Clinton and the JFK Assassination

[John Simkin]

When Clinton took office he appointed Webster Hubell as Associate Attorney General. Hubell claimed that he planned to investigate "Who shot JFK". His investigation did not get very far. He lost his job when he was charged with padding his billing hours while a lawyer with the firm which had employed Hilary Clinton. I wonder if his investigation upset someone in high places?

In 2003 Sydney Blumenthal published his book The Clinton Wars. The book is about the attempts by Republicans to smear Clinton. On page 206 Blumenthal claims his first book was The Permanent Campaign (1980). In fact, this is not true. His first book was Government by Gunplay, a collection of essays on the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MFK. I wonder why Blumenthal does not want the public to know about this book? Why did the Clinton clan decide to keep away from the assassination of JFK.

[Tim Gratz]

Interesting question, John, why Clinton did not pursue the JFK case. I think it stretches things, however, to speculate that the Hubbell scandal was exposed to get him out of Washington because of his interest in the assassination.

As you know, Clinton was influenced to enter politics by his meeting with JFK in 1962 so one would naturally assume he would be involved in the case.

One possible excplanation: if he publicly re-opened the investigation and then failed to successfully conclude it it could be embarrassing.

Have you read his memoirs? I've just started. He is an excellent writer.

A brief aside: a few days ago former Clinton AG Janet Reno was arrested for reckless driving in Marathon, Florida (mid-way in the Keys) when her famous red truck rear-ended a car stopped at a red light (no personal injuries to anyone).

Edited June 13, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Pat Speer]

I believe Clinton has been quoted as saying he didn't believe in the Warren Report. I remember for certain that Al Gore said he didn't believe it. And yet little was done in their 8 years in the White House to re-open the investigation. Oh yeah, after being signed into law by Bush I, the ARRB during the Clinton years released hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, including the IG Report on the hits on Castro, the IG report on the Bay of Pigs, CIA documents on Guatemala, and many pages of previously unreleased HSCA medical testimony.

I suspect that a reason it wasn't more publicized is because much of the new evidence is damaging to LBJ, which scares the bejeesus out of the old line Democrats, the same people who got The Men Who Killed Kennedy yanked off the air..

[Christopher T. George]

When Clinton took office he appointed Webster Hubell as Associate Attorney General. Hubell claimed that he planned to investigate "Who shot JFK". His investigation did not get very far. He lost his job when he was charged with padding his billing hours while a lawyer with the firm which had employed Hilary Clinton. I wonder if his investigation upset someone in high places?

In 2003 Sydney Blumenthal published his book The Clinton Wars. The book is about the attempts by Republicans to smear Clinton. On page 206 Blumenthal claims his first book was The Permanent Campaign (1980). In fact, this is not true. His first book was Government by Gunplay, a collection of essays on the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MFK. I wonder why Blumenthal does not want the public to know about this book? Why did the Clinton clan decide to keep away from the assassination of JFK.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi John

Looking at this objectively, there might be simple explantions.

In regard to Webster Hubell, it would have been a high profile and attention-grabbing statement on the part of Hubell at the time of his appointment as Attorney General to say he would reopen the JFK assassination investigation but got involved with other matters such as his indictment before he could do so if he ever intended to pursue it.

As for Blumenthal, his 1976 book Government by Gunplay was, as you say, a collection of essays on the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MFK, edited along with Harvey Yazijian, so it could be that he viewed his 1980 book The Permanent Campaign: Inside the World of Elite Political Operatives authored by himself alone as his first "real" book.

John, you might be right to see more in the fact that Clinton's people did not pursue the JFK investigation as they might have, although these simpler explanations might hold true as well.

Best regards

Chris

[Mike Perez]

Hi John and all

I still believe,(and I don't know why) that when a new sitting President takes office

th "people in control" sit that man down in the White House Movie Theatre, and all of a sudden a movie starts playing on the screen. The President is allowed to watch the movie in silence, and when it is over, a man steps up in front of the President and simply states. "We are going to do this our way not yours." And then the man turns and walks out of the room. That movie leaves just as big of a impression on the new President as what LBJ saw on the streets of Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. For you see the film the President just watched was the Zapruder film.

I don't know why I thiink this happens, but Clinton hasn't been the only President to say publicly that he didn't believe the Warren Commission and that if he got elected he would do something about it. And then when he got into office did absolutely nothing towards reopening the case.

[Christopher T. George]

Hi John and all

I still believe,(and I don't know why) that when a new sitting President takes office

th "people in control" sit that man down in the White House Movie Theatre, and all of a sudden a movie starts playing on the screen. The President is allowed to watch the movie in silence, and when it is over, a man steps up in front of the President and simply states. "We are going to do this our way not yours." And then the man turns and walks out of the room. That movie leaves just as big of a impression on the new President as what LBJ saw on the streets of Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. For you see the film the President just watched was the Zapruder film.

I don't know why I thiink this happens, but Clinton hasn't been the only President to say publicly that he didn't believe the Warren Commission and that if he got elected he would do something about it. And then when he got into office did absolutely nothing towards reopening the case.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Mark

Certainly the Zapruder film is a sobering and disturbing piece of footage whether you think there was a conspiracy or not. And if a film were to be shown, hypothetically, why wouldn't the film be Oliver Stone's "JFK" which puts the widely held case that JFK's assassination was part of a large conspiracy? Although of course I realize you are saying the Zapruder film would be shown to the new President so it would be a warning to him not to dig too deeply into the assassination. Certainly, pause for thought, whether your imagined scenario is true or not.

Chris

[Ron Ecker]

I don't think the intent was for Hubbell to open a new investigation. Clinton just asked him to see what he could find out. At the same time Clinton asked him to find out about UFOs. Hubbell simply said that he couldn't find out much.

It's understandable why Clinton would want Hubbell to do it quietly. I think any president knows to leave the "Bay of Pigs thing" alone. Is there nothing to learn from the shooting of RFK?

As for Clinton saying he didn't believe the Warren Commission Report, I recall him saying that he was satisifed with it. In any case, the powerful protect each other on this kind of stuff. When Bush came to power, with Ashcroft as AG, I initially thought or hoped that the Clintons would at last start paying for some of their crimes, starting with Pardongate. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Naivete is so hard to overcome. It almost takes a lifetime.

Ron