Bill Kelly's Review of Freaky Fred's "I Was a Teenage Conspiracy Freak"

Bill Kelly’s Review of Freaky Fred’s “I Was a Teenage JFK Conspiracy Freak”

Okay, I finally forked out $4 for Fred Litwin’s pulp paperback on Kindle and it was a waste of good money I could have spent on a beer.

I usually learn something conspiratorial from most every anti-conspiratorial book I read and the only thing I learned from this book is that there is no real difference between silly conspiracy theorists and lone nutters like Litwin. They are all True Believers in the Eric Hoffer mold who compile all of the known facts to support their position and ignore the rest, and really know nothing.

For me, regardless of the role of the accused assassin - sixth floor sniper or fall guy, it doesn't matter once you understand that whatever you believe happened at Dealey Plaza, it was a covert intelligence operation that was designed to deceive and protect those actually responsible. 

Peter Dale Scott once said that a third type of independent researcher was emerging – one who reads all the books and records, someone who keeps an open mind, who doesn’t support a final position until all the facts are in and one who tries to answer the outstanding questions.

When Peter said that I thought of Paul Hoch, who with Scott edited an early anthology on The Assassinations that sets a real tone for real inquiry, and it was Litwin’s reference to Hoch as one of the persons who taught him how to evaluate evidence – cough, cough.

Even as I write this, Peter Dale Scott posted on Mary Ferrell some new ONI records that Hoch had acquired decades ago. Office of Naval Intelligence

After discussing Litwin’s endorsement of Hoch with Dr. Gary Aguliar in Dallas, I later learned that Aguilar confronted Hoch about it at the San Francisco researcher’s summit last December, and there was some animosity in the air. 

This book is more about Paul Hoch than it is about the assassination of the President, as Litwin is trying to pull Hoch away from his vaunted status as one of the best independent researchers into the Lone Nut sewer that is occupied by Litwin, John McAdams, Gerald Posner, Max Holland and others of their stripe. And while Hoch may not be embarrassed or insulted as I am by this, he is not being pulled by his arm and hair kicking and screaming either.

Litwin quotes Hoch at a 1993 JFK conference in Chicago as saying, “The specific items of Dealey Plaza conspiracy evidence have tended to get weaker over the years. This has been a surprise, naturally underappreciated – especially by newer buffs and non-technical buffs.” 

I guess this is suppose to mean that as we peal away at the silly conspiracy theories, we come to the same realization that Litwin has - Oswald killed JFK alone. But that's not the logical conclusion - the silly conspiracy theories get weaker as we examine the evidence closer, but the official conclusion that Oswald acted alone - is no longer tenable, so one of the conspiracy theories must be correct. 

For Hoch's entire presentation: 
JFKcountercoup: Paul Hoch on Assassination Research 1993

Litwin: “The JFK assassination has become a metaphor for politics. You can tell lies; you can spin incredibly ridiculous stories, you can make outlandish claims that are grounded in complete falsehoods; and there will still be people who believe and quote your every word. But, truth matters, Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK.1. There was no conspiracy. End of story.”

But it’s not the end of story, and the biggest incredibly ridiculous story is that Oswald killed JFK, something that can and should be dealt with and then put aside as Oswald was the rabbit who was let loose for those who thought they were following the assassin, when in fact he was what he said he was - the Patsy, set up as the fall guy in a crime he didn't commit. 

Oh, there is a footnote there – footnote #1, that I will get back to later, but in looking for the facts and evidence Litwin has for Oswald being JFK’s killer is contained in just one paragraph. In fact Oswald is not even the focus of this book – it is Litwin’s narrow minded too proud conservative viewpoint and rants against silly conspiracy theorists and liberal media.

While praising Hoch, Litwin manages to depreciate the fine work of Josiah Thompson – Ian Griggs -- Vincent Salandria – Harold Weisberg – Sylvia Meagher – Maggie Field – Shirley Martin – Raymond Marcus – Penn Jones, Jr. – Mark Lane – Thomas Buchanan -  M.S. Arnoni – Dick Gregory, Robert Groden, Mort Sahl, Bertrand Russell, Ralph Schoenman, and Jefferson Morley – all of whom made some important contribution to JFK research, whereas Litwin has made none.

Litwin would have us believe that we can just go back in time to what was only known in 1964 and ignore all of what we have learned in the fifty some years since then, and while he can ignore it all, we can’t.

Litwin writes: “The authors of the Warren Report were honourable (Brit spelling ok by me) men who conducted an honest investigation and reached the right answer.…The evidence led them to the only possible conclusion – that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. And the evidence was overwhelming…”.

Are you ready for the overwhelming evidence?  Here goes: “For instance, on the morning of the assassination, Oswald left his wedding ring and $170 for his wife Marina on the bedroom dresser, and he brought a long bulky package to work. His rifle was stored in Ruth Paine’s garage (where his wife was staying) and when the FBI visited after the assassination, lo and behold, the rifle was gone.”

And lo and behold, “After the assassination, he was the only warehouseman missing…..One expert concluded that one of the four bullets recovered from Tippit’s body matched the revolve found in Oswald’s possession when he was arrested, another expert said they all ‘could have been’ fired from his gun; the expended cartridge cases matched Oswald’s gun to the exclusion of all other weapons. The rifle found on the sixth floor of the Book Depository was bought by Oswald; fibers found on the rifle matched Oswald’s shirt, although they could have come from another identical shirt; two bullet fragments found in the limousine and the cartridge cases found in the sniper’s nest matched his rifle ‘to the exclusion of all other weapons’; Oswald’ right palm print was found on the rifle barrel,; and his fingerprints were found on the bag used to carry the rifle to work…..Faced with this massive amount of incriminating evidence, the critics could only chip away at the margins….”

And the margins lead to the heart of the matter. 

Defense Attorney Bill Simpich could destroy each and every one of this "evidence" in just a few minutes in court, but lo and behold, the evidence never made it to a court of law because the principal suspect was killed while in police custody. 

The thing that I just don't get is why these Lone Nutters - to a man - all say Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin who killed the President all alone, but he's always portrayed as a disenchanted, wife beating loner and idiot who couldn't hold a job, instead of being a great marksman and the world's greatest assassin, as he would have to be if he actually did the dirty deed. 

As Litwin puts it, “When I told most people that there was no conspiracy and that just about every issue could be easily explained, they just smiled.”  And that’s because most people know better, and with good reason. There are many good reasons why most - 80% of the people don't believe Oswald alone was responsible for the assassination. 

Okay Fred, easily explain where the bullets came from – the bullets from the rifle and the pistol? Explain where the rifle strap – from an air force officer’s sidearm hostler came from? Explain how the rifle got into the Texas School Book Depository since B. W. Fraser and his sister both said the package was too small to be a rifle. Explain why the brown paper wrapping paper wasn’t photographed at the scene where it was found? Tell us who was seen on the sixth floor with a rifle when Oswald was on the first floor shortly after noon? Tell us who was seen in the six floor window five minutes after the shooting when Oswald was positively on the second floor? Tell us who was the man in the white shirt (Oswald wore brown) in the sixth floor window with a rifle with a very distinguishing bald spot on the top of his head, a trait not shared by Oswald? Tell us who was practicing at the rifle range, calling attention to himself by shooting the wrong targets – a person the Warren Commission said was not Oswald. Tell us who was impersonating Oswald at a dozen – not one or two – but a dozen locations? Tell us why none of the four people on the stairs failed to see Oswald descend the steps? Tell us how Roy Truly failed to see Oswald go through the second floor lunchroom door where Marion Baker saw him a few second later? It’s because Oswald wasn’t on the sixth floor at the time of the shooting, did not descend those steps or go through that door. He entered the lunchroom from the secretary’s office, the same way he left.

Now we can get to Footnote #1 -

“1.We will never know exactly why Oswald killed Kennedy. Jean Davison, author of Oswald’s Game, offers a persuasive explanation. Oswald most probably read the New Orleans Times-Picayune story of September 9, 1963 in which it was reported that Fidel Castro said that if US leaders ‘are aiding terrorist plans to eliminate Cuban leaders, they themselves will not be safe.’ Oswald had made attempts to infiltrate pro-Castro groups in New Orleans and he might have been aware of plots against Castro. In late November 1963, it was announced that Kennedy’s motorcade route would pass right in front of the building in which he worked. Strictly by chance, Oswald was able to strike a blow for the revolution.”

For the complete story read the article: timespicayune.JPG (510×799)

JFKCountercoup2: Harker's Complete Original Report

We will never know exactly why Oswald killed Kennedy because he didn’t. But we can come to know how and why JFK was killed by following this lead, and can thank Jean Davison for turning us on to it. 

The story Oswald “probably” read was written by the AP correspondent in Havana Daniel Harker, who quoted Castro in an interview at the Brazilian embassy the day after Dr. Orlando Cubella (AMLASH) met with a CIA case officer in Brazil. The CIA case officer was encouraging Cubella to kill Castro, and another case officer met with Cu bella in Paris at the very moment of the assassination. It wasn’t strictly by chance that Cubella also owned an apartment in Veradero beach where the JMWAVE Pathfinders were to use as a staging area to shoot Castro in the head with a high powered rifle as he rode past in an open jeep.

As the Microsoft computerized review of the most recently released JFK assassination files concluded, the assassination had something to do with Cuba, and as Jean Davison has called our attention to, the assassination had something to do with the CIA-Mafia plots to kill Castro. And as Carlos Bringuier and others have said, what happened in Dallas was directly connected to the JMWAVE commando raids against Cuba – that Castro was harping about in the story Oswald “probably” read. Those commando raids, BTW are also featured in stories in both of the communist publications that Oswald is seen holding in the backyard photos with the rifle and pistol said to be used to kill JFK and officer Tippit.

Litwin has a whole chapter dedicated to the New Orleans aspects of the assassination but doesn’t even mention Oswald’s arrest with Bringuier and his DRE pals.

The whole chapter is devoted to the charges against Clay Shaw, and Litwin, in his Canadian TV interview falsely says that Garrison indicted Shaw because he was a homosexual.

Garrison didn’t indict Shaw at all. Clay Shaw was indicted by a New Orleans Grand Jury because Shaw was seen in Clinton, Louisiana in the summer of 1963 with David Ferrie and Oswald – the man Litwin says was responsible for the murder of the President.

And Ferrie was considered a suspect, not because he too was gay, but because of his participation in the Houma Bunker raid that obtained guns and explosives that were to be used by anti-Castro Cubans or anti-deGaulists. For more on Houma Bunker raid see: JFKcountercoup: The Houma Bunker Raid Revisted

It should be noted that Litwin himself is gay, and with his gay boyfriend visited Dealey Plaza – the scene of the crime, in 2018, shortly before the publication of this book.

His previous book Conservative Confidential, is apparently about his conversion from being a stupid secretly gay liberal to an newly enlightened openly gay conservative. 

Litwin writes that, “Garrison started to think about the Kennedy assassination was some sort of homosexual plot.”

Then he quotes Paul Hoch: Echoes of Conspiracy – “Garrison apparently failed to weigh the likelihood of a secret but social and non-conspiratorial relationship between Shaw and Ferrie. By refusing to do so – and targeting someone who would not come out of the closet in his own defense – I think Garrison crossed the line into objectively homophobic persecution.”

And Garrison thought enough of Hock to respond to him writing, “Throughout our trial, in everything I have ever written and in every public statement I have ever made – I never once made any reference to Clay Shaw’s alleged homosexuality. What sort of human being is Mr. Hoch that he is impelled to so gratuitiously make such a reference in a newsletter which he widely distributes to the public?”'

Litwin writes: “Muckraker Jack Anderson, partner of syndicated columnist Drew Pearson, also spent some time talking to Garrison. According to Pearson’s March 24, 1967, diary entry, Garrison told Anderson, ‘The CIA definitely had a plot to assassinate Castro and had approached Clay Shaw, a reputable, wealthy homosexual businessman, as a man who could execute the plot. Shaw was part of a homosexual ring, including Ferrie and Ruby in Dallas.”  

Read recently released FBI report on Jack Anderson's diner with Garrison: - JFKCountercoup2: Jack Anderson on Jim Garrison

For more on Litwin's New Orleans escapades he titles Garrison’s Excellent Homosexual Adventure - read what Jim DiEugenio has recently posted at Kennedys and King - Jim Garrison vs. Fred Litwin: The Beat Goes On - Part 2 - Kennedys And King - Jim Garrison vs. Fred Litwin: The Beat Goes On (part 2)

Jack Anderson also failed to publish but told his FBI case officer that after his dinner with Garrison he believed Garrison was on to something. And he certainly was, but it wasn’t the New Orleans bozos who pulled off the Houma Bunker caper who killed JFK in Dallas. That was a very well planned and executed covert intelligence operation the origins of which were the CIA-Mafia plan to kill Castro with a high powered rifle as he drove by in an open jeep – the plan that was redirected to JFK in Dallas.

For more on this see Pathfinder Parts 1-5 JFKcountercoup: PATHFINDER - Parts 1 - 5 The Plan to Kill Castro Redirected to JFK at Dallas

That’s what history will show.

As Litwin makes continued attacks on the truth, advocates of the truth and depreciates what we’ve come to know about the assassination over the past fifty years, I will return to address some of the issues he raises that deserve attention, but for now, I will give him a break.

And I am looking forward to buying, reading and reviewing a book that is worth the price - a book that I know will be a game changer – John Newman’s “Into the Storm,” Volume 3 of his multi-volume history of the Kennedy Assassination from someone who really does know how to evaluate evidence. 

Wes Wise - Carl Mather Documents

In 1993 I interviewed Wes Wise on cassette audio tape as he gave me a tour of JFK assassination hot spots in Dallas, including the Oak Cliff neighborhood where Dallas policeman J.D. Tippit was murdered, a killing that has been attributed to Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of the President, linking both murders together. 

As a former TV reporter Wise was well known in Dallas and later was elected Mayor. 

When he gave a talk to a civic organization in Oak Cliff shortly after the assassination, the audience wanted to know about his reporting on the assassination. One of those in the audience, Mr. White, a local mechanic, came forward at the end of the talk and told Wise that he had seen the accused assassin driving a 1957 Plymouth in the area of Tippit's murder around the time of the crime. White said he jotted down the license plate number of the car - and gave the note to Wise, who shared it with the FBI and traced it to one Carl Mather, a close friend of Tippit. Although Mather himself was never questioned by the FBI or investigators until the late 1970s, Mather's alibi was that he was at work - a Collins Radio in Richardson, Texas at the time. 

On November 1, 1963 the New York Times ran a photo of the CIA rader ship "Rex" docked at its berth in West Palm Beach, not far from the Kennedy's home nearby. According to Fidel Castro the Rex had dropped off a team of assassins with high powered rifles who were captured and paraded on Cuban TV. These men admitted to being paid and trained by the CIA in Florida. 

The New York Times traced the Rex ownership to a company owned by Somoza Nicaragua's dictator, known as "The Godfather of the Bay of Pigs." 

The ship was at the time was "leased" to Collins Radio, of Richardson, Texas, for "scientific research." 

Thus tying the assassination of President Kennedy to the murder of Tippitt, and both to the CIA's JMWAVE station in Florida, who operated the Rex, and the plots to kill Castro to the Dealey Plaza Operation that led to the death of the President. 

- Bill Kelly 

WES WISE – CARL MATHER DOCS

American Bank and Trust Company letterhead
October 31, 1963
Mr. Wes Wise
Station KRLD –TV
Herald Square
Dallas, Texas

Dear Mr. Wise:

The Oak Cliff Exchange Club would like to have you present a program on sports on December 4, 1963 at the El Chico Restaurant, located at the corner of Zangs and Davis in Oak Cliff.

The Club meets at Noon, and there will be several boys present from the Dallas County Boys Home at Hutchins.

Your help would certainly be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Terry C. Dickens, Jr.
Vice President and
Program Chairman
Oak Cliff Exchange Club

Hand written as notes on this page are

Texas
4537
Mack Pate
Automotive…..

FBI
December 4, 1963
1
Mr. WES WISE, Sports Department, KRLD-TV, was interviewed at which time he furnished the following information. Mr. Wise said on December 4, 1963 he made aa talk before the Oak Cliff Exchange Club at a luncheon meeting at the El Chico Restaurant in Oak Cliff. Wise said although his specialty is sports, eventually the conversation at the meeting got around to the assassination of the President sicne persons present knew WISE was associated with KRLD-TV, the CBS outlet in Dallas, Texas.

WISE continued that at the conclusion of the meeting, one of the guests came forward and reluctantly volunteered information that on November 22, 1963 just after news had been broadcast of the President’s assassination, he observed a red 1957 Plymouth four-door sedan proceeding west at a rapid rate of speed on Davis Street in Oak Cliff. WISE said his source stated after a short period of time, this car returned to the parking lot at the El Chico Restaurant where the car parked beside the restaurant and the occupant remained in the car. The source told WISE because of the mysterious maneuverings of this car, he walked close to the car and determined the license number was PP 4537. The source told WISE at the luncheon meeting that evening while observing TV, a picture of OSWALD was shown and the source recognized OSWALD as being the individual he observed in the red 1957 Plymouth on that afternoon.

WISE said as he recalled, this occurred on the same corner where Oswald reportedly left a taxicab following his trip from downtown Dallas.

WISE said he had checked the license PP 4537 through the License Bureau and it was ascertained this license was issued to CARL AMOS MATHER, 4309 Colgate Lane, Garland, Texas.

WISE stated at this time he desired not to furnish the identity of his source of information, but added if investigation indicated this individual might be involved in the OSWALD case, WISE would reveal the identity of the source.

12/4-63
Dallas, Texas
File # DL 89-43
By Special Agent CHARLES T. BROWN

IMG 0008
FBI
December 14, 1963
1
Mr. WES WISE, Sports Department, KRLD-TV, advised Mr. T.F. WHITE, a Mechanic at the Mack Pate Garage, 114 7th Street, Dallas, is the individual who furnished WISE information on December 4, 1963. WISE stated on December 4, 1963 WHITE had told WISE he (WHITE) observed a 1957 red Plymouth automobile on the parking lot adjacent to the El Chico Restaurant in Dallas, and WHITE believed the individual driving the car at the time was LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

WISE stated although he did not desire to furnish the identity of his source of this information at first, it would be permissible for an FBI Agent to interview WHITE at this time to further check out WHITE”s story.

12-9-63
Dallas, Texas
Special Agent CHARLES T. BROWN
File # DL 100-10461

FBI
December 14, 1963
Mr. MILTON LOVE, Dallas County Tax Office, Dallas, Texas, advised 1963 Texas License Plate PP 4537 was issued for a 1957 Plymouth automobile in possession of CARL AMOS MATHER, 4309 Colgate Street, Garland Texas.

12-5-63
Dallas
File # 100-10461
By Special Agent CHARLES T. BROWN, Jr.

FBI
December 14, 1963
1.
Mrs. JUDY BACHMAN, Merchant’s Retail Credit Association, Garland, Texas, advised CARL AMOS MATHER, 4309 Colgate Street, Garland, Texas, has been known to MRCA records since April, 1957. His file was last checked June, 1958. MATHER was born October 22, 1927. The file indicates MATHER formerly resided in Tulsa, Oklahmoa in 1957 and he is a former resident of Grand Prarie, Texas in 1958. He formerly resided at 1020 Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas. A report from Merchant’s Retail Credit Association at Tulsa, Oklahoma indicates MATHER was formerly employed by the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company in Tulsa. At the present time, MATHER is employed by Collins Radio Company, Richardson, Texas. These records indicate MATHR has an account at the First National Bank, Grand Prarie, Texas. Relatives are shown as A.L. or U.L. Mather, Rogers, Arkansas, and his wife has a relative, WAYNE RILEY, at Kansas City, Missouri.

12-5-63
Garland, Texas
File # DL 100-10461
Special Agent CHARLES T. BROWN, Jr.
12-10-63

FBI
December 14, 1963
1.
SA CHARLES T. BROWN, Jr., observed a 1957 Plymouth, four-door automobile parked in the driveway at 4309 Colgate Street, Garland, Texas, which car had a 1963 Texas License PP 4537. It was observed that this car is a light blue over medium blue color.

12-5-63
Garland, Texas
File # DL 100-10461
12-10-63

FBI
December 14, 1963
1
Mrs. CARL A. MATHER, 4309 Colgate Street, Garland, Texas, stated that she and her husband own the light blue over medium blue 1957 Plymouth automobile bearing 1963 license PP 4537 which was parked in the driveway at this address.

Mrs. MATHER stated she and her husband also own a 1954 Ford station wagon which is white over light blue in color.

Mrs. MATHER stated on November 22, 1963, her husband left is work at Collins Radio Company in Richardson, Texas at approximately 2:00 or 2:30 P.M. in the afternoon at which time he came to their home at 4309 Colgate Street, Garland, Texas. Mrs. MATHER stated she and her husband were friends with former Dallas Policeman J.D. TIIPPIT who was shot on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. Mrs. MATHER said shortly after her husband arrived home, they took their two children with them in their 1954 Ford station wagon at which time they proceeded to Dallas, Texas to the TIPPIT home to express their condolences to Mrs. TIPPIT, and to assist her in any way possible. Mrs. MATHER said she and her husband and their children remained at the TIPPIT home together until around 5 P.M. They arrived at the TIPPIT home at approximately 3:30 P.M. that afternoon. Around 5:00 P.M., Mr. MATHER left the TIPPIT home with the two MATHER children and drove to the MATHER home in Garland where he fed the two children and put them to bed.

Mrs. MATHER was questioned as to knowledge of her husband or anyone else driving a red late model automobile in the vicinity of the Le Chico Restaurant on the afternoon of November 22, 1963 at which time Mrs. MATHER stated she was at a loss to understand any connection between the red automobile reportedly bearing Texas License PP 4537 and her family.

Mrs. MATHER said as best she could recall, her husband was at the TIPPIT home constantly on the afternoon of November 22, 1963 following their arrival there at about 3:30 P.M.

12-5-63
Garland, Texas
File # DL 100-10461
SA CHARLES T. BROWN, Jr.
12-10-63

FBI
December 14, 1963
1
Mr. T.F. WHITE, Mechanic, Mack Pate’s Garage, 114 West 7th Street, Dallas, Texas, was interviewed regarding a red 1957 Plymouth reportedly seen by him in the parking lot of the El Chico Restaurant on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. Mr. WHITE was advised Mr. WES WISE, Sports Department, KRLD-TV, Dallas, has furnished information which Mr. WISE obtained from Mr. WHITE reflecting the individual driving the red 1957 Plymouth was believed to be LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

Mr. WHITE stated he saw the red car at approximately 2:00 P.M. on the parking lot of the El Chico Restaurant. He stated he now believes the car to have been a red 1961 Falcon and he believed the automobile had 1963 Texas License PP 4537. WHITE said he observed the man driving the car from the side of his face, and when he saw the television pictures of LEE HARVEY OSWALD on the night of November 22, 1963, he believed the man he saw at the El Chico Restaurant parking lot was identical with OSWALD. He said the man sat in the car for a short period of time and then left at a high rate of speed, going west on Davis.

Mr. WHITE was advised that the license number furnished by him had been checked and ascertained to be assigned to the 1957 Plymouth automobile which had been observed by an FBI agent and determined to be a light blue over medium blue in color. Mr. WHITE was also advised that LEE HARVEY OSWALD had been captured at the Texas Theater in Dallas at approximately 2:00 P.M., after having shot Dallas Police Officer J.D. TIPPIT at approximately 1:18 P.M. Mr. WHITE was further advised witnesses have stated they observed OSWALD fleeing from the scene of the TIPPIT shooting on foot and he was observed by other witnesses to enter the Texas Theater shortly after the shooting.

Mr. WHITE said he thought he had obtained the correct license number on the car, and, upon seeing OSWALD on television on the night of November 22, 1963, he thought OSWALD was possibly identical with the man he had seen driving the red automobile on the afternoon of November 22, 1963.

12-13-63
Dallas, Texas
SA CHALRES T. BROWN, Jr.
DL 100-10462
12-14-63

Mather Subpoena
IMG 0014

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In the Matter of the Application of
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS
MISC. No. 78

NOTICE OF AN APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER CONFERING IMMUNITY ON AND COMPELLING TESTIMONY FROM CARL AMOS MATHER

TO: HONORABLE GRIFFIN B. BELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Main Justice Building
10th and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on or after the 30th day of May 1978 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, United States Courthouse, Third and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington , D.C., Counsel for the Select Committee on Assassinations, acting on behalf of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the United States House of Representatives, will apply to the Court, pursuant to the provisions of Title 18, United States Code, Section 6002, et. seq., for an order conferring immunity upon Carl Amos Mather and compelling him to testify and provide other information in an inquiry being conducted by the Subcommittee on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy of the Select Committee on Assassinations.

Dated 5-19-78
G. Robert Blakey Sig
Chief Counsel and Director
Select Committee on Assassinations
U.S. House of Representatives

IMG 0015

J. D. Tippit Investigative Status

I. INTERVIEW:
A. Witnesses: Helen Markham – pedestrian - Jack Tatum – motorist
B. Family: Marie (Tippit) Thomas – widow
C. Friends: Carl Mather – erstwhile neighbor
D. Co-Workers – Calvin Owens – supervisor
William Mentzell – fellow worker
Basil Robinson – fellow worker
Morris Brumley – fellow worker
Bill Anglin – best friend
E. Employer – Austin Cook (part-time at restaurant)
F. Ambulance Driver : Jasper Butler

II. SCENE
Examine and compare all available photos
Canvass entire area to reinterview witnesses and/or discover others.
Measure time and distance (from LHO rooming house).
Search for significant point(s) BEYOND 10th and Patton.
Escape route unremarkable with possible exception of jacket discovered in parking lot. (Arrested with revolver and identification intact.)

III. GENERAL SCOPE:
Complete background on LHO and J.D. Tippit.
Trace origin of firearm (revolver)
Analyze autopsy findings (Compare recovered slugs and verify trajectory).

IV. INCOMPLETE ASPECTS

Witnesses not interviewed:
Bob K. Carrol
Gerald L. Hill
Paul Bentley

[Note: Page 2 is missing]

IMG 0017
Oswald and Tippit - page 3

Areas requiring further research and investigation:
1) Tippit medal evidence/interviewing of the two physicians and the FBI agents involved.
2) Tippit ballistics evidence/ a determination of the exact number of shots fired and the revolver that was used.
3) Development of basic information regarding Tippit/ was there any relationship between Tippit and LHO? (SEE Purdy Memo of February 19, 1977: A Mr. Wise, Mayor of Dallas, was told by Pate (sic) who owns a garage in Oak Cliff along the route which LHO is said to have taken after the assassination. Pate (Sic - Pate's employee Mr. White) believes he saw LHO sitting in a car in the restaurant parking lot across the street from the garage. Pate took the license number of the car. Pate has gone to the FBI with this information. The authorities traced the license to a car belonging to good friends of the Tippits. Has this lead been checked?)

Support JFK Research and JFKCountercoup

Support JFK Research and JFKCoutnercoup

I have been researching and writing about the JFK assassination since I was a seventeen year old freshman history student at the University of Dayton when I did a paper on the Bay of Pigs in 1969.

We've all come a long way since then, and this is the year - 2019 when we can wrap this case up to a legal and moral certainty, though Justice will certainly be tossed along the wayside.

When I was a regular mainstream journalist at the Jersey Shore I got paid a $100 for a column and more for a news or feature article, but now that I am blogging, I get a 1,000 hits a day but how do you turn those "hits" into $ to support the work? I haven't figured it out yet, but this may be one way.

As my mother used to say, "It isn't work if you don't get paid for it," and the only money I was paid to do JFK research was a $3,000 grant I received in 1993 from the Fund For Constitutional Government Investigative Journalism Project, that I frugally used on a round-trip AMTRACK train ticket from Atlantic City to San Diego and back, via Chicago, New Orleans, Houston and Dallas. Along the way I stayed on the couches of fellow JFK researchers and interviewed numerous witnesses and suspects.

Now I am asking my friends, associates and supporters to do the same, and I will use this money to accomplish our mutual goal of filling in the missing blanks and pieces to the Dealey Plaza mystery, as this will probably be our last chance as most of the witnesses and suspects have passed away, as well as many of those who started out on this struggle and began this fight. Now we must finish it, and I promise to do my part.

There are other requests for donations from very good causes - Mary Ferrell, JFKFacts, Assassination Archives and Research Cetner, Kennedys and King, Black Op Radio, CAPA and others who are coming along - the Truth and Reconciliation Committee for one. This one is for support of my research, writings and JFKCountercoup and JFKCountercoup2 blogs.

https://www.gofundme.com/supportjfkcountercoup

The glitz at GoFundMe has been corrected and it should accept donations now. 

You can also support me and my work through joining CAPA - Citizens Against Political Assassination - and donating to them, a tax-deductable non-profit organization at CAPA-US.org

http://CAPA-US.org 

Many thanks for those who have support me alonng the way, as this journney is almost over.

Bill Kelly
billkelly3@gmail.com 

BAGMAN, THE NUCLEAR FOOTBALL AND THE STAR NETWORK

FOLLOWING THE BAGMAN AND THE STAR NETWORK 

The Bagman holding Halliburton's Nuclear Football 

Did it get lost on 11/22/63?

"Officials at the Pentagon were calling the White House switchboard at the Dallas-Sheraton Hotel asking who was now in command. An Officer grabbed the phone and assured the Pentagon that Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara and the Joint Chief of Staff ' are now the President.”  -  Jim Bishop – “The Day the President Was Shot”

There are two lines of authority and power – the presidential line of succession – that goes from President to Vice President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, President pro tempore of the Senate and then the Secretary of State and cabinet members.

Then there is the line of authority to order a nuclear strike – which goes from the President, to Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff – the exact line of authority the White House Communications Authority (WHCA) officer said were in charge in the hour and minutes between the time President Kennedy was killed and LBJ was sworn in as president.

According to the WHCA officer at the Dallas Sheraton switchboard, it was the latter line of authority who were in charge in the immediate aftermath of the assassination.

As Major Ralph Ganis said, the power to utilize the executive action capability that was in place at the time had to be an order that originated at the very highest positions in the government – he gives the example of the nuclear command and control system, and it appears the order for the assassination came, not from LBJ but from that military command structure.

With the death of President Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, automatically became the heir to the power of the presidency. In the first hour of the assassination LBJ communicated by telephone with three people - Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Judge Sarah Hughes and his personal tax attorney J. Waddy Bullion.

He called RFK to get the exact wording of the oath of office, Sarah Hughes to get her to come to Love Field to administer the oath and with Bullion he talked about the need to change his stock portfolio, expressing particular concern about his Halliburton stock.

Russ Baker, in “Family of Secrets,” (p. 132), reports that “Pat Holloway, former attorney for both Poppy Bush and Jack Crichton, recounted to me an incident involving LBJ that had greatly disturbed him. This was around 1 P.M. on November 22, 1963, just as Kennedy was being pronounced dead…The switchboard operator excitedly noted that she was patching the vice president through from Parkland Hospital to Holloway’s boss, firm senior partner Waddy Bullion, who was LBJ’s personal tax lawyer. The operator invited Holloway to listen in. LBJ was talking ‘not about conspiracy or about the tragedy,’ Holloway recalled, ‘I heard him say, ‘Oh, I got to get rid of my goddamn Halliburton stock.’”

Baker also notes that, “Halliburton was also deeply involved in defense contracting, through its subsidiary Brown and Root (Later Kellog Brown & Root KBR) the politically wired Texas engineering firm. Brown and Root had taken a giant leap into military contracting when Lyndon Johnson, its political protégé, became president.” Both G. R. and R.O. Brown were on the Halliburton board, as was John Connally, who was wounded in the fuselage of bullets that killed Kennedy.

Some have considered it peculiar that one thing Johnson did not do once he assumed the presidency, at least on the public record, was to inquire about the national security status, the military posture or the possibility that the nation would be attacked, or was under attack by foreign enemies.

It is odd that one of LBJ’s first thoughts as President was the status of his Halliburton stock, though perhaps that was a sort of code between LBJ and J. Waddy Bullion his stock attorney, as Halliburton was not only a major defense contractor but actually made the “black bag” container that the nuclear codes and ciphers were kept, a satchel always kept close to the president.

The “bagman” was Warren Officer Ira Gearhart, a military officer who carried the black leather shrouded metal suitcase that contained the codes and ciphers the President needed to communicate with military commanders enabling him to order a nuclear strike. Gearhart had to remember the combination for the safety lock that opened the bag, and was to stay near the President at all times. Gearhart was positioned in the back seat of the last car in the motorcade in Dallas that day, alongside the WHCA officers whose responsibility was to keep the president in constant contact with the White House Situation Room and his military commanders in the Pentagon.

In fact, the new President had twice left behind the military aide with the black bag. The “bagman” had been left behind in the back of the motorcade when LBJ was rushed to Parkland Hospital and then again when the new president quickly and secretly left the hospital for Air Force One. While the man with the nuclear codes did catch up to LBJ at Love Field and remained nearby, he was generally ignored during the crisis.

In his book “The Day Kennedy was Shot,” Jim Bishop relates how Warrant Officer Ira Gearhart became “separated from the VIP portion of the motorcade as it raced to Parkland and after arriving he did not know where the President was nor whom he was. The Secret Service kept him away from the booth where LBJ had been placed and that Johnson and Gearhart had been separated again, when LBJ raced to Love Field."

Tagging along almost unnoticed on the trip to Love Field, Gearhart had to force his way onto a policeman’s lap to keep up with the president

The secure telephone lines set up for Air Force One at Love Field were special trunk lines that had to be detached from the plane before take-off, after which all the communications were made through radio patches over three or four sideband radios in the communications room behind the cockpit.

The trunk lines at Love Field connected to Air Force One were only a few of a dozen such secure land lines that were controlled by the WHCA – others being at locations where ever the President was or would be – the hotel in Fort Worth where JFK spent his last night, at the Dallas Trade Mart where he was scheduled to give a luncheon speech, and other locations in Texas where he was scheduled to be that weekend.

The WHCA Command Center and base station for the Dallas portion of the Texas trip was set up in a suite of rooms at the Dallas Sheraton Hotel at the Southland Center, where the Halliburton company offices were also located.

All of the president’s communications – the “Star Network,” were controlled by the White House Communications Agency (WHCA), then led by Col. George McNally (code name “Star”), who was having lunch at the airport terminal when the assassination occurred. He immediately returned to Air Force One to ensure that the new president could communicate with anyone in the world.

According to William Manchester, it was McNally’s duty to ensure that the president was always within a few minutes of a secure telephone. “Colonel McNally had a corps of advance men. By dawn of that Thursday morning temporary switchboards had been installed in trailers and hotel rooms in San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin and at the LBJ Ranch. Each had its own unlisted phone number. The Dallas White House, for example, was in the Sheraton-Dallas Hotel. It could be reached through RIverside 1-3421,RIverside 1-3422, and RIverside 1-3423, though anyone who dialed one of them and lacked a code name of his own would find the conversation awkward.”

And according to Jim Bishop, who apparently talked with some of the WHCA radio operators, one such awkward phone call came in during the immediate aftermath of the assassination. "Officials at the Pentagon were calling the White House switchboard at the Dallas-Sheraton Hotel asking who was now in command. An Officer grabbed the phone and assured the Pentagon that Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara and the Joint Chief of Staff are now the President."

Theodore H. White, in The Making of the President, 1964, wrote: “There is a tape recording in the archives of the government which best recaptures the sound of the hours as it waited for leadership. It is a recording of all the conversations in the air, monitored by the Signal Corps Midwestern center "Liberty," between Air Force One in Dallas, the Cabinet plane over the Pacific, and the Joint Chiefs'  Communications Center in Washington.”

“…..On the flight the party learned that there was no conspiracy, learned of the identity of Oswald and his arrest; and the President's mind turned to the duties of consoling the stricken and guiding the quick.”

While “Liberty” station – a glass building at the Collins Radio Company headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is heard on the existing Air Force One radio transmission tapes, there is no mention of Oswald or the lack of conspiracy. That means that these patches were edited out of the publicly released version of the tapes, something only the military could do.

While there is no documented or officially archived evidence that LBJ, as the new president, communicated directly with the Pentagon or any of his generals, except those who were aboard Air Force One, it is possible that LBJ, from the same source that informed Bishop, knew of the report(s) that “the Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are now the President.”

While the constitutional lines of accession for the executive branch of government goes from President to Vice President to Speaker of the House, the lines of authority for release of nuclear weapons – the power to go to war – goes from the President to the Secretary of Defense. According to Thomas B. Allen (of War Games), the nuclear... release authority passes from a ...disabled or missing President to the Secretary of Defense, and then, if necessary, to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, who at the time of the assassination was Roswell Gilpatrick, the Texan who arranged for General Dynamics to get the TFX contract over Boeing.

In the first hours after the assassination, as McGeorge Bundy put it, “the Pentagon was taking its own steps.”

And this wasn’t all knee-jerk reactionary responses to an unforeseen crisis, but a well planned out scenario that had been recently practiced.

“Of all the things Kennedy did for Johnson, none, however, was perhaps more instantly important on the weekend of Nov. 22 than a minor decision Kennedy made months before,” wrote T.H. White, in “The Making of the President 1964.”

“He (JFK) had decided that, in the secret and emergency planning for continuity of American government in the happenstance of a nuclear attack, Johnson should be given a major role. Through Major General Chester V. Clifton, who acted as White House liaison with the Department of Defense, all emergency operational planning was made available to the Vice President in duplicate. These plans, envisioning all things – from the destruction of all major cities to the bodily transfer of governing officers to an underground capital – included, of course, detailed forethought of the event of the sudden death of a President.”

And it was from the personnel effects of Gen. Clifton that we have the reel-to-reel, but still edited copies of the Air Force One radio tape transmissions, which could be an indication that the original, non-edited version is still out there – somewhere.

As White wrote of LBJ, “Because he had participated in all these plans, both panic and ignorance were already preauthorized in the vice President; on the night of Nov. 22, 1963, he knew exactly all the intricate resources of command and communications at his disposal. Beneath this lay the experience of a man who had spent 30 years observing the work of the federal government, while beneath that lay the instincts of a Texas country boy. Now it was him to act.”

So the first two decisions LBJ made – to go immediately to Air Force One because of its superior communications equipment and take the oath of office before taking off, were both moves that were engrained in the special continuity of government plans that JFK had made LBJ privy to.

In his book “Apocalypse Soon” former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara wrote, “The concept of the Football came about in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. President John F. Kennedy was concerned that some Soviet commander in Cuba might launch their missiles without authorization from Moscow. After the crisis, Kennedy ordered a review of the U.S. Nuclear Command and Control system. The result was the highly classified National Security Action Memorandum that created the Football. It has been suggested that the nickname Football was derived from an attack plan code named Drop-Kick.”

“The playbook is said to contain 75 pages of options, to be used against four primary groups: Russian nuclear forces; conventional military forces; military and political leadership and economic/industrial targets. 

The options are further divided into Major Attack Options (MAOs), Selected Attack Options (SAOs), and Limited Attack Options (LAOs). With the SATCOM radio and handset, the president can contact the National Command Authority (NCA) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). To make rapid comprehension of the materials easier, the options are described in a heavily summarized format and depicted using simple images. The Football also contains the locations of various bunkers and airborne command-post aircraft, procedures for communicating over civilian networks, and other information useful in a nuclear-emergency situation.”

“The ‘Nuclear Football,’ otherwise known as the President's Emergency Satchel, is a specially-outfitted, black-colored briefcase used by President of the United States to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. While its exact contents and operation are highly classified, several sources have provided details of the bag. It is presumed to hold a secure SATCOM radio and handset, the daily nuclear launch codes known as the ‘Gold Codes,’ and the President's Decision Book—the ‘nuclear playbook’ that the President would rely on should a decision to use nuclear weapons be made, based on the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP). The National Security Agency updates the Gold Codes daily.”

“The Football is carried by one of the rotating Presidential Aides (one from each of the five service branches), who occasionally is physically attached to the briefcase. This person is a commissioned officer in the U.S. military, pay-grade O-4 or above, who has undergone the nation's most rigorous background check (Yankee White). These officers are required to keep the Football within ready access of the President at all times. Consequently, an aide, Football in hand, is always either standing/walking near the President or riding in Air Force One/Marine One/Motorcade with him.”

As McNamara describes it, “The case itself is a metallic, possibly bullet-proof, modified Zero-Halliburton briefcase which is carried inside of a leather "jacket". The entire package weights approximately 40 pounds (18 kg). A small antenna, presumably for the SATCOM radio, protrudes from the bag near the handle. Contrary to popular belief, the ‘football/ is not handcuffed to aides. Rather, carriers employ a black cable that loops around the handle of the bag and the wrist of the aide.”

“Zero-Halliburton” is the name of the company that manufactured the case, which brings us back to the Halliburton company and LBJ’s phone call to his tax attorney J. Waddy Bullion, concerning his Halliburton stock.

In “From Russia With Love,” a spy thriller novel read by both President Kennedy and his alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, Ian Fleming has his secret agent 007 utilize a custom attaché case that included a concealed dagger, a sniper’s rifle that broke down and fit into the stock and a special latch that exploded if not opened correctly, which seems to have been inspired by the Halliburton case. 

According to the official Zero-Halliburton web site: “In 1938, Earle P. Halliburton, a globetrotting businessman, commissioned a team of aircraft engineers to build him cases that could withstand the rough terrain of the Texas oilfields in the back of his truck. The original aluminum case was born, becoming the very definition of protection and ruggedness in business and travel cases. Every effort has been made ensure that only the finest material, the most advanced techniques, and the most precise crafting are employed to make each and every case. That heritage continues today.” 

            “Today, that aluminum case, created nearly 70 years ago is the prototype for style, sophistication, and uniqueness. However, it has never lost sight of its heritage: protecting your belongings wherever your journeys take you. The original aluminum case we introduced to the world over seven decades ago has taken hold of people’s imagination and stands as icon of strength, security, endurance, and fashion. It blazed new territory for design, providing a unique, unmistakable presence that cannot be imitated.”

            “All of our signature aluminum cases start with a two-ton coil of aircraft grade aluminum. After being cut into individual pieces, the aluminum is “deep-drawn” over special steel dies using 440 tons of pressure. As the shape is formed, the molecular structure of the aluminum actually changes, resulting in a shell that’s free of wrinkling, distortion and manufacturing inconsistencies. Following the deep-draw process, the shell is heated to more than 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and then quickly cooled, making the aluminum even stronger and more durable. Each shell is then buffed and electro-chemically anodized to add color and prevent corrosion. After the shell is completed, it takes the skillful hand of a trained craftsman to make each case worthy of the Zero Halliburton name.”

“The heat-tempered aluminum shell has the strength of steel at only one-quarter the weight. Extra strength hinges withstand pulling of over 400 pounds. Innovative neoprene gasket keeps out dust and moisture, providing unrivaled protection.”

“Today, the same creative spirit that challenged the conventions of what business cases should look like-while raising the expected standards for their performance-has given rise to a new generation of inventive cases with unmatched performance. We are expanding the boundaries of personal business and travel products by once again incorporating the most advanced materials available and creating solutions to satisfy your most challenging needs. A perfect combination of sound design principles and innovation that could have only come from Zero Halliburton.”

“In 1946, independent of any relationship with Halliburton, a metal fabrication company called Zierold Company changed its name to Zero Corporation. In 1952, Mr. Halliburton sold his travel case division to the recently created metal fabrication company Zero Corporation, officially ending any Halliburton Company's involvement in the making of aluminum cases. The new division was renamed Zero Halliburton.”

“In January 2007, Zero Halliburton, a division of Zero manufacturing, was sold to Japan’s largest luggage company, Ace Company Ltd. Zero Halliburton remains an American Company.”

A Few More Interesting Facts –

“Zero Halliburton cases have been used to carry Apollo mission moon rocks, academy award Oscars and skates for US speed skating team.”

“Zero Halliburton products have appeared in many movies and televisions shows over the last decades such as ‘Independence day,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘Men in Black,’ ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and ‘Mission Impossible.’”

On April 24, 1999, President Bill Clinton left NATO's 50th anniversary summit, being held at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.. The carrier and the football were left behind. The aide walked the half-mile back to the White House alone. The integrity of the football and the state of the officer were intact. Similar incidents have occurred with Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

A specially modified Zero-Halliburton case was used to carry the special communications and nuclear attack codes by the president’s military aid Ira Gearhart on November 22, 1963.  

Around 1 PM on November 22, 1963, within a half hour of becoming president, one of the first things President Johnson does is call his tax attorney J. W. Bullion to ask about his Halliburton stock.

According to “A Money Tree Grows in Texas,” (1968, p. 100), a $1,000 investment in Halliburton in 1948 when the company was originally available to the public would be worth $19,700.00 in 1968.

The corporate headquarters for Halliburton was listed as 3211 Southland Center, Dallas, Texas, where the Dallas Sheraton was located, the White House Communications Agency (WHCA) had set up their base station, where Oswald applied for a job with Sam Ballan, and where “Maurice Bishop” had met Lee Harvey Oswald and Anthony Veciana in the lobby in the summer of 1963.It’s also the location of the attorneys for Robert and Marina Oswald.

On the board of directors of Halliburton were John B. Connally, who was wounded at Dealey Plaza, and G. R. and R.O. Brown of Brown Brothers, Brown & Root.

BK notes: As Linda Minor. points out, R.O. Brown was not one of the Browns of Brown  & Root, and Russ Baker notes that John Connally was not on the board at the time of the assassination. 

Nor is it a coincidence that on the day of the assassination, the code-books aboard the Cabinet Plane over the Pacific at the time of the assassination, and SAC bombers in the air, were missing. As John Judge has pointed out, who could possibly have access to such a secure – safe kept item as the code books in the Executive air fleet and SAC bombers? Not Lee Harvey Oswald.

In his book “Family of Secrets,” Russ Baker also reports that (p. 131-132), “Meanwhile, the Kennedy assassination had put into the White House Lyndon Baines Johnson, who had a long-standing but little-known relationship with the Bush family. This dates back at least to 1953, when Prescott Bush joined Johnson in the U.S. Senate…That same year, Poppy Bush started Zapata Petroleum with Hugh and William Liedtke, who as law students at the University of Texas several years earlier, had rented LBJ’s guesthouse. Later, Bush became close with LBJ’s chief financers, George and Herman Brown, the founders of the construction giant Brown and Root (which later became part of Halliburton).

On the day of the assassination George H. W. Bush was registered at and stayed at the Dallas Sheraton, where the WHCA base station in Dallas was located.

After helping establish the Continuity of Government (COG) plans in the 1980s and serving as Vice President under Bush, Dick Cheney left government and became head of Halliburton.

Conspiracy or Coup?

Conspiracy or Coup?

The big debate raging is no longer even considering whether or not there was a conspiracy to kill the President, now the arguments are over what kind of conspiracy it was. Was it a simple conspiracy - to conspire - literally meaning "to breath together," - or was it a full fledged coup d'etat - well planned and executed take over of the government? 

While some of this stems from the second point of the Ten Points of Agreement that people have, will or won't sign on to, mainly because of the disagreements over the language, something that took a few months to hammer out among a dozen or so knowledgeable people. 

I too disagree with some of it - beginning with Number One - which is technically correct in that the HSCA concluded JFK was "probably" killed as a result of a conspiracy, but that was in 1978, as now it is no longer "probably" but more certainly - it was a conspiracy to a legal and moral certainty. 

I also disagree with the name of the organization Truth and Reconciliation as Reconciliation which implies that justice will not be done and we'll figure out how to move on without reprimanding those responsible for murder, tampering with evidence, perjury and obstruction of justice. Holding those issues like a sword over the heads of those responsible is the only hammer we have that can make them come clean with the truth. 

Then the "probability" of No.1  is removed with the addition of Number Two - with the additional observation that the conspiracy was conducted in the "highest levels of government" and the assassination carried out by "elements of the national security state." 

I believe it was Christopher Sharrett in  Jerry Rose's Third/Fourth Decade who first analyzed the conflicting conspiracy theories as to whether President Kennedy was killed as a result of a full-fledged coup d’etat or was the victim of a group of rich oil men, mobsters, anti-Castro Cubans and renegade CIA operatives, as there is a clear distinction between the two.

As Christopher Sharrett wrote, “We should not view the assassination as a coup in the traditional sense -- …..but about resolving a disagreement within the state at a time when financial stakes were extremely high.”

https://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2019/01/christopher-sharrett-on-assassination.html

One particularly contentious aspect of the 2019 Ten Points of Agreement statement is Point #2: “In the four decades since this Congressional finding (that there was probably a conspiracy), a massive amount of evidence compiled by journalists, historians and independent researchers confirms this conclusion. This growing body of evidence strongly indicates that the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy was organized at high levels of the U.S. power structure, and was implemented by top elements of the U.S. national security apparatus.”

Some JFK scholars who believe the Mafia was behind the murder of the president, refused to sign on because of the agreement that “this growing body of evidence strongly indicates that the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy was organized at high levels of the U.S. power structure and was implemented by top elements of the U.S. national security apparatus,” as Vince Salandria and others said almost immediately.

From a distance, I would say that it was an official inside job since they were allowed to get away with murder(s), so it was officially approved after the fact if not before hand.

While the “renegade” scenario as depicted in the films “Executive Action” and Oliver Stone’s “JFK,” has held sway for the past few decades, the “Seven Days in May” scenario and “Coup” theory has been gaining ground and momentum and is becoming generally accepted as new information is processed, especially from the recently released records.

Paul Hoch once said he didn’t see the conspiracy extending to the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staffs, as John Judge professed, while David Kaiser takes issue with the second of the Ten Points of Agreement point that says “the assassination was organized at high levels of the U.S. power structure, and was implemented by top elements of the U.S. national security apparatus.”

Without getting into the details of the crime, one of the signatories to the Ten Points - Vince Salandria said that the murder of Oswald in police custody was enough to convince him that this was a national security state crime, and Christopher Sharrett, like myself, is one of Salandria's proteges. 

I'd like to know how those who planned the assassination could frame Oswald, blame Castro, and neutralize the attorney general without it being organized “at high levels of the U.S. power structure?”  That is beyond me. 

And the CIA paid and trained JMWAVE Cuban commando Pathfinders who we are now coming to know as those who implemented the Dealey Plaza operation, - they were certainly “top-elements of the U.S. national security apparatus,” as we are coming to know it.

If you try to determine the total truth from the ground up – from the streets and buildings of Dallas, you get cut off by “cut-outs” – what the mobsters called “buffers,” – who serve as middle men between those who call the shots and those who take the shots.

Once I was convinced that one man alone didn’t kill President Kennedy, I too became an adherent of the “renegades” scenario, in which the conspirators were independent of the government, but protected by them, and it took quite a while to understand the total coup idea, scenario and concept. 

But instead of starting at the street scene of the crime, we can better understand what happened by assuming a few basic concepts – 1) regardless of the role of the accused assassin; the murder was a covert intelligence operations, 2) Those who successfully conducted the operation controlled a) the scene of the crime; 2) the communications; 3) the media.

In order to understand the Dealey Plaza Operation – you must approach it from the perspective of those who were capable of  controlling 1-2-3, and only then can you begin to understand who planned the operation, who successfully carried it out, and who continues to promote the cover-story that Oswald and Cuban Communists were behind the dastard deed. 

While a superficial study of the assassination could lead one to believe Lee Harvey Oswald was responsible, or LBJ pulled it off, the Cubans and Russians and Mafia were involved, or any one of the multiple conspiracy theories out there, but a more in depth review of the facts and evidence recognizes that Oswald was not the Sixth Floor Sniper and that one of the conspiracy theories is therefore true. But which one?

That the conspiracy was not only a covert intelligence operation, but a full-coup d’etat is a big leap – and must be supported by the available evidence, especially the documented evidence, and I believe it is.

Instead of starting from the bottom up, to determine the existence of a coup you must start at the top and work down – as a coup d’etat must have certain particular aspects under  total control – especially the scene of the crime and the communications, and only a few people had that capability. 

Sharrett: “We should not view the assassination as a coup in the traditional sense --- obviously there was no imposition of martial law, no prolonged period of bloodletting (discounting murdered witnesses and such). Such a blow against the public would have been intolerable in a major Western democracy after European fascism, and the issue in any event was not about suppressing a popular movement...., but about resolving a disagreement within the state at a time when financial stakes were extremely high.”

As William Turner has pointed out, the mechanism to kill Castro was already in place, and all they had to do was switch targets to JFK in Dallas.

Just as Fred Litwin retrogressed from the truth to the cover-story, others went in the opposite direction. Walter Cronkite said (in Columbia Journalism Review, 1981) that, “I wonder with the CIA plot to assassinate Castro, about he possibilities of setting up something of this kind for whatever international purpose. I’m not as happy as I once was with the Warren Report.”

Major Ralph P. Ganis (USAFR), also explains in his book “The Skorzeny Papers” (Skyhorse 2018) how the international assassination mechanism was already in place and under “command and control.”

“Generally used in military terminology, ”Command and control’ is defined as ‘the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander’ in the accomplishment of a mission….could only be initiated as a result of command and control methods. This effectively removes the possibility that the assassination in Dallas was the act of a lone gunman or originated with a petty personal vendetta…..The existence of a covert assassination capability…the clandestine network operated under formal command and control…those with the authority to activate (this) network and assign targets. Certainly, the national command structure of the United States government in 1963 was in such a position.”

As Ganis put it: “The correct way to say it is this - there was an assassination capability inherent and located within one office of the CIA – that was highly compartmented and highly controlled. So, it’s not like the entire CIA was involved. It was literally only one office, and even then, within the office it was probably on a need to know basis….So we may be literally talking about five individuals…..I mean this, this was a high secret, a high state secret, so it would not have been general knowledge, nor would it have been something that a lot of people would know about." 

Ganis: "The capability itself, the Executive Action capability itself, I equate in the book to the use of Atomic Weapons. The only way to launch this capability would have been by Executive Order – by the President, or the National Command authority – that level, - the Secretary of Defense, at that level. It was a presidential, national command authority level capability. Somebody at the CIA couldn’t use it. It would even have been impossible for even rogue use. This was a Command and Control situation. A target would be designated. But in other words, to use this capability would have required Executive Approval. So this small office within the CIA – called Staff D. And the guy who ran it was a man named William K. Harvey, during that time period. He managed the program. He managed that program – much like maintaining a nuclear bomber.  There are US Air Force personal who man the bomber, and there’s people who maintain the bomber, but they can’t launch the bomber. That comes from the President. The same with this capability.To kill a foreign leader, to liquidate a foreign leader is a very, very risky proposition. So that capability was held at the highest levels of our government.”

So the assassination of President Kennedy was carried out by a well planned and executed covert intelligence operation that was under the top command and control of those within the US government, specifically the national security elements, and that’s the way we have to look at it in order to understand it, how it was carried out, who conducted it, and why they did it.

It isn’t the line of executive power – President-Vice President – It is the line of military power – President – Secretary of Defense – Joint Chiefs of Staff - and that’s where the authority for the Dealey Plaza Operation came from.

More from Chris Sharrett: https://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2019/01/christopher-sharrett-on-assassination.html  /   https://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2019/01/an-open-letter-to-assassination.html