C-Span: JFK Assassination Theories, Mark Lane and Joan Mellen

[Douglas Caddy]

Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories, Mark Lane and Joan Mellen

Oct 18, 2013

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Lanea

[Vince Palamara]

It is on from 1:15 am EST until 8 am tonight

[Pat Speer]

They ran 4 presentations from the Wecht conference back to back. I saw some of them in person. I'll watch the others tonight.

[Vince Palamara]

I recorded it. The little bit I saw of Mark Lane was good. That said, his talk was supposed to be about Secret Service complicity, yet I did not hear him mention the Secret Service once.

So, Pat: did you check out any of those "over-heated clunkers" and "retreads" yet LOL?

[Pat Speer]

I recorded it. The little bit I saw of Mark Lane was good. That said, his talk was supposed to be about Secret Service complicity, yet I did not hear him mention the Secret Service once.

So, Pat: did you check out any of those "over-heated clunkers" and "retreads" yet LOL?

I watched Rex Bradford's presentation on the Church Committee last night. I missed Rex in Pittsburgh because Aguilar was talking on the medical evidence at the same time. Rex got into a lot of really good stuff, that most have either forgotten, or never known. I watched most of Oliver Stone's presentation as well. I saw it live, so I didn't pay that much attention. I also watched the panel with Lane, Mellen, Tanenbaum, Bradford, Lesar, Hardway, and Alcorn. I saw this one live as well so I didn't pay that much attention. Lane repeated much of what he'd said shortly before, in his own hour. You are right, of course. He was supposed to talk about the Secret Service and spent most of his time talking about the HSCA, etc.

This leaves the 2 hour program with Tanenbaum and Lesar. I was gonna let it play in the background through Tanenbaum, and then watch Lesar, so I could delete it and make room on the Tivo. But at the end of Tanenbaum some dork got up and asked a question. It was me. So I held onto the program until I can figure out a way to have it play while my son is playing with his toys, so I can see his reaction when he looks up and sees his daddy on TV.

P.S. What do you mean by "over-heated clunkers" and "retreads"? Is that a quote from McAdams?

P.P.S. I just played the Tanenbaum Q & A to see if my son noticed I was on TV. He smiled and continued playing like it was no big deal. It just goes to show how times have changed. When I was little, I would have got really excited to see my parents on TV. Now, thanks to home movies, it's no big deal.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Pat Speer

[Terry Adams]

Did everyone hear Joan Mellen say that the "Mac Wallace" fingerprint absolutely was not his. She also indicated that it was a "you heard it here first" situation. Based on an 'unbelievably clear' picture from the FBI, an indisputable expert found that the fingerprint in question belonged to someone else!

[Pat Speer]

I don't think Joan's "discovery" was much of a surprise. She talked about this in Dallas as well.

While some in Pittsburgh were annoyed at Sabato's dismissal of the dictabelt evidence, and Mellen's dismissal of the Wallace print, I welcomed this, as I think it's high time researchers jettison some of the weaker stuff, so they can get the public and the media to focus on the stronger stuff.

My presentation in Dallas was on the location of Kennedy's back wound. I told the audience it was the "smoking" back wound, as the study of it not only suggests that Kennedy was killed by more than one shooter, but proves there was a deliberate cover-up of this probability, that continues to this day.

[Terry Adams]

Pat, is your presentation recorded and available anywhere that we could watch it?

[Douglas Caddy]

Did everyone hear Joan Mellen say that the "Mac Wallace" fingerprint absolutely was not his. She also indicated that it was a "you heard it here first" situation. Based on an 'unbelievably clear' picture from the FBI, an indisputable expert found that the fingerprint in question belonged to someone else!IN

In parts 1 and 2 of "LBJ: A Closer Look", the 1998 video, Walt Brown presides over a press conference in which Mac Wallace's fingerprint evidence is disclosed publicly for the first time. This evidence should be weighed against what Joan Mellen maintains. The video explores the close relationship between LBJ and Mac Wallace. Lyle Sardie, who produced the video, interviewed me at different times in the various parts of the video.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi4rX34lJLpqJvZYoXBZODw

[Larry Hancock]

Actually I know that Joan had access to that as I provided her with quite extensive materials from several years research on the subject. She had Sardie's materials and documents as well and a variety of published and unpublished material - from what I saw in Dallas she developed considerable more research material on Wallace in her own inquiry. I also referred her to Richard Bartholomew's (sp) work as part of the fingerprint team and she interviewed him as well. I think its probably safe to say she had the full body of work - lacking only material that Walt Brown has and I'm not sure she managed to get any of that - might have, just don't know myself.

I wanted to make sure she had as much as possible so as to take a close look at it from a fresh perspective. I think she also had all the versions of Estes various written works, including the most recent one in which he made so many changes and recantations - well all I can say personally is that I considered it all a lot more credible before he put out that last version, but that's just me.

-- Larry

Edited December 1, 2013 by Larry Hancock

[Douglas Caddy]

I worked closely with U.S. Marshal Clint Peoples on the Estes and Wallace matters in 1983-84. Has Joan examined Clint People's papers? He gave me a number of documents on Wallace when I worked with him. Years ago, when I first joined the forum, I mailed many of these documents to John Simkin.

Peoples followed Estes and Wallace for 25 years. It would be a difficult task to disregard what Peoples learned and concluded about these two men, first as a Texas Ranger and later as a U.S. Marshal.

Of course, there is J. Evetts Haley's 1964 book, "A Texan Looks at Lyndon", which was the original published investigation into the topic. When I asked Estes in 1984 about what he thought of Haley's book, he replied only half-jokingly, "That man must have been reading my mail."

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKhaleyE.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKpeoples.htm

Edited December 1, 2013 by Douglas Caddy

[Vince Palamara]

Much better presentations than in 2003- that one was a snoozefest (when they aired that one on PCN and C-SPAN and panned the audience now and again, you saw either sleeping people or yawning people LOL).

PAT--that comment was yours: you made it at the beginning of DVP's long post about new books on the case

[Larry Hancock]

Douglas, I really could not say in regard to People's papers but I'm sure if she has not, she would be happy to receive copies. My recollection of individual documents is too vague to speculate whether or not they would be in addition to Sardie's document collection which I did forward to Joan. That had extensive material on the Kinser trial, the Estes investigations and a couple of Defense security investigations of Wallace which were extremely thorough.

As for myself, I talked at some length about Peoples with Madeleine Brown, who recounted many of his remarks and observations on Estes and Wallace however I don't recall ever discussing any documents he may have had with her.

-- Larry

[Pat Speer]

Pat, is your presentation recorded and available anywhere that we could watch it?

Due to a last minute scheduling change, Dr. Mantik and I were asked to present our two conflicting theories regarding the Harper fragment at an alternate location across a rainy campus from the main room, where Cyril Wecht himself was speaking, and dissecting a brain on stage. Not surprising, considering the circumstances, only 30-40 showed up. I did notice Jim DiEugenio and John McAdams in the audience, however.

In any event, Ben Wecht assured me that our presentations were recorded and would ultimately be available online.

In Dallas, at Lancer, I spoke on the back wound, in the main room, on the 21st. When I began my 45 minute-long presentation, the room was less than half-full. But when I finished, I was surprised by the volume of the applause. I then looked around the room and realized that it had filled up as I was talking, and that 300 or more people were now in the room. A number of them jumped up to shake my hand as I left the room, and 10-15 followed me outside into the hallway to question me further. It was quite gratifying.

My understanding is that the Lancer presentations will ultimately be available as well.

Any word on that, Larry?

Edited December 1, 2013 by Pat Speer

[Larry Hancock]

Pat, all the Lancer presentations in the main room were videotaped and recorded, they will be available for purchase through Lancer and normally Debra announces availability

with a general Lancer email.

Normally it takes a couple of months to put everything together and package it for sale, I'll check with Deb on the timeline, but yes, they should all be available on DVD.

-- Larry