New Book!

[Ernie Lazar]

Incidentally, Paul, I am still waiting for you to describe what information you think was created by the FBI about Walker and/or the JBS which they would have classified "Top Secret".

Surely you are not going to tell us that any document which states that somebody told an FBI informant that Birch Society members might be plotting to kill JFK ...OR... a document which specifies the name(s) of certain people who might be connected to a JBS plot -- is somehow "Top Secret" information? Are you?

If that actually is your position -- then why didn't the FBI refuse to release all of the other documents in their possession or under their control, many of which you can see on Mary Ferrell's website, which explicitly discuss right-wing extremists who were allegedly involved in such plotting, or who were overheard talking about murdering JFK?

You have never told us what is so unique about the Walker/JBS plot?

When you want to cover-up something -- isn't the normal general operating principle to suppress or destroy not only whatever direct knowledge exists about whatever you are trying to hide -- but, also, (just as importantly) wouldn't you try to cover up any secondary sources which could lead an interested party to discover the primary documentation??

Thus, for example, you would definitely want to suppress everything about Milteer because it might lead a researcher back to Willie Somersett (a primary source) AND you might want to suppress everything about BOTH of them so it would not lead people to start asking questions about groups like Constitution Party, Congress of Freedom, Council For Statehood -- or any other subject that might produce clues about inter-relationships, associations, affiliations, connections, etc. etc. Right??

Now---take a look at the Index to Caufield's book. Write down every person's name he shows in his Index.

Virtually every one of the FBI files on those individuals has been released. Ditto for the organizational names. So, again, what exactly is so unique about Walker/JBS that their information had to be suppressed but the same type of information which pertains to all of the other persons and organizations (often "linked" to Walker and the JBS in some way) -- was not deemed worthy of being destroyed or suppressed?

This is what I have never understood about your "Top Secret" argument nonsense. Leaving aside the FACT that nothing about Walker or the JBS was actually "Top Secret" -- you have never explained why Hoover's FBI did not decide to destroy or suppress EVERYTHING that leaves a paper trail which leads back to Walker or to the JBS or, for that matter, back to the larger extreme right community in general?

You constantly tell us that Hoover wanted his "Lone Nut" theory to be accepted and that was his paramount objective.

Then, logically, wouldn't Hoover instruct his subordinates to either destroy or suppress EVERYTHING contained in FBI files that might be used to undermine his "Lone Nut" theory? If only because such information (if it ever became public knowledge) would undermine the reputation of the FBI and, especially, Hoover personally? [Furthermore, Hoover could not even be sure that the evidence of his cover-up or corruption or dishonesty and even illegal behavior would not be revealed during his lifetime -- and, thus, he might have to face being held personally accountable.] Imagine how humiliating that would have been for him.

How could Hoover know, with certitude, that any FBI employee (especially a senior official) who retired or resigned or who was fired and who had knowledge about his cover-up and his dishonesty --- would not reveal that information --- even if only via a "Deep Throat"-type strategy to discredit him?

When Hoover relieved Assistant Director William C. Sullivan of his duties -- one of Hoover's reasons was because he thought Sullivan was engaged in a ploy to become Hoover's successor as FBI Director. Nevertheless, Hoover never destroyed or purged Sullivan's personnel file -- so you can read all of the numerous superlative performance evaluations which Hoover wrote about Sullivan and you can see all of the monetary bonus payments for exceptional performance which Hoover authorized to be paid to Sullivan.

In April 1963, Hoover wrote a letter to the Admissions Committee of the prestigous Cosmos Club in Washington DC recommending Sullivan for membership: Hoover observed that:

“As Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Domestic Intelligence Division, Mr. Sullivan is one of the top ranking officials of this Bureau. He entered on duty with the FBI as a Special Agent on August 4, 1941 and rose to his present responsible position because of his superior abilities and qualities of leadership. Mr. Sullivan holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education degrees, and is a Research Associate in the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace of Stanford University. Through study and experience, he is one of this country’s outstanding authorities on communism and internal security and has served as a guest lecturer throughout the United States.” [HQ 67-205182, 4/10/63 Hoover letter to Cosmos Club Admissions Committee, WDC, no serial number]

In June 1970, Hoover promoted Sullivan to "Assistant to Director--Investigative" (the #3 position in Bureau). Sullivan was responsible for the Domestic Intelligence Division, the General Investigative Division, and the Special Investigative Division plus the FBI Laboratory. During that period, Sullivan received glowing performance reports written by Hoover.

However, about a year later, Hoover relieved Sullivan of his duties and placed him on annual leave pending receipt of Sullivan's retirement papers.

If Hoover had all the power you think he had, and Hoover was so intent upon protecting his own reputation as well as punishing his perceived enemies --- then why didn't Hoover purge Sullivan's FBI-HQ file of everything in which Hoover heaped so much praise upon Sullivan -- particularly those superlative performance reports which Hoover wrote about Sullivan where Hoover rated Sullivan "Outstanding"?

Your entire narrative reflects more of a cartoon caricature understanding about not just people --but also about how government bureaucracies operate.

Well, Ernie, now you're asking for my opinion about what data the FBI is holding regarding the JFK murder, General Walker and the JBS.

Naturally it won't simply be some informant's claims about them -- because as you point out, the Mary Ferrell website already contains such material released by the FBI.

I have said I accept Dr. Jeffrey Caufield's claim that "General Edwin Walker was the mastermind of the plot to murder JFK."

I have said that I believe the FBI knows this fact very well, and is holding back Top Secret evidence that makes this plain.

I have also said that I believe -- based only on speculation -- that this information will also justify the claims of Harry Dean, who made the same claim in 1965.

Yet I've also admitted that I don't know the EXACT CONTENTS of these Top Secret files. You have also admitted that you don't know either. So, we do agree on something.

But since you're asking me to SPECULATE, I'm content to do that. What would be so Top Secret? It could only be PRIMARY Documents by the Principals involved, amounting to a Smoking Gun, which is tantamount to a confession of guilt.

So, I disagree with your claim, Ernie, that all SECONDARY documents would also be suppressed. I think you're mistaken there. As you noted, there are plenty of SECONDARY documents already in circulation that name General Walker and the JBS and Minutemen in this schema. For example, by Jack Ruby himself. Also by ATF Agent Frank Ellsworth. Also, Willie Somersett, and so many others.

Anybody can report anything on OTHERS, and it's only unconfirmed allegation. But when you have PRIMARY documents, that's real PROOF, and undeniable. THAT would be Top Secret.

I don't see how anybody can deny the existence of Top Secret documents about the JFK murder, since the US Government has already admitted that they exist, and that they will be only be released upon the deadline of the JFK Records Act, namely, Thursday 26 October 1963.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Paul -- your thinking is so muddled, I don't know where to begin.

1. Apparently, you think that General Walker wrote down on paper something which establishes that he was the mastermind of the successful assassination of JFK (a primary source confession of guilt). But, simultaneously, you state you do not think the FBI came across such info through an informant. So, pray tell, how do you think the FBI acquired that alleged "confession"?

2. I presume you are going to tell us that Walker wrote a letter to somebody (such as Banister or a fellow member of the "hard core military underground" -- and the FBI intercepted that letter -- so they became aware of its content. Is that going to be your story?

3. BUT, presumably your next assertion is going to be that nobody inside the FBI who became aware of Walker's "confession" took any action of any kind against Walker---and that is why he remained a free man for the rest of his life. Correct?

4. We come back to one of my previous questions:

IF, as you contend, the FBI (as an institution) has been aware for decades of the identity of a group of extreme right individuals who planned, financed, and carried out the murder of JFK -- but it is also true that the FBI has purged all documentary evidence within its files concerning their knowledge of that criminal conspiracy AND they not only purged that data in their files and within their indexing system but responsible officials of the FBI committed perjury and deliberately deceived all investigating committees and commissions -- not to mention that they lied to their superiors within the Justice Department and at the White House ---- then why would ANYBODY at the FBI be willing to suddenly reveal all those incriminating documents in October 2017?

5. Another pertinent question:

Is it your contention that all of the senior officials of the FBI (i.e. Inspectors, Section Chiefs, Supervisory Special Agents, Special Agents in Charge of field offices and Assistant Directors) since the death of J. Edgar Hoover (and particularly everybody who had no interest of any kind in defending Hoover's "Lone Nut" theory) have known about the existence of the incriminating documents which you think the FBI possesses -- but ALL of those officials have also refused to tell anybody for the past 44 years (after Hoover died)?

6. In conclusion, Paul, when the last documents are released in October 2017 but nothing supports your assertions --- will you then have the decency to not only admit you were wrong about this specific matter -- but also admit that there is something terribly wrong with your intellect and the way you process information?

In other words, if there are no such documents released re: Walker or anything about a "JBS plot" -- then will you candidly concede that you have "connected dots", believed stories (like Harry's), and made conclusions that were entirely fabrications of your imagination?

Edited January 1, 2016 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

Paul -- your thinking is so muddled, I don't know where to begin.

1. Apparently, you think that General Walker wrote down on paper something which establishes that he was the mastermind of the successful assassination of JFK (a primary source confession of guilt). But, simultaneously, you state you do not think the FBI came across such info through an informant. So, pray tell, how do you think the FBI acquired that alleged "confession"?

2. I presume you are going to tell us that Walker wrote a letter to somebody (such as Banister or a fellow member of the "hard core military underground" -- and the FBI intercepted that letter -- so they became aware of its content. Is that going to be your story?

3. BUT, presumably your next assertion is going to be that nobody inside the FBI who became aware of Walker's "confession" took any action of any kind against Walker---and that is why he remained a free man for the rest of his life. Correct?

4. We come back to one of my previous questions:

IF, as you contend, the FBI (as an institution) has been aware for decades of the identity of a group of extreme right individuals who planned, financed, and carried out the murder of JFK -- but it is also true that the FBI has purged all documentary evidence within its files concerning their knowledge of that criminal conspiracy AND they not only purged that data in their files and within their indexing system but responsible officials of the FBI committed perjury and deliberately deceived all investigating committees and commissions -- not to mention that they lied to their superiors within the Justice Department and at the White House ---- then why would ANYBODY at the FBI be willing to suddenly reveal all those incriminating documents in October 2017?

5. Another pertinent question:

Is it your contention that all of the senior officials of the FBI (i.e. Inspectors, Section Chiefs, Supervisory Special Agents, Special Agents in Charge of field offices and Assistant Directors) since the death of J. Edgar Hoover (and particularly everybody who had no interest of any kind in defending Hoover's "Lone Nut" theory) have known about the existence of the incriminating documents which you think the FBI possesses -- but ALL of those officials have also refused to tell anybody for the past 44 years (after Hoover died)?

6. In conclusion, Paul, when the last documents are released in October 2017 but nothing supports your assertions --- will you then have the decency to not only admit you were wrong about this specific matter -- but also admit that there is something terribly wrong with your intellect and the way you process information?

In other words, if there are no such documents released re: Walker or anything about a "JBS plot" -- then will you candidly concede that you have "connected dots", believed stories (like Harry's), and made conclusions that were entirely fabrications of your imagination?

Well, Ernie, I suppose I could take more time to argue my position -- which you misrepresent here -- but are we not getting side-tracked from the main point of this thread -- which is to speak about Dr. Caufield's theory that General Walker is the mastermind of the JFK murder?

1. I've repeatedly said that I don't know what's in the Top Secret documents about the JFK murder that the US Government is keeping sealed until October 2017. You asked me to guess, and I guessed -- some PRIMARY DOCUMENT that proves that Walker was the mastermind.

1.1. No, I don't think Walker wrote something down -- I think the FBI interviewed Walker and Banister and got the data they needed.

2. No, I'm not going to say that Walker wrote a letter to Banister and that FBI intercepted it.

3. YES, I am going to say that J. Edgar Hoover knew that Walker was the mastermind of the JFK murder, and that J. Edgar Hoover deliberately took no action against Walker, and so Walker remained a free man the rest of his life. After all, General Walker was one of the victorious Generals of World War Two, and in 1964 that still commanded tremendous respect. But more than that, this was the Cold War, and the scandal caused by a former WW2 General killing JFK would have been exploited by the USSR. So, LBJ himself agreed that the TRUTH could not be told to the American Public, but LHO had to be the "Lone Assassin," period.

4. Now, I deny that the FBI lied to the Justice Department about this -- or to any US Government Agency. The FBI withheld the TRUTH from US Government Agencies that didn't know, and from the American People, but the FBI ensured that LBJ knew, and that Allen Dulles and the CIA high-command knew, and that Earl Warren knew.

4.1. Remember that RFK himself opposed Jim Garrison's efforts, and sided with the Warren Commission on all counts. The Justice Department knew. RFK was one of those who insisted that General Walker be sent to an insane asylum after the Ole Miss riots (which was spawned during the Cuban Missile Crisis). So RFK knew Walker was a suspect from the start, and would never be surprised by the Truth.

4.2. The rule set down by LBJ, following J. Edgar Hoover's idea, was to blame LHO for the JFK murder at all costs, even if that meant falsifying JFK murder evidence, i.e. witnesses, ballistics, medical, photographic and so on.

4.3. The history of JFK Research -- though it disagrees on many details -- consistently agrees on one point, namely, that the FBI repeatedly falsified JFK murder evidence of all kinds, always bending it to the conclusion that LHO was the "Lone Nut."

4.4. Why reveal the data in 2017? Because President GHW Bush said so, that's why.

4.5. Before Bush signed the JFK Records Act on Monday 26 October 1992, giving the US Government 25 years to prepare to reveal the Full Truth about the JFK Murder, Earl Warren had admitted that the US Government had preserved the Records of the Truth about the JFK murder, and would reveal them, IIRC, in 75 years from the Warren Report, or the year 2039.

4.6. So, your mistake, Ernie, is in believing that the US Government sought to keep this a secret forever. Earl Warren admitted that he was withholding the Full Truth about LHO and JFK's murder, but he also felt bad about that, and made plans for the eventual release of the Truth to the American People.

4.7. Since the USSR fell in 1990, it makes sense to me that President GHW Bush would feel free to reduce that year from 2039 down to 2017. There was no intention to hide the Truth forever. The Truth has been preserved, as Earl Warren himself said.

5. As for who in the FBI knew the Full Truth: it's my contention that only J. Edgar Hoover and his most closely intimate staff knew the Truth about the JFK murder, i.e. that General Walker was the mastermind.

5.1. Two lower level FBI agents had clues, namely, Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen, but they were ordered to keep quiet and to stop investigating. They felt frustrated by that, but they ultimately obeyed until late in life. Neither of them had the Full Truth, although both had a part of the Truth -- Don Adams had identified Joe Milteer as a conspirator (who was tied to Walker) and Wesley Swearingen identified Richard Cain as a conspirator, who was also active in Radical Right causes in Chicago. If they had been permitted to continue their investigation, both trails would have led to General Walker.

5.2. By far more FBI SACs, agents and executives simply followed the strict orders of the Director -- to maintain that LHO was the "Lone Shooter" and that LHO "had no accomplices who are still at large." This simply became dogma to the FBI, and most of them repeat it down to this very day. (The same goes for the CIA.)

5.3. The FBI (and the CIA) agents were literally forbidden to challenge the Director on this point, and so after 50 years, it simply has become "history" to most FBI and CIA agents -- and quite unimportant in their busy days of crime-stopping.

6. In conclusion, Ernie, when the last documents are released in October 2017, and if (and only if) nothing supports my assertions, then yes, I will have the decency to admit I was wrong about this specific matter.

6.1. As for my intellect and the way I process information -- I regard it as the same as anybody else's, i.e. I reason on the basis of the data I have at hand, and the body of facts that I accept, and the identification of specific errors.

6.2. Finally, Ernie, I accept the claims of Harry Dean because they make sense to me based on the evidence I've obtained from Walker's personal papers -- and furthermore, from the evidence presented by Dr. Jeffrey Caufield.

6.3. I will be very surprised if, on Thursday 17 October 2017, the JFK Records Act fails to agree with my theory. I will certainly, I state openly today, admit my error in that event. But not before.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

<edited>

Edited January 5, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Let us proceed further into chapter 15 of Jeffrey Caufield's new book, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: The Extensive New Evidence of a Radical Right Conspiracy, Chapter 15, General Walker, 1963: Evidence of Conspiracy. Dr. Caufield cites a chronology as follows:

On August 28, 1963, LHO wrote an unsolicited letter to the Communist Party USA to ask them if he should “go underground.”

On September 4, 1963, General Walker, Guy Banister hosted the segregationist Free Electors meeting at the Capitol House Hotel in Baton Rouge. Leander Perez gave the keynote address.

On September 7, 1963, General Walker field a two-million-dollar libel lawsuit against Hodding Carter for calling Walker “a seditious psychopath” in print.

On September 15, 1963, the Radical Right in Alabama bombed the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, killing four young Black girls preparing for a Church event.

During the final week of September, 1963, LHO traveled to Mexico City and presented Fake credentials, claiming to be a Secretary of the FPCC in New Orleans, as well as a member of the Communist Party.

Jeff Caufield emphasizes (from the FOIA released Lopez Report) that the Cuban Consul Silvia Duran quickly saw through these Fake credentials and denied LHO his request for “instant passage” into Cuba based on them. The Consulates' main task was to remain polite after LHO shouted, threatened and slammed doors when he was denied. Consul Eusebio Azcue demanded that LHO leave, telling him, “You’re no friend of the revolution.” Caufield writes:

It’s hard to say if Oswald had been figured in to a Dallas assassination plot in that short period of time, and hence, if the trip was related to the Kennedy assassination. Nonetheless, after the assassination, his visit to the Cuban and Soviet embassies was cited as evidence by the radical right and others that Oswald was a Cuban or Soviet agent. The Warren Commission and the HSCA, however, concluded he was not. (Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy, 2015, p. 440)

Clearly, the JFK killers wanted to blame the Communists for the murder of JFK. They had been blaming the Communists for the Civil Rights Movement with great success in the USA, so they believed they could get away with it. LHO’s Mexico City trip clearly figured into the Dallas plot by helping to frame LHO as a Communist. (The early October impersonation of LHO by a some internal CIA Mole trying to link the names of Oswald with KGB Agent Valerie Kostikov, is an obvious attempt to further frame Oswald as a Communist, and IMHO invokes David Morales in this Radical Right plot.)

Jeff Caufield next repeats the well-worn stories about Silvia Odio and Loran Hall’s denial of her testimony – denials Hall later denied, but which were accepted anyway by the FBI. Loran Hall, connected closely with Gerry Patrick Hemming also sought funds directly from General Walker. Walker wrote to Bob Love on June 24, 1963 that he would “give money to Alpha 66, but not to Loran Hall.” This proves that Loran Hall and General Walker were somewhat on speaking terms.

October 21, 1963 the Constitution Party had the meeting in which they described assassination plots of various sorts. On October 23, 1963, General Walker held US Day at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, to booby-trap the hall in advance of the speech given the following night by UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson. General Walker’s people bought up as many tickets of Adlai’s speech as possible, and successfully interrupted his speech and drove him out of Dallas in disgrace. Caufield writes:

In 1963, President Kennedy…pushed for black voter rights and used force to integrate the Alabama schools, narrowly avoiding a confrontation with Governor Wallace. The segregationists fought back with bombings, burnings and murders – most notable among them the infamous Birmingham riots, the church bombing murders of four black girls, and the assassination of NAACP leader Medgar Evers. (Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy, 2015, p. 463)

To the Walker shooting, plus LHO’s Mexico City episode, plus FBI reports of Walker’s continued threats against Civil Rights leaders, plus the fact that Walker’s Minutemen in Dallas were forming assassination squads, Dr. Jeffrey Caufield adds an extra item. In October 1963, Walker addressed a meeting of Citizen Council leaders and told them that they could look forward to a Communist killing JFK. This reminds us of the description that Joseph Milteer gave to Willie Somersett. Caufield concludes:

General Walker came full circle when he returned to New Orleans and the company of Banister associate Kent Courtney two days before the Kennedy assassination… Moreover, Walker met with Joe Newbrough, who worked out of Banister’s office at the building at 544 Camp Street…and…Leander Perez. (Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy, 2015, p. 465)

Jeff Caufield finds this meeting with these high-profile Rightists to be plausible evidence of a conspiracy to later kill JFK in Dallas. To this evidence Caufield also adds the boast of Walker to the Deutsche-Nationalzeitung in the early morning after JFK was killed, that LHO had also been his shooter back in April. Walker’s knowledge of LHO as his shooter before Marina told the FBI about it is solid evidence, for Caufield, that Walker was far closer to the events than he ever told the WC.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

Paul -- your thinking is so muddled, I don't know where to begin.

1. Apparently, you think that General Walker wrote down on paper something which establishes that he was the mastermind of the successful assassination of JFK (a primary source confession of guilt). But, simultaneously, you state you do not think the FBI came across such info through an informant. So, pray tell, how do you think the FBI acquired that alleged "confession"?

2. I presume you are going to tell us that Walker wrote a letter to somebody (such as Banister or a fellow member of the "hard core military underground" -- and the FBI intercepted that letter -- so they became aware of its content. Is that going to be your story?

3. BUT, presumably your next assertion is going to be that nobody inside the FBI who became aware of Walker's "confession" took any action of any kind against Walker---and that is why he remained a free man for the rest of his life. Correct?

4. We come back to one of my previous questions:

IF, as you contend, the FBI (as an institution) has been aware for decades of the identity of a group of extreme right individuals who planned, financed, and carried out the murder of JFK -- but it is also true that the FBI has purged all documentary evidence within its files concerning their knowledge of that criminal conspiracy AND they not only purged that data in their files and within their indexing system but responsible officials of the FBI committed perjury and deliberately deceived all investigating committees and commissions -- not to mention that they lied to their superiors within the Justice Department and at the White House ---- then why would ANYBODY at the FBI be willing to suddenly reveal all those incriminating documents in October 2017?

5. Another pertinent question:

Is it your contention that all of the senior officials of the FBI (i.e. Inspectors, Section Chiefs, Supervisory Special Agents, Special Agents in Charge of field offices and Assistant Directors) since the death of J. Edgar Hoover (and particularly everybody who had no interest of any kind in defending Hoover's "Lone Nut" theory) have known about the existence of the incriminating documents which you think the FBI possesses -- but ALL of those officials have also refused to tell anybody for the past 44 years (after Hoover died)?

6. In conclusion, Paul, when the last documents are released in October 2017 but nothing supports your assertions --- will you then have the decency to not only admit you were wrong about this specific matter -- but also admit that there is something terribly wrong with your intellect and the way you process information?

In other words, if there are no such documents released re: Walker or anything about a "JBS plot" -- then will you candidly concede that you have "connected dots", believed stories (like Harry's), and made conclusions that were entirely fabrications of your imagination?

Well, Ernie, I suppose I could take more time to argue my position -- which you misrepresent here -- but are we not getting side-tracked from the main point of this thread -- which is to speak about Dr. Caufield's theory that General Walker is the mastermind of the JFK murder?

1. I've repeatedly said that I don't know what's in the Top Secret documents about the JFK murder that the US Government is keeping sealed until October 2017. You asked me to guess, and I guessed -- some PRIMARY DOCUMENT that proves that Walker was the mastermind.

1.1. No, I don't think Walker wrote something down -- I think the FBI interviewed Walker and Banister and got the data they needed.

2. No, I'm not going to say that Walker wrote a letter to Banister and that FBI intercepted it.

3. YES, I am going to say that J. Edgar Hoover knew that Walker was the mastermind of the JFK murder, and that J. Edgar Hoover deliberately took no action against Walker, and so Walker remained a free man the rest of his life. After all, General Walker was one of the victorious Generals of World War Two, and in 1964 that still commanded tremendous respect. But more than that, this was the Cold War, and the scandal caused by a former WW2 General killing JFK would have been exploited by the USSR. So, LBJ himself agreed that the TRUTH could not be told to the American Public, but LHO had to be the "Lone Assassin," period.

4. Now, I deny that the FBI lied to the Justice Department about this -- or to any US Government Agency. The FBI withheld the TRUTH from US Government Agencies that didn't know, and from the American People, but the FBI ensured that LBJ knew, and that Allen Dulles and the CIA high-command knew, and that Earl Warren knew.

4.1. Remember that RFK opposed Jim Garrison's efforts, and sided with the Warren Commission on all counts. The Justice Department knew. RFK was one of those who insisted that General Walker be sent to an insane asylum after the Ole Miss riots (which was spawned during the Cuban Missile Crisis). So RFK knew Walker was a suspect from the start, and would never be surprised by the Truth.

4.2. The rule set down by LBJ, following J. Edgar Hoover's idea, was to blame LHO for the JFK murder at all costs, even if that meant falsifying JFK murder evidence, i.e. witnesses, ballistics, medical, photographic and so on.

4.3. The history of JFK Research -- though it disagrees on many details -- consistently agrees on one point, namely, that the FBI repeatedly falsified JFK murder evidence of all kinds, always bending it to the conclusion that LHO was the "Lone Nut."

4.4. Why reveal the data in 2017? Because President GHW Bush said so, that's why.

4.5. Before Bush signed the JFK Records Act on Monday 26 October 1992, giving the US Government 25 years to prepare to reveal the Full Truth about the JFK Murder, Earl Warren had admitted that the US Government had preserved the Records of the Truth about the JFK murder, and would reveal them, IIRC, in 75 years from the Warren Report, or the year 2039.

4.6. So, you're mistake, Ernie, is in believing that the US Government sought to keep this a secret forever. Earl Warren admitted that he was withholding the Full Truth about LHO and JFK's murder, but he also felt bad about that, and made plans for the eventual release of the Truth to the American People.

4.7. Since the USSR fell in 1990, it makes sense to me that President GHW Bush would feel free to reduce that year from 2039 down to 2017. There was no intention to hide the Truth forever. The Truth has been preserved, as Earl Warren himself said.

5. As for who in the FBI knew the Full Truth: it's my contention that only J. Edgar Hoover and his most closely intimate staff knew the Truth about the JFK murder, i.e. that General Walker was the mastermind.

5.1. Two lower level FBI agents had clues, namely, Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen, but they were ordered to keep quiet and to stop investigating. They felt frustrated by that, but they ultimately obeyed until late in life. Neither of them had the Full Truth, although both had a part of the Truth -- Don Adams had identified Joe Milteer as a conspirator (who was tied to Walker) and Wesley Swearingen identified Richard Cain as a conspirator, who was also active in Radical Right causes in Chicago. If they had been permitted to continue their investigation, both trails would have led to General Walker.

5.2. By far more FBI SACs, agents and executives simply followed the strict orders of the Director -- to maintain that LHO was the "Lone Shooter" and that LHO "had no accomplices who are still at large." This simply became dogma to the FBI, and most of them repeat it down to this very day. (The same goes for the CIA.)

5.3. The FBI (and the CIA) agents were literally forbidden to challenge the Director on this point, and so after 50 years, it simply has become "history" to most FBI and CIA agents -- and quite unimportant in their busy days of crime-stopping.

6. In conclusion, Ernie, when the last documents are released in October 2017, and if (and only if) nothing supports my assertions, then yes, I will have the decency to not only admit I was wrong about this specific matter.

6.1. As for my intellect and the way I process information -- I regard it as the same as anybody else's, i.e. I reason on the basis of the data I have at hand, and the body of facts that I accept, and the identification of specific errors.

6.2. Finally, Ernie, I accept the claims of Harry Dean because they make sense to me based on the evidence I've obtained from Walker's personal papers -- and furthermore, from the evidence presented by Dr. Jeffrey Caufield.

6.3. I will be very surprised if, on Thursday 17 October 2017, the JFK Records Act is fulfilled and it fails to agree with my theory. I will certainly, I state openly today, admit my error in that event. But not before.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

The utter absurdity of your argument is encapsulated in just one sentence above, i.e.

1.1. No, I don't think Walker wrote something down -- I think the FBI interviewed Walker and Banister and got the data they needed

For what conceivable reason would either Banister or Walker admit during one or more interviews with the FBI that they had participated in a criminal conspiracy and murder?

Furthermore, human nature is always self-preservation. Have you ever noticed that people who commit heinous crimes almost invariably state during their arraignment that they are "not guilty" -- even when everybody knows they are guilty?

Have you ever also noticed that career politicians almost never admit grave errors in their judgment or in their policy decisions? And they certainly never acknowledge corruption or perjury.

Hoover never "forbid" anybody to do what you claim and he certainly could not "forbid" any CIA employee from doing something.

In probably every major crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the FBI, there probably are Agents whom, for one reason or another, disagree with something about the way the investigation was handled or conclusions reached.

Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen have nothing significant to contribute because neither one of them were actually involved in the investigation. Adams just checked the whereabouts of Milteer. He did not investigate anything about JFK's murder. Swearingen was not involved either. But your comment reveals a lot about the quality of "evidence" which you are prepared to accept and use in pursuit of your arguments. Literally anything from anybody is acceptable -- so long as it fits into your preferred narrative.

As I have stated from the beginning of our debates --- our ultimate problem is epistemological. You simply do not subscribe to normal rules of evidence or logic. Consequently, you are prepared to believe everything which the most flimsy and non-credible sources present.

[Paul Trejo]

Ernie, I'm really tired of repeating myself to you, year after year, on the same topic of Harry Dean and the FBI Top Secret documents still withheld about the JFK assassination.

Let's just agree to disagree, and proceed with the real theme of this thread, namely, the New Book by Dr. Jeffrey Caufield.

We were just getting ready to proceed to Chapter 16, as I recall.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

Ernie, I'm really tired of repeating myself to you, year after year, on the same topic of Harry Dean and the FBI Top Secret documents still withheld about the JFK assassination.

Let's just agree to disagree, and proceed with the real theme of this thread, namely, the New Book by Dr. Jeffrey Caufield.

We were just getting ready to proceed to Chapter 16, as I recall.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Well, Paul, I think all of us are tired of hearing about your phantom "Top Secret" documents -- which apparently nobody (but you) think exist -- at least with respect to the JBS and Walker.

This may come as a shock to you, but many of the people who have held senior positions within the FBI (or who have studied or overseen the FBI) after the death of Hoover -- were hostile toward Hoover and they welcomed the changes made to the institution.

Consequently, they have no reason to defend either Hoover or his secrets. Nevertheless, none of them has ever hinted, much less stated, that the type of documents you think exist re: Walker or the JBS (or Harry's story) exist now or ever existed in the past.

Only in Conspiracy Fantasyland does anybody believe that there exists in ANY large institution (public or private) a mindless uniformity of opinion and behavior. Hoover had no way to control what individual investigating Agents discovered and memorialized in their reports. That is why (for example) you can find all sorts of material in FBI files which was released decades ago without redaction which contradicts the "Lone Nut" theory.

Your current "theory" is just another permutation of your former declaration that the long-version of Harry's November 1963 letter to Hoover (typed in all CAPS) was "a forgery" by the FBI to discredit Harry and that Harry's "rap sheet" was also a document fabricated by the FBI from whole cloth to discredit him.

Your methodology is fairly consistent. You arrive at a conclusion and then you select whatever shreds of data you can find (anywhere) which you think you can force into your pre-existing conclusion...but if nobody can find anything to support your conclusion, then it MUST be because there are "Top Secret" documents being withheld.

[Paul Trejo]

Let’s proceed to chapter 16 of Jeffrey Caufield's new book, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: The Extensive New Evidence of a Radical Right Conspiracy, namely, The Assassination of President Kennedy, November 22, 1963.

On October 3^rd, 1963, Senator William Fulbright told JFK, “Dallas is a very dangerous place…Don’t you go there.” Byron Skelton, a Democratic Committee member, wrote to RFK that General Walker recently said that, “Kennedy is a liability to the free world,” and warned that Walker was capable of “doing harm to the President.”

On the morning of November 22^nd, 1963, H.L. Hunt’s radio program, Lifeline, warned that JFK intended to outlaw the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms. Also, the Black-bordered advertisement appeared in the Dallas Morning News, and Robert Allen Surrey’s team distributed the WANTED FOR TREASON:JFK posters all around Dallas.

Lee Harvey Oswald, for his part, left so much incriminating evidence that morning that even if he didn't shoot JFK, he would have likely been tried and executed in a Texas electric chair for the murder of JFK anyway, says Dr. Caufield.

Caufield notes that LHO had left much incriminating evidence for the Walker shooting, too, which Caufield believes was a shoot-and-miss scheme. The Backyard Photographs, the photographs of the Walker home, and especially the Walker Letter, written in Russian for Marina, prompted WC attorney Wesley Liebeler to ask Marina if it was not odd that LHO left so much tell-tale evidence for the Walker shooting hanging around.

Caufield believes that the Walker shooting was in reality a shoot-and-miss scheme, and that LHO was well paid for it. Caufield finally offers his key theory – his speculation that the JFK murder began as a shoot-and-miss scheme, using the same personnel as the General Walker shoot-and-miss scheme.

One scenario fully explains Oswald’s odd behavior. Suppose Oswald was led to believe that the president was to be shot at and deliberately missed. He might have been assured that the shoot-and-miss would be from a dissimilar rifle with bullets and casings that could not be traced to his own rifle, or a similar scheme. Another individual, he might have been told, would do the shooting, assuring Oswald that he could not be identified as the shooter. In turn, Oswald would agree to be the patsy, go to jail, and expect to be released I a few days for lack of ballistic evidence. This scenario fits Oswald’s known behavior. (Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy, (2015), p. 468-469, emphasis added)

LHO had been capitalizing on this phony Red credentials from his period in the USSR as a dangle for the ONI, and so LHO continued to build on those phony Red credentials. This is a possibility that the Warren Commission never guessed. According to Jeff Caufield, LHO expected to be arrested, both for the Walker shooting and for the JFK shooting.

In the Walker shooting, LHO left behind his Walker Letter for Marina. In the JFK shooting, LHO left behind his wedding band and the bulk of his cash to last Marina for several weeks. He told Marina that Thursday night, and Wesley Frazier the next morning, that he didn’t expect to return to Irving as usual that Friday night.

As Jeff Caufield sees it, LHO was guilty of something, but LHO also expected to be exonerated. LHO had no idea that he had been perfectly framed to be the Patsy in a scheme in which, as Joseph Milteer had said, “somebody would be picked up within hours just to throw the public off.”

LHO left clues deliberately, and apparently expected to be arrested, as follows: (1) he advertised his package to Wesley Frazier that morning; (2) he dawdled at the TSBD for a while; (3) he took an obvious, public escape route; (4) he had very little cash with which to escape; (5) he left his rifle on the 6^th floor, near his personal clipboard; (6) he carried his A.J. Hidell identification card with him, knowing its link to the rifle; (7) he knew very well he had left a long paper trail in the US Mail, at NOLA and at Mexico City, identifying him as a Radical Leftist, yet he deliberately asked for New York attorney John Abt, known for defending American Communists.

After his arrest, LHO told all of his family members that everything was going to work out fine, so, according to Jeff Caufield, LHO fully expected to be exonerated, according to some master plan. At this point Dr. Caufield will more fully develop his shoot-and-miss theory of the JFK murder.

(I recognize the shoot-and-miss theory from the 1971 works of Gary Wean, and the 1988 works of Don DeLillo, among others. While I believe there are other explanations for LHO's behavior, for now I'll focus on Dr. Caufield's theory in this thread about his interesting new book which, I believe, correctly identifies General Walker as the mastermind of the JFK murder.)

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited January 2, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Let’s continue within chapter 16 of Jeffrey Caufield's new book, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: The Extensive New Evidence of a Radical Right Conspiracy, namely, The Assassination of President Kennedy, November 22, 1963.

At this point, Dr. Caufield repeats the well-worn story of events leading up to the murder of JFK, starting with the fact that on 10/14/1963 Ruth Paine learned that a neighbor boy, Wesley Frazier, just got a job at the TSBD, and so she got LHO an interview on 10/15/1963, and LHO started work there on 10/16/1963. The selling point was that Ruth Paine was a solid citizen, and it sounded like she was endorsing LHO, and might have given the impression that LHO was an honorably discharged Marine with a family to feed. Roy Truly hired LHO on the spot as an order filler for bulk books.

We all know that Marina was living with Ruth Paine, and that Wesley drove LHO to and from Irving on Fridays and Mondays, and that LHO took the bus to work all other days. We all know that on the weekend of November 16th Ruth asked LHO not to come by that weekend so she could have more time with her own family, but on Monday 18th, when Marina asked Ruth to call LHO at his room, nobody there knew of a Mr. "Oswald" but only a Mr. "Lee".

We all know that LHO and Marina fought about it all week, and Marina kept slamming down the phone on him. We all know that on Thursday the 21st that LHO for the first time asked Wesley Frazier for a Thursday ride to Irving, "to get curtain rods," as Wesley testified.

We all know that Marina gave LHO the silent treatment that night, and early on Friday morning, LHO left his wedding wing and $170 on her bureau, keeping only $13.87 for himself, and he took a long package with him to Wesley's car. (Caufield notes that $13.87 was not enough for an escape from Dallas, unless LHO had accomplices.)

We all know that as they parked at the TSBD, LHO told Wesley he would not need a ride that night, and for the first time hurried out, and walked fifty feet in front of Frazier to the back entrance of the TSBD with his package. We all know that the last time before the JFK murder that anybody reported seeing LHO in the TSBD was at 11:55 on the 6th floor, when one employee asked LHO, 'coming to lunch?' LHO replied, "No, but please close the elevator gate when you get down."

Bonnie Rae Williams ate his chicken lunch on the 6th floor and left at 12:20, without seeing anybody on the 6th floor. We all know that at 12:30 the first shot was heard, and DPD Marrion Baker heard it, thought it was from the TSBD, and raced his motorcycle to the TSBD, failed to get an elevator, and Roy Truly led him up the stairs. At 12:32 they saw LHO on the second floor; Baker had his gun in his hand and ordered LHO, "Come here!" LHO calmly walked over to Officer Baker, and Roy Truly said, 'He works here,' so they continued up the stairway.

We all know the testimony that at 12:33 LHO walked out of the TSBD, and walked 7 blocks to Elm/Murray and caught a bus to Oak Cliff. Mary Bledsoe, his first rooming landlady was on that bus, and she later testified he looked like a maniac. She identified his brown shirt with a hole in the elbow (which LHO did have). LHO got off that bus and took a cab a couple blocks past his room.

Earlene Roberts, his new rooming landlady's manager, said LHO arrived at 1pm, wearing a brown shirt with a hole in the elbow. Then, a DPD police car came by at that moment and tooted its horn twice. Mrs. Roberts looked out, saw two men in the car, which she remembered as Car #107. Then they drove off.

Caufield repeats here the testimony that we all know, namely, that at this point the DPD didn't have LHO's rooming house address -- because LHO had given the TSBD Ruth Paine's address in Irving.

We all know that at 1:16, about a mile away, Officer J.D. Tippit was shot dead. Again Caufield asks if Tippit's car was the one that came to LHO's rooming house, and if so, wonders if this was about the JFK murder. This is where Dr. Caufield will break with what we already know. According to Dr. Caufield, J.D. Tippit himself is a real suspect in the JFK assassination. Caufield writes:

Was J.D. Tippit involved in the assassination conspiracy? Willie Somersett told Miami police intelligence that Tippit, Theodore "Ted" Jackman, and R.E. Davis were the actual shooters of the president. Somersett did not elaborate, and nothing more is known about the allegation....Somersett has never been known to have given false or misleading information before. What's more, anyone who had advance knowledge of the plot to kill President Kennedy (and later, Martin Luther King, Jr.), as Somersett did, deserves to be taken very seriously. What strengthens Somersett's allegation is that Jackman and Davis, the other two gunmen, were associates of General Walker. (Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy, 2015, p. 483)

According to Caufield, it was Tippit who tooted his horn at Oswald's rooming house, but Tippit had no legitimate reason to be there, when most other DPD officers were looking for the JFK killer, and no other DPD Officers had LHO's rooming house address. Also, why would JFK's killer be wandering around Dallas on foot? Why would J.D. Tippit stop LHO at Jefferson and Tenth, he asks? Finally, why in the world would LHO shoot Tippit?

For all these reasons, Dr. Caufield justifies his suspicion that J.D. Tippit was somehow involved in the JFK murder. But no reason was so profound to Caufield than the fact that Willie Somersett himself had named J.D. Tippit himself as one of JFK's shooters that day. Here is how Caufield followed up this lead.

The Warren Commission admitted that J.D. Tippit moonlighted on weekends at Austin's Barbeque in Dallas. Tippit worked there on Friday and Saturday nights from 10pm to 2am for three solid years before the assassination. The Warren Commission also admitted that the owner of the restaurant, Austin Cook, was a member of the John Birch Society, although Cook told investigators that he never discussed politics with Tippit. Caufield writes:

The author interviewed Paul Rothermel, H.L. Hunt's security chief, and Rothermel stated that he gave a speech to the John Birch Society at Austin's Barbeque, where they held their meetings...More significant than working for a member of the John Birch Society was the fact that Tippit worked at the place where the Dallas John Birch Society held their meetings -- a fact not noted by the Commission, which is revealed for the first time by the author from the interview with Rothermel. General Walker was Dallas' best known John Birch Society member. As has been noted, Walker aide Robert Allen Surrey and Surrey's wife Mary founded the Dallas John Birch Society chapter. Tippit's part-time wok at Austin's, where the John Birch Society held their meetings, afforded him the opportunity to associate with Walker and members of his group during Walker's two-and-one-half-year rise to power, following his 1961 return from Germany. (Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy, 2015, p. 486, emphasis added)

Therefore, Dr. Caufield may be the first to show a linkage between J.D. Tippit, the JBS and General Walker, and in this way he can move closer to Willie Somersett's claim that J.D. Tippit was one of JFK's shooters.

Regards,
--Paul Trejo

Edited January 9, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[Larry Hancock]

Two comments, first off Sommersett was a fine informant, repeating to Miami PD and to the FBI for a period everything he heard or personally saw. When you start digging into it, it was accurate in his

personal observations but also passed along a whole lot of third part gossip that was just that...which is why the FBI stopped using him after a time. An argument can be made that they threw the baby

out with the bath on that one. However its also important to note that relatively early on he became known as a "snitch" and JB Stoner identified him as such to his contacts in Miami, warning him not

to trust Sommersett....and opening the door to feeding him misleading info.

As far as Tippett goes, I would also counter that he did security work at a theater which showed Spanish language films and was frequented by Cuban exiles. Personally I'd hesitate to make too

strong a connection ("linkage") to conspiracy off either employment.

[Paul Brancato]

Joseph McBride covered this Tippit ground in his fine book, but I don't recall him saying that the JBS actually had meetings at the restaurant.

[Paul Brancato]

Joseph McBride covered this Tippit ground in his fine book, but I don't recall him saying that the JBS actually had meetings at the restaurant.

Did Sommersett have advance knowledge of the MLK assassination? Perhaps slightly off topic, but did he so inform his FBI contact prior to the MLK killing? If so, what did he say?

[Larry Hancock]

Paul, Sommersett reported on gossip about threats to King.... one I recall was from labor union folks who he claimed had remarked how

King's support of the strike in Memphis was hurting their image. By that tune he was no longer being treated as a valued FBI source and they were not

taking him very seriously. However, he had provided some very accurate info about a plot to kill King in a sniper attack and a successful sting involving a rifle

to be used in that had been recovered ...but that was years earlier. Both Miami PD and the FBI had been involve in that and it was very real. Its all covered in The Awful Grade of God.

[Paul Trejo]

Paul, Sommersett reported on gossip about threats to King.... one I recall was from labor union folks who he claimed had remarked how King's support of the strike in Memphis was hurting their image. By that tune he was no longer being treated as a valued FBI source and they were not taking him very seriously.

However, he had provided some very accurate info about a plot to kill King in a sniper attack and a successful sting involving a rifle to be used in that had been recovered ...but that was years earlier. Both Miami PD and the FBI had been involve in that and it was very real. Its all covered in The Awful Grade of God.

Well, Larry, you might be right in your suspicions about Willie Somersett. Nobody's perfect, of course.

The fact that Somersett was "outed" inside some far right circles does open the possibility that some far right people were feeding him baloney to forward to the FBI. Yet as you noted, that occurred closer to the time of the MLK murder in 1968, than to the time of the JFK murder in 1963.

Furthermore, as you noted in your book, THE AWFUL GRACE OF GOD (2013) that you wrote with Stuart Wexler, even during the MLK attacks, Willie Somersett provided some "very accurate" data to the FBI.

Closer to the JFK murder, we find that Joseph Milteer was still sufficiently fooled by Willie Somersett to give him details, such as the tall building and the high-powered rifle, and the patsy who would be picked up "within hours, just to throw the public off."

One may therefore argue that closer to the JFK murder, Willie Somersett's data was still strong and valuable to the FBI. If so, then Somersett's identification of J.D. Tippit as one of the shooters at JFK on 11/22/1963 would still be worth researching further.

On this score, I recall a book published this century about photographic data and the JFK murder, in which "Badge Man" was identified as J.D. TIppit, down to the pock mark on his left cheek. IMHO, this isn't over.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited January 9, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[James DiEugenio]

EL: Well, Paul, I think all of us are tired of hearing about your phantom "Top Secret" documents -- which apparently nobody (but you) think exist -- at least with respect to the JBS and Walker. .

Well done Ernie. I look forward to your review.

Larry:

​You have hit on the big problem with Caufield's book

​And it is amazing to me that Caufield never figured this out. In fact he never mentions it in his book.

That is because, without Somerset he doesn't have a book. There is a good reason the FBI took him off of their payroll, which I will get into in my review.

​I am about 200 pages into this and I have not had such a reaction to a book since the Waldron/Hartmann pastiche Ultimate Sacrifice.

Edited January 9, 2016 by James DiEugenio

[Larry Hancock]

I'm afraid this is a problem that we run into with a lot of "sources", it takes a huge amount of work and a very close attention to matching chronology to statements over time. In regard to Caufield's book I think it applies to Sommersett and to Beckham among others. Stu and I worked long and hard evaluating Sommersett's information at various points in time and we discussed that in AGOG, essentially singling out "situational" changes and giving our reasoning for when we thought he was reliable and when he was not. The same challenge holds for Nagell and for Martino for that matter (both of whom provided information for different purposes at different times).

There is third party documentation which clearly shows that Sommersett was providing good information early on, much of that relates to a Miami PD and FBI sting in regard to a rifle that was "tagged" to be provided and traced into a plot to assassinate Dr. King. However as time passed and suspicions grew about Sommersett, it appears that he got fed diversionary information on a broad range of subjects. That's one reason the FBI backed off from him, another was that he had been useful as a potential informant in activities he was personally involved in but later became more a general conduit for rumors and gossip. Miami PD stayed with him longer because he did have some solid contacts there with local radical groups, but in contrast, its pretty clear that Sydney Barnes, who had been close to him before moving out of Miami, really began to play him - and the FBI.

Its important not to underestimate some of the radical right wing players, they were masters at compartmentalizing operations and in attempting to "play" agencies like the FBI. In a number of cases individuals functioned as sources while continuing to perform violent crimes...something the FBI tolerated in order to get inside information. In AGOG we write about one individual who was in routine contact with the FBI at the same time he was conducting bombing and terror attacks, playing both sides of the street. Sort of reminds me of some of the Interpen gang who also routinely attempted to provide info to the FBI and CIA, of course it was info of their choice...often about each other.