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Alan Harnden Belmont


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According to Donald Gibson (The Kennedy Assassination Cover-Up): "Alan Belmont... was the primary official in charge of FBI activities following the assassination. It is Belmont, not Hoover, who ran the FBI cover-up." It is therefore strange that little has been written on Belmont. There is virtually nothing on the web on him. Here is what I have been able to find out. Please add anymore information you may have.

Alan Harnden Belmont was born in New York City in 1907. He studied at Diego State College before receiving his degree from Stanford University in 1931. He worked as an account for five years before joining the FBI in 1946. He was initially assigned to Birmingham, Alabama before serving at FBI headquarters in Washington.

Belmont worked in Chicago and Cincinnati before being appointed assistant to Special Agent in Charge in New York in 1944. He held this post until 1950 when he was transferred to Washington and became head of the Domestic Intelligence Division. He now had responsibility for investigating the Mafia. In 1953 he wrote a memo to assistant director, D. M. Ladd: "The Mafia is an alleged organization... The organization's existence in the U.S. is doubtful."

In June, 1961, Belmont was assistant director under J. Edgar Hoover. He was now in charge of all investigative work. This included the investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. On 28th August, 1964, Belmont received a memo that suggested that the Warren Commission had doubts about the authenticity of the palm print found on the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle: "J. Lee Rankin advised because of the circumstances that now exist there was a serious question in the minds of the Commission as to whether or not the palm print impression that has been obtained from the Dallas Police Department is a legitimate latent print impression removed from the rifle barrel or whether it was obtained from some other source." However, Belmont was able to persuade members of the committee to accept the authenticity of the palm print.

According to William C. Sullivan, Belmont played an important role in smearing leaders of the civil rights movement including the campaign against Martin Luther King.

Belmont retired from the FBI in 1965 and was replaced as assistant director by Deke DeLoach. Belmont was then appointed as assistant director of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, an ultra-conservative think tank. Belmont's boss was Wesley G. Campbell, and important figure in the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbelmontA.htm

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It was Belmont who wrote the memo to Clyde Tolson on the 24th of November 1963 saying that Oswald was definitely the man who killed the President. The memo also claimed that Oswald was a Marxist, a former defector to the Soviet Union and an active member of the Fair Play For Cuba Committee which had been financed by Fidel Castro. Belmont also wrote that the FBI could tell the story of what happened from when the President was shot up until Oswald was picked up at the theater. Not bad for 2 days work.

James

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Donald Gibson writes about Belmont in his book, The Kennedy Assassination Cover-Up (2000):

As all serious students of the assassination know, individuals within the FBI participated in various ways in the cover-up process. This author has no doubt that J. Edgar Hoover was complicit in this activity and that his complicity was necessary for the cover-up to be effective. However, Hoover does not appear to be the leading figure within the FBI in these events. Accounts such as that provided by Mark North, Act of Treason, are particularly misleading. North not only makes Hoover primary in the FBI's complicity in the cover-up, a fairly common mistake, but also attempts to implicate Hoover in events leading up to the assassination. There is no direct evidence to link Hoover to the planning or carrying out of the assassination.

The review of the facts that follows shows that Alan Belmont, the number three man in the formal hierarchy of the FBI, was the primary official in charge of FBI activities following the assassination. It is Belmont, not Hoover, who ran the FBI cover-up...

In his last FBI position, Belmont was in charge of all investigative matters, including general criminal matters, organized crime, and those related to domestic intelligence. Testifying before the Warren Commission in May of 1964, Belmont described in general terms his involvement in the investigation of the assassination. Belmont testified that he was involved in the investigation from the time of the assassination. Belmont recounted that even before President Johnson requested it, "we" went into action. Immediately after the assassination, the FBI began working with the Dallas police and they sent men to participate in the interview of Oswald. Belmont stated that he also "participated in or supervised the preparation of reports and other correspondence to the Commission.""

In attendance for Belmont's testimony were the following: Chief Justice Earl Warren; Rep. Gerald Ford (part of the time); John J. McCloy; Allen Dulles; J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel; David Belin, assistant counsel; Norman Redlich, assistant counsel; Samuel A. Stem, assistant counsel; Charles Murray, observer from the American Bar Association. None of the three Commissioners who ended up having some problems with the final report were present.

Much of the time was spent on FBI knowledge of Oswald prior to the assassination, on the FBI's working relationship with the Secret Service, and general procedural matters. No one asked Belmont to comment on any of the known problems in the investigation (e.g., discrepancies about the location of wounds; the difficulty of the shooting if it was done by a lone assassin using the alleged murder weapon; the FBI's own conclusions about the sequence and timing of the shots, which was not in accordance with the Commission's eventual conclusions). Even though Belmont had served in Chicago, no one asked him if he had any knowledge of Jack Ruby, who was in Chicago around the time that Belmont was there. McCloy did go out of his way to solicit from Belmont an opinion that Oswald was the lone assassin and that there was "no evidence" to suggest a conspiracy."

There is not much of interest in this testimony beyond what was not discussed. There is one exception. Belmont clearly indicates that from the time of the assassination, it was he, not Hoover, who was directing things. Belmont's statements in this regard are supported by the available documentary evidence. J. Edgar Hoover, unquestionably complicit in the cover-up, played second fiddle in this orchestra. He was not the first fiddle, nor the conductor, nor the owner of the orchestra.

On November 22, 1963, at 2:21 P.M., Eastern Standard Time (EST), Hoover prepared a memo informing top officials of the FBI (Deputy Director Clyde Tolson, Assistant Director Allan Belmont, and six others) of his conversation with James J. Rowley, Chief of Secret Service. Less than one hour after the assassination, Hoover apparently had no significant information. He informs his subordinates that he and Rowley discussed possible elements behind the assassination, Rowley talking about Mexico and Cuba, Hoover about the Klu Klux Klan." It is clear that both men were open to the possibility of a conspiracy in this first hour.

Later in the afternoon, Hoover produced another memo which was ready at 4:01 P.M., but sent out with the previous memo at 5:00 P.M. This was also an internal memo addressed to the same list of FBI officials, including Tolson and Belmont. This memo reports Hoover's conversation with Attorney General Robert Kennedy and the information Hoover had received concerning Oswald." Hoover said in the memo that he had told RFK that he "thought we had the man who killed the President down in Dallas at the present time." Hoover provided the following information on the man: his name is Lee Harvey Oswald; he worked in the building from which shots were fired; he was involved in the Fair Play for Cuba Committee; he has communist leanings but is apparently not a member of the Communist Party; he went to Russia and stayed three years; he returned to the U.S. in June, 1963 [1962]; he went to Cuba several times and would not explain those trips.

The final item was apparently not true of Oswald, but was true of the man, Jack Ruby, who would kill Oswald less than 48 hours later. It is a strange error and coincidence. Hoover also noted in this memo, and apparently told RFK, that the FBI had received a couple of tips suggesting that other people may have been involved in the assassination. Finally, Hoover stated that he had instructed the FBI in Dallas to go to police headquarters and participate in the interrogation of Oswald.

A third memo from Hoover to Tolson, Belmont, et al., was written at 5:15 P.M. on the 22nd; it summarized a telephone call from Assistant Attorney General Norbert A. Schlel, Office of Legal Counsel, to Hoover." Hoover reports that Schlel wanted to know "what kind of people murdered the President," asking if they were "madmen" or "segregationist madmen." Hoover wrote that he had told Schlel that "very probably we had in custody the man who killed the President in Dallas but this had not definitely been established."

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  • 3 years later...

I have just received the following email:

My uncle, Alan Belmont actually ran interference on both the McCarthy red scare and Martin Luther King. The McCarthy era would have been far worse without Al, because he was not a yes person. Also when he left the FBI this got worse fast for King. As evidence that he acts his conscious more than most, then type Anthony Sutton and Alan Belmont's name on the internet. Few people would have the guts for going against that bunch. William Sullivan just can't accept the blame for things he does. Jeff Belmont

Do members have any questions for Jeff?

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Guest Tom Scully

Yeah John,

Does Jeff believe that this is true?

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_gr...eaks/index.html

....quality information is what every decision is based on, and all the decisions taken together is what "civilization" is, so if you want to improve civilization, you have to remove some of the basic constraints, which is the quality of information that civilization has at its disposal to make decisions....

...and if he does, what were his uncle Alan's contributions to the decision making process of civilization, or inside the FBI hierarchy?

Edited by Tom Scully
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Belmont was one of six FBI officials who died in 1977 before they could testify before the HSCA. According to Jim Marrs' Crossfire, Belmont died of a "long illness." Can Jeff give us any details of his death, and whether anything appeared suspicious about it?

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Donald Gibson writes about Belmont in his book, The Kennedy Assassination Cover-Up (2000):

.....The review of the facts that follows shows that Alan Belmont, the number three man in the formal hierarchy of the FBI, was the primary official in charge of FBI activities following the assassination. It is Belmont, not Hoover, who ran the FBI cover-up...

In his last FBI position, Belmont was in charge of all investigative matters, including general criminal matters, organized crime, and those related to domestic intelligence. Testifying before the Warren Commission in May of 1964, Belmont described in general terms his involvement in the investigation of the assassination. Belmont testified that he was involved in the investigation from the time of the assassination. Belmont recounted that even before President Johnson requested it, "we" went into action. Immediately after the assassination, the FBI began working with the Dallas police and they sent men to participate in the interview of Oswald. Belmont stated that he also "participated in or supervised the preparation of reports and other correspondence to the Commission."

From the Church Committee; IV. THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES AND THE WARREN COMMISSION: JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1964 (Page 47)

On December 10, 1063, Hoover informed Assistant Director Alan Belmont that he would be “personally responsible for reviewing

every piece of paper that went to the Warren Commission.”

From page 705 of Inside The ARRB by Doug Horne:

This document is an internal FBI Headquarters memo from Alan Belmont, addressed to Clyde Tolson. The key sentence referrred to here reads as follows:

"I told SAC Shanklin that Secret Service had one of the bullets that struck President Kennedy and
the other is lodged behind the President's ear

and we are arranging to get both of these."
[author's emphasis]

The timing of this memo is critical: it was prepared on the evening of November 22, 1963 -- which means it was prepared while the autopsy was in progress....

At their interviews for the ARRB, both Sibert and O'Neil denied any knowledge of the above and Horne

concludes the matter is still "unresolved." Horne postulates that there was a bullet or large fragment removed

from President Kennedy's head before the autopsy "officially" began.

Edited by Michael Hogan
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According to Donald Gibson (The Kennedy Assassination Cover-Up): "Alan Belmont... was the primary official in charge of FBI activities following the assassination. It is Belmont, not Hoover, who ran the FBI cover-up." It is therefore strange that little has been written on Belmont. There is virtually nothing on the web on him. Here is what I have been able to find out. Please add anymore information you may have.

Alan Harnden Belmont was born in New York City in 1907. He studied at Diego State College before receiving his degree from Stanford University in 1931. He worked as an account for five years before joining the FBI in 1946. He was initially assigned to Birmingham, Alabama before serving at FBI headquarters in Washington.

Belmont worked in Chicago and Cincinnati before being appointed assistant to Special Agent in Charge in New York in 1944. He held this post until 1950 when he was transferred to Washington and became head of the Domestic Intelligence Division. He now had responsibility for investigating the Mafia. In 1953 he wrote a memo to assistant director, D. M. Ladd: "The Mafia is an alleged organization... The organization's existence in the U.S. is doubtful."

In June, 1961, Belmont was assistant director under J. Edgar Hoover. He was now in charge of all investigative work. This included the investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. On 28th August, 1964, Belmont received a memo that suggested that the Warren Commission had doubts about the authenticity of the palm print found on the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle: "J. Lee Rankin advised because of the circumstances that now exist there was a serious question in the minds of the Commission as to whether or not the palm print impression that has been obtained from the Dallas Police Department is a legitimate latent print impression removed from the rifle barrel or whether it was obtained from some other source." However, Belmont was able to persuade members of the committee to accept the authenticity of the palm print.

According to William C. Sullivan, Belmont played an important role in smearing leaders of the civil rights movement including the campaign against Martin Luther King.

Belmont retired from the FBI in 1965 and was replaced as assistant director by Deke DeLoach. Belmont was then appointed as assistant director of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, an ultra-conservative think tank. Belmont's boss was Wesley G. Campbell, and important figure in the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbelmontA.htm

_________________________________________________________________

John,

FWIW, he studied at San Diego State College (now San Diego State University).

--Thomas

Edited by Thomas Graves
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Donald Gibson writes about Belmont in his book, The Kennedy Assassination Cover-Up (2000):

.....The review of the facts that follows shows that Alan Belmont, the number three man in the formal hierarchy of the FBI, was the primary official in charge of FBI activities following the assassination. It is Belmont, not Hoover, who ran the FBI cover-up...

In his last FBI position, Belmont was in charge of all investigative matters, including general criminal matters, organized crime, and those related to domestic intelligence. Testifying before the Warren Commission in May of 1964, Belmont described in general terms his involvement in the investigation of the assassination. Belmont testified that he was involved in the investigation from the time of the assassination. Belmont recounted that even before President Johnson requested it, "we" went into action. Immediately after the assassination, the FBI began working with the Dallas police and they sent men to participate in the interview of Oswald. Belmont stated that he also "participated in or supervised the preparation of reports and other correspondence to the Commission."

From the Church Committee; IV. THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES AND THE WARREN COMMISSION: JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1964 (Page 47)

On December 10, 1063, Hoover informed Assistant Director Alan Belmont that he would be “personally responsible for reviewing

every piece of paper that went to the Warren Commission.”

From page 705 of Inside The ARRB by Doug Horne:

This document is an internal FBI Headquarters memo from Alan Belmont, addressed to Clyde Tolson. The key sentence referrred to here reads as follows:

"I told SAC Shanklin that Secret Service had one of the bullets that struck President Kennedy and
the other is lodged behind the President's ear

and we are arranging to get both of these."
[author's emphasis]

The timing of this memo is critical: it was prepared on the evening of November 22, 1963 -- which means it was prepared while the autopsy was in progress....

At their interviews for the ARRB, both Sibert and O'Neil denied any knowledge of the above and Horne

concludes the matter is still "unresolved." Horne postulates that there was a bullet or large fragment removed

from President Kennedy's head before the autopsy "officially" began.

As noted, the memo was written during the autopsy, based almost certainly on a phone call from Sibert and O'Neill, or someone who had spoken to Sibert and O'Neill. The large fragment on the x-rays and removed at autopsy was lodged behind the right eye. As a result it seems likely the reference was to this fragment but that someone had misunderstood or misquoted Humes. Probably Belmont himself.

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Email from Jeff Belmont:

In 1964 Hoover blasted Alan and Sullivan for not sticking up for the Bureau in regards to King. Al was blasted because it took him long to recognize communist involvement with King. That is how he dealt with things he was not enthsiastic about. Sullivan is accurate when he says Hoover wont speak to you for a while. Months would go by with no speaking and only memos. Sullivan switched his stance dramatically. Alan decided that he would retire before the time he had planned. As other agents will attest, Al was one of a few people to question Hoover.and Hoover repected that. William Sullivan did a big flip flop on King and got aggressive with King. It is obvious that he must be following new orders. I dont think he should blame Al, as he knew that for a long time Hoover disapproved of King.

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  • 9 years later...

John,

Are you still in touch with Jeff Belmont?

I'd like to know more about Alan H. Belmont and any anti-Nazi stories Jeff might have from the 1940's in NYC. Did Belmont ever cross paths in the 1940's with either Allen Dulles or John J. McCloy? How did Belmont feel about President Kennedy's policies, particularly his foreign policies? Did Belmont have an opinion about Kennedy's proposed plan to end the Cold War with the Soviet Union? 

On 11/22/63, was Belmont in touch with anyone from outside the FBI?  How about in the next several days? Does Jeff have any anecdotes at all about how his uncle recalled the JFK assassination? Did his uncle feel that a "no-conspiracy" solution was foisted upon him, or did he naturally believe that was the sole path to follow?

Has Jeff read (or can he get a copy of) his uncle's typescript "As I Recall It! Incidents in the life of a G-man"? 

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The 11/22/63 Belmont memo Doug Horne wrote about, and I wrote

about in INTO THE NIGHTMARE, is a "smoking gun" document

that disproves the Warren Report, since that bullet "lodged

behind the President'e ear" was never entered into evidence.

It is the shot that struck Kennedy in the right temple from the front and blew the brains out the back of his head. Various

witnesses (including William Newman, Emmett J. Hudson, George Hickey, Sam Kinney, and

Bobby W. Hargis) reported seeing Kennedy

being struck in the right side of his head. Hurchel Jacks

corroborated this after seeing Kennedy lying in

the limousine, and Assistant White House Press Secretary Malcolm Kilduff pointed to that

area in his filmed press conference. I found this memo in 1985 and

wrote an article about it then but couldn't get it published at the time.

The memo also helps prove David Lifton's body alteration theory,

but he missed it in his research for BEST EVIDENCE.

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8 hours ago, Joseph McBride said:

The 11/22/63 Belmont memo Doug Horne wrote about, and I wrote

about in INTO THE NIGHTMARE, is a "smoking gun" document

that disproves the Warren Report, since that bullet "lodged

behind the President'e ear" was never entered into evidence.

It is the shot that struck Kennedy in the right temple from the front and blew the brains out the back of his head. Various

witnesses (including William Newman, Emmett J. Hudson, George Hickey, Sam Kinney, and

Bobby W. Hargis) reported seeing Kennedy

being struck in the right side of his head. Hurchel Jacks

corroborated this after seeing Kennedy lying in

the limousine, and Assistant White House Press Secretary Malcolm Kilduff pointed to that

area in his filmed press conference. I found this memo in 1985 and

wrote an article about it then but couldn't get it published at the time.

The memo also helps prove David Lifton's body alteration theory,

but he missed it in his research for BEST EVIDENCE.

Joseph,

When I read your excellent book two years ago, I remember being struck by that document. It was one more example of just how screwy the medical evidence really was, and how difficult it remains to try to parse out the truth from any conclusions drawn at the autopsy. 

Anyway, here is one more eyewitness who described what he saw at very close range of the president's entry wound into his skull: Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman. I have always believed that Kellerman was a decent guy who told the truth as he remembered it. His observations did not fit the basic narrative - he heard the last two shots come very close together ("a flurry") and he described the entry wound to the RIGHT of JFK's ear, just in the hairline. I bet he was right.

Kellerman.PNG

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Does this describe, albeit edited probably by Specter, the forehead, hairline wound which required a triangular cut moving toward the direction of the center of the forehead?

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