overthrown by a handful of guys who did their jobs damned well.�
It is an amazing story and one that can never, of course, be verified. Then again, it can not be simply denied just because it is sensational. Giancana cannot be questioned about it, because on June 1975, he himself was executed, shot six times in the head, while frying sausages in the basement kitchen of his luxurious home in Chicago.
www.crimelibrary.com...
Major General Charles P. Cabell
* The Dallas parade route, published on the right five-sixths
of the front page of "The Dallas Morning News" for Friday,
November 22, 1963, showed the motorcade running down Main
Street straight through and beyond Dealey Plaza. As the
chief city administrator, the Mayor of Dallas--who in 1963
was a Mr. Earle Cabell--would have to know and officially
approve any such eleventh hour change. Earle Cabell had a
brother named General Charles Cabell who had been the deputy
director of the CIA--the number two man--under Allen Dulles
for nine years, until he was fired by President Kennedy
after the Bay of Pigs fiasco of which General Cabell had
been the Agency's man in charge. General Cabell's subsequent
hatred of John Kennedy became an open secret in Washington.
However he was never even called as a witness before the
Warren Commission.
Jim Braden
Jim Braden was a man of many identities. He was arrested following the JFK assassination in the Dal-Tex building in Dealey Plaza facing the presidents motorcade. The police released him but later found out that his real name was Eugene Hale Brading, a Mafia member with a long criminal history involving 35 single arrests. His record was comprised of theft, black-market involvement, and embezzlement cases. He had multiple names that he used as cover-up including Harry Eugene Bradley, James Bradley Lee, Gene Brady, and James Lee Cole.
Braden was supposedly a Mafia courier sent to be the shooter in the JFK assassination. He went up to the second floor of the Dal-Tex building and awaited the presidents motorcade. His position would be a prime shooting perch 145 feet from JFK. He gave his name as Jim Braden and the police released him with no reason to detain him
salc.wsu.edu...
A statement by special agent ( Clint Hill ) the secret service agent who jumped on the back of the presidents car to protect mr's kennedy.
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963, AT DALLAS, TEXAS
Statement of Special Agent Clinton J. Hill, United States Secret Service, concerning his activities and official duties on November 22, 1963. Statement dated November 30, 1963.
I, Clinton J. Hill, Special Agent, United States Secret Service, arrived at Love Field, Dallas, Texas, at 11:40 a.m. on November 22, 1963, from Fort Worth, Texas, aboard Air Force No. One (USAF #26000) with President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. President and Mrs. Kennedy debarked the aircraft first from the rear ramp followed by Governor and Mrs. John Connally and by three or four Congressmen and Senators, and then myself and ASAIC Roy H. Kellerman.
Upon alighting, President and Mrs. Kennedy were greeted by a small reception committee and Mrs. Kennedy was presented a bouquet of red roses. I ran over to the Secret Service Follow-up car immediately upon my arrival and placed my topcoat and a small folder containing information on this Dallas stop of the Texas trip on the floor of the car. I then went back to where the President and Mrs. Kennedy were greeting an elderly lady in a wheel chair.
The general public was restricted from the ramp area of Love Field by a permanent chain-link fence. There were a number of photographers and correspondents on the ramp area covering the arrival.
The President noticed the large number of people being restrained by the fence and walked over to the crowd and began shaking hands. He moved from his right to his left down the fence. Mrs. Kennedy accompanied him. I remained very close to Mrs. Kennedy observing the outstretched hands of well-wishers to make sure no weapons were extended toward Mrs. Kennedy and that nothing was handed to her. I accompanied Mrs. Kennedy behind the President along the fence and then to the Presidential automobile which was waiting to take President and Mrs. Kennedy and Governor and Mrs. John Connally to the Trade Mart for a luncheon, after a 45 minute motorcade through downtown Dallas.
President and Mrs. Kennedy entered the automobile with the President getting into the right rear seat and Mrs. Kennedy into the left rear seat. Mrs. Connally got into the left jump seat and Governor Connally into the right jump seat. SA William Greer was driving the automobile with ASAIC Roy H. Kellerman in the right front seat. I went to the left rear side of the Presidential automobile and stood on the airport ramp along side where Mrs. Kennedy was sitting.
As the Presidential automobile began to move forward at 11:55 a.m. I walked along side of the left rear of the automobile for about 150 feet, and since there were no people at all on the airport ramp I went back to the automobile immediately behind the Presidential Automobile and mounted the forward portion of the left running board.
SA Sam Kinney was driving this Secret Service Follow-up car which was a 1955 Cadillac 9-passenger convertible specifically outfitted for use by the Secret Service. ATSAIC Emory Roberts was sitting in the right front seat and operating the two way radio. SA John Ready was on the forward portion of the right hand running board; SA William McIntyre on the rear portion of the left hand running board; SA Paul E. Landis on the rear portion of the right hand running board; Mr. Kenneth O'Donnell, Presidential Appointment Secretary, was seated on the left side of the second seat; Mr. Dave Powers, Presidential Receptionist, was seated on the right side of the second seat; SA George Hickey was seated on the left side of the third seat- and SA Glen Bennett was seated on the right side of the third seat.
The Presidential Follow-up car was followed by a 1964 Lincoln 4-door convertible occupied by Vice-President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, Senator Ralph Yarborough, with ASAIC Rufus Youngblood in the right front seat. This automobile was followed by a Secret Service follow-up car for the Vice President, and then came automobiles occupied by photographers, correspondents, Senators and Congressmen.
Preceding the Presidential automobile was a Dallas Police Department Lead car in which SA Winston Lawson of the Secret Service was riding. Police motorcycles preceded and flanked the motorcade. There were two police motorcycles on the left side of the President's Secret Service follow-up car running abreast of one another between the automobile and the crowd of people.
My instructions for Dallas were to work the left rear of the Presidential automobile and remain in close proximity to Mrs. John F. Kennedy at all times. The agent assigned to work the left rear of the Presidential automobile rides on the forward portion of the left hand running board of the Secret Service follow-up car and only moves forward to walk alongside the Presidential automobile when it slows to such a pace that people can readily approach the auto on foot. If the crowd is very heavy, but the automobile is running at a rather rapid speed, the agent rides on the left rear of the Presidential automobile on a step specifically designed for that purpose.
As the motorcade moved from Love Field through downtown Dallas toward the Trade Mart, there were four (4) occasions before we reached the end of Main Street where I moved from the forward portion of the left running board of the follow-up car to the rear step of the Presidential automobile. I did this because the motorcycles that were along the left hand side of the follow-up car were unable to move up alongside the President's car due to the crowd surging into the street. The motorcycles were forced to drop back and so I jumped from the Follow-up car and mounted the President's car. I remained in this position until the crowd thinned and was away from the President's automobile, allowing the motorcycles to once again move up alongside of the automobile. When we approached the end of Main Street the crowd was noticeably less dense than had been the case prior to that point.
The motorcade made a right hand turn onto Elm Street. I was on the forward portion of the left running board of the follow-up car. The motorcade made a left hand turn from Elm Street toward an underpass. We were traveling about 12 to 15 miles per hour. On the left hand side was a grass area with a few people scattered along it observing the motorcade passing, and I was visually scanning these people when I heard a noise similar to a firecracker. The sound came from my right rear and I immediately moved my head in that direction. In so doing, my eyes had to cross the Presidential automobile and I saw the President hunch forward and then slump to his left. I jumped from the Follow-up car and ran toward the Presidential automobile. I heard a second firecracker type noise but it had a different sound-- like the sound of shooting a revolver into something hard. I saw the President slump more toward his left.
I jumped onto the left rear step of the Presidential automobile. Mrs. Kennedy shouted, "They've shot his head off," then turned and raised out of her seat as if she were reaching to her right rear toward the back of the car for something that had blown out. I forced her back into her seat and placed my body above President and Mrs. Kennedy. SA Greer had, as I jumped onto the Presidential automobile, accelerated the Presidential automobile forward. I heard ASAIC Kellerman call SA Lawson on the two-way radio and say, "To the nearest hospital, quick." I shouted as loud as I could at the Lead car, "To the hospital, to the hospital."
As I lay over the top of the back seat I noticed a portion of the President's head on the right rear side was missing and he was bleeding profusely. Part of his brain was gone. I saw a part of his skull with hair on it lieing in the seat. The time of the shooting was approximately 12:30 p.m., Dallas time. I looked forward to the jump seats and noticed Governor Connally's chest was covered with blood and he was slumped to his left and partially covered up by his wife. I had not realized until this point that the Governor had been shot.
When we arrived at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, I jumped off the Presidential automobile, removed my suit coat and covered the President's head and upper chest with it. I assisted in lifting the President from the rear seat of the automobile onto a wheel type stretcher and accompanied the President and Mrs. Kennedy into the Emergency Room. Governor Connally had been placed in an Emergency Room across the hall.
I exited the Emergency Room almost immediately because of the large number of doctors and nurses in the room, which was quite small. I asked a nurse standing outside of the Emergency Room in which the President was lieing to please have everyone except those Medical Staff members necessary leave the emergency ward. She immediately began screening medical staff members.
I asked for the nearest telephone. ASAIC Kellerman exited the Emergency Room and told me to contact the White House in Washington and to keep the line open continually. I asked SA Lawson for the telephone number of the Dallas White House switchboard and he gave it to me. I dialed the Dallas White House operator and told him to connect me with the White House in Washington and to keep this line open continuously. He did so.
ASAIC Kellerman came out of the Emergency Room again and took the telephone and asked for SAIC Gerald A. Behn, Secret Service, The White House, Washington. This was approximately 12:39 p.m. Kellerman told Behn that there had been a double tragedy; that the President and Governor Connally had both been shot and that I would keep him advised. I took over the telephone and told Mr. Behn that the situation was extremely critical. The operator cut into the line and said The Attorney General wanted to talk to me. He asked me what the situation was and I advised him that the President had been injured very seriously and that I would keep him advised as to his condition.
Mr. Kellerman came back out of the Emergency Room and said, "Clint, tell Gerry that this is not for release and not official, but the man is dead." I told that to Mr. Behn and then requested that he immediately contact the Attorney General and other members of the President's family so that he could advise them of the situation rather than having them hear it over some news media.
I then received a request from Mr. O'Donnell to obtain a casket immediately so that we could transport the body back to Washington, D.C., as quickly as possible. I contacted the Hospital Administrator and asked for the name of the nearest mortuary. He said it would be O'Neil, Inc. I telephoned them and identified myself and requested that they bring the best casket immediately available at the mortuary to the Parkland Memorial Hospital Emergency Entrance and deliver it to me. The casket arrived in about twenty minutes at approximately 1:40 p.m. We wheeled it immediately into the Emergency Room where the President's body lay.
I advised the Air Force Aide that we wanted Air Force No. One moved to a different location at Love Field and to have it secured completely away from the view of the General Public. I requested that no press be admitted to the area in which Air Force One was to be placed. I requested SA David Grant to notify the Dallas Police that we did not want to use the same entrance to Love Field that previously had been planned. I then went with the Hospital Administrator and checked the shortest and most direct route from the Emergency Room to the emergency platform where the O'Neil hearse was waiting. I advised ATSAIC Stuart Stout of the route and requested that it be cleared of personnel.
The President's body, accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy, exited the Emergency Room at approximately 1:58 p.m. and proceeded to the emergency entrance platform. The casket was placed in the back of the O'Neil, Inc., hearse and Mrs. Kennedy, Admiral George Burkley (the President's Physician), and I entered the back of the hearse with the casket. SA Andrew Berger drove the hearse- ATSAIC Stuart Stout rode in the center front seat and ASAIC Kellerman rode in the right front seat.
We departed Parkland Memorial Hospital at 2:04 p.m. SA Lawson rode in the Dallas Police Department Lead Car. A Secret Service follow-up car followed immediately behind the hearse. The motorcade arrived at Air Force One, Love Field, at 2:14 p.m.
At 2:18 p.m the casket was placed aboard Air Force One with Mrs. Kennedy accompanying it. The casket was situated in the left rear corner of the aircraft where four seats had been removed. Mrs. Kennedy sat in one of the two seats immediately across the aisle from the casket.
The aircraft could not immediately depart because Vice-President Johnson had to be sworn in as the 36th President of the United States and it was necessary to wait for a Judge to arrive to do this. All personnel on Air Force One including Mrs. Kennedy were requested to witness the swearing in ceremony which took place in the Presidential Compartment of Air Force One at 2:38 p.m. I also attended.
I departed Love Field, Dallas, aboard Air Force One at 2:47 p.m. en route to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. I arrived at Andrews Air Force Base at 5:58 p.m. I assisted in moving the casket bearing the President's body from Air Force One to a U.S. Navy ambulance. Mrs. Kennedy got in the back of the ambulance with the casket as did Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who had joined Mrs. Kennedy aboard Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base. General Godfrey McHugh also rode in the back of the ambulance. The ambulance was driven by SA Greer with ASAIC Kellerman, SA Landis, and Admiral Burkley riding in the front seat. I followed in the car immediately behind the ambulance with Dr. John W. Walsh, Dave Powers, Kenneth O'Donnell and Larry O'Brien.
The motorcade departed Andrews Air Force Base for Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland, at 6:10 p.m. We were escorted by motorcycle police officers. The motorcade arrived Bethesda Naval Hospital at 6:55 p.m. Mrs. Kennedy, the Attorney General, SA Landis and I went immediately inside and via elevator to the 17th Floor of the hospital, the location of the Presidential Suite. Members of the immediate family and close friends were waiting in the suite.
The President's body was taken to the morgue at the hospital, accompanied by ASAIC Kellerman, SA Greer, and Admiral Burkley, for an autopsy. SA Landis and I secured the 17th Floor of the hospital and remained there with Mrs. Kennedy. We established a communications system with the White House and handled all telephone calls both incoming and outgoing, screening each and every call. Any person attempting to reach the 17th Floor was also screened.
At approximately 2:45 a.m., November 23, I was requested by ASAIC Kellerman to come to the morgue to once again view the body. When I arrived the autopsy had been completed and ASAIC Kellerman, SA Greer, General McHugh and I viewed the wounds. I observed a wound about six inches down from the neckline on the back just to the right of the spinal column. I observed another wound on the right rear portion of the skull. Attendants of the Joseph Gawler Mortuary were at this time preparing the body for placement in the casket. A new casket had been obtained from Gawler Mortuary in which the body was to be placed.
I went back to the 17th Floor of the hospital at approximately 3:10 a.m. The President's body was taken from the U.S. Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland, at 3:56 a.m., accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy and Attorney General Kennedy, in the rear of a U.S. Navy ambulance driven by SA Greer. ASAIC Kellerman rode in the right front seat. I rode in the right front seat of a White House limousine immediately behind the ambulance. The motorcade was accompanied by motorcycle police and arrived at the White House at 4:24 a.m. The casket was taken immediately to the East Room and placed in the center of the room on a catephalt.
/s/ Clinton J. Hill
Special Agent
U.S. Secret Service
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963, AT DALLAS, TEXAS
Statement of Special Agent Clinton J. Hill, United States Secret Service, concerning his activities and official duties on November 22, 1963. Statement dated November 30, 1963.
I, Clinton J. Hill, Special Agent, United States Secret Service, arrived at Love Field, Dallas, Texas, at 11:40 a.m. on November 22, 1963, from Fort Worth, Texas, aboard Air Force No. One (USAF #26000) with President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. President and Mrs. Kennedy debarked the aircraft first from the rear ramp followed by Governor and Mrs. John Connally and by three or four Congressmen and Senators, and then myself and ASAIC Roy H. Kellerman.
Upon alighting, President and Mrs. Kennedy were greeted by a small reception committee and Mrs. Kennedy was presented a bouquet of red roses. I ran over to the Secret Service Follow-up car immediately upon my arrival and placed my topcoat and a small folder containing information on this Dallas stop of the Texas trip on the floor of the car. I then went back to where the President and Mrs. Kennedy were greeting an elderly lady in a wheel chair.
The general public was restricted from the ramp area of Love Field by a permanent chain-link fence. There were a number of photographers and correspondents on the ramp area covering the arrival.
The President noticed the large number of people being restrained by the fence and walked over to the crowd and began shaking hands. He moved from his right to his left down the fence. Mrs. Kennedy accompanied him. I remained very close to Mrs. Kennedy observing the outstretched hands of well-wishers to make sure no weapons were extended toward Mrs. Kennedy and that nothing was handed to her. I accompanied Mrs. Kennedy behind the President along the fence and then to the Presidential automobile which was waiting to take President and Mrs. Kennedy and Governor and Mrs. John Connally to the Trade Mart for a luncheon, after a 45 minute motorcade through downtown Dallas.
President and Mrs. Kennedy entered the automobile with the President getting into the right rear seat and Mrs. Kennedy into the left rear seat. Mrs. Connally got into the left jump seat and Governor Connally into the right jump seat. SA William Greer was driving the automobile with ASAIC Roy H. Kellerman in the right front seat. I went to the left rear side of the Presidential automobile and stood on the airport ramp along side where Mrs. Kennedy was sitting.
As the Presidential automobile began to move forward at 11:55 a.m. I walked along side of the left rear of the automobile for about 150 feet, and since there were no people at all on the airport ramp I went back to the automobile immediately behind the Presidential Automobile and mounted the forward portion of the left running board.
SA Sam Kinney was driving this Secret Service Follow-up car which was a 1955 Cadillac 9-passenger convertible specifically outfitted for use by the Secret Service. ATSAIC Emory Roberts was sitting in the right front seat and operating the two way radio. SA John Ready was on the forward portion of the right hand running board; SA William McIntyre on the rear portion of the left hand running board; SA Paul E. Landis on the rear portion of the right hand running board; Mr. Kenneth O'Donnell, Presidential Appointment Secretary, was seated on the left side of the second seat; Mr. Dave Powers, Presidential Receptionist, was seated on the right side of the second seat; SA George Hickey was seated on the left side of the third seat- and SA Glen Bennett was seated on the right side of the third seat.
The Presidential Follow-up car was followed by a 1964 Lincoln 4-door convertible occupied by Vice-President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, Senator Ralph Yarborough, with ASAIC Rufus Youngblood in the right front seat. This automobile was followed by a Secret Service follow-up car for the Vice President, and then came automobiles occupied by photographers, correspondents, Senators and Congressmen.
Preceding the Presidential automobile was a Dallas Police Department Lead car in which SA Winston Lawson of the Secret Service was riding. Police motorcycles preceded and flanked the motorcade. There were two police motorcycles on the left side of the President's Secret Service follow-up car running abreast of one another between the automobile and the crowd of people.
My instructions for Dallas were to work the left rear of the Presidential automobile and remain in close proximity to Mrs. John F. Kennedy at all times. The agent assigned to work the left rear of the Presidential automobile rides on the forward portion of the left hand running board of the Secret Service follow-up car and only moves forward to walk alongside the Presidential automobile when it slows to such a pace that people can readily approach the auto on foot. If the crowd is very heavy, but the automobile is running at a rather rapid speed, the agent rides on the left rear of the Presidential automobile on a step specifically designed for that purpose.
As the motorcade moved from Love Field through downtown Dallas toward the Trade Mart, there were four (4) occasions before we reached the end of Main Street where I moved from the forward portion of the left running board of the follow-up car to the rear step of the Presidential automobile. I did this because the motorcycles that were along the left hand side of the follow-up car were unable to move up alongside the President's car due to the crowd surging into the street. The motorcycles were forced to drop back and so I jumped from the Follow-up car and mounted the President's car. I remained in this position until the crowd thinned and was away from the President's automobile, allowing the motorcycles to once again move up alongside of the automobile. When we approached the end of Main Street the crowd was noticeably less dense than had been the case prior to that point.
The motorcade made a right hand turn onto Elm Street. I was on the forward portion of the left running board of the follow-up car. The motorcade made a left hand turn from Elm Street toward an underpass. We were traveling about 12 to 15 miles per hour. On the left hand side was a grass area with a few people scattered along it observing the motorcade passing, and I was visually scanning these people when I heard a noise similar to a firecracker. The sound came from my right rear and I immediately moved my head in that direction. In so doing, my eyes had to cross the Presidential automobile and I saw the President hunch forward and then slump to his left. I jumped from the Follow-up car and ran toward the Presidential automobile. I heard a second firecracker type noise but it had a different sound-- like the sound of shooting a revolver into something hard. I saw the President slump more toward his left.
I jumped onto the left rear step of the Presidential automobile. Mrs. Kennedy shouted, "They've shot his head off," then turned and raised out of her seat as if she were reaching to her right rear toward the back of the car for something that had blown out. I forced her back into her seat and placed my body above President and Mrs. Kennedy. SA Greer had, as I jumped onto the Presidential automobile, accelerated the Presidential automobile forward. I heard ASAIC Kellerman call SA Lawson on the two-way radio and say, "To the nearest hospital, quick." I shouted as loud as I could at the Lead car, "To the hospital, to the hospital."
As I lay over the top of the back seat I noticed a portion of the President's head on the right rear side was missing and he was bleeding profusely. Part of his brain was gone. I saw a part of his skull with hair on it lieing in the seat. The time of the shooting was approximately 12:30 p.m., Dallas time. I looked forward to the jump seats and noticed Governor Connally's chest was covered with blood and he was slumped to his left and partially covered up by his wife. I had not realized until this point that the Governor had been shot.
When we arrived at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, I jumped off the Presidential automobile, removed my suit coat and covered the President's head and upper chest with it. I assisted in lifting the President from the rear seat of the automobile onto a wheel type stretcher and accompanied the President and Mrs. Kennedy into the Emergency Room. Governor Connally had been placed in an Emergency Room across the hall.
I exited the Emergency Room almost immediately because of the large number of doctors and nurses in the room, which was quite small. I asked a nurse standing outside of the Emergency Room in which the President was lieing to please have everyone except those Medical Staff members necessary leave the emergency ward. She immediately began screening medical staff members.
I asked for the nearest telephone. ASAIC Kellerman exited the Emergency Room and told me to contact the White House in Washington and to keep the line open continually. I asked SA Lawson for the telephone number of the Dallas White House switchboard and he gave it to me. I dialed the Dallas White House operator and told him to connect me with the White House in Washington and to keep this line open continuously. He did so.
ASAIC Kellerman came out of the Emergency Room again and took the telephone and asked for SAIC Gerald A. Behn, Secret Service, The White House, Washington. This was approximately 12:39 p.m. Kellerman told Behn that there had been a double tragedy; that the President and Governor Connally had both been shot and that I would keep him advised. I took over the telephone and told Mr. Behn that the situation was extremely critical. The operator cut into the line and said The Attorney General wanted to talk to me. He asked me what the situation was and I advised him that the President had been injured very seriously and that I would keep him advised as to his condition.
Mr. Kellerman came back out of the Emergency Room and said, "Clint, tell Gerry that this is not for release and not official, but the man is dead." I told that to Mr. Behn and then requested that he immediately contact the Attorney General and other members of the President's family so that he could advise them of the situation rather than having them hear it over some news media.
I then received a request from Mr. O'Donnell to obtain a casket immediately so that we could transport the body back to Washington, D.C., as quickly as possible. I contacted the Hospital Administrator and asked for the name of the nearest mortuary. He said it would be O'Neil, Inc. I telephoned them and identified myself and requested that they bring the best casket immediately available at the mortuary to the Parkland Memorial Hospital Emergency Entrance and deliver it to me. The casket arrived in about twenty minutes at approximately 1:40 p.m. We wheeled it immediately into the Emergency Room where the President's body lay.
I advised the Air Force Aide that we wanted Air Force No. One moved to a different location at Love Field and to have it secured completely away from the view of the General Public. I requested that no press be admitted to the area in which Air Force One was to be placed. I requested SA David Grant to notify the Dallas Police that we did not want to use the same entrance to Love Field that previously had been planned. I then went with the Hospital Administrator and checked the shortest and most direct route from the Emergency Room to the emergency platform where the O'Neil hearse was waiting. I advised ATSAIC Stuart Stout of the route and requested that it be cleared of personnel.
The President's body, accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy, exited the Emergency Room at approximately 1:58 p.m. and proceeded to the emergency entrance platform. The casket was placed in the back of the O'Neil, Inc., hearse and Mrs. Kennedy, Admiral George Burkley (the President's Physician), and I entered the back of the hearse with the casket. SA Andrew Berger drove the hearse- ATSAIC Stuart Stout rode in the center front seat and ASAIC Kellerman rode in the right front seat.
We departed Parkland Memorial Hospital at 2:04 p.m. SA Lawson rode in the Dallas Police Department Lead Car. A Secret Service follow-up car followed immediately behind the hearse. The motorcade arrived at Air Force One, Love Field, at 2:14 p.m.
At 2:18 p.m the casket was placed aboard Air Force One with Mrs. Kennedy accompanying it. The casket was situated in the left rear corner of the aircraft where four seats had been removed. Mrs. Kennedy sat in one of the two seats immediately across the aisle from the casket.
The aircraft could not immediately depart because Vice-President Johnson had to be sworn in as the 36th President of the United States and it was necessary to wait for a Judge to arrive to do this. All personnel on Air Force One including Mrs. Kennedy were requested to witness the swearing in ceremony which took place in the Presidential Compartment of Air Force One at 2:38 p.m. I also attended.
I departed Love Field, Dallas, aboard Air Force One at 2:47 p.m. en route to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. I arrived at Andrews Air Force Base at 5:58 p.m. I assisted in moving the casket bearing the President's body from Air Force One to a U.S. Navy ambulance. Mrs. Kennedy got in the back of the ambulance with the casket as did Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who had joined Mrs. Kennedy aboard Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base. General Godfrey McHugh also rode in the back of the ambulance. The ambulance was driven by SA Greer with ASAIC Kellerman, SA Landis, and Admiral Burkley riding in the front seat. I followed in the car immediately behind the ambulance with Dr. John W. Walsh, Dave Powers, Kenneth O'Donnell and Larry O'Brien.
The motorcade departed Andrews Air Force Base for Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland, at 6:10 p.m. We were escorted by motorcycle police officers. The motorcade arrived Bethesda Naval Hospital at 6:55 p.m. Mrs. Kennedy, the Attorney General, SA Landis and I went immediately inside and via elevator to the 17th Floor of the hospital, the location of the Presidential Suite. Members of the immediate family and close friends were waiting in the suite.
The President's body was taken to the morgue at the hospital, accompanied by ASAIC Kellerman, SA Greer, and Admiral Burkley, for an autopsy. SA Landis and I secured the 17th Floor of the hospital and remained there with Mrs. Kennedy. We established a communications system with the White House and handled all telephone calls both incoming and outgoing, screening each and every call. Any person attempting to reach the 17th Floor was also screened.
At approximately 2:45 a.m., November 23, I was requested by ASAIC Kellerman to come to the morgue to once again view the body. When I arrived the autopsy had been completed and ASAIC Kellerman, SA Greer, General McHugh and I viewed the wounds. I observed a wound about six inches down from the neckline on the back just to the right of the spinal column. I observed another wound on the right rear portion of the skull. Attendants of the Joseph Gawler Mortuary were at this time preparing the body for placement in the casket. A new casket had been obtained from Gawler Mortuary in which the body was to be placed.
I went back to the 17th Floor of the hospital at approximately 3:10 a.m. The President's body was taken from the U.S. Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland, at 3:56 a.m., accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy and Attorney General Kennedy, in the rear of a U.S. Navy ambulance driven by SA Greer. ASAIC Kellerman rode in the right front seat. I rode in the right front seat of a White House limousine immediately behind the ambulance. The motorcade was accompanied by motorcycle police and arrived at the White House at 4:24 a.m. The casket was taken immediately to the East Room and placed in the center of the room on a catephalt.
/s/ Clinton J. Hill
Special Agent
U.S. Secret Service
Check out the little (movie) on this link, you wont beleive it.
It shows secret service agent Henry Rybka.
He was running next to the presidents car at love field as asighned protecting the president.
Then out of the blue, the agents in the following car tell Rybka to stand down.
Rybka then throws his hands up in the air in disbelief and then they just drive of and leave him at love field.
That takes care of the presidents protection.
Conspiracy is underway.
Movie here. !
jfklancer.com...
What are these guys picking up in dealy plaza.
It shows secret service agent Henry Rybka.
He was running next to the presidents car at love field as asighned protecting the president.
Then out of the blue, the agents in the following car tell Rybka to stand down.
Rybka then throws his hands up in the air in disbelief and then they just drive of and leave him at love field.
That takes care of the presidents protection.
Conspiracy is underway.
Movie here. !
jfklancer.com...
What are these guys picking up in dealy plaza.
FBI agent James W. Sibert
Former FBI agent James W. Sibert whom attended John F Kennedy's autopsy under orders from FBI director J. Edgar Hoover has broken his thirty-nine year silence about his experience, shedding a new light on what has been called the greatest mystery of the 20th century.
Adding to the controversy is James Siberts believe that the single bullet theory is false.
"I stood two foot from where that bullet wound in the back... I was there when Boswell made his face sheet and located that wound exactly as we described it in our FD 302.... There's no way that bullet could go that low then come up, raise up and come out the front of the neck, zig zag and hit Conolly and then end up in a pristine condition over there in Dallas... There's no way I'll swollow that. They can't put enough sugar on it for me to bite that."
FBI Special Agent James Hosty.
He was the agent who interviewed oswald.
Here are the notes he made of the interview.
jfklancer.com...
[Edited on 13-2-2003 by quaneeri]
Warren Commissioner McCloy's memo to Warren Commission General Counsel Lee Rankin concerning his doubts of the single bullet theory. June 24, 1964
jfklancer.com...
jfklancer.com...
The Role of Robert F. Kennedy
It has been asked frequently why RFK, if there was a plot, failed to do a thing about it. We need to address this very valid question.
By 1963, Bobbie was JFK's point man on all matters about Cuba; from private overtures of peace, to the overseeing of the CIA-backed exile operations, such as MONGOOSE and others. Bobbie knew of the CIA-Mafia plot to assassinate Castro. He probably also knew the names of many of the operatives involved, including, possibly, Lee Harvey Oswald. When he heard that name associated with JFK's death, he may have believed that it was one of the operations that he had responsibility over that had gone rouge and caused his brother's death. Still harboring long-term political aspirations, he may have treaded lightly at first.
It has been suggested that RFK's desire was to keep the fact hidden that one of the covert operations he controlled had been responsible for JFK's death. Some have claimed that this was behind the cloak of "national security" and the strangeness of the autopsy. I find that belief possible, but highly improbable. While RFK may have influenced some of the autopsy procedures, to protect the Kennedy family and his political future, he could not have gotten away with hiding anything important, since there were FBI agents present. If they had reported anything irregular to Hoover that would have reflected only on RFK, Hoover would have undoubtedly used it, publicly, against Bobbie, whom he despised.
Since we know that the FBI reports did show several notable irregularities and Hoover did not publicly pounce on them, we must assume that they weren't caused by anything RFK had to do with the procedure. There would have been no reason for Hoover to just "hold" any information about the connection between RFK and the assassination, since he could have gotten nothing worthwhile from Bobbie with JFK gone, and the FBI release of such information would have been politically devastating to the entire Kennedy family. Hoover would have literally jumped at that opportunity, had it existed, since that action would have not only pointed to RFK, but also away from the real conspirators. It obviously did not.
Maybe, by the time RFK started putting the real story together (if he did), his power to do anything about it was gone. We also must remember that Hoover, who would have been the Justice Department's chief investigator, was one of the conspirators. If RFK had become President, he might have done something. Could that have been the reason, in 1968, that he too, was killed, also by an alleged "lone nut", again under very strange circumstances? It has been claimed that Bobby kept a file that traced the assassination back to Howard Hughes near him at all times. That file allegedly disappeared immediately after his murder.
It has been asked frequently why RFK, if there was a plot, failed to do a thing about it. We need to address this very valid question.
By 1963, Bobbie was JFK's point man on all matters about Cuba; from private overtures of peace, to the overseeing of the CIA-backed exile operations, such as MONGOOSE and others. Bobbie knew of the CIA-Mafia plot to assassinate Castro. He probably also knew the names of many of the operatives involved, including, possibly, Lee Harvey Oswald. When he heard that name associated with JFK's death, he may have believed that it was one of the operations that he had responsibility over that had gone rouge and caused his brother's death. Still harboring long-term political aspirations, he may have treaded lightly at first.
It has been suggested that RFK's desire was to keep the fact hidden that one of the covert operations he controlled had been responsible for JFK's death. Some have claimed that this was behind the cloak of "national security" and the strangeness of the autopsy. I find that belief possible, but highly improbable. While RFK may have influenced some of the autopsy procedures, to protect the Kennedy family and his political future, he could not have gotten away with hiding anything important, since there were FBI agents present. If they had reported anything irregular to Hoover that would have reflected only on RFK, Hoover would have undoubtedly used it, publicly, against Bobbie, whom he despised.
Since we know that the FBI reports did show several notable irregularities and Hoover did not publicly pounce on them, we must assume that they weren't caused by anything RFK had to do with the procedure. There would have been no reason for Hoover to just "hold" any information about the connection between RFK and the assassination, since he could have gotten nothing worthwhile from Bobbie with JFK gone, and the FBI release of such information would have been politically devastating to the entire Kennedy family. Hoover would have literally jumped at that opportunity, had it existed, since that action would have not only pointed to RFK, but also away from the real conspirators. It obviously did not.
Maybe, by the time RFK started putting the real story together (if he did), his power to do anything about it was gone. We also must remember that Hoover, who would have been the Justice Department's chief investigator, was one of the conspirators. If RFK had become President, he might have done something. Could that have been the reason, in 1968, that he too, was killed, also by an alleged "lone nut", again under very strange circumstances? It has been claimed that Bobby kept a file that traced the assassination back to Howard Hughes near him at all times. That file allegedly disappeared immediately after his murder.
Gerald Ford's Fiction
The initial draft of the report stated:
"A bullet had entered his back at a point slightly above
the shoulder to the right of the spine."
Ford wanted it to read:
"A bullet had entered the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine."
Ford-Rankin Document: Commission member Gerald Ford changes description of the president's wounds to support the false "Single Bullet" theory.
The initial draft of the report stated:
"A bullet had entered his back at a point slightly above
the shoulder to the right of the spine."
Ford wanted it to read:
"A bullet had entered the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine."
Ford-Rankin Document: Commission member Gerald Ford changes description of the president's wounds to support the false "Single Bullet" theory.
The following is the text of a memo written by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to his associate, Clyde Tolson concerning his control of the Warren
Commission investigation and the treatment of Lee Harvey Oswald as the "lone assassin."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11:35 a.m. December 12, 1963
MEMORANDUM FOR: MR. TOLSON
MR. BELMONT
MR. MOHR
MR. CONRAD
MR. DELOACH
MR. EVANS
MR. ROSEN
MR. SULLIVAN
Mr. Lee Rankin called from New York to check in with me on the matter of the Commission. He wanted to work out an arrangement with me which he thought might be satisfactory. He said he understood Mr. Belmont handled the investigation.
I told Mr. Rankin that Mr. Belmont, Mr. Rosen and I handled the preparation of the report and will handle additional leads as they come in.
Mr. Rankin asked how he should handle anything that comes up, things the Commission will want developed further, in regard to the FBI - whether they should be handled directly with me or somebody I would designate.
I replied that I will designate someone. I explained that I sent Mr. Malley down to Dallas to handle all of our angles down there; that he was on the ground there; and that I think he probably would be the man who would be more familiar with things Mr. Rankin should further explore. I stated Mr. Malley is in Dallas at the present time but will be ordered back tomorrow; that he will be available; and that we will be glad to run out any additional men as he may want.
Mr. Rankin of the difficulty about the Department's desire to issue certain conclusions; that they wanted to issue a statement before the report went to the Commission with the conclusion Oswald was the assassin, no foreign or subversive elements involved, and Rubenstein and Oswald had no connection; that I flatly disagreed; they took
RETYPE by Carrolton Press due to deterioration of original -1-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum for Messers. Tolson, Belmont, Mohr, December 12, 1963
page 2
Conrad, Deloach, Evans, Rosen, Sullivan
it up with the White House and the President agreed with me that we should reach no conclusion; nevertheless the report does reach two conclusions in substance.
I said I personally believe Oswald was the assassin; that the second aspect as to whether he was the only man gives me great concern; that we have several letters, not in the report because we were not able to prove it, written to him from Cuba referring to the job he was going to do, his good marksmanship, and stating when it was all over he would be brought back to Cuba and presented to the chief; but we do not know if the chief was Castro and cannot make an investigation because we have no intelligence operation in Cuba; that I did not put this into the report because we did not have proof of it and didn't want to put speculation in the report; that this was the reason I urged strongly that we not reach conclusion Oswald was the only man.
As to Rubenstein, I said I did not want a statement about Rubenstein and Oswald; that we have no proof they were ever together. I stated Rubenstein is a shady character from the hoodlum element of Chicago, has a poor background, runs a nightclub in Dallas, and is what would be called a police buff; that the police officers in the precinct have been able to get food and liquor from him at any time they drop in; that while I think there was no connection between him and Oswald, I did not want the report to be 100% sure on that.
Fourth, I stated I did not believe any conclusions concerning Rubenstein should be reached at this time because he has not been tried; that was why I suggested to the Attorney General of Texas - and understand the Chief Justice did too- that his court of special inquiry be held in abeyance until after the Commission makes its findings. I said I thought they would go ahead with the Rubenstein trial in February; that was why I felt our report should name merely the facts we have established.
I further stated there may be some aspects Mr. Rankin will want to have run out farther; that there may be letters written to members of the Commission; that we have letters from people who claim to have seen Oswald; that up to the time we submitted the report we had cleared up all these angles except the Cuban thing which I discussed generally and explained that the informer recanted and blew that angle out of the window; that sort of thing may be popping up all the time. I advised Mr. Rankin if he wanted any leads followed out or any implementation of what we have already done we will give him 100% cooperation.
Mr. Rankin stated he knew we would; that he just wanted to
retype -2-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum for Messers. Tolson, Belmont, Mohr, December 12, 1963
page 3
Conrad, Deloach, Evans, Rosen, Sullivan
establishing it as a matter I should know. I told him not to hesitate to call me; that I will designate Mr. Malley and he will advise me at once of anything. Mr. Rankin then said he would get in touch with me if he thinks there is anything which should be taken up on that level.
I mentioned to him the actions of the Soviet Embassy, the Communist Party in New York, and John Abt is making available to us their information on Oswald.
I also discussed the operations of the Dallas Police Department in the case which led to the murder of Oswald.
I told Mr. Rankin the Department held the report about five days and then began to leak items from the Department on it, items such as the shooting of General Walker, things not known in Dallas; that I kept pressing them to get the report to the Commission; that a debate was going on between the Department and me; that I did not want any conclusion drawn but I thought a conclusion had been made in the letter of transmission to the Commission; that there would have been no purpose in appointing a Presidential Commission except to evaluate the facts; that it was the duty of the FBI to get the facts
and let the Commission reach a conclusion.
I told Mr. Rankin we would want to do anything we can here to make his job easier. He said he has always had complete confidence in that and in me.
Mr. Rankin inquired if anything had been done about seeing that the films would be preserved and available for the Commission. I answered that we have them ourselves; that we have films taken by private individuals; that the President was not being covered by a car with television people as they do here in Washington; that there was not a professional photographer where this took place; that the Secret Service car immediately in back had already passed the building, which was at an angle, with the result they couldn't tell where the shots were coming from. I mentioned the comment by former Chief of Secret Service Baughman that he could not understand why the Secret Service men did not open fire with machine guns at the window. I said the Secret Service men did not see where the shots came from and would have killed a lot of innocent people if they had done so.
In connection with stories indicating that Oswald could not have done this alone, I stated he was a marksman and it wasn't anything he
-3-
retype
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum for Messrs. Tolson, Belmont, Mohr December 12, 1963
page 4
Conrad, DeLoach, Evans Rosenm Sullivan
could not do; that we have tested it on our rifle range and were able to get shots off even faster than he did; that there is no question in my mind about it; that we also found the fingerprints and the bullets so conclusively fired from the gun; that we have all this and we have all the photographs.
Mr. Rankin inquired if we also have the television film run off of the shooting of Oswald, and I told him we have this.
Mr. Rankin said Mr. Malone delivered to him a copy of the report and also offered to help in any way possible; this was very kind of Malone; but he will not deal with Malone in anything unless it is some
emergency and he has to handle it locally. I told Mr. Rankin this was all right and, if he should need to call upon Malone, Malone would be available.
I also told Mr. Rankin there is a direct wire between the New York Office and here; that he can always place any calls to here over our wire; and that I will arrange for this.
I told Mr. Rankin to let us know if there is anything we can do.
Very truly yours,
J.E.H.
John Edgar Hoover
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11:35 a.m. December 12, 1963
MEMORANDUM FOR: MR. TOLSON
MR. BELMONT
MR. MOHR
MR. CONRAD
MR. DELOACH
MR. EVANS
MR. ROSEN
MR. SULLIVAN
Mr. Lee Rankin called from New York to check in with me on the matter of the Commission. He wanted to work out an arrangement with me which he thought might be satisfactory. He said he understood Mr. Belmont handled the investigation.
I told Mr. Rankin that Mr. Belmont, Mr. Rosen and I handled the preparation of the report and will handle additional leads as they come in.
Mr. Rankin asked how he should handle anything that comes up, things the Commission will want developed further, in regard to the FBI - whether they should be handled directly with me or somebody I would designate.
I replied that I will designate someone. I explained that I sent Mr. Malley down to Dallas to handle all of our angles down there; that he was on the ground there; and that I think he probably would be the man who would be more familiar with things Mr. Rankin should further explore. I stated Mr. Malley is in Dallas at the present time but will be ordered back tomorrow; that he will be available; and that we will be glad to run out any additional men as he may want.
Mr. Rankin of the difficulty about the Department's desire to issue certain conclusions; that they wanted to issue a statement before the report went to the Commission with the conclusion Oswald was the assassin, no foreign or subversive elements involved, and Rubenstein and Oswald had no connection; that I flatly disagreed; they took
RETYPE by Carrolton Press due to deterioration of original -1-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum for Messers. Tolson, Belmont, Mohr, December 12, 1963
page 2
Conrad, Deloach, Evans, Rosen, Sullivan
it up with the White House and the President agreed with me that we should reach no conclusion; nevertheless the report does reach two conclusions in substance.
I said I personally believe Oswald was the assassin; that the second aspect as to whether he was the only man gives me great concern; that we have several letters, not in the report because we were not able to prove it, written to him from Cuba referring to the job he was going to do, his good marksmanship, and stating when it was all over he would be brought back to Cuba and presented to the chief; but we do not know if the chief was Castro and cannot make an investigation because we have no intelligence operation in Cuba; that I did not put this into the report because we did not have proof of it and didn't want to put speculation in the report; that this was the reason I urged strongly that we not reach conclusion Oswald was the only man.
As to Rubenstein, I said I did not want a statement about Rubenstein and Oswald; that we have no proof they were ever together. I stated Rubenstein is a shady character from the hoodlum element of Chicago, has a poor background, runs a nightclub in Dallas, and is what would be called a police buff; that the police officers in the precinct have been able to get food and liquor from him at any time they drop in; that while I think there was no connection between him and Oswald, I did not want the report to be 100% sure on that.
Fourth, I stated I did not believe any conclusions concerning Rubenstein should be reached at this time because he has not been tried; that was why I suggested to the Attorney General of Texas - and understand the Chief Justice did too- that his court of special inquiry be held in abeyance until after the Commission makes its findings. I said I thought they would go ahead with the Rubenstein trial in February; that was why I felt our report should name merely the facts we have established.
I further stated there may be some aspects Mr. Rankin will want to have run out farther; that there may be letters written to members of the Commission; that we have letters from people who claim to have seen Oswald; that up to the time we submitted the report we had cleared up all these angles except the Cuban thing which I discussed generally and explained that the informer recanted and blew that angle out of the window; that sort of thing may be popping up all the time. I advised Mr. Rankin if he wanted any leads followed out or any implementation of what we have already done we will give him 100% cooperation.
Mr. Rankin stated he knew we would; that he just wanted to
retype -2-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum for Messers. Tolson, Belmont, Mohr, December 12, 1963
page 3
Conrad, Deloach, Evans, Rosen, Sullivan
establishing it as a matter I should know. I told him not to hesitate to call me; that I will designate Mr. Malley and he will advise me at once of anything. Mr. Rankin then said he would get in touch with me if he thinks there is anything which should be taken up on that level.
I mentioned to him the actions of the Soviet Embassy, the Communist Party in New York, and John Abt is making available to us their information on Oswald.
I also discussed the operations of the Dallas Police Department in the case which led to the murder of Oswald.
I told Mr. Rankin the Department held the report about five days and then began to leak items from the Department on it, items such as the shooting of General Walker, things not known in Dallas; that I kept pressing them to get the report to the Commission; that a debate was going on between the Department and me; that I did not want any conclusion drawn but I thought a conclusion had been made in the letter of transmission to the Commission; that there would have been no purpose in appointing a Presidential Commission except to evaluate the facts; that it was the duty of the FBI to get the facts
and let the Commission reach a conclusion.
I told Mr. Rankin we would want to do anything we can here to make his job easier. He said he has always had complete confidence in that and in me.
Mr. Rankin inquired if anything had been done about seeing that the films would be preserved and available for the Commission. I answered that we have them ourselves; that we have films taken by private individuals; that the President was not being covered by a car with television people as they do here in Washington; that there was not a professional photographer where this took place; that the Secret Service car immediately in back had already passed the building, which was at an angle, with the result they couldn't tell where the shots were coming from. I mentioned the comment by former Chief of Secret Service Baughman that he could not understand why the Secret Service men did not open fire with machine guns at the window. I said the Secret Service men did not see where the shots came from and would have killed a lot of innocent people if they had done so.
In connection with stories indicating that Oswald could not have done this alone, I stated he was a marksman and it wasn't anything he
-3-
retype
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum for Messrs. Tolson, Belmont, Mohr December 12, 1963
page 4
Conrad, DeLoach, Evans Rosenm Sullivan
could not do; that we have tested it on our rifle range and were able to get shots off even faster than he did; that there is no question in my mind about it; that we also found the fingerprints and the bullets so conclusively fired from the gun; that we have all this and we have all the photographs.
Mr. Rankin inquired if we also have the television film run off of the shooting of Oswald, and I told him we have this.
Mr. Rankin said Mr. Malone delivered to him a copy of the report and also offered to help in any way possible; this was very kind of Malone; but he will not deal with Malone in anything unless it is some
emergency and he has to handle it locally. I told Mr. Rankin this was all right and, if he should need to call upon Malone, Malone would be available.
I also told Mr. Rankin there is a direct wire between the New York Office and here; that he can always place any calls to here over our wire; and that I will arrange for this.
I told Mr. Rankin to let us know if there is anything we can do.
Very truly yours,
J.E.H.
John Edgar Hoover
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