Jim Root

Mark I appreciate the fact that this thread requires that I think and put into words those thoughts in a logical manner that can be understood. Please bare with me as I attempt to simply summerize 11 years worth of research into a small space and in a limited amout of time. Please continue with the questions and I will continue to add the needed information that is necessary (assuming that I have it) to answer. It is my belief that Walker was not a party to the assassination plot, assuming that there was an assassination plot. But I do believe it is highly plausible that Walker was involved in passing information to Oswald as he "defected" to the Soviet Union. Realize that this was in 1959, four years before the assassination of JFK and more than a year before the election of JFK to the Presidency. I also believe that Oswald was not aware of who he was working for when he "defected" to the Soviet Union. I have discussed this numerous times and have made reference to Angleton's "Orchid Man" type character. Moving on.... Walker would be, perhaps, the only person that Oswald could identify upon his return the US that was of signifigence within the US intelligence community. If Oswald were not a recruited and trained agent but rather a "fly" moving from Orchid to Orchid, the use of Walker may have been a major error in the original plan to move Oswald into Russia. But, on the other had, the use of a three star general to transmit information to Oswald, even if in a covert manner, would suggest that the Oswald's "mission" was conducted as a result of decisions made at the highest levels of intelligence (that would require the highest level of security). Then a funny thing happened. Oswald the socialist decides to return to the US. Can you imagine the scramble that would take place to protect the operation? First, if he returned he might identify Walker, a three star general, as the man who assissted him into Russia. If for instance Oswald had provided the Soviets with the information necessary to shoot down Francis Gary Powers on May 1, 1960, "right wing" members of the military establishment could be accused of sabatoging the Paris Summit (they were in fact accused of that). In order to protect themselves Walker would have to become that "right wing nut" (plausible deniablity). Walker himself would need to know none of this. He was the man who always accepted his assignment and "jumped" when told to do so. I believe that Walker was given a "new" assignment, infiltrate and spy on an ever more radical right wing movement in America. This would not be the first time that Walker may have "spied" on Americans while on American soil. An interesting sidebar: It was illegal for the military to spy on US citizens. By resigning from the military and not collecting his pension this "silly law" could be leagally sidesteped. Walker may never have known that Oswald had returned to the US until he saw his picture on TV. Then Walker would easily see that 2 + 2 did in fact equal 4! He would be as surprised as anyone else but he would know more than most and could easily speculate on the rest. Oswald would return to the US. He was very much aware of the U-2 incident and the failure of the Paris Peace conference. Oswald would speak of this during his presentation at Spring Hill College shortly after the attempt on the life of Walker had occured. Did Oswald display "motive" at that time? Does Oswald's "flight" from Dallas to New Orleans suggest guilt? I believe it could which suggests a "freelancing" Oswald. While Marina Oswald was questioned by the Warren Commission she was asked what books Lee was reading at that time. She was unable to identify any books because she barley spoke or read any English. On the best seller list was "Seven Days in May," a futuristic book about a right wing plot to overtake the US Government that involves a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Walkers name is mentioned in the book as a person who was involved in a similar movement way back in the 60's. Did Walker read this book with that provocative title? Did he then staulk Walker, order a rifle and attack the man that he knew had helped him into the Soviet Union? From what I know about Walker he never lost control while under hostle fire in combat. I believe that is a very different type of panic than the type of panic that might have occured if Walker were to realize that the people he trusted the most, that he had loyally served while serving his coutnry had assassinated the President of the United States. What led me to finally believe that there was in fact a conspiracy if this point. There was, perhaps, only one man who would have known these three pieces of information: Walker had been shot at in Dallas. Oswald was in Dallas when Walker was shot at. Walker had been involved in passing information to Oswald while Oswald was traveling to Russia. That person would have already anticipated something like this happening and would be the same person that had Walker "infiltrate" the far right. That same person would also then have access to the fact that Oswald was working in the TSBD and that person could then have routed the motorcade past that building. That person would be General Maxwell Taylor. Taylor the man who was a mentor to Walker from the time he entered West Point. Taylor the man that called on Waker during the Straits of Taiwan Crisis. Taylor the man that called upon Walker during the crisis in Little Rock. Taylor the man who assigned Walker to pass information to Oswald whild Oswald travelled to the Soviet Union? Taylors association to McCloy and the McCloy note to Walker (five months before the assassination) suggests that McCloy would have been involved as well and the planning occured over several months. I will leave others to speculate on the details of November 22, 1963. Jim Root

Tim Welcome back! Glad to see you are still alive, well, thinking and writting. Jim Root

Mark “I just don't see how Walker could have "deduced" that Oswald was the shooter at Walker's home a few months before, based upon the known evidence...and at the time Walker spoke with the German newspaper, the FBI didn't know, and Marina hadn't announced it. For Walker to come to this conclusion, he needed to have information that simply wasn't available to investigators at the time.” Mark, if Walker did know he must have had information that never became available to the “public” at that time or since. Notice that I did not use the term “investigators,” as you did, nor did I use the term “Warren Commissioners.” I have studied Walker’s life for years. I have been to his home county (Kerr) and home town (Center Point) in Texas on several occasions. I have had the opportunity to speak with numerous persons that were acquainted with either him or his family while in Texas. I have had the opportunity to contact and exchange information over the internet with many former soldiers who served under Walker and family members of those soldiers who recounted times when Walker visited in their homes. I have also heard many second hand stories from children of deceased “Force” members that had related information that was family war lore. In addition to the personal accounts that I have collected, I have researched Walker’s life through historical records, newspaper accounts and archived collections of associates. His military career has been of particular interest from the beginning because the Warren Commission apparently avoided that subject: “Mr. Liebeler. I don't think we have to indicate a great deal of your background for the record, since I think we all know who you are,…” Excerpt from the Warren Commission Testimony of Edwin Walker An objective view of the reality of Walker’s life shows a man who was fiercely loyal to his country and devoted to duty, whatever the assignment. For example when Walker was assigned to command the Third Regiment of the First Special Services Force just days before they deployed for the ”Kiska mission,” Walker had to be “jump” qualified. Without any training whatsoever he had an instructor strap a parachute on his back, he got on an airplane, receiving only the instructions that could be provided while the airplane gained altitude and he then jumped with this very limited training. Upon landing his only comment was, jump qualified, “check.” My point, if given an assignment by a commanding officer, Walker would immediately jump and accomplish that assignment! Another point to be considered when evaluating Walker’s actions is who he was associated with. According to the most easily attainable information on Walker you would think he is nothing more than a “right wing” nut. While I review the historical information that I have gathered, it is my belief that this title is a convenient cover story for a very complex soldier that was deeply involved in Military Intelligence beginning in the early 1930’s. For example his career places him in association with: John J. McCloy, Maxwell Taylor, Gordon A. Blake, Marshall S. Carter, Chester Clifton, William Colby, Clifton Carter and William Colby (to name a few). With this list alone one might begin to speculate on why the Warren Commission did not want to go into Walker’s “background.” Looking at Walker’s “right wing” label further we find that the timing of his apparent move into the far right movement is associated with Oswalds first attempt to return to the United States from Russia. Within days of the State Departments decision that Oswald had not renounced his citizenship and therefore would be allowed to return to the US, Walker embarks upon his "pro blue" program. This, in itself, might be considered coincidence but I associate other information that is transmitted to and from the State Department in association with Oswald and find that the number of coincidences leads me to believe that they may not be coincidences at all. For example the US Embassy in Helsinki sends two messages to the State Department about the ease with which a person can enter the Soviet Union via the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki. These two messages coincide with the movements of Oswald toward that Soviet Embassy. September 4, 1959 is the date of one message. It is also the day that Oswald is told that he will receive an early discharge from the Marines and applies for his passport, listing Helsinki as a possible destination. The second message is dated October 9, 1959. It goes into details on what is needed for the traveler to attain entry into Russia via the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki. Oswald followed these exact direction and gained easy entrance into Russia despite the fact that he did not visit the US Embassy and that the information in the October 9th note remained classified until the HSCA hearings. Couple this information with additional known facts. Walker was traveling toward Augsburg, Germany at this same time. The Warren Commission was either unwilling or unable to ascertain how Oswald traveled from London to Helsinki. Oswald would have been able to get to Helsinki via Paris both cheaper and faster if he had chosen (But he would have arrived in Helsinki on Oct. 9th, the day before the information from the State Department could have been passed to him). Two major coincidences, Oswald and Walker were both traveling in Europe simultaneously at a point and time that the Warren Commission could not seem to pinpoint Oswalds movements and both Oswald and Walker underwent a change of life simultaneously (Oswald wishing to leave the Soviet Union, Walker engaging in an activity that would lead to his resignation from the military). But the coincidences do not stop there. Both men end up in Dallas. Oswald reportedly stalks Walker. Walker gets shot at purportedly by the Oswald. The major accuser of Oswald is his wife. Police reports are filed. Within two months of the assassination attempt on Walker, John J. McCloy sends a letter to Walker. Walker has become an enemy of Kennedy. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas where both men live. Oswald is arrested for the crime. Oswalds picture is on every television screen in America. Walker is in Shreveport, LA. and one can assume he saw the face of Lee Harvey Oswald on the television set in his room at the Captain Shreve Hotel. By coincidence a German writer happens to know exactly what city and state Walker is in and at what hotel he is staying and he even has the phone number for that hotel. This writer calls Walker at exactly 7:00 am in the morning on the 24th of November (or around 10:00 pm German time). He conducts the first of two interviews that leads to two stories that are printed the following Wednesday (before the FBI is onto the same story) that accuses Oswald of being the person who attempted to assassinate Walker. Oswald is then killed the next day and Walker denies that he provided any of the information that was in the German publications story. My scenario is quite simple. It suggests and I believe that I am on very firm ground in this, that Walker was up to his neck in Military Intelligence work throughout his career. It is my belief that the Warren Commission is sketchy about Oswald’s travels from London to Helsinki because he did in fact have contact with a sensitive named person and that Oswald was on some sort of mission designed and controlled by the intelligence community when he entered Russia. It is my belief that it is more than coincidental that Walker was traveling in this same area at the same time Oswald. I also believe that my (along with Antti Hynoonen’s) research has proven that Oswald could have followed a route to Helsinki that could also be used by a person on the way to Augsburg (via Hamburg) and that that route would allow Oswald to arrive on the same plane in Helsinki that travelers from London would have arrived on as well. Continuing along this line of reasoning and coincidences, it is my belief that Walker was unaware of the fact that Oswald had returned to the US (even Oswald was surprised by the lack of publicity that event generated). If Walker had met Oswald on October 10, 1959 (not knowing his name only knowing that he was to pass information to him) and if Walker was unaware of the fact that Oswald had returned to the US and if Walker was not in the “loop” of the assassination conspirators and if Walker then saw Oswalds picture on the TV screen….Would Walker recognize Oswald and panic? Would Walker know that there was obviously a conspiracy to assassinate the President that would have been hatched at the highest levels of the intelligence community? Would Walker feel that he could be identified by Oswald as his intelligence contact when he went to Russia? Would Walker think, even for just a moment, that there was the possibility that he would be the “fall guy” in the assassination of JFK if Oswald lived to tell his story? Would Walker, the political enemy of Kennedy and a leader within the “far right” movement in America, be the fall guy if Oswald had lived? Would Walker feel that his life was in danger? Would Walker realize that Oswald was the one person who was in Dallas at the time of the assassination attempt on his life that would have a motive to kill him? Would Walker, as a normal human being might, provide the information to the German periodical that wasin fact printed for no other reason than Walker's own self preservation? Now check the timing of the creation of the Warren Commission that took the authority for the investigation away from the Dallas Police. In another coincidence, does it coincide with the knowledge that this German news article was about to break? Were the conspirators about to be thrown a curve when this story broke? If Oswald had been used as an agent of the US and if he lived to identify Walker as his contact when he entered Russia, would this lead directly to the conspirators? Was the McCloy Walker letter a plant to tie Walker to the conspirators and keep him silent? Did Walker just plain panic when he saw the face of Lee Harvey Oswald on the television screen? Did he have a legitimate reason to panic? Would the conspirators wish, hope and pray that no one would ever believe that Oswald was the man that shot at Walker on April 10, 1963 and that this piece of history would just disappear, as it has? Would the Warren Commission coverup Walker's military background? YES Jim Root

Chris "Did the Abt request come before or after this (patsy) declaration?" The request to have the "Smith Act attorney" Jonathan Abt act as his (Oswald's) attorney was made repeatedly by Oswald while he was in custody. The first request was made at about 4:45 while Oswald was interviewed by Will Fritz. Other attempts to name Abt as his attorney or to contact Abt were made numerous times while Oswald was in custody. This information was recorded in the sworn testimony of numerous whitnesses including Dallas Police officers and detectives, a member of the Dallas Bar Association, Ruth Paine and Oswald's brother. I did a post on this last December that I have reprinted it below: Within the Warren Commission Report are many conclusions that, upon reexamination, may have been at best misleading and quite possibly part of a cover up. A year or so ago I wrote the following paper. For myself it was an opportunity to gather information on a small part of the Warren Report. What I found was misinformation and some posible reasons why the misinformation may have been produced. You decide. ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE, JONATHAN ABT Can anything be logical about the actions of the man who was charged with shooting the President of the United States? The Warren Commission suggests that Lee Harvey Oswald was a “lone nut” assassin, not a rational person. If Oswald had a motive its content was lost to history at the exact moment that Jack Ruby recklessly ended Oswald’s life on the morning of November 25th 1963. But like so many anomalies in this case, Oswald, the irrational nut, knew whom he wanted as his attorney, Jonathan Abt. And, while Lee Harvey Oswald let everyone know why he wanted Jonathan Abt, the Warren Commission was hesitant to share that information in their conclusion! The name John Abt was mentioned repeatedly by Oswald while he was in the custody of the Dallas Police. There exists about forty pages of written documentation, filed by the men who interrogated Oswald, that appear in Appendix XI of the Warren Report that attests to this interesting, yet under investigated, subplot within the assassination drama. Each person present tells a similar story. Captain Will Fritz: “Oswald asked if he was allowed an attorney and I told him he could have any attorney he liked, and that the telephone would be available to him up in the jail and he could call anyone he wished. I believe it was during this interview that he first expressed a desire to talk to Mr. Abt, an attorney in New York.” Lee Harvey Oswald turned 24 years old in October of 1963, just a month before the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For myself I found it surprising to see that Oswald knew the name of the attorney that he wanted to represent him in the earliest of interviews with detectives. He also knew where attorney Jonathan Abt lived. My mind began to contemplate, “How many 24 year olds, living in Texas, would know the name of an attorney in New York?” It is true that Oswald had lived in New York at one time but how did he know about this particular attorney, Jonathan Abt? During a subsequent interrogation, Captain Will Fritz would reveal that Oswald knew even more about Jonathan Abt than just his name: “He (Oswald) reminded me that he did not have to answer any questions at all until he talked to his attorney, and I told him again that he could have an attorney any time he wished. He said he didn’t have money to pay for a phone call to Mr. Abt. I told him to call ‘collect.’ If he liked, to use the jail phone or that he could have another attorney if he wished. He said he didn’t want another attorney, he wanted to talk to this attorney first. I believe he made this call later as he thanked me later during one of our interviews for allowing him the use of the telephone. I explained to him that all prisoners were allowed to use the telephone. I asked him why he wanted Mr. Abt, instead of some available attorney. He told me he didn’t know Mr. Abt personally but that he was familiar with a case where Mr. Abt defended some people for a violation of the Smith Act….” The Smith Act, actually the Alien Registration Act, was adopted by congress at 54 Statutes at Large 670-671 (1940) on June 29, 1940. Authored by Representative Howard W. Smith of Virginia, it was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. Smith, a fifth term congressman at the time, would continue to serve in congress untill1967. The intent of the Alien Registration Act was to make it illegal for any person to advocate, abet, or teach the desirability of overthrowing the government of the United States. The law also required all foreign residents of the United States that were over the age of 14 to register as aliens. Within five months of passage (November of 1940) over 4,741,971 persons had complied with the obligations of the Act. Each registered alien was required to make a statement that included their occupational status and information about their political beliefs. It was the first statute since the Alien and Sedition act of 1798 to make the mere advocacy of ideas a federal crime. (Michael Steven Smith, About the Smith Act Trials) The government’s ability to register and process so many individuals in such a short span of time was a reflection of the crisis that was, at that time, destroying the world order. John J. McCloy, the newly appointed Assistant Secretary of War at this time, advocated the collection of information on potential saboteurs within the United States. The Smith Act provided the vehicle to accomplish his goal. John J. McCloy had made his reputation as the attorney that broke the Black Tom case (dealing with German sabotage during World War I at the Black Tom pier in New York). His decades spent unraveling the covert operations of German espionage during World War I made him an ideal candidate to help Secretary of War Stimson upgrade the military intelligence apparatus. In 1941 the Smith Act was used to prosecute leaders of the Socialist Workers Party. At the time the United States was being driven toward an alliance with the Soviet Union against Germany which had invaded Russia. The Communist Party in America fully supported its use by the government of the United States against their “Trotskyist” political opponents. The later use of the Smith Act would involve Jonathan Abt. Historians who disagree with the conclusions of the Warren Commission Report have criticized the officers that questioned Oswald. An argument is made that since the various Dallas Police detectives and the FBI and Secrete Service agents present did not tape record or keep their detailed notes of all the Oswald interrogations, the written reports must be incomplete. The truth is that at the time of Oswald’s arrest, the Dallas Police Department did not own a tape recorder. For better or worse the majority of information that survives, survives within the numerous volumes of the Warren Commission Report. It is these written reports, made by the people who witnessed the interrogations and heard the words of Lee Harvey Oswald while he was in custody, that I find so interesting. Rather than speculating on what might have been lost, I am intrigued by what is contained in the supporting records of the Warren Commission that were not included in the final summary report. The accumulated reports were transcribed from notes kept by the interrogators as well as their own personal recollections, all within hours of the interviews with Oswald. I have chosen to look more closely at what is in the written reports and interviews but did not survive into the final draft of the Warren Commission Report than to speculate on what might or might not be missing. Their statements demonstrate that Lee Harvey Oswald repeatedly referred to Abt as a Smith Act Attorney and that his desire to have Abt for this reason was made abundantly clear to all present. What reasons can be ascribed to this coincidence? The record shows that between 4:45 and 6:30 P.M. on the day of the assassination, Captain Will Fritz of the Dallas Police conducted his second interview with Lee Oswald. The interview took place in Captain Fritz’s office: Oswald. “…I want that attorney in New York, Mr. Abt. I don’t know him personally but I know about a case that he handled some years ago, where he represented the people who had violated the Smith Act…I don’t know him personally, but that is the attorney I want….If I can’t get him, then I may get the American Civil Liberties Union to send me an attorney.” During the same interview Oswald repeated his request with these words: “…I want to talk with Mr. Abt, a New York attorney…” During the 1948 presidential election race, Harry Truman’s Republican rivals were accusing the Democrats of being “soft” on Communism. (Michael Steven Smith, About the Smith Act Trials) At the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the delegates added a plank to their platform that stated; “We pledge a vigorous enforcement of existing laws against Communists and enactment of such new legislation as may be necessary to expose the treasonable activities of Communists and defeat their objective of establishing here a godless dictatorship controlled from abroad.“ To counter this threat Truman turned to J. Edgar Hoover and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. J. Edgar Hoover had first developed his reputation as a tough investigator and prosecutor by deporting radicals and immigrants during the 1919 Palmer Raids. For Hoover the harassment of the radical fringe would become a professional trait. It was J. Edgar Hoover that suggested to Truman that the Smith Act could be used against members of the Communist Party. On July 20th, 1948 eleven members of the American Communist party were arrested and charged under the Alien Registration Act. The Smith Act defendants were not charged with the actual commission of a crime. As strange as it may seem today the charges were designed to prove that “they conspired to organize as the Communist Party and willfully to advocate and teach principles of Marxism-Leninism.” It was then construed to show that by the mere fact that they had organized as a Communist Party that they therefore advocated, “overthrowing and destroying the government of the United States by force and violence” sometime in the future. For Truman, behind in the polls, the Presidency itself was at stake. Truman needed these prosecutions to deflect the criticism of his Republican rivals. The federal government successfully prosecuted the defendants and Harry Truman defeated his challenger Thomas Dewey and his running mate, Vice Presidential candidate Earl Warren (later chairman of the Warren Commission) in one of the closest elections in United States History. Chief Justice Earl Warren would later overturn these same Smith Act convictions. Between 10:30 A.M. and 1:10 P.M. on November 23rd Oswald was again interrogated in Captain Fritz’s office when he stated: “I said I wanted to contact Attorney Abt, New York. He defended the Smith Act cases in 1949, 1950, but I don’t know his address, except that it is in New York….” On Saturday afternoon, November 23, 1963, around 3:30 PM Oswald made a telephone call to Ruth Paine Ruth Paine: I said, “Well, hi.” And he said he wanted to ask me to call Mr. John Abt in New York for him after 6:00 PM. He gave me a telephone number of an office in New York and a residence in New York…He said he was an (the) attorney he wanted to have… Oswald’s mother confirmed Ruth Paine’s story when the Warren Commission questioned her. Marguerite Oswald recalled the call she received from Ruth Paine. Marguerite Oswald: …the telephone rang, and it was Mrs. Paine. She said, “Mrs Oswald, Lee called and he was very upset because Marina was not with me, and he asked me to get a lawyer for him, a Mr. Abt.” At 6:30 P.M. on November 22nd Oswald was a part of a police lineup for three witnesses to the Jefferson Davis Tippit murder. The three witnesses were Cecil J. McWatters, Sam Guiyard, and Ted Callaway. Once again Oswald is quoted as saying: “I want to get in touch with a lawyer, Mr. Abt, in New York City…” Early the next morning, at 1:35 A.M., November 24, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was arraigned for the Murder with Malice of John F. Kennedy when he said: “Well, sir, I guess this is the trial…I want to contact my lawyer, Mr. Abt, in New York City. I would like to have this gentleman. He is with the American Civil Liberties Union.” Mr. Abt was never a member of the American Civil Liberties Union. He was general counsel for the Senate Sub-Committee on Civil Liberties from 1935-1937, and was later a legal advisor for the Progressive Party from 1948-1951. He worked with and knew Alger Hiss and has been, many times, labeled as a communist. But Lee Harvey Oswald was absolutely correct on his other statement; a study of John Abt’s biography demonstrates that he had indeed represented people accused of violating the Smith Act. Oswald, it seems, was familiar enough with the Smith Act cases that had begun fifteen years earlier, when Oswald was eight years old. He had knowledge of Mr. Abt that he knew where Jonathon Abt could be located (New York). Oswald knew that these particular cases had actually occurred more than a decade earlier. On November 23, 1963, H. Louis Nichols, President of the Dallas Bar Association, contacted Oswald for a brief discussion at 5:30 P.M.: Oswald “….Do you know a lawyer in New York named John Abt? I believe in New York City. I would like to have him represent me. That is the man I would like.” Assistant counsel for the President’s Commission, Mr. Samuel A. Stern, interviewed James W. Bookhout on April 8, 1964. Bookhout was a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation stationed in Dallas at the time of the assassination. He was present at several of the interrogations of Oswald at the invitation of Captain Will Fritz. On the morning of November 24, 1963, James Bookhout participated in an interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald conducted by Captain Fritz and was later questioned about his knowledge of this event. Also present at the Oswald interrogation were T.J Kelly and David B. Grant, of the U.S. Secret Service, Robert I. Nash, a U.S. Marshall and Detectives Billy L. Senkel and Fay M. Turner of the Homicide and Robbery Bureau of the Dallas Police Department. Mr. Bookhout: Yes. It was in this interview that he (Oswald) mentioned he wanted to contact Attorney Abt (spelling) A-b-t, New York City. I recall Captain Fritz asked him if he knew Abt personally and he said he did not, but he explained that he knew that Abt had defended the Smith Act cases in 1949, or 1950, and Captain Fritz asked him if he knew how to get ahold of Mr. Abt, and he stated that he did not know what his address was, but he was in New York. On April 17, 1964, just nine days after James Bookhout was interviewed by Warren Commission attorneys, J. Lee Rankin, general counsel for the Warren Commission, and Wesley J. Liebeler, assistant counsel of the Presidents’ Commission interviewed John Abt. (Warren Commision Report) Wesley J. Liebeler was also the Warren Commission Attorney that interviewed General Walker. Unfortunately for history, the interview was amazingly short. J. Lee Rankin neglected to probe into Abt’s involvement in the Smith Act cases, even when the opportunity afforded itself. The total transcript of Jonathan Abt’s interview contains less than two pages of questions and responses. The longest statement made by Abt dwelt with how, because he and his wife were at their mountain retreat, he had missed the calls that Lee Harvey Oswald had made to him from the Dallas Police Department jail. Were the Warren Commissioners and the American public denied an opportunity to understand that a possible Oswald defense was to center around Jonathan Abt’s knowledge of the Smith Act? Reading the transcript of Abt’s testimony, I was surprised, not by what was there but once again, by what was missing. Lee Harvey Oswald repeatedly stated that he desired Jonathan Abt as his attorney because Abt had represented clients in Smith Act cases. But the questioning by the General Council for the Warren Commission went in a different direction: Mr. Rankin. “Mr. Abt, did you learn that Lee Harvey Oswald was interested in having you represent him apparently because of some prior connection of yours with the American Civil Liberties Union?” Mr. Abt. “No. My assumption was, and it is pure assumption, that he read about some of my representation in the press, and, therefore, it occurred to him that I might be a god man to represent him, but that is pure assumption on my part. I have no direct knowledge of the whole matter.” (Warren Commission Hearings, Vol. X, p. 116) Mr. Rankin then asked: “You have told us all that you know about it? Mr. Abt. “Yes. I may say that I had no prior contact with Oswald, knew nothing about him, did not know the name, and this request came as something entirely new and surprising to me when it came.” Mr. Rankin. “None of your clients had ever communicated to you about him prior to that time you heard about it over the radio?” Mr. Abt. “No; I had no recollection of even having heard the name, his name, before that time.” Mr. Rankin. “Thank you.” At this point the interview was ended. The Warren Commission gathered no further information about Johathan Abt nor was there any speculation about why Lee Harvey Oswald would be so insistent upon having an attorney that was familiar with the Smith Act. An act designed to prosecute for advocating the over-through of the Government of the United States. What can we speculate about any possible Oswald defense? The mother of Lee Harvey Oswald Marguerite Oswald, and his wife, Marina Oswald visited Lee at 1:10 P.M. November 24, 1963 for about 20 minutes. At this meeting Oswald again reiterated his desire to have Abt as his attorney. “Everything is fine. I know my rights, and I will have an attorney. I already requested to get in touch with Attorney Abt,…” In 1993 we learned more about the thoughts of Marina Oswald when her friend and biographer, Priscilla McMillan appeared on the television show Frontline. Historian Priscilla Johnson McMillan was a reporter in Moscow in the 1950’s and interviewed Lee Harvey Oswald shortly after his defection to the Soviet Union. Later, after the Kennedy assassination, McMillan befriended Oswald’s widow, Marina, and the two spent considerable time together. In 1977, McMillan wrote “Marina and Lee,” an intimate portrait of the Oswalds’ life together. In an interview conducted in conjunction with the first broadcast of Frontline’s “Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?” in 1993, Priscilla Johnson McMillan made this statement: “Lee, in jail, told Marina that she had friends, that they would help her. He told her that there was someone in New York who would help him. He was counting on John Abt, lawyer for the American Communist party, to be his lawyer. He telephoned Ruth Paine and asked her to call Abt. Marina thought, when she saw Lee in jail, she could see that he was frightened. But then she thought that he would use the trial to proclaim his ideas, and to say that what he had done was justified by History.” Frontline also interviewed Robert Oswald, Lee’s older brother, about Abt: “I asked him about this lawyer in New York…and I told him I would get him one down here, meaning in Texas. He said no, he wanted that one up there. I didn’t press it any further. He was seeming to be pretty adamant about it. …” Was the assassination of John F. Kennedy an attempt to overthrow the government of the United States? If so, it failed. It did succeed in showing the world that our Constitutional government was not only resilient but that it could, again, survive another cataclysmic event just as it had done numerous times before. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald knew his history well enough to know that a single event would not change our government. But we can question why Oswald would be so intent on having Abt act as his attorney. Since the record shows that he repeatedly stated the reason he wanted Abt was his connection to the Smith Act Trials, I began to wonder, was Oswald going to use his trial to accuse someone, or group, of violating the Smith Act? I remembered that Oswald had left information behind that would have been found if he had been apprehended for assassinating Edwin Walker. Did he have a motive? Did he believe he need a trial? Did Oswald have a reason to believe that someone or some group was attempting to over-through the government? Remember: “She (Marina) testified that Oswald said that General Walker ‘was a very bad man, that he was a fascist, that he was the leader of a fascist organization, and when I said that even though all of that might be true, just the same he had no right to take his life, he said if someone had killed Hitler in time it would have saved many lives.” If a trial had taken place would anybody believe that Kennedy had violated the Smith Act in some way that could justify taking the life of the President? The strange thing is, Major General Edwin Anderson Walker would seem to be the more obvious choice if Oswald’s intent was going to be to accuse someone of attempting to overthrow the government. But it would also seem to be irrational to believe that Oswald would be siding with Walker and his “right wing” accusations that were being leveled against the Kennedy Administration. Is there any connection? The question began to haunt me. In 1951 twenty-three Communists were indicted using the Smith Act. By 1957 the number had grown to over 140. It would take a number of Supreme Court decisions in 1957 to finally halt the parade of prosecutions. The two most important were Yates v. United States and Watkins v. United States. In Watkins the Court ruled that a defendant who had opted not to use the Fifth Amendment could still use the First Amendment against “abuses of the legislative process.” The vote was six to one, with Chief Justice Earl Warren writing the majority opinion. Is it a coincidence that Earl Warren was associated with the use of the Smith Act to prosecute communists, first as a candidate for the vice-presidency in 1948 and then as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1957? In 1963 many conservatives in the United States considered Warren, the former Republican Governor of California for eight years, a left wing radical. Did Justice Earl Warren influence the commission to eliminate any mention of the Smith Act cases from the final report of his commission? When Jack Ruby fired his fatal shots the American public lost the opportunity to witness the trial of Lee Harvey Oswald. The jury of public opinion lost our opportunity to hear more about the possible defense strategy that would be used to defend Lee Harvey Oswald when the telephone calls to Jonathan Abt went unanswered. On Sunday morning November 25th 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was himself assassinated while being transferred to a more permanent jail site to await prosecution. At the time of his death, Lee Harvey Oswald had very few items in his possession. One item of significance was a sheet of paper with two phone numbers written on it. Those phone numbers belonged to Jonathan Abt.

James In another twist of fate Meredith Gardner is the man who is credited with suggesting that the Soviet Codes be saved for further research as a result of the Tokyo - Moscow intercepts ( Hurt receives no official credit). It seems that he had a close association with Hurt at this point in time. I wonder if it continued. Jim Root

James Might point out that the monitoring of the diplomatic notes between Tokyo and Moscow during WWII led to the Venona Project. The breaking of Soviet Codes would be a major reason for the development of the NSA and would consume huge amounts of the US Intelligence budget for decades. The importance of this information can be summed up in one word, "survival." I believe Hurt was involved in Venona from the beginning. I believe several of the other names we have discussed were involved as well. I also believe that the downing of Francis Gary Powers on May 1st 1960 may have been a planned event that involved the collection of sensitive intelligence. Jim Root

My research began with a hypothisis and has continued to center around that hypothisis. It began when I first read of Major General Edwin Anderson Walker in the Warren Report. Not knowing who he was I started looking for information about him. This simple research led to the discovery of a brief outline of his military career. Two facts jumped out at me: 1) During WWII Walker had been a part of and ultimatly commanded the First Special Services Force. 2) Walker was traveling in Europe at the same time as Oswald "defected" to the USSR. I knew two things (one form my backround in studying military history and one from my simple backround in statistics): If Walker was involved in the command structure of the First Special Services Force there was a good liklihood that he was also involved in intelligence or covert operations at some time in his career. If Oswald was travelling in Europe at the same time as Oswald it may have been a coincidence just like the alledged assassination attempt by Oswald on the life of Walker. But if Oswald and Walker's travels at the same time in Europe were not a coincidence then Oswalds alledged assassination attempt on Walker would prove the fallicy of the Warren Commission's conclusions. In the eleven years since I began my research there are several "things" that I am convinced of: 1) Edwin Walker and Maxwell Taylor were long term associates and that Taylor repeatedly turned to Walker when he had an important assignment to be accomplished. 2) That Edwin Walker, from a very early point in his career, began working with military intelligence and then spent a great deal of time in the field of counter intelligence. 3) Walker was associated with William Friedman's group of cryptologist (which included John B. Hurt) begining around 1935. 4) That Maxwell Taylor was associated with William Friedman's group of Cryptologist (which included John B. Hurt) begining around 1935. 5) That Maxwell Taylor was closely associated with John J. McCloy no later that 1943 and very possibly by 1941. Their relationship would continue into Gremany and into the Kennedy administration. Both there association and placement within the Kennedy administration would strategically place them in a position to accomplish and to coverup an assassination of the President 6) That John J. McCloy was closely associated with William Friedman's group of cryptologist (which included John B. Hurt) begining around 1940. 7) That John J. McCloy either directly or indirectly used Edwin Walker at least twice to conduct some very sensitive intelligence missions. 8) That Oswalds travel from London to Helsinki and interence into the Soviet Union was shrouded in mystery despite the fact that the information necessary to unravel all this mystery was available in 1964 but not presented to the Warren Commission (the passenger flight records have since been lost to history). 9) That John J. McCloy felt a need to distance himself from Walker 5 months before the assassination of John F. Kennedy. 10) That Lee Harvey Oswald's movements were being monitored by Thomas Karamessines (a person involved in the Greek Civil War at the same time that Edwin Walker was running the Greek Dest at the Pentagon). Karramessines was assigned to the office of Richard Helms in 1963. 11) That within hours of the assassination of JFK, Walker made contact with a German newpaper, while staying in a Shreveport, LA hotel, that then printed the story that Oswald had shot at him. This story ran days before the FBI developed that same lead and received information about the incident from Marina Oswald. While I have gathered much much more information than what is listed here, what is of greater importance is that several of these "things" were, it seems, specifically "covered up" within the Warren Report (including the name John Hurt). A majority of my research years I held to the belief that there were three events: First) A covert operation that would insure the election of John F. Kenndy to the office of President that involved the downing of Francis Gary Powers and the U-2 on May 1st 1960. This operation was conducted for various reasons centering around the fact that the powers that be were not happy with the Eisenhower administrations movement toward the normalization of relations with the Soviet Union. Second) That Oswald had been the "patsy" in the scenario stated above, that Oswald had unexpectedly returned to the United States and then had acted upon his anger of having been used by the US, first by attempting to assassinate Walker (the man who may have "helped" him "defect) and second by then assassianting Kennedy when he realized that it was Kennedy that had benifited the most by the failure of the Paris Peace Summit of May 1960. Third) A coverup of the First event that had led to the Second. While I have written a piece on the possiblity of a 'Civil Rights Theory," that was done while searching for a reason that would involve McCloy in a "palace coup." More recently I have come to the conclusion that it is very possible that both McCloy and Taylor had their own reasons for wanting Kennedy dead and that they may have been exactly the same (while each would receive an additional caveat, Taylor - Vietnam, McCloy - Civil Rights Bill). This theory (idea, thaought) would also tie in directly with the "downing of the U-2" and the "failure" of the Paris Summit. Both Taylor, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and McCloy as the top disarmament negotiator, were unhappy with the Limited Test Ban Treaty that had been passed by Congress in August of 1963. They both believed it to be unvarifiable and had both wanted a stronger agreement. That agreement would be achieved in 1968 while Lyndon Johnson was President. "...There was in fact widespread speculation among Soviet diplomats that Lyndon Johnson, along with the CIA and the Mafia, had masterminded the plot. Perhaps one of the most potent reasons why the U.S.S.R. wished Kennedy well was that Johnson was anathema to Khrushchev. Because he was a southerner, Moscow considered him a racist (the stereotype of any American politician from below the Mason Dixon line), an anti-Soviet and anti-Communist to the core. Further, since Johnson was from Texas, a center of the most reactionary forces in the United States, according to the Soviets, he was associated with the big-time capitalism of the oil industry, also known to be anti-Soviet." Arkady Shevchenko, Breaking With Moscow (1985) as quoted from John Simkins Spartacus website. The first words of John F Kenndys first press conference on January 25, 1961 were: "Good afternoon. Won't you be seated. 'I have several announcements to make, first. I have a statement about the Geneva negotiations for an atomic test ban. These negotiations, as you know, are scheduled to begin early in February. They are of great importance, and we will need more time to prepare a clear American position. So we are consulting with other governments, and we are asking to have it put off until late March. 'As you know, Mr. John McCloy is my principal adviser in this field, and he has organized a distinguished panel of experts, headed by Dr. James Fisk of the Bell Laboratories -- and Mr. Salinger will have a list of the names at the end of the conference -- who are going to study previous positions that we have taken in this field, and also recommend to Mr. McCloy, for my guidance, what our position would be in late March, when we hope the tests will resume." McCloy wanted a tougher stance on Nuclear testing and proliferation, Taylor wanted a tougher stance as well. Kennedy used Averell Harriman to do "backdoor" negotiations with Khrushev which led to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Did McCloy and Taylor view Kennedy as weak. Were they angred by the fact that they had placed him in the position of President to do as they told him to do? And now he was not acting according to their plans...... In December of 2004 I posted this information on this Forum: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On the day she buried her husband, Jacqueline Kennedy clung to the hands of a Soviet diplomat and urged Moscow to continue working with Washington in an effort to achieve peace, according to newly released Soviet documents. The documents show a delicate diplomatic dance between the two super powers during the days immediately following the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy 36 years ago. They also reveal that personal letters were exchanged between the U.S. president's widow and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Russian President Boris Yeltsin turned the documents over to U.S. President Bill Clinton during their June meeting in Germany. Copies of the documents, and translations by the U.S. State Department, were released Thursday by the National Archives. Particularly poignant were descriptions of a White House reception following Kennedy's burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Soviet diplomat A.I. Mikoyan, who was first deputy chairman of the council of ministers, met Mrs. Kennedy at the reception to express his nation's condolences. Diplomat's perspective In a dispatch about the reception to Soviet leaders, Mikoyan wrote: "It struck us that Jacqueline Kennedy, who exchanged only two or three words with the persons introduced to her, looked very calm and even appeared to be smiling. "However, when we were presented to her, and when we conveyed our heartfelt condolences to her on behalf of Nina Petrovna, N.S. Khrushchev, and Rada and Alyosha Adzhubey ... Jacqueline Kennedy said, with great emotion and nearly sobbing: 'I am sure that Chairman Khrushchev and my husband could have been successful in the search for peace, and that they were really striving for that. Now you must continue this endeavor and bring it to completion.' "She said all this with inspiration and deep emotion," Mikoyan wrote. "During the entire conversation she clasped my hands with her two hands, trying to convey as convincingly as possible her feelings and thoughts ... Her fortitude is most impressive." New widow wrote of self-control A week later, Jacqueline Kennedy wrote a handwritten letter to Khrushchev, the Soviet documents show. Soviet Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin wrote in a telegram to Soviet officials that, "The envelope was slightly glued in one spot. The entire letter was not typed, but written from beginning to end in the handwriting of Jacqueline Kennedy, which is considered here to be a sign of particular respect for the addressee." In the letter, Mrs. Kennedy thanked Khrushchev for sending Mikoyan to the funeral. But she said that it had been "such a horrible day for me that I do not know if my words were received as I wanted them to be." So the new widow said she was writing to explain how important her husband had felt Khrushchev was to the peace effort --- and how she hoped those efforts continued. "The danger troubling my husband was that war could be started not so much by major figures as by minor ones," Mrs. Kennedy wrote. "Whereas major figures understand the need for self-control and restraint, minor ones are sometimes moved rather by fear and pride. If only in the future major figures could still force minor ones to sit down at the negotiating table before they begin to fight!" Dobrynin concluded his report by suggesting that Khrushchev and his wife reply to Mrs. Kennedy with a personal letter. The ambassador also suggested Mrs. Khrushchev invite Mrs. Kennedy and her children to an unofficial summer vacation on the Black Sea. Dobrynin said that would "make a very good impression on American public opinion and on U.S. government circles as well. Moreover, it would also be useful to maintain contacts with the Kennedy family." It would look as if Mrs. Kennedy's phrases, "The danger troubling my husband..." and, "If only in the future major figures COULD STILL FORCE MINOR ONES(emphisis mine) to sit down at the nefotiating table before they begin to fight!" are supportive of the belief that immediately following the assassination she may have thought certain government officials could have been involved. Jim Root

Doug Long is a noted historian whose main area of research deals with the decision to drop the first Atomic Bomb on Heroshima. In a recent e-mail he provided this information: Hello Jim - Now that I'm back home I've been looking thru some of my McCloy material. As far as a research methodology, the primary sources would be essential. Hurt's papers, if you can find them, might be helpful. McCloy's papers are in the Amherst College archives in Amherst, MA. I went thru them five years ago seeking whatever I could find in relation to the a-bomb and the end of the Pacific War. McCloy's diary, from May 12 thru June 18, 1945, makes no reference to Magic or Hurt. But in McCloy's bio, "The Chairman" by Kai Bird, McCloy is quoted as saying the Magic intercepts "crossed my desk every morning". Given McCloy's close working relationship to Stimson, that is credible. As I read thru letters McCloy later wrote discussing the June 18 meeting, he makes no mention of Magic or Hurt but says he relied heavily on info from Acting Sec. of State Joseph Grew. These include letters from after Magic began to be declassified in the 1970s (altho it's possible McCloy was unaware that Magic was being declassified and therefore chose not to talk about Magic). Grew was the highest ranking U.S. expert on Japan, having been the U.S. Ambassador to Tokyo before Pearl Harbor, and Grew had some good Japan experts in the State Dept. who provided him (Grew) with further info that he may have passed along to McCloy. It is interesting that McCloy, who had access to Magic at the time, strongly felt Japan could be made to surrender without using a-bombs, given that some later writers, such as author Richard Frank, have tried to use Magic as evidence that Japan would not have surrendered without the a-bombings. I think McCloy had it right. I'm not aware of a direct connection between Hurt and McCloy, but if Hurt were giving McCloy additional input that was not contained in Magic, that would certainly be significant. Best Regards, Doug Long "Hiroshima: Was it Necessary?" I can easily speculate on why McCloy would not wish to be associated with the "Magic" material that was being provided by John B. Hurt even after it was declassified in the 1970's. My speculation would center around one simple fact: If it became known that McCloy was aware of John B. Hurt and his "Magic" work, it also might become known that Lee Harvey Oswalsd had attempted to contact a John Hurt and if these two dots could be connected could it implicate McCloy in the assassination of JFK? On the website: HistoryHappens.net (A web site edited by historians Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin) you will find this quote that deals with the "Magic intercepts of this period: "The Magic summaries were deciphered intercepts of high-level foreign messages. Formerly classified Top Secret Ultra, these intercepts of Japanese communications were read daily by Truman and his top advisors." Here is an example of the quality of information that was being provided by Hurt and his group to the President (via McCloy?). No. 121S - 13 July 1945 "MAGIC" - DIPLOMATIC SUMMARY I. Tokyo considers surrender on basis of Atlantic Charter: In a message of 25 July (of which the last part is missing) Foreign Minister Togo instructed Ambassador Sato as follows: "I. The question of the Special Envoy is naturally related very closely to the course of the Big Three Conference. Since Churchill and Attlee are scheduled to return to England, it is said that the Conference will be adjourned for a short while. I would therefore like you to take advantage of this opportunity and, if necessary, to travel to a place of the Russians' choosing in order to obtain an interview with Molotov and explain to him the intentions of the Japanese Government. Even if it proves impossible for Molotov to arrange such a meeting, your request for an interview will at least go a long way in impressing upon him our determination in this matter." "2. In the interview, please try to get the Russians to adopt a positive attitude with respect to our proposal. Stress the fact that Japan has approached the Russians in the first instance with her request for mediation. Make clear that the sending of the Special Envoy would permit Stalin to acquire the reputation of an advocate of world peace and, further, that we are prepared to meet fully the Russian demands in the Far East (see the end of part I of my second message of 21 July*) Finally, inform them that, in the event that the Soviet Government remains indifferent to our request, we will have no choice but to consider other courses of action." "3. Furthermore, as you are aware, various discussions are now taking place in England and especially in the United States with respect to the meaning of the demand for Japan's unconditional surrender. Judging from the speech F or "speeches"] of American 'spokesman' [word in English; plural was apparently intended] it would appear that although they are formally insisting to the end upon unconditional surrender they are actually prepared to mitigate the conditions if Japan surrenders quickly. For example, on the 19th, Navy Captain Zacharias (he is on the staff of the Office of War Information but he broadcast to Japan as a 'spokesman' of the United States Government) said that Japan has two alternatives: (i) to submit to a dictated peace after being destroyed; or (2) to surrender unconditionally and receive the attendant benefits stipulated in the Atlantic Charter. We believe that these statements should not be considered as purely strategic propaganda but that they are calculated to lead us on. "The fact that the Americans alluded to the Atlantic Charter is particularly worthy of attention at this time. It is impossible for us to accept unconditional surrender, no matter in what guise, but it is our idea to inform them by some appropriate means that there is no objection to the restoration of peace on the basis of the Atlantic Charter." "In all likelihood, the difficult point is the enemy's attitude of insisting on the form of an unconditional surrender. If America and England stick to this, the whole thing will inevitably break down over this one point. On the other hand, although the governments of Russia, England, and America may be cool toward our proposal of a Special Envoy on the ground that it may be a peace stratagem on our part, this-as I have stated repeatedly-is not merely a 'peace feeler' [words in English]." 2. Sato-Lozovsky meeting: Also on 25 July-but almost certainly before receiving the message noted above-Ambassador Sato sent to Tokyo two messages on the subject of an interview he had had that day with vice Commissioner Lozovsky. Only parts of the two items are available; the last part of the first message reads as follows: "Lozovsky said: 'As soon as I receive the document [presumably described in the earlier portion of the message] from you, I shall report to my Government and inform you promptly of any instructions I may receive. *Togo was apparently referring to the following passage in his 21 July message: "We hope to deal with the British and Americans after first (a) having Prince Konoye transmit to the Russians our concrete intentions as expressed by the Imperial Will and (h) holding conversations with the Russians in the light of their demands in regard to East Asia." (DS 22 July 45). Source: Magic Diplomatic Summaries, Record Group 457, National Archives. How much did McCloy know and when did he know it (in 1963 and in 1945)? Jim Root

John While I do not agree with your thread as stated the question that you pose at the end is very interesting. "Therefore (what) to look for is anything unusual in the diaries, itineraries, plans of anyone involved that reveals an expectation that Kennedy would not be around. This would apply re plans etc of anyone outside of the Government, even something as ridiculous as a cancelled subscription, a postponed purchase, a cancelled milk delivery, an altered meeting agenda. A delayed newspaper advertisement. Did anything 'pause', as if in anticipation?" YES! John J. McCloy missed an early Warren Commission Meeting because he had to attend the Nuclear Disarmament talks in Geneva. It was at this meeting, I believe, that a Soviet KGB man assigned to the Soviet deligation defected to the US. The defectors name was Yuri Nosenko and he just happened to have a wealth of information about Oswald. Nosenko, of course, had made his first contact with the CIA the same week that Oswald departed for the USA. One could speculate that McCloy was fully aware of Nosenko and his "mission" and had a pre determined need to miss the Warren Commission Meeting. What type of conspiracy would this suggest? Jim Root

All It would be foolish for me to attempt to decide who is or is not telling the truth in these matters. From the beginning it has been my hope that I could accept whatever a person says, realizing that all have there own prejudicial way of seeing things, then take the infromation that is provided, digest it, investigate it further and come to my own conclusions. For example if you have four eye witnesses to a crime you might find that they do not all agree on every detail. It becomes the job of the investigator to look deeper into the information that is provided and follow the best leads. From my standpoint, where I have found that Gerry Hemming has provided credible information was when he spoke about the role of Korean War Rangers. His knowledge about this little known group of persons who became a major part of unconventional warfare lore was right on the money with my own independently gathered infromation. I will continue to read and evaluate every poster that takes the time to provide information to this forum. I am not interested in engaging in disputes that deal with who is or is not credible except in a collegial manner. By the way, maybe Walker had the window open because it was July 4th, in the Dallas heat and he did not have air conditioning.....rather than "living quite recklessly" seems kind of normal for 1963 in Dallas, Texas for a person "too cheap to buy air conditioning units." (Walker had resigned from the military and in so doing had given up his pension. From my research of his life, it seems Walker had very little income at this time. His pension was,years later, reinstated in an interesting manner) Jim Root

Edward Drea is a noted Historian and a contract employee for the Pentagons US Army Center of Military History . One of his areas of research has been Signals Intelligence during WWII. In recent communications with him I have been able to confirm that John J. McCloy was in fact one of the very few people with direct access to the "Magic/Ultra" intercepts from the beginning of our involvement in WWII. Please read the following e-mail, which I received recently and allow me to make a few comments at the end: Dear Mr. Root, John J. McCloy was intimately involved with the intelligence regarding ULTRA and MAGIC. In early 1942, McCloy, as directed by Secretary of War Stimson, brought Colonel McCormick to Washington, D.C. to reorganize the Signals Intelligence Service in the aftermath of the bungled handling of pre-Pearl Harbor intelligence. McCloy was one of the principals involved in organizing the wartime system for the distribution of MAGIC/ULTRA to authorized recipients. By mid-1945, the prewar Signals Intelligence System (SIS) had expanded into a enormous bureaucracy. Friedman had suffered a nervous breakdown during the breaking of the Japanese diplomatic codes in 1940-41 and although he remained with the cryptanalysts he did not take the preeminent role. As you probably know, the prewar SIS group was quite small, not more than a few hundred people even in late 1941. Because of SIS's size, it's likely that McCloy knew Friedman personally from the 1942 reorganization. He may also have known John Hurt, another prewar cryptanalyst working for Friedman. Hurt was a superb cryptanalyst with a genius for languages, Japanese being his specialty during the war years. I doubt Hurt provided McCloy with ULTRA/MAGIC directly, since the Army relied on couriers to perform this function. Of course the summaries may have contained Hurt's analyses and interpretations of the decrypted intercepts. In any event, McCloy was certainly "in the loop" concerning ULTRA/MAGIC derived intelligence. I trust this information is helpful. Sincerely, Ed Drea Colonel McCormick is actually Alfred McCormick (sometimes spelled MacCormack or McCormack) This former lawyer was brought into the War Department and established the "Special Branch" of M.I.S. What I have found interesting is that during WWII, it seems, McCormack is associated with John J. McCloy, Allen Dulles (while Dulles was in Bern) and the same John B. Hurt that I have been researching. It appears he is involved in X2 (counter intelligence) and connected to "Fortitude" and later "Blowback" (more on those perhaps later). Mr. Drea writes; "Of course the summaries may have contained Hurt's analyses and interpretations of the decrypted intercepts." I have seen copies of the "analyses and interpretations of the decrypted intercepts" done by Hurt. They actually were Hurts impressions about the way the Japanese language was used in the decrypted intercepts. In other words Hurt would take the words from a direct translation and would take the translation beyound those words. While this may sound strange Hurt was known for his ability to derive what a Japanese diplomat was thinking by how they put words together. Hurt would interpet, not just the words but the formation of the sentence structure that the person had used. McCloy had direct access to Hurt's "analyses" and used such in his meetings with Truman while the greatest decisions of World War II were being decided. But it is this sentence from Mr Drea that most intrigues me: "Hurt was a superb cryptanalyst with a genius for languages, Japanese being his specialty during the war years." I speculate that from information I have gathered Hurt's "specialty" during the Cold War Years was Russian (VENONA). I will repeat a belief that I shared in previous posts. It is my belief that John J. McCloy was America's "C." "C" was a British term used to discribe the person that was over and on top of ALL the intelligence agencies in England. I use the term America's "C" to describe a person who would be the absolute power over all intelligence agencies, in other words the person who would coordinate all these agencies. It is my belief that McCloy remained in this position beyound 1963. Very few people in the US or the World would know the identiy of America's "C," at least not in the capacity of "C" or Chief of Intelligence. Perhaps this is why FBI Director J Edgar Hoover was so surprised when McCloy was named to the Warren Commission and also why Hoover adheared to the company line so closely. McCloy was aware of John B. Hurt and his work and drew upon it repeatedly. Edwin Walker is associated with the same John B. Hurt. On at least two occassions Walker, it seems, did "special" assignments for McCloy during WWII. Did Walker continue to work for McCloy in the years that followed WWII? I have reason to believe that Walker may have continued to do work under the direction of McCloy in the years that followed. Jim Root

Double post

Gerry While thinking about and rereading your post I developed a couple of additional questions. If you don't mind..... In the "sidebar" you wrote: "When Howard Davis ["Davy"] and I flew out to Dallas on July 4th, 1963 [via private aircraft]; we stopped over at Walker's place on Turtle Creek Drive." How did Howard Davis "Davy" and you happen to be associated with Edwin Walker? Could you clarify what you ment by, "Our meeting lasted until just before 5:00 AM..." Was Walker, "just sit(ting) there, running his mouth at great length..." or was the discussion about more serious topics? Were you aware of any "operators" that worked with Walker in a professional capacity? The comment, "all sounds like some phony publicity stunt to me" may have been very perceptive for July 4th, 1963. Jim Root

Gerry Thank you for your response. I respect very much your life work and willingness to be a part of this forum. Jim Root

John Very perceptive post. "It strikes me that at this point, if being 'handled' it could be argued that this handling is sloppy. How could they rely on Lee staying out of jail or hospital for his date with destiny?" and "It seems that if he was a patsy then becoming one was more of an opportunistic event than a carefully crafted conspiracy." are key points. Oswald has left Dallas within days following the assassination attempt on the life of Edwin Walker. This would seem to be a rational thing for a person "on the run" to do. While one might doubt if Oswald did or did not make an attempt on the life of Walker, his putting himself before the press, taking positions that would be in opposition to the positions advocated by Walker could have drawn suspicion to himself. But the connection was never made. Or was it? I tend to argue that Oswald was an intelligence asset but not an agent who was recruited and trained. He was, I believe, an ususpecting insect used to fertilize the Soviet Union with information that "they" wanted and "we" wanted them to have(Orchid Man). At the same time "we" were not sure if Oswald was or was not a Soviet Agent. Therefore "we" had a need to monitor his every move, which was in fact being done. (Files moving back and forth between New Orleans and Dallas, trip to Mexico known before the assassination, addresses, associates) All the information about Oswald was being collected and sent to a central location, office of Richard Helms. I go back to what I consider the "key" to this particular lock, the assassination attempt on the life of Walker. Once again, if "someone" who had access to the information about the movements of Oswald and the "use" of Oswald as an intelligence asset "they" would be high on the intelligence tottum pole. Agreed? But only perhaps one person, maybe a few more, would know if Oswald had met Walker while Oswald was travelling to Helsinki. "That" person would also know where Oswald was at the time of the assassination attempt on Walker, "they" would know when he was in New Orleans, "they" would know what he was doing while in New Orleans, "they" would know when he returned to Dallas, "they" would know where he was working and "they" would have the ability to put the motorcade past the TSBD on Nov. 22, 1963. "They" could surmise that he had a weapon and "they" would know that he was willing to use it if "they" had used Walker to pass information to Oswald while he was traveling from London to Helsinki. The perfect crime? Setting up a person to "commit" a crime who does not even realize that they are being provided with the "opportunity" to commit the crime that "they" want committed.........just like the insect and the orchid! On the other hand, as you point out, Oswald had just been arrested and if he continued to provoke the authorities his "date with destiny" could have been put in jepordy. I believe this supports the thoughts above. Oswald was a man who was not "handled" but rather a man who was manipulated into an "opportunistic event" that was not opportunistic at all, rather, I believe, manufactured. Your second point is what used to keep me from becommin the "conspiracy nut" I have become. Was the assassination "just" "an opportunistic event rather than a carefully crafted conspiracy." FBI agent Hosty's November 4th note guarentee that the highest eschelons of the intelligence community knew where Oswald was working. The decision to follow the route that was followed was made in Washington. "Someone" decided to drive Kennedy past the TSBD where "someone" knew that Oswald was working. "Someone" knew who Edwin Walker really was. "Someone" knew why Oswald would have been the man who shot at Walker. "Someone" wanted Kennedy eliminated. I am not yet convinced of a reason why "someone" would do that. Jim Root

Gerry Could you share your thoughts about Maxwell Taylor? Not just as a military man but in any other areas you may deam relavent. Could Taylor have played a role in the assassination of JFK? If so in what manner (I realize this would just be speculation)? Thank you, Jim Root

James I have e-mailed Ms Hoch and she returned some clarifications that, since we now have the article in the record here, should be made dealing, in particular, with his travels to France. "I'm so happy you enjoyed the article. I handed the reporter a foot-high pile of papers on John Hurt to read and there were two interviews. The only thing he got wrong was that John Hurt never went to France. Pretty good for journalists. They work differently than historians." "There's not much information on the background of Ana Dratelle, the 1st and 3rd wife of John Hurt. She was apparently very good at speaking French and perhaps was living in France when Hurt met her aboard ship on his way to/from France. The family says she studied music in Europe. The information about her being Russian comes from the book Story of Magic, I believe, and perhaps also from the family." Hurt first married Ana in the 1930's but quickly divorced. He remained married to his second wife until she died, I believe shortly after the war ended. He then remaried Ana Dratelle. Apparently Hurt travelled to France for extended periods twice, once before the war and once again in 1963/64. He was known to have made the comment that "The French do not know how to speak French." Ana was a concert cellist although, as Ms Hoch suggests, very little is know about her. Hurt was a man who could sing many of the most famous opera parts and was a lover of clasical music. Although he was known for being such a great Japanese linguist, Hurt never traveled to Japan. Just for the record, Jim Root

John I might disagree with you a bit about Oswalds America in the 1956/1957 period. "I think Oswald’s political development is unconvincing. A study of his “expressed” political views was one of the main factors that convinced me that Oswald was working for the CIA or the FBI (possibly both). Although the people developing Oswald’s “political legend” had a factual understanding of the various strands of Marxism, they had no idea of the philosophical and emotional conflict that took place between the various strands within the revolutionary movement. This is one of things that bothers me about the backyard photos. If real, you have either a person who is very confused or a very sophisticated person that is displaying the two magazines along with two weapons. Is this a picture that displays an understanding of the conflicts or a misunderstanding of the conflicts? I believe that it is as possible to be an understanding as it is possible for it to be a display of misunderstanding. Of course, if conspirators exist, they would want the public to believe it is a display of misunderstanding. Since the pictures were (supposedly) taken in the days preceding the assassination attempt on Walker what you may be viewing is the picture of a man that believes he has been used to further the divide between these two organizations and is in fact angry about it. Perhaps angry enough to kill. But then again the pictures would display an understanding of the conflicts. Apparently he joined the Young People's Socialist League and became a Marxist in 1956. He later told a friend that his involvement in politics dated back to reading a pamphlet about the execution of Ethel Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg. This is of course possible but highly unlikely. " Why is it highly unlikely. Oswald was living in a nightmere existance. In the previous three years he has moved repeatedly, droped out of schools more than one, held and lost several jobs, been put in an institution for juvenal delinguents. And lived with a mother that he believed was being exploited. Rather than "highly unlikely" I would find a somewhat intelligent disenchated youth very attracted to a system that suggested that you could improve yourself based upon your abilities not your social status. That the workers of America were exploited by the rich and held down by the oppressors would be an attractive explanaiton for the conflict that Oswald lived within. These things would seem very real in the world that Oswald was experiencing. "1956 was also the year of the Hungarian Uprising. This was a time when people were leaving the Communist Party in droves. I find it completely unbelievable that anyone developing left-wing opinions in 1956 would be attracted to the “Stalinist” American Communist Party (ACP)" The Hungarian Uprising was far far away while the stories of a repressive Batista regime supported by the rich landholders in Cuba would be a more relavent story to a kid in New York and New Orleans at that time. Battling repression and for the rights of the underdog seems to fit well with a disenchanted adolesent! John, Oswald, repeatedly called himself a Trotskyist and seemed to not be a person interested in the "Stalinist" movement whatsoever. Oswald had problems with both systems of government (Soviet and US) as stated during the Spring Hill presentation. I will agree that Oswald may have been used by a US intelligence organization (I now believe the NSA is a likely suspect). But the NSA, like any great artist who creates a statue from a shapless piece of marble, would first begin with a formless block of rock that comes complete with the inperfections hidden within. The marble does not change its material makeup. But the blocks form can be changed by the craftsman into a masterpiece use beauty can only be appreciated by those who view it. I view Oswald as an intelligent human being that may well have been used by the forces that were engaged in the worldwide power struggle known as the Cold War. I believe that he may have "slipped" into this world by the chance coincidence that he wrote a letter to an organization that had only recently started to be monitored by the CIA. I also hold open the possibility that as he grew in his experiences (think about what this man did in the few years that he lived) he began to understand many ugly realities. He may well have had need for different identities and different mail drops because he knew he was being watched (which he was). At 22 he may have had a grater understanding of the world of espionage than most. Perhaps all his knowledge came not from formal training but from on the job training. Jim Root Perhaps some in the intelligence community greatly underestimated him, perhaps not. Jim Root

James you have uncovered my source. Ms Hoch and I have been in communication for some time now and she has been a wealth of information and very kind. She was at first surprized that there were two people who were suddenly interested in John Hurt at the same time, myself and the Japanese author. I was able to provide her with some backround that I had uncovered as well as the names of two other authors and researchers that had developed information about Hurt. The pictures that I have were provided by her, wish I could get you copies, as well as additional documents authored by Hurt himself. She had said she would provide me with a copy of the article that was soon to come out in our last correspondence. I assume that she ment this article. I will contact her tommorrow. Thanks for the heads up! Jim Root

Mark Hickerson was just doing his job. Let us suppose for a moment that an intelligence operation was being put into play. Just for argument the operations was begun in 1957 when a letter is intercepted from a young man to the Socialist Party in New York. Let us then suppose that this young mans name is put on a watch list. Within a few weeks this young mans anme pops up again when he enlists in the Marines. The intelligence organization that had "discovered" him now has the ability to control his actions as well as his training, job placement and duty stations. They then place this unknowing youn man in a sensitive job and then provide him with whatever information they want him to have access to. Now this story gets a little sticky as any true counterintelligence operation must. The young man is tempted to feed intelligence information to the Soviets via turned agents. The Soviets would of course be suspicious of the information that they were receiving. The young mans handlers feel that if they could only get the unsupecting young man to defect to Russia the Soviets would see that this man was not a trained agent, as a matter of fact they might just believe he is really just a nobody that did in fact provide them with believeable information. If the information this young man provides is in fact useful perhaps it would lead to the shoot down of some sophisticated spy plane that is being replaced by satelite technology. Returning to reality: In order to facilitate the movement of persons into and out of the Soviet Union it would seem only natural that Ambassadors would be tasked with ascertaining the methods that could be employed by "travelers" without having any knowledge whatsoever of who was using the information. The Helsinki Embassy documents where provided to the HSCA as an explanation for the fact that Oswald did gain access to the Soviet Union in a very quick manner. The documents only proved that at that location at that time entry into the Soviet Union could in fact occur within 48 hours. As far as I know I am the first person who cross refereced the dates with the movements of Oswald. It is either another unusual coincidence or it is a piece of evidence to support the suggestion that Oswald's movements into the Soviet Union were orchestrated or at least supported by the US intelligence community. I might also point out that FBI Agent Hosty's notes about Oswald were also transmitted to the State Department as well as to the New Orleans office and the Washington Office of the FBI. The notes from Hosty about Oswald that went to the State Department were then making there way to the office of Richard Helms. When did that start? My bet about 1957 when Richard Helms was involved with James Jesus Angleton and Allen Dullas in an operation to open mail in New York that was addressed to organizations that were considered to be a threat to the security of the United States. Jim Root

Mark I think your remarks are the observations of a wise man in search of a truth that we may never know. I spent alot of my youth hiking the John Muir trail in California and have lived in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. For years I have spent my summer vacations in the Boundry Waters area of Northern Minnesota. These experiences have led me to take to heart the old saying that sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. It is my belief that so many people spend so much time looking at Dealey Plaza and the events of Nov. 22nd that they forget the forest that the assassiantion event actually exists within. Real honestly if I were to attempt to duel with a knowledgeable person within an intelligent discussion about what happened on that fateful day I would be unarmed. Certain persons surrounding the assassination and their relationship to each other, well thats a different story. For myself the intrigue is who were the conspirators not who pulled the trigger. If Oswald did it alone why is there so much misinformation within the Warren Commission Report? If the Warren Commissioners needed to "cover-up" something what were they covering up and who controlled the coverup? If Oswald did not pull the trigger then why did the commissioners frame him for the offense? If Oswald had a reason to assassinate the President and the conspirators set him up to take the fall, those same conspirators would be very pleased that a majority of the population of the United States do not beleive that Oswald was involved. If Oswald was used by the conspirators and he realized he was being framed as soon as the event occured, what did he know that made him make that assumption? Why did Oswld attempt to call John Hurt? Why did Oswald want the Smith Act Attorney Jonathon Abt? The Black Tom Case took over 20 years to solve and another 10+ years to settle. John J. McCloy solved it using dogged determination and by working backwords from the event. Much of the solution came from old signals intelligence information that was reexamined and by reviewing the complex associations of the people that were thought to be involved. It took McCloy years to unravel that complex case. For his efforts McCloy was put in charge of a reemerging US Intelligence Organization as the US prepared for WWII. No better choice, no one with more experience in the area of espionage and intelligence, in my opinion, could have been better positioned to "pull off" both the coverup and the assassination of JFK than a person such as McCloy and his close friend and associate Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and friend of Edwin Walker) General Maxwell Davenport Taylor. One could suggest that if McCloy were involved he could not leave any stone unturned, he could not leave any damaging documents laying around. Perhaps his undoing will be the one document that he felt he had to leave behind as his "insurance policy" in the event one lose cannon could blow the whole plan. Few if any papers left in the Kennedy White House dealing with McCloy would make it to the Kennedy Library. Yet McCloy was not an insignificant player in the Kennedy White House. On the other hand we can find an inoccuous letter written by McCloy to Edwin Walker five months before the assassination placed in an easily discovered file that makes no sense if the two men had known each other and had worked together in intelligence operations as I believe they in fact did. I believe that that letter was sent to Walker because he was the one man who would know exactly who Lee Harvey Oswald really was once the assassination occured and would have had an understanding that Oswalds mission to Russia was a US Intelligence operation because he was involved with helping Oswald to get there and had seen him face to face rather than knowing him by just some code name. At the time I believe that the McCloy letter was believed by Walker to be another prop used to support his cover while he infiltrated the far right movement in America. The actions of "Ted" Walker in the 24 hours following the assassiantion of JFK do, I believe, fully support this concept. If my information and suppositions are correct, that "faked" letter, if Walker attempted to spill the beans, would be used to tie Walker to the assassins. After the assassination Walker quietly fades away from the American landscape and assassination buffs. My how I would love to gain access to the Walker papers that are restricted form researchers. Even Gary mack was unaware that the Walker papers were unavailable to researchers. Why? While the death of Oswald would forever silence the man who may have had a reason and the ability to associate Walker with the intelligence organization that was in control of him, we might find that Oswald had an insurance policy of his own. Oswald it seems may have left behind clues of his own(if one believes the testimony of Marina Oswald and the Warren Commision in this area). The "hunter of facists" photo, the note to Marina in Russian which explains what to do in the event that he was caught for shooting Walker, the photos of Walkers home taken at a time that can be established by the work crews in the backround, attending a speech by Walker, the purchase of a rifle and pistol in the days preceding the assassination attempt on Walker, Oswalds strange travel itenary (covered up by the Warren Commission) that allows for a potential time and place that these two men (Oswald and Walker) could have met on October 10, 1959. If all this has some truth associated with it, then Oswald would have had a motive for his actions. This would provide a reason for members of the highest eschelons of government to readily participate in the coverup without actually realizing that the assassination of the President had been planned by small group of people within the government. The possibility that the same people that may have controlled the Presidntial route in Dallas on that day also had access to the information that was collected about Oswald in the months preceding the assassiantion must be considered as significant. The information was available for them to know where Oswald was working before the route was planned. Those same few (very few) people would also be aware of an association between Oswald and Walker (as suggested above) and they could have resonably believed that it had been Oswald that may have shot at Walker. Put the route past a man who had both a motive and the means to assassinate a President (I don't even care if you want to place additonal shooters in the area). Have available a person (Oswald) whose intelligence activities would have to be withheld from an American public in shock from the assassination. The conspirators would have to have the ability to create a Commission that could control the investigation, seperate from the Dallas PD and the FBI, and then control they would have to be able to control that commission. Rather than larger, the group of conspirators becomes smaller and smaller. And did I mention, wouldn't it be strange if they all were associated with John B. Hurt a man with the same name as the person that Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to contact on the night of the assassiantion. Just thoughts Jim Root

James You always amaze me! As you know I cannot get a picture to go on this board or even to attach to an email. I'm in your debt once again. I have seen that picture both on John's site and I beleive it is the official picture used by the Truman Library. Always better to attach a face to a name. He looks to be a nice man. Jim Root

John As I understand it the mission of the Cold War US intelligence community was to destabilize the Soviet government. While many look at the U-2 incident as a Soviet triumph the flip side of the coin was an admission that these overflights had been taking place for years. It also ment that Krushchevs moves to stabalize relations with the West were destabalized. The man who was working toward peacdful coexistance was suddenly working for his own existance. The Cold War would continue and there would be no more Soviet Union when the Cold War was finally ended. Jim Root

About a year ago I was going to start a thread on John Hickerson but have neglected to till today. Perhaps, along with several other posts I have been making recently, it is an apppropriat time to bring forward this post for comments by others. John Hickerson was the American Abassador to Sweden (stationed in Helsinki) at the time that Oswald defected to Russia (leaving his post in the days immediately following that defection). He seems to have been the author of the two notes (September 4, 1959 and October 9, 1959) that allude to the ease with which a traveler can enter into the Soviet Union via the Soviet Emabassy in Helsinki. These two dates coincide with the day that Oswald received his early discharge from the Marines and applied for his passport (September 4, 1959) listing Helsinki as a possible destination and the "extra" travel day (October 9, 1959) that Oswald backtracked from France to England before traveling to Helsinki on October 10, 1959. I am in no way suggesting that Hickerson was in anyway involved with the assassiantion of JFK but a look at his backround and some of the interviews that he did that are on file at the Truman Library might suggest that he may have pieced together, in his own mind, who may have been involved in a conspiracy. Just a few bits of information: John Hickerson worked closely with both John J. McCloy and John Sherman Cooper in the development of NATO and had been involved with McCloy in the years previous to that period and after. Hickerson is the only man who I have ever found (as of yet) that refers to John J. McCloy as General McCloy. He also refers to McCloy as Jack McCloy or just Jack as many of McCloys closest associates called him. During WWII this would put General McCloy over Colonel Donovan of the OSS. Since McCloy was brought to the War Department to establish a more effective system of intelligence the fact that he out ranked the man who most believe to have been in charge suggests that there was (and has been since that period) someone else on top of the intelligence heap (McCloy). Hickerson was US military representative to Canada during World War II. In an interview about this period, without being asked, he pointed out that he had no control over the deployment of the First Special Services Force although the deployment of the FSSF required the mutual consent of both countries. If involved with this force he would have been associated with Walker who, at the end of the war, commanded this unit. Did Hickerson feel a need to distance himself from this force and any association with Walker? The two messages from Hickerson, cited above, became public during the HSCA hearings and were provided to show that Oswalds admission into the Soviet Union through Helsinki could have been accomplished by anyone in October of 1959. The reality shows that the timming of the notes opens the door to the possibility that that classified information was available to be provided to Oswald just before he applied for his passport and then while he was in route to Russia. Or these dates are just a coincidence. We sometimes here the phrase "Fruedian Slip" associated to statements made by mistake that represent what is actually turning in our minds. Did this son of a Texas cotton farmer know more about the association between Walker (the heir of Texas cotton buyers), the movements of Lee Harvey Oswald, (who followed his directions exactly to gain enterance to the Soviet Union) and the position that John J. McCloy held and played on the world scene? One thing is for certain: Hickerson knew that information about entry into the Soviet Union was available to the State Department on the day before Oswald arrived in Helsinki. He knew that this question was a controversial question that arose from the information that was released in the Warren Report. And we know that he never said a word about it, taking any information about these people with him to the grave. Jim Root

Mark I appreciate your position on the assassination attempt on the life of Edwin Walker. It seem to be the most common comment I receive when talking about the death of Kennedy with persons that are knowledgable about the Warren Report. For the most part, in the general population, few people are aware of the fact that the Warren Report even makes reference to another assassination attempt tied to Oswald. Movies like JFK just avoid the matter. It seems to me that within a large portion of the assassination research community it is felt that if this inconvient event is associated with Oswald it might point to Oswald, as the Warren Commission suggests, as the lone shooter. For myself the argument is bogus. Either side of the coin is interesting as a subject for researcher and if ignored from either point of view we automatically lose focus on what could be a key element in our attempts to discover the truth. If Oswald did not attempt to shoot at Walker there seems to have been a necessity to tie this event to Oswald by the Warren Commissioners. Would this then be a part of the coverup? But then the police reports that were filed at the time and the investigation that was done, to no avail, would become a part of a coverup of an event that was yet to occur. This would suggest a conspiracy that would have to have gone back to a period of at least seven months before the assassination of JFK. The fact that Walker became an open critic of Kennedy is cited by the Warren Commission as a prime example in the "lone nut" explanation of an Oswald who was unbalanced in his political thoughts and ready to assassinate anyone on either side of the political spectrum. The event was necessary in order for the Warren Commissioners to make the conclusions that they did in fact make. Then we look at the actions of Walker over the 24 hours following the assassination. Those actions suggest that Walker was worried about being tied to the assassination of Kennedy. The German newpaper interview would be nothing more than an attempt by Walker to show that he had the same enemies as Kennedy and almost had the same fate at the hands of the same killer. And the letter from McCloy to Walker five months before the assassintion of Kennedy was just a coincidence. On the other side of the coin: Is the possibility that Marina Oswald did in fact provide truthful information about this event and the event did in fact occur. Then we could look for a motive of why would Oswald would attempt to assassinate Walker. I can make a suggestion that the extra travel day and the following day from Oswalds defection to the Soviet Union (October 9 and 10, 1959) provides for a possible meeting between Oswald and Walker to have taken place. Information about Oswalds travel during this time period is in fact left out of the Warren Report, why? If a meeting between these two men did in fact take place we have a whole different scale upon which to balance our thoughts on this subject. And the actions of Walker in the 24 hours following the assassination of JFK takes on a different sense of urgency. We would have the fear of a man who knew that the accused assassin could tie him to the assassination of Kennedy by association. The fear of a man who knew how intellegence organizations worked and which persons could have been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate the President. Those "persons" would be the only persons, other than Oswald, who could associate him with Oswald. The actions of Walker in the 24 hours after the assassination would then be the actions of a man attempting to save his own life because he may have been the one person who could blow the whistle on the whole thing! The fact that he would provide information to a foreign newspaper suggests that he knew how to survive in that type of situation and how to act quickly. And the letter from John J. McCloy would be in place to keep him quite for the rest of his life. Walker and Oswald meeting would require two additional needs. 1) Oswald would be associated with the world of intelligence. 2) Walker was involved in intelligence activities. I am sufficiently convinced that Walker was involved with intelligence activities. I am convinced the Walker was closely associated with Maxwell Taylor and that Walker had been used, on more than one occassion, by John J. McCloy for certain intelligence "jobs." But once again: Either side of the coin must be looked at closely when we study the assassiantion of JFK. For myself I believe the coin to be double-headed. Jim Root