Joseph McBride, Into the Nightmare: My Search for the Killers of President John F. Kennedy and Officer J. D. Tippit (2013)

[John Simkin]

Joseph McBride has agreed to answer questions on his new book, Into the Nightmare: My Search for the Killers of President John F. Kennedy and Officer J. D. Tippit (2013)

[John Simkin]

What do you consider to be the most important information you discovered about the JFK assassination when you were writing the book?

[Joseph McBride]

What do you consider to be the most important information you discovered about the JFK assassination when you were writing the book?

The answer to your first question would be that in my extensive research, which included rare interviews with key people in Texas and archival discoveries, I was able to demonstrate that Officer J. D. Tippit was hunting for Oswald for the last twenty-four minutes of Tippit's life.

This proves that Tippit was involved in the conspiracy, because Oswald's identity was not officially known to the Dallas Police Department at the time. Other researchers have theorized that Tippit may have been doing this, but I uncover proof that Tippit was pursuing Oswald to capture or perhaps kill him. Tippit was racing around Oak Cliff increasingly frantically, and another officer was also involved in the pursuit. While exonerating Oswald and other suspects in the shooting, I point to possible suspects and believe that two, three, or even four men were involved.

[Sean Murphy]

Hi Joseph, I'd be interested to hear your take on the TSBD side of things. Where was Oswald at 12.30?, etc.

[Steve Cearfoss]

Hello has the forum re-opened?

[Guest Robert Morrow]

What do you consider to be the most important information you discovered about the JFK assassination when you were writing the book?

The answer to your first question would be that in my extensive research, which included rare interviews with key people in Texas and archival discoveries, I was able to demonstrate that Officer J. D. Tippit was hunting for Oswald for the last twenty-four minutes of Tippit's life.

This proves that Tippit was involved in the conspiracy, because Oswald's identity was not officially known to the Dallas Police Department at the time. Other researchers have theorized that Tippit may have been doing this, but I uncover proof that Tippit was pursuing Oswald to capture or perhaps kill him. Tippit was racing around Oak Cliff increasingly frantically, and another officer was also involved in the pursuit. While exonerating Oswald and other suspects in the shooting, I point to possible suspects and believe that two, three, or even four men were involved.

In summer 2010, I and a friend went to the exact spot of the Tippit slaying. We sat parked in the car in Tippit's exact spot as an old Hispanic man walked by. We called him over to to passenger window of my friend. I asked him, a man in his mid 70's, what do you know about the Tippit shooting?

The first words out of his mouth were there were 2 people involved in the shooting of Tippit. This man said he had been living in this exact neighborhood in November, 1963. He did not say he had actually witnessed the shooting. But the first thing he said was that there were 2 people involved in the shooting of Officer Tippit; apparently this was common knowledge in this neighborhood at the time.

After that, I decided to time exactly how long it would take to walk from Oswald's room house on North Beckley to 10th and Patten. It took me 11 minutes and 5 seconds and I was power walking at a very fast rate, as fast as I could walk and not be jogging or running, plus I was cutting corners, walking in the middle of the street, not waiting for red lights, etc.

Then I walked back to North Beckley and it took me 10 minutes and 25 seconds, again power walking as fast as I could in a straight line back to Oswald's house.

At the time I was a 46 year old man in reasonably good physical condition.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Robert Morrow

[Pat Speer]

What do you consider to be the most important information you discovered about the JFK assassination when you were writing the book?

The answer to your first question would be that in my extensive research, which included rare interviews with key people in Texas and archival discoveries, I was able to demonstrate that Officer J. D. Tippit was hunting for Oswald for the last twenty-four minutes of Tippit's life.

Not to be a pain, but how were you able to demonstrate this? Through a timeline? Through previously unknown eyewitness evidence? Both?

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Greetings Mr. McBride.

According to this review of your book

He [McBride] does not back away from making specific criticisms within the community as well. For example, his assessment of Mary Ferrell is that she was a disinformation agent, based on his personal dealings with her. Ferrell, of course, personally disliked Kennedy despite colleting an enormous quantity of information about the assassination, which survives as The Mary Ferrell Foundation. McBride also believes that Ferrell's release of the audio tape to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) near the end of their run was done so only to provide a kind of escape hatch for Robert Blakely to suggest a conspiracy without being forced to investigate its origins. He relates that the first-generation researcher Penn Jones told him to "stay away from her." (218-221)

I knew Mary Ferrell, though not very well, and I know of absolutely no reason why she should be considered a disinformation agent. And what is so great about Penn Jones?

As for the accusation that JD Tippit was a wannabe murderer, I say innocent until proven guilty.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/A-Personal-Journey-into-th-by-Joseph-Green-130716-953.html

[Joseph McBride]

Joseph McBride has agreed to answer questions on his new book, Into the Nightmare: My Search for the Killers of President John F. Kennedy and Officer J. D. Tippitt (2013)

Thanks for having me, John. I have learned a lot from this fine site and its erudite posters over the years. It's been a boon

to my long research on INTO THE NIGHTMARE. I am glad the Forum is back in business! I am happy to be asked

to answer questions and exchange thoughts with the other members.

[Joseph McBride]

Hi Joseph, I'd be interested to hear your take on the TSBD side of things. Where was Oswald at 12.30?, etc.

Hi, Sean, Oswald was in the second-floor lunchroom at the time of the shooting. After he left

the building, he seems to have been driven to Oak Cliff in the station wagon seen by

Roger Craig and photographed at 12:40.

[Joseph McBride]

What do you consider to be the most important information you discovered about the JFK assassination when you were writing the book?

The answer to your first question would be that in my extensive research, which included rare interviews with key people in Texas and archival discoveries, I was able to demonstrate that Officer J. D. Tippit was hunting for Oswald for the last twenty-four minutes of Tippit's life.

This proves that Tippit was involved in the conspiracy, because Oswald's identity was not officially known to the Dallas Police Department at the time. Other researchers have theorized that Tippit may have been doing this, but I uncover proof that Tippit was pursuing Oswald to capture or perhaps kill him. Tippit was racing around Oak Cliff increasingly frantically, and another officer was also involved in the pursuit. While exonerating Oswald and other suspects in the shooting, I point to possible suspects and believe that two, three, or even four men were involved.

In summer 2010, I and a friend went to the exact spot of the Tippit slaying. We sat parked in the car in Tippit's exact spot as an old Hispanic man walked by. We called him over to to passenger window of my friend. I asked him, a man in his mid 70's, what do you know about the Tippit shooting?

The first words out of his mouth were there were 2 people involved in the shooting of Tippit. This man said he had been living in this exact neighborhood in November, 1963. He did not say he had actually witnessed the shooting. But the first thing he said was that there were 2 people involved in the shooting of Officer Tippit; apparently this was common knowledge in this neighborhood at the time.

After that, I decided to time exactly how long it would take to walk from Oswald's room house on North Beckley to 10th and Patten. It took me 11 minutes and 5 seconds and I was power walking at a very fast rate, as fast as I could walk and not be jogging or running, plus I was cutting corners, walking in the middle of the street, not waiting for red lights, etc.

Then I walked back to North Beckley and it took me 10 minutes and 25 seconds, again power walking as fast as I could in a straight line back to Oswald's house.

At the time I was a 46 year old man in reasonably good physical condition.

Hello, Robert,

I wish I knew the name of that witness. I didn't mention him in the book because the story hasn't been verified.

But I have also walked that route frequently, and it is obvious Oswald couldn't have walked from his

rooming house to the scene of the Tippit shooting in time to fire the shots. The shooting probably

occurred at 1:09, earlier than the Warren Commission has it. I have found evidence that two, three,

or even four men were involved. The ballistics alone exonerate Oswald, and the Warren Report relied

almost entirely on the ballistics, since Helen Markham was so unreliable. The only way Oswald

could have been at the scene would have been if he was driven there, but I find that

unlikely. There were suspicious vehicles at the scene, including another police car.

[Joseph McBride]

Greetings Mr. McBride.

According to this review of your book

He [McBride] does not back away from making specific criticisms within the community as well. For example, his assessment of Mary Ferrell is that she was a disinformation agent, based on his personal dealings with her. Ferrell, of course, personally disliked Kennedy despite colleting an enormous quantity of information about the assassination, which survives as The Mary Ferrell Foundation. McBride also believes that Ferrell's release of the audio tape to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) near the end of their run was done so only to provide a kind of escape hatch for Robert Blakely to suggest a conspiracy without being forced to investigate its origins. He relates that the first-generation researcher Penn Jones told him to "stay away from her." (218-221)

I knew Mary Ferrell, though not very well, and I know of absolutely no reason why she should be considered a disinformation agent. And what is so great about Penn Jones?

As for the accusation that JD Tippit was a wannabe murderer, I say innocent until proven guilty.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/A-Personal-Journey-into-th-by-Joseph-Green-130716-953.html

Greetings Mr. McBride.

According to this review of your book

He [McBride] does not back away from making specific criticisms within the community as well. For example, his assessment of Mary Ferrell is that she was a disinformation agent, based on his personal dealings with her. Ferrell, of course, personally disliked Kennedy despite colleting an enormous quantity of information about the assassination, which survives as The Mary Ferrell Foundation. McBride also believes that Ferrell's release of the audio tape to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) near the end of their run was done so only to provide a kind of escape hatch for Robert Blakely to suggest a conspiracy without being forced to investigate its origins. He relates that the first-generation researcher Penn Jones told him to "stay away from her." (218-221)

I knew Mary Ferrell, though not very well, and I know of absolutely no reason why she should be considered a disinformation agent. And what is so great about Penn Jones?

As for the accusation that JD Tippit was a wannabe murderer, I say innocent until proven guilty.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/A-Personal-Journey-into-th-by-Joseph-Green-130716-953.html

Raymond,

My personal dealings with Mary Ferrell quickly alerted me to her duplicity. My investigative reporter's

instincts for a phony quickly kicked in, and I began investigating her background and MO. I go into this in detail in the book and can only summarize it here. I concluded that she was what fellow Tippit researcher Greg Lowrey called "The Gatekeeper," the person delegated by the U.S. government to keep tabs on what genuine researchers and others were doing. She doled out documents and other information to maintain the facade of being a researcher, but she had intelligence connections and spread disinformation. She also actively disliked John F. Kennedy.

Penn Jones warned me to stay away from her. He was a great journalist who was a maverick and was on the case from the first weekend. He turned up many important leads for the rest of us to follow. He made some mistakes and was sometimes sloppy. But he was intrepid, fearless, shrewd, and hard-digging. He was an inspiration to me and many others and was a mentor to me and a friend.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Joseph McBride

[Joseph McBride]

Not to be a pain, but how were you able to demonstrate this? Through a timeline? Through previously unknown eyewitness evidence? Both?

Pat, It's not a pain to be asked good questions. Other researchers and journalists have speculated from December 1963 that Tippit may have been tracking down Oswald. I studied the frantic actions of Tippit as reported by Earl Golz, Greg Lowrey, and other researchers. Tippit clearly gave signs of hunting for a man.

I had a revealing interview with Edgar Lee Tippit, the father of the late officer. The elder Tippit was a lively ninety when I interviewed him. He revealed to me that after his son's death, another Dallas police officer went to J. D.'s widow, Marie, and told her he and J. D. had been sent by the police to hunt down Oswald. Whether this was to capture him or kill him is not certain, but the evidence indicates that the latter is a strong possibility. This was at a time when Oswald's identity was not officially known to the DPD, although there is evidence indicating they knew about him and had fingered him as the patsy.

The other officer told Marie that he had not made it to the scene of the shooting because he became involved in an auto accident. This story had never been reported before, and Edgar Lee Tippit had

never been interviewed.

I found evidence that there was an auto accident near the time and place of the Tippit shooting. I studied the police dispatch tapes, FBI reports, HSCA interviews, and other documents to ascertain the movements of other officers around Oak Cliff. I had the first interview by a researcher with Tippit witness T. F. Bowley. Other policemen were behaving suspiciously in Oak Cliff besides Tippit. I believe another policeman or perhaps two policeman and probably a civilian as well were involved in the shooting of Tippit. I go into great detail on all this in the book and offer a wealth of evidence. I identify possible suspects in both shootings and exonerate others, including Oswald. Edgar Lee Tippit also provided me with other important information about his son, who in other books has been a mostly shadowy figure. I also had candid interviews with, among other people,

Tippit's mistress Johnnie Maxie Witherspoon, his rightwing employer Austin Cook, and Detective James Leavelle, who headed the "investigation" of the Tippit killing.

There is much new material in the book, partly because I worked on it for more than thirty years.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Joseph McBride

[David Von Pein]

I had a revealing interview with Edgar Lee Tippit, the father of the late officer. The elder Tippit was a lively ninety when I interviewed him. He revealed to me that after his son's death, another Dallas police officer went to J. D.'s widow, Marie, and told her he and J. D. had been sent by the police to hunt down Oswald.

In retrospect (many years later), couldn't the words "hunt down Oswald" easily be interpreted as "keep a watchful eye out for the slender white male who just shot President Kennedy"?

Knowing the evidence and the witness testimony in the Tippit murder case as I do, I feel that the latter interpretation of any "hunt down Oswald" remark that anyone might have made after 11/22/63 is almost certainly the correct explanation.

I believe another policeman or perhaps two policeman [sic] and probably a civilian as well were involved in the shooting of Tippit. I go into great detail on all this in the book and offer a wealth of evidence. I identify possible suspects in both shootings and exonerate others, including Oswald.

Therefore, Joseph, you must then believe that the TWELVE or so witnesses who positively identified Lee Harvey Oswald were either all lying or they innocently identified a perfect-looking Oswald double as the one and only gunman who killed J.D. Tippit or as the one and only man who was fleeing the scene of the shooting on foot with a gun in his hand. Correct?

Why do you disregard the two bullet shells found by the Davis girls at 10th & Patton (which they turned over to DPD Detectives Doughty and Dhority on Nov. 22)? Those shells have a clean and firm chain of custody. So even if a person wants to toss aside the "Poe shells", the Davis shells cannot be dismissed in the same manner. Those shells were marked by each DPD officer. And they were fired in Oswald's revolver "to the exclusion". And that revolver was in Oswald's hands when he was arrested while trying to kill more policemen with that same gun.

Based on the evidence, there's no possible way Oswald can be innocent. And here's why:

JFK-Archives/The Murder Of J.D. Tippit

Excerpt from above article:

"What makes Oswald's guilt in the Tippit murder EXTRA convincing (vs. "unconvincing") is the fact that there are multiple types of evidence to convict him -- including direct (eyewitness) testimony which corroborates and buttresses the physical evidence left behind by Oswald at the scene of the crime (i.e., the eyewitnesses fingered OSWALD -- and the bullet shells found at the crime scene were fired in OSWALD'S revolver -- and OSWALD himself had the murder weapon in his own hands just 35 minutes after Tippit was killed, with OSWALD himself acting like a very guilty man in the theater).

The melding together of that much eyewitness testimony, circumstantial evidence, and physical evidence (the bullet shells on Tenth Street) doesn't occur in a great number of murder cases. But in the Tippit case, it did occur. And Oswald was nice enough to KEEP THE MURDER WEAPON IN HIS POSSESSION right after the crime too, which is a huge asset when it comes to solving the murder of Officer Tippit.

The only possible way for Oswald to be innocent of Tippit's murder is if LHO's identical twin had actually shot Tippit with LEE HARVEY OSWALD'S gun, and then the identical twin (or exact look-alike) was somehow able to get Oswald himself to take possession of Revolver V510210 prior to his arrest in the Texas Theater.

And even that ridiculous scenario wouldn't really explain why Oswald, just thirty-five minutes after J.D. Tippit had been shot with LHO's Smith & Wesson revolver, was behaving like a very guilty person when the police approached him inside the Texas Theater on November 22, 1963.

Conspiracy theorists are experts at making up excuses to EXPLAIN AWAY all the evidence that exists against Lee Harvey Oswald in both the JFK and Tippit murder cases. But unless the CTers really want to believe that all of the eyewitnesses who identified Oswald were totally wrong AND that all of the physical evidence in the Tippit case was manufactured by the authorities to frame a man named Lee Oswald, then the conspiracy theorists really have nowhere to go with their persistent arguments that Oswald was innocent of killing J.D. Tippit." -- David Von Pein; January 10, 2012

Edited July 18, 2013 by David Von Pein

[John Simkin]

Gerald McKnight, the author of Breach of Trust, has sent me this message: "I have written a new preface to a pb copy of "Breach of Trust" (out in September) and what I focused on in this preface was material (much of it originating w/ the FBI and SS) that exonerated Oswald as the Dealey Plaza shooter. It might benefit McBride to know that the Dallas Police had Oswald as the assassin of JFK and Tippit and the assailant of Connally by 1:40 P.M. CST. If McBride would like this citation I'd be glad to send it forward. I have no argument with McBride's assertion that Tippit was "detailed" to find Oswald and kill him when, in fact, he was like Oswald, a dupe in a much bigger operation. I could add here all the business of the Dallas cops climbing all over Oswald in the Texas Theatre grappling for his revolver. A Dallas Police forensic report on the alleged Oswald revolver indicated that not a single DP cop's finger prints were lifted from the weapon."