"Killing Reagan" - A Review by Bill Kelly

"Killing​ ​Reagan"​ ​Again​ ​-​ ​A​ ​review​ ​by​ ​Bill​ ​Kelly. 

Bill​ ​O'Reilly' ​and​ ​Martin​ ​Dugard​ ​in​ ​their​ ​book​ ​"Killing​ ​Reagan,"​ ​​ ​as​ ​with​ ​"Killing Kennedy,"​ ​offer​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​interesting​ ​facts​ ​but​ ​in​ ​the​ ​end,​ ​they​ ​get​ ​it​ ​wrong,​ ​or​ ​just​ ​don't get​ ​it,​ ​and​ ​neither​ ​will​ ​their​ ​plethora​ ​of​  readers,​ ​unless​ ​they​ ​read​ ​more​ ​about​ ​it. 

In the late 1970s, when​ ​he​ ​was​ ​a​ ​young​ ​intrepid​ ​reporter​ ​in​ ​Texas​, O'Reilly​ ​was​ ​on​ ​the right​ ​track​ ​when​ ​he​ ​was​ ​following​ ​up​ ​on​ ​new​ ​leads​ ​provided​ ​by​ ​the​ ​House​ ​Select Committee​ ​on​ ​Assassinations​ ​(HSCA),​ ​seeking out ​interviews​ ​with​ ​the​ ​accused presidential​ ​assassin's​ ​best​ ​friend​ ​George​ ​deMohrenschildt​ ​and​ ​his CIA​ ​contact​ ​G. Walton​ ​Moore.​ ​O'Reilly​ ​then​ ​asked​ ​key​ ​hard​ ​hitting​ ​questions,​ ​some​ ​of​ ​which​ ​we​ ​are still​ ​asking​ ​today,​ ​but​ ​he's​ ​no​ ​longer​ ​asking​ ​them. 

​O'Reilly​ ​spoiled​ ​it​ ​in​"Killing​ ​Kennedy"​ ​by​ ​inserting​ ​himself​ ​in​ ​the​ ​story​ ​by falsely​ claming​ ​to​ ​have​ ​been​ ​knocking​ ​on​ ​deMohrenschiltz's​ ​Florida​ ​door​ ​while​ ​the man​ ​with​ ​answers​ ​killed​ ​himself​ ​in Hemmingwayesque​ ​fashion,​ ​when​ ​O'Reilly​ ​was​ ​not within​ ​ear​ ​shot​ ​but​ ​actually​ ​in​ ​another​ ​state​ ​all​ ​together. 

But​ ​that's​ ​okay​ ​because​ ​O'Reilly​ ​doesn't​ ​believe​ ​there​ ​was​ ​a​ ​conspiracy​ ​anyway,​ ​and now​ ​thinks​ ​a​ ​deranged​ ​loner​ ​was​ ​responsible​ ​for​ ​killing​ ​JFK​ ​all​ ​by​ ​his​ ​lonesome​ ​self, and​ ​we​ ​should​ ​all​ ​go​ ​home​ ​and​ ​read​ ​about​ ​it​ ​in​ ​his​ ​best​-selling​ ​book. 

O'Reilly​ ​and​ ​his​ ​sidekick​ ​Martin​ ​Dugard​ ​take​ ​a​ ​similarly​ ​safe​ ​approach​ ​in​ ​"Killing​ ​Reagan," and​ ​paint​ ​John​ ​Warnock Hinckley Jr.​ ​with​ ​same​ ​brush​ ​and​ ​same​ ​colors​ ​as​ ​they​ ​portray​ ​the​ ​Patsy​ ​in "Killing​ ​Kennedy,"​ ​a​ ​troubled​ ​young man ​who​ ​played​ ​with​ ​guns​ ​and​ ​acted​ ​out​ ​his fantasies​ ​on​ ​a​ ​President.  

I​ ​haven't​ ​read​ ​"Killing​ ​Lincoln"​ ​but​ I ​see​ ​a​ ​disturbing​ ​trend​ ​that​ ​says,​ ​as​ ​Allen​ ​Dulles​ ​tried to​ ​sell​ ​the​ ​Warren​ ​Commission​ ​at​ ​their​ ​first​ ​meeting,​ ​that​ ​John​ ​Wilks​ ​Booth​ ​practically acted​ ​alone​ ​and​ ​not​ ​bother​ ​to​ ​mention​ ​the​ ​half dozen Confederates​ ​who​ ​were​ ​hung​ ​for​ ​the​ ​crime he committed alone. 

There's​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​interesting​ ​tidbits​ ​in​ ​this​ ​book​ ​that​ ​I​ ​didn't​ ​know,​ ​even​ ​after​ ​researching and​ ​writing​ ​a​ ​major​ ​feature​ ​article​ ​(with​ ​John​ ​Judge​ ​[​http://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2016/08/hinckley-company.html ​]​ ​I​ ​didn't​ ​know​ ​Hinckley​ ​wanted​ ​to kill​ ​Nixon,​ ​Jimmy​ ​Carter​ ​and​ ​Ted​ ​Kennedy,​ ​but​ ​was​ ​thwarted​ ​at​ ​every​ ​turn​ ​by coincidence​ ​and​ ​happenstance. 

The​ ​one​ ​time​ ​security​ ​did​ ​stop​ ​Hinckley,​ ​at​ ​Nashville​ ​airport,​ ​where​ ​the​ ​x-ray​ ​machine picked​ ​up​ ​guns​ ​in​ ​his​ ​suitcase,​ ​and​ ​they​ ​hit​ ​him​ ​with​ ​a​ ​$50​ ​fine​ ​and​ ​$12.50​ ​court​ ​costs, but​ ​he​ ​stayed​ ​off​ ​the​ ​Secret​ ​Service​ ​radar​ ​because​ ​they​ ​failed​ ​to​ ​note​ ​that​ ​at​ ​the​ ​same time​ ​President​ ​Carter​ ​was​ ​a​ ​few​ ​miles​ ​away​ ​at​ ​the​ ​Grand​ ​Old​ ​Opry.​ ​They​ ​just​ ​didn't put​ ​two​ ​and​ ​two​ ​together​ ​and​ ​connect​ ​the incidents​ ​being​ ​linked,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​wouldn't​ ​have​ ​been​ ​a​ ​crime​ ​if​ ​Hinckley​ ​didn't​ ​conceal​ ​them, after​ ​all​ ​this​ ​is​ ​Tennessee. 

After​ ​mentioning​ ​that​ ​Hinckley​ ​was​ ​born​ ​in​ ​an​ ​obsolete​ ​mental​ ​hospital,​ ​and​ ​his​ ​father worked​ ​for​ ​World​ ​Vision,​ ​a​ ​suspected​ ​CIA​ ​front,​ ​​​O'Reilly​ ​and​ ​Dugard​ ​fail​ ​to​ ​mention​ ​a few​ ​other​ ​salient​ ​facts,​ ​like​ ​Hinckley​ ​Senior's​ ​oil​ ​company​ ​was​ ​connected​ ​too,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​was a​ ​company​ ​psychiatrist​ ​Dr.​ ​John​ ​Hooper​ ​who​ ​treated​ ​John​ ​when​ ​his​ ​psychosis​ ​became apparent. 

They​ ​also​ ​fail​ ​to​ ​mention​ ​that​ ​Hinckley​ ​bought​ ​his​ ​weapons​ ​at​ ​a​ ​Dallas​ ​gun shop​ ​just down​ ​the​ ​street​ ​from​ ​Dealey​ ​Plaza​ ​without​ ​even​ ​an​ ​ID,​ ​just​ ​as​ ​Oswald​ ​could​ ​have​ ​done, but​ ​didn't. 

They​ ​do​ ​get​ ​into​ ​the​ ​psychotic​ ​effect​ ​certain​ ​films​ ​had​ ​on​ ​Hinckley,​ ​especially​ ​Taxi​ ​Driver, that​ ​O'Reilly​ ​and​ ​Dugard​ ​say​​:​ ​"Screenwriter​ ​Paul​ ​Schrader​ ​based​ ​the​ ​character​ ​of​ ​Bickle on​ ​Arthur​ ​Bremer​ ​-​ ​the​ ​would-be​ ​assassin​ ​of​ ​presidential​ ​candidate​ ​George​ ​Wallace​ ​in 1992.​ ​Bremer​ ​shot​ ​Wallace​ ​to​ ​become​ ​famous​ ​and​ ​impress​ ​a​ ​girlfriend​ ​who​ ​had​ ​just broken​ ​up​ ​with​ ​him.​ ​He​ ​had​ ​originally​ ​intended​ ​to​ ​kill​ ​President​ ​Nixon​ ​but​ ​botched several​ ​attempts."  

O'Reilly​ ​also​ ​mentions​ ​in​ ​a​ ​footnote​ ​that,​ ​"Bremer​ ​was​ ​sentenced​ ​to​ ​53​ ​years​ ​in​ ​prison but​ ​was​ ​released​ ​after​ ​35.​ ​He​ ​is​ ​now​ ​a​ ​free​ ​man,"​ ​much​ ​as​ ​Hinkley​ ​is​ ​or​ ​soon​ ​will​ ​be. 

As​ ​O'Reilly​ ​pointedly​ ​describes,​ ​in​ ​the​ ​summer​ ​of​ ​1976​ ​Hinkley​ ​sat​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Egyptian Theater​ ​in​ ​Hollywood,​ ​"Just​ ​fifteen​ ​miles​ ​from​ ​the​ ​home​ ​of​ ​Ronald​ ​and​ ​Nancy​ ​Reagan, John​ ​Hinkley​ ​sits​ ​alone​ ​in​ ​this​ ​aging​ ​movie​ ​palace​ ​watching​ ​a​ ​new​ ​film​ ​Taxi​ ​Driver.​ ​It's​ ​a picture​ ​Hinkley​ ​will​ ​see​ ​more​ ​than​ ​fifteen​ ​times.​ ​The​ ​twenty​ ​one​ ​year​ ​old​ ​drifter,​ ​who continues​ ​to​ ​put​ ​on​ ​weight,​ ​wears​ ​an​ ​army​ ​surplus​ ​jacket​ ​and​ ​combat​ ​boots,​ ​just​ ​like the​ ​film's​ ​main​ ​character,​ ​Travis​ ​Bickle,...​who​ ​is​ ​played​ ​with​ ​frightening​ ​intensity​ ​by Robert​ ​De​ ​Nero."  

Now​ ​that's​ ​interesting​ ​that​ ​Taxi​ ​Driver​ ​is​ ​based​ ​on​ ​Bremer​ ​because​ ​Dallas​ ​radio broadcaster​ ​and​ ​founding​ ​member​ ​of​ ​David​ ​Phillips​ ​Association​ ​of​ ​Former​ ​Intelligence Officers​ ​Gordon​ ​McLendon​ ​reportedly​ ​had​ ​a​ ​major​ ​and​ ​influential​ ​interest​ ​in​ ​Columbia Pictures,​ ​the​ ​Hollywood​ ​company​ ​that​ ​made​ ​Taxi​ ​Driver.​

​And​ ​the​ ​Navy​ at the time ​was​ ​studying​ ​the effects​ ​repeated​ ​viewings​ ​of​ ​a​ ​violent​ ​film​ ​has​ ​on​ ​soldiers​ ​and​ ​potential​ ​assassins,​ ​as the​ ​London​ ​Sunday​ ​Times​ ​reported, and I mention in the Hinckley & Company article.

The two pre-assassination attempt incidents that certainly deserve mention are the December 1981 Libyan hit team threat to kill President Reagan [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19811204&id=mUFYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U_kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6706,1841255&hl=en ] and the Castro Plot to Murder Reagan that the Scripps-Howard News Service reported two weeks before Hinckley burst onto the scene, that attempts to blame the murder of Reagan on Castro even before it happens. [http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2012/11/castro-plot-to-murder-reagan.html], both of which are relevant to what happened and are not mentioned in “Killing Reagan.”

Nor​ ​do​ ​they​ ​bother​ ​to​ ​mention​ ​that​ on the morning of March 30, 1981, while​ ​Hinckley​ ​sat ​in​ ​his​ ​hotel​ ​room​ ​reading​ ​the President's​ ​daily​ ​schedule​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Washington​ ​Post, his​ ​brother​ Scott ​had​ ​a​ ​luncheon​ ​date with​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​sons​ ​of​ ​Vice​ ​President​ ​Bush,​ ​a​ ​fact​ ​that​ ​the​ ​mainstream​ ​media​ ​called​ ​a "bizarre"​ ​coincidence. 

As​ ​Ron​ ​Reagan​ ​said​ ​to​ ​Joey​ ​Bishop​ ​on​ ​TV​ ​the​ ​day​ ​after​ ​RFK​ ​was​ ​killed​ ​-​ ​though​ ​not​ ​by Sirhan B. Sirhan,​ ​as​ ​O'Reilly​ ​would​ ​have​ ​us​ ​believe​ ​-​ ​"The​ ​actions​ ​of​ ​the​ ​enemy​ ​led​ ​to​ ​and precipitated​ ​the​ ​tragedy​ ​of​ ​last​ ​night,"​ ​which​ ​O'Reilly​ ​translates​ ​to​ ​mean​ ​-​ ​"Because​ ​he (Reagan) believed​ ​it​ ​was​ ​agents​ ​of​ ​the​ ​USSR​ ​who​ ​killed​ ​RFK​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​his​ ​brother​ ​JFK​ ​in​ ​1963."​ ​

The enemy, according to O’Reilly and Dugard say -​ ​"The​ ​enemy​ ​sits​ ​in​ ​Moscow,"​ ​and​ ​they​ ​might​ ​add​ ​–​ ​Havana, as the

The handlers and controllers of the assassins are the enemy, not the Patsies like Oswald, Sirhan, Ray, Chapman, Bremer and Hinckley, and those who promote the cover-stories like O’Reilly and Dugard, are cohorts of the enemy, and like Bremer and Hinckley, are living free to spew their venom among us.

On July 27, 2016 a federal judge ruled that Hinckley would be allowed to be released from St. Elizabeth's hospital on August 5, as he was no longer considered a threat to himself or others. The conditions of his release are that he has no contact with the Reagan family or Jodie Foster and live with his 90 year-old mother and be restricted to a 50-mile zone around her home in Williamsburg, Virginia. 

Also see: Andrew Kreig’s Justice Integrity Project report:

http://www.justice-integrity.org/faq/804-why-bill-o-reilly-s-lie-about-jfk-s-murder-might-matter-to-you