Jim Hargrove

David, I spent three days skimming though just one of the more than a dozen rolls of microfilm comprising UMI’s “FBI Series 2” collection on the JFK assassination. What struck me about the documents reproduced on the microfilm was that these were not just FBI files. There were many documents from, for example, the State Department and the Secret Service, among other federal agencies. I don’t recall seeing any CIA files on the film roll. I’m less certain about military files, but I don’t recall with certainty seeing them either. With the possible exception of Agency and military docs, it looks to me as though ALL the documentation from the ENTIRE federal government regarding the assassination and “Oswald” was controlled entirely by Hoover's FBI. Here’s what Volume 27, Number 26 (March 29-April 5, 1999) of the Yale Bulletin & Calendar has to say about Vladimir Petrov and his death. Vladimir Petrov dies -- taught Russian at Yale Vladimir N. Petrov, who taught Russian at Yale for 18 years, died at his home in Kensington, Maryland, on March 17 after a brief illness. He was 83 years old. At the time of his death, Mr. Petrov was professor emeritus of history and international affairs at George Washington University. Born in Odessa, on Russia's Black Sea coast, Professor Petrov was educated at the Moscow College of Civil Engineering and the Institute of Communication in Leningrad. He was arrested in 1937 on charges of distributing anti-Soviet propaganda and was sentenced to five years of hard labor in the Russian Far East. After being released from the labor camp, he settled in Krasnodar in the northern Caucasus, which was overrun by the German army in World War II. Using the German retreat as a way of escaping from the Soviet Union, Professor Petrov reached the American zone of occupation and eventually emigrated to the United States. From 1947 until 1965, Professor Petrov taught Russian at Yale. He brought into his teaching the lore of the Soviet Union and stories of his own personal adventures of survival in the Stalinist era. His memories of that period served as material for his first books, "Soviet Gold" and "My Retreat from Russia" (Yale University Press, 1950). He also introduced into the University's Russian curriculum a course in "Readings of Soviet Press," where he taught students how to read between the lines -- or, as he called it, "all the news that's not fit to print." Mr. Petrov received his Ph.D. from Yale in 1965. He also is the author of "A Study in Diplomacy: The Story of Arthur Bliss Lane" (1971), which was based on the papers of the former American ambassador to Japan and Poland, which were in Sterling Memorial Library's Manuscripts and Archives collection. During his tenure at George Washington University, Professor Petrov focused his research and teaching on relations among the United States, the Soviet Union and China. He is survived by his wife, Jean McNab, nine children and six grandchildren.

I hope Tina Tippit Brown understands there is some historical significance to her notes about the anonymous call, and that when things settle down for her family she will consider digging them up and making them available to researchers. Thanks again, John K, for your work on this as well as the Blair papers. It is all much appreciated!

Hi, David, I can't get any sound after clicking on the play arrow from your link. (I use Linux-based machines, but seldom have difficulty with web-based audio.)

She has notes from the original calls? That's incredible! Also of great interest is the fact that there was more than one call from the anonymous woman. Obviously, the caller was very serious. We'll have to keep in mind that Tina Tippit Brown did not have much real experience with typical NYC/East Coast accents. Do you think there is any chance she will make her notes available to researchers? Depending on how thorough they were, this could be a real opportunity not only to get more information about the calls, but also to cut though any possible FBI disinfo. Thanks again for your work on this, and please keep us posted if anything else develops. I'd sure like to see her notes!!!

John, I'm still trying to catch up here after my vacation, so forgive me if I missed a later post about this, but I was wondering if you have received a reply from Tina Tippit Brown or have any other new information about her or or daughter. Thanks so much for doing this!

Thanks, Bart, for posting the above information from Mr. Blunt. I had no idea that James Harrison Vance was so hounded by the FBI for merely telling the truth that “Oswald” was at Pfisterers in late 1957 and 1958 instead of earlier, as the FBI so desperately wanted the world to believe. John Armstrong once told me that Palmer McBride had a phenomenal memory about NASA launches, and could name precise information about scores of U.S. satellites. John A. wrote the following about James Vance in H&L: James Harrison Vance was Palmer McBride's best friend and a member of the New Orleans Amateur Astronomy Association (NOAAA). On one occasion McBride asked Vance if he would work in his place at the Pfisterer Dental Lab, which Vance agreed to do. When they arrived at the lab, McBride introduced Vance to Oswald. 2 A few day s later, on January 31, 1958, the (NOAAA) held a special meeting at Vance's house when the first US satellite was placed in orbit aboard Explorer I, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 9:38 pm (CST). Ralph Hartwell was vice-president of the NOAAA in 1955, when meetings were held at the Cunningham Observatory, and in 1956 when meetings were held at De La Salle High School. On December 18, 1956 Hartwell joined the Air Force and left New Orleans, but corresponded with members of the NOAAA via voice tape recordings. Hartwell told the FBI that while he was in the Air Force (after December 18. 1956), he heard that Oswald either became a member or had attended meetings of the NOAAA. Hartwell remembered that Palmer McBride and William Wulf, Jr. had dealings with Oswald.3 By early 1958 Palmer McBride had been attending bi-monthly meetings of the NOAAA for three years, most recently at the home of Walter Gehrke, who lived at 208 Hector Avenue in Metairie, Louisiana. McBride told the FBI, "In early 1958 I took Oswald with me to a meeting of the New Orleans Amateur Astronomy Association at the home of Walter Gehrke ..... "4 58-01 When interviewed by the FBI Gehrke confirmed McBride's memory of meeting Oswald in 1958 when he said, "None of the meetings of the NOAAA were held at my house until 1958."5 58-02 Gehrke's statement meant simply that McBride and Harvey Oswald could not have attended a NOAAA meeting at his house any time prior to 1958. James Harrison Vance, Ralph Hartwell, Palmer McBride and Walter Gehrke's statements leave no doubt that Harvey Oswald attended a meeting of the NOAAA in early 1958. In 1998 Palmer McBride renewed his acquaintance with Gehrke, and asked him if he had any records from their NOAAA meetings in the 1950's. Gehrke did not have any records, but still remembered the day when McBride brought Oswald to an association meeting at his (Gehrke's) home in early 1958. [H&L, pp. 184-185] McBride told the FBI: “In early 1958 I took OSWALD with me to a meeting of the New Orleans Amateur Astronomy Association at the home of WALTER GEHRKE….” According to the FBI, Walter Gehrke did not remember Oswald but clearly indicated that “none of the meetings of this group were held a his residence until about 1958,” not 1956, as the FBI wanted us to believe. The evidence is simply overwhelming that one Oswald worked at Pfisterer Dental Lab in late 1957 and 1958 at the same time the other Oswald was in Asia with the USMC.

DJ, The Oswald to Tower letter is part of CE 1058. Both it and the Petrov letter are at this address at Baylor: http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/po-arm/id/23459/rec/3 John apparently made the copy of the Petrov letter directly from the FBI "Series 2" microfilm from UMI, and the signature is cut off on the film.

As Bart and DJ have pointed out the problem here is that “Lee Harvey Oswald” was working at Pfisterers Dental Lab in late 1957 and 1958, when he was supposed to be in Japan with the USMC. As John A. wrote, “On Monday morning, 11/25/63, three days after President Kennedy was assassinated, FBI agents arrived at the dental lab. The agents took the owners of the company, one by one, into a private room and told them they were not to discuss the “Oswald matter” among themselves or with anyone. The agents then took all records and files relating to Oswald and left the building. Those files disappeared and were never seen again.” With the Pfisterers records gone, the FBI was now free to say that “Oswald” worked at Pfisterers in early and to say that Palmer McBride was mistaken about the years. But Linda Faircloth, the president of Pfisterer Dental Labs in the late 20th century, also did a study for the owners of the lab and concluded that “Lee Harvey Oswald” did indeed work at Pfisterers in 1957 and 1958. Her YouTube interview is here: According to Mr. McBride, David Lifton tried hard to make him change his story, as the letter below shows:

This might be a reasonable time to point out that back in 1963, Professor Vladimir Petrov of the Slavics Language Department at Yale University wrote a letter to Senator John Tower suggesting that “Oswald’s” January 1962 letter written in Minsk to Sen. Tower was actually written “by a Russian with an imperfect knowledge of English.” Petrov’s letter, reproduced on the FBI’s “Series 2” set of microfilms on the JFK assassination, is shown exactly as reproduced by the FBI and UMI. If anyone has a better copy, with Petrov’s signature, I’d love to see it. Petrov’s “sheer speculation” following the initial paragraph is probably irrelevant.

John, My memory isn’t getting any better the older I get, but I don’t recall that about LEE. Can you remember where you saw that? It is clear that HARVEY Oswald told at least two people that he preferred to be called “Harvey.” One was Beauregard teacher Myra DaRouse, who in early 1954 had HARVEY in her homeroom in the basement cafeteria of Beauregard at the same time LEE had a homeroom on the third floor. Myra told John A. that her student said to call him “Harvey.” A second witness was William Henry Timmer, who met HARVEY in Stanley, North Dakota about six months earlier, in the summer of 1953. Timmer said Oswald introduced himself as “Harv” or “Harvey.” Your research on Elizabeth Bentley is intriguing, but, like everything else connected to the anonymous phone call to the Tippits of Connecticut, there is simply nothing resembling proof. It’s very frustrating.

John, I can only recall reading about 30 pages of the Blair papers that you've posted: 23 in the first group and seven in the second. Have I missed some? (This thread is soooo long!) In the end, it may be that David Josephs was right and that we put too much emphasis on the Kardos/Gardos mention, but I'm hardly ready to give up on this. Box 5 folder 2 specifically relates to Emil and Grace Gardos, and though the period covered is later than the period we're interested in, it is only 20 pages long. Could we help defray your costs in copying that? To be really thorough though, the hundreds of pages in the correspondence folders need to be reviewed. That seems far too much to copy. Over the summer, I'll look into travelling to Madison and reviewing the papers in person. Thanks again for your work on this. The Tina Tippit Brown contact is amazing! You're on a roll!

Thanks so much, John. Even if we find nothing particularly interesting in these papers, this is a real service you have been doing for Harvey and Lee research! The important point in the current papers appears to be that as of 12/20/68 Fred Blair believed that Emile and Grace nee Blair Gardos (and their son John?) were living in Budapest. Blair did not specifically say John Gardos was with his parents in Budapest, but from other sources that appears to be the case. A short newspaper clipping dated 12/20/70 at the end also referred to “Grace Gardos of Europe.” The question now becomes, Is there any reference anywhere else in the Blair papers to John and Grace Gardos caring for a male child who was not their son John in New York City in the 1940s? If there are other files that you think might be worth checking, John, can we help you pay the copying costs in some way?

John, I certainly agree with your post directly above, but in reference to a couple of items in your previous post, I'd like to respond... A “URETHRAL DISCHARGE” sure sounds like the clap to me. I remember being warned as a youth back in the stone age about the dangers of penicillin-resistant forms of gonorrhea and other VDs. Resistant strains of these things appear to have been a problem back then, and still are today. This is the type of argument often made by H&L critics, and I can only say that the people who planned this operation were not idiots and must have had a way to deal with the issue. Do we know how many marines were stationed at Atsugi in 1958? This, I assume, would be the total from which the 11 soldiers stationed at Ping Tung on 10/6/58 with HARVEY Oswald were selected. At any rate, just as you say in your second post above, the evidence that Harvey went to Taiwan is substantial. In addition to the USMC unit diaries listing him on the Skagit and in Ping Tung, in an interview Lt. Charles Rhodes said he served with Oswald in Taiwan, the 11/4/59 Chief of Naval Operations memo said Oswald had been in Taiwan, Harvey Oswald himself said he had been in Taiwan during interviews with Priscilla Johnson and Aline Mosby, and, also according to John A., some of Harvey’s photos allegedly collected by Dallas police showed military installations in Taiwan. (John said that because he had spent so much time in China, he could easily tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese characters, and several of the signs Harvey’s photos had Chinese characters.) The medical records for LEE Oswald at Atsugi during the same time frame speak for themselves, and the evidence for two Oswalds some 1400 miles apart was so overwhelming that the HSCA in rebuttal could only misrepresent the evidence. For example, the HSCA concluded that, “based upon a direct examination of Oswald’s unit diaries, as well as his own military records, it does not appear that he had spent any time in Taiwan.” This is what the HSCA called “direct examination?” Sheesh, the evidence of the unit diaries couldn’t be any clearer.

No, John A. wrote that, “By the end of October, while Lee Oswald was still in Japan, Harvey Oswald arrived at the Marine Corps Air Facility (MACS-9) in Santa Ana, CA.” [H&L, 206] But sometime between Ping Tung and Santa Ana Harvey may have been at the Naval Air Base at Iwakuni, Japan. John wrote, “ While Lee Oswald was frequenting the Atsugi Hospital, Harvey Oswald was temporarily assigned to a Marine squadron at lwakuni, an air base 400 miles southwest of Tokyo. There are no Marine Corps records of such a transfer nor is such a transfer recorded on the Marine Corps Unit Diaries but Owen Dejanovich, who first met Harvey Oswald at radar school in Biloxi in May/June, 1957 saw and recognized him at lwakuni. Dejanovich thought that Oswald had grown bitter toward the Marines, and recalled seeing him occasionally talking to a Eurasian girl. After Oswald departed lwakuni he apparently returned to the US mainland.” [H&L, 205-206] There is a lot of controversy about Iwakuni. When the HSCA interviewed him in 1978, Richard Cyr allegedly said he didn’t recall if Oswald was there.

That's an interesting point. Would there be any value to having Harvey join a legitimate unit before leaving Atsugi for Yokosuga? Don't forget, he's assuming the identity of a soldier who was clearly stationed at Atsugi. If the report is true, I assume he was not marched 20 miles in bare feet, just out of the brig. According to the report, it was "At the time their group was moving to Taiwan...." which was on the 14th (or I suppose, the 13th). Whether you assume the move started on the 13th or the 14th doesn't seem to make a big difference here, does it?

John, We agree completely on the integrity of the FBI in this so-called investigation, but since it was the only Federal agency interviewing people and collecting/confiscating evidence, we simply can’t ignore them. The case was massive, and Hoover made lots of mistakes in the cover-up, and that gives us a chance to find at least a portion of the truth. The difficult part, and the Trail interview is a perfect example, is knowing which reports and parts of reports were legitimate and which were false. Trying to figure out what makes the most sense in relation to the coverup has always been a significant factor for me in analyzing FBI reports. Until reading your post above, it had never occurred to me that Harvey’s Ping Tung “breakdown” might have been a staged event (or even a legend created after the fact). It does, however, make perfect sense. Days after being airlifted out of Taiwan, Harvey was at the little MACS 9 facility in Santa Ana, speaking in Russian, reading Russian books and newspapers, and spouting all things commie, all of this for the first time. The caretaker “Marguerite” would be attacked by a box of candy, allegedly, on Dec. 12, setting up a hardship discharge. Preparations for the “defection” were in full swing. This all just makes sense. But what also makes sense to me is the need to keep Harvey and Lee apart during the short time both both were at the Atsugi base prior to the USS Skagit setting sail for the South China Sea. To me, at least, the Trail report also just makes sense, and I tend to believe it. We’ll just have to agree to disagree about that. It would interesting to search for additional details about both Harvey's Ping Tung "breakdown" and the hours leading up to his embarkation on the USS Skagit.

John, I certainly agree that we have to approach all these FBI reports about “Lee Harvey Oswald” with caution, but I just don’t see the warning signs you do about the Trail report. HARVEY Oswald spent such a short time in Ping Tung because on Oct. 4, 1958 he had some kind of nervous breakdown and was found crying while on guard duty by Lt. Charles Rhodes. What kind of soldier breaks down and cries in non-hostile territory facing no known combatants? Do we assume Lt. Trail was incorrect when he described this Oswald as “being different than the other men in his group”? After all, as a so-called Marine, HARVEY Oswald to date had spent most of his military career as a messenger boy for a New Orleans dental lab! As you point out, Lt. Trail in the third paragraph of the report apparently indicated that Oswald “did not seem to get along well with the other men,” but in the very next paragraph said that the following year when he saw Oswald again he “seemed to be more sociable” than before. What kind of indictment is that? According to the report, Lt. Trail said he didn’t see all that much of Oswald, but he offered a few details about how he was moved from the brig to the USS Skagit. He said that Oswald was “picked up by a ‘chaser’ with a gun” and that he was “marched from the Marine jail without shoes which seemed odd to him at the time.” To me, this all seems reasonably straightforward, and I think we got the report because Hoover didn’t notice the problems it created for the Official Story®. Just my take….

John, The map is most appreciated! What about William K. Trail's FBI report? He seemed to believe HARVEY Oswald was in the brig at Atsugi just before he set sail for Taiwan on 9/14/58. Do you think that was an error by Lieutenant Trail? For quick reference....

But William Trail, who accompanied HARVEY Oswald to Ping Tung, recalled that when the ship departed 9/14/58 “OSWALD and another Marine were being held prisoners at Atsugi and had to be picked up by a ‘chaser’ with a gun.” Assuming Trail was correct and the FBI didn’t understand the details well enough to falsify the report, HARVEY Oswald was in the Atsugi brig a month after LEE Oswald was released. John A. speculated that “Harvey Oswald, while waiting for the unit to depart for Taiwan, may have been held in the Marine brig to keep him separate and apart from the Marines who bunked and worked with Lee Oswald in Atsugi. His confinement would have allowed him to safely depart for Taiwan with a different group of Marines who did not know Lee Oswald.” [H&L p. 198] As we know, this leads directly into the period when Harvey was on the high seas and in Taiwan at the very same time LEE was being treated, ostensibly for VD, back in Atsugi, one of the major USMC “smoking guns” for the two Oswalds. Less well understood, though, is how long LEE and HARVEY were both at Atsugi before HARVEY set sail for Taiwan. John A. believes HARVEY was still at Pfisterer’s at least until the early summer of ‘58, and probably spent some more time in Fort Worth after he left New Orleans. Since some effort may have been exerted to keep the two Oswalds apart prior to HARVEY embarking on the U.S.S. Skagit, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if it turns out HARVEY was at Atsugi for only a single day before leaving with William Trail and the others for Taiwan.

Thanks, DJ! John A. refers to the Folsom exhibit nearly a dozen times in H&L, and on p. 154 he wrote, in reference to LEE: “Oswald was not promoted to PFC until May 1957." [H&L p. 154] This agrees with the top line under “PROMOTIONS AND REDUCTIONS” of Folsom Ex 1, p. 5 above, which indicates he attained PFC rank on May 2 (or May 1). Since one Oswald signed the enlistment papers on Oct. 24, 1956, 6 months would have elapsed by the May 2 promotion, but not 8 months. I'd ask John B. how certain he is that 8 months, and not just 6, were required for the promotion to PFC.

John, Thank you for your work on this question about LEE Oswald’s PFC rank. Before declaring victory, we’d better see how strong the primary evidence is backing up our conclusions. Near the top of the Marine Corps and the Soviet Union page of HarveyandLee.net, John A. wrote: In the fall of 1956, while HARVEY Oswald and Allen Felde were stationed at San Diego, LEE Oswald was at the Marine Corps Air Facility at El Toro, CA, 10 miles south of Camp Pendleton. It was in El Toro that Sergeant Wallace Ransberger first met Private First Class LEE Oswald, and a year later associated with him at Atsugi, Japan. Ransberger and LEE Oswald were assigned to the same unit and their duties were to furnish repair parts for vehicles and generators. In early 1957 Sergeant Donald Goodwin was assigned to Camp Pendleton and supervised a group of 20 men in the 5th Marine division, one of whom was radio communicator LEE Oswald, Private 1st class. As we shall see, it was LEE Oswald who was assigned to the jet base at El Toro, CA (HARVEY was assigned to Santa Ana, CA). Since the FBI may have been unaware of the time required to grant a USMC recruit the rank of PFC, we may be safe in assuming its reports didn’t lie about this aspect of the two Oswalds’ lives. Here’s the FBI report describing Sergeant Wallace Ransberger’s observations about Oswald. Note the line above that states: “He recalled OSWALD as a Private or PFC who was “always alone.” This is not as definitive as we would hope. Below, however, is the FBI report on Sergeant Donald Goodwin. According to the FBI, Goodwin recalls the period “in late 1956 or early 1957” and “recalls that one of the marines in this group was Private First Class OSWALD." This is more like it, but I’d like to find more evidence that LEE held the rank of PFC before a 10/24/56 enlistment date would permit. I’m not good at searching through the USMC records John A. has at Baylor University, but I’ll try to remember to ask him if he can recall any more about this next time we talk. Thanks again for your work on this, and I hope you’ll keep digging!

John, Fascinating. I never knew about the six month service required before a Marine could obtain the rank of PFC. On October 24, 1956 Harvey Oswald signed the Marine Corps enlistment contract and record before recruiting officer Captain R. K. Jones in Dallas. His enlistment term was for 3 years and he was assigned service number 1653230. Sergeant David Wallace Ransberger recalled that during his initial tour of duty at El Toro in 1956, he became acquainted with a Private First Class Oswald. If Ransberger was correct, and the 6-month requirement was in effect then, I don’t see how this is possible. It should be pointed out, though, that it might be a problem to put LEE Oswald in the USMC early enough to meet that 6 month requirement toward the end of 1956. Lee Oswald’s activities in the second half of 1956 get pretty murky, just the period we’d like to understand. I’ll try to study this some more. What is interesting, though, is no USMC income is shown in the 1956 IRS 1040 tax form for “Lee Harvey Oswald”. The reason is simple. The FBI fabricated the form to manipulate the true employment history of “Lee Harvey Oswald” that year, which otherwise would have indicated the employment of two different LHOs. Marine Corps income could not be entered into the bogus 1040 form because the Department of the Navy didn’t verify the 1956-1959 income of “Lee Harvey Oswald” until September 15, 1964, long after the FBI fabricated the IRS form.

Jim, As you know, the Mueller Report clearly concluded that the Russians interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. From Wikipedia: Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goal of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. The Internet Research Agency, based in Saint Petersburg and described as a xxxxx farm, created thousands of social media accounts that purported to be Americans supporting radical political groups, and planned or promoted events in support of Trump and against Clinton; they reached millions of social media users between 2013 and 2017. Fabricated articles and disinformation were spread from Russian government-controlled media, and promoted on social media. Additionally, computer hackers affiliated with the Russian military intelligence service (GRU) infiltrated information systems of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Clinton campaign officials, notably chairman John Podesta, and publicly released stolen files and emails through DCLeaks, Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks during the election campaign. Finally, several individuals connected to Russia contacted various Trump campaign associates, offering business opportunities to the Trump Organization and damaging information on Clinton. Russian government officials have denied involvement in any of the hacks or leaks. Russian interference activities triggered strong statements from American intelligence agencies, a direct warning by then-U.S. President Barack Obama to Russian President Vladimir Putin, renewed economic sanctions against Russia, closures of Russian diplomatic facilities and expulsion of their staff. The Senate and House Intelligence Committees conducted their own investigations into the matter. Trump denied the interference had occurred, contending that it was a "hoax" perpetrated by Democrats to explain Clinton's loss. He dismissed FBI Director James Comey in part over his investigation of Russian meddling. Russian attempts to interfere in the election were first disclosed publicly by members of the United States Congress on September 22, 2016, confirmed by United States intelligence agencies on October 7, 2016, and further detailed by the Director of National Intelligence office in January 2017. According to U.S. intelligence agencies, the operation was ordered directly by Putin. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation of Russian interference on July 31, 2016, including a special focus on links between Trump associates and Russian officials and suspected coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. The FBI's work was taken over in May 2017 by former FBI director Robert Mueller, who led a Special Counsel investigation until March 2019.[1] Mueller concluded that Russian interference was "sweeping and systematic" and "violated U.S. criminal law", and he indicted twenty-six Russian citizens and three Russian organizations. The investigation also led to indictments and convictions of Trump campaign officials and associated Americans, for unrelated charges. The Special Counsel's report, made public on April 18, 2019, examined numerous contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials but concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring any conspiracy or coordination charges against Trump or his associates. I looked into this briefly back in 2017, searching for confirmation from what at least appeared to be non-government sources. Here are some links I sent to a friend of mine when we were discussing this in email. If you don’t want to take the word of American Intel or outfits like the AP that the original spearphishing attack that John Podesta fell for (on stupid advice from a paid technical advisor) came from Russians, there are many independent security firms that analyzed this in depth last summer, and virtually all came to the same conclusion. For example, SecureWork, an Atlanta-based subsidiary of Dell Computers, wrote a report that can be read here: https://www.secureworks.com/research/threat-group-4127-targets-hillary-clinton-presidential-campaign CrowdStrike Company, a Sunnyvale, CA outfit founded by a former McAfee technical executive named George Kurtz came to the same conclusion. Kurtz wrote the best-selling bible of Internet security called “Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets and Solutions.” CrowdStrike’s report can be read here: https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/bears-midst-intrusion-democratic-national-committee/ A CrowdStrike associate named ThreatConnect took CrowdStrike’s original research and delved even deeper, showing the technical evidence linking the email theft to FANCY BEAR and COZY BEAR, both Russian-based intel groups. Read ThreatConnect’s report here: https://www.threatconnect.com/blog/tapping-into-democratic-national-committee/ We both know the power of Amercian Intel and how its tentacles go everywhere, but what I’m sending you here is just the tip of the iceberg of evidence that Russians hacked Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. There are many more studies. The subject was of great interest to tech nerds everywhere, and because the Wikileaks releases were done electronically rather than on paper, all the smtp headers in the emails were preserved, making full analysis of this stuff by private techies quite straightforward. As opposed to the crappy CIA/Homeland Security report more interested in preserving its secrets than giving compelling technical proof, the reports above, and many others, include real evidence!

John, We could speculate forever about these images. If I'm remembering correctly, many of the very young images of "Lee Harvey Oswald" that we're now seeing were introduced on the web some years ago (10 perhaps), ostensibly by Robert Oswald before he died. Robert, for what I believe were patriotic reasons, clearly participated in the Harvey and Lee charade up to and including the false defection, though I doubt he had any guilt in the Kennedy assassination other than keeping his huge secret during the various so-called investigations. However, Robert was clearly involved in U.S. Intel for the H&L project, and therefore we can only speculate as to whether photos we're seeing now, especially those that weren't gathered by the FBI, come from some sort of family holdings or from intelligence agencies. I doubt we'll ever know for sure.

David, This is interesting, but it's hard to keep up with this thread. Do you have the full records you've labelled "1" and "2" above, or do you have just what is shown in the excerpt of CE 1873?