New Book!

[Paul Trejo]

^{Well, Bill O'Neil, I feel I must apologize for Ernie Lazar's changing the topic from Dr. Jeffrey Caufield's forthcoming new book to his opinion of me myself.}

^{I obviously can't control Ernie Lazar, but I can set his account to IGNORE in my FORUM settings, and promise not to respond to any more of his posts on this thread of yours. I don't see what else I can do.}

^{In any case, I'm delighted that Dr. Caufield's book is finally being shipped, and I look forward to reading his book and discussing his book on this thread that you've created for that purpose.}

^{Best regards,}

^{--Paul Trejo}

Edited August 29, 2015 by Paul Trejo

[John Dolva]

Good heavens, Ernie. I believe you may have rendered Paul temporarily speechless!

Impressive.

edit typos

Edited August 27, 2015 by John Dolva

[David Andrews]

In case anyone wants to see the DPD Arrest Worksheet on Walker, it is attached

Not to go on about this, but a rap sheet such as this is hardly indicative of the lifestyle of one who, a dozen years before, is alleged to have taken out the POTUS. Did some kind of reward come to Walker for organizing such grand conspiracy? He couldn't even buy off the Dallas cops at the time of his two arrests.

Take a look at the 1963-era pictures of Walker's Turtle Creek house and compare it to real estate listing photos taken in this decade, or look at it today on Google Earth. Any financing Walker collected was sufficient only to print the boxes of provocative literature piled up inside. It's the house of a recluse and an obsessive, a tool trotted out by others who needed an opposition figurehead, and that status was afforded him solely due to his "martyrdom" at the hands of the Kennedys.

With a more moderate administration in the White House, and an active anti-communist war escalating, Walker became a puppet with cut strings. There would be no more presidential bids, no elective office of any kind. When his phone calls were returned, the replies became condescending and off-putting, and then ceased to appear. He couldn't make the money for Texas oil and industry that a Texan president in control of the defense budget could. One thinks of George Lincoln Rockwell, gunned down because he had to go to the same laundromat every week.

[David G. Healy]

In case anyone wants to see the DPD Arrest Worksheet on Walker, it is attached

Not to go on about this, but a rap sheet such as this is hardly indicative of the lifestyle of one who, a dozen years before, is alleged to have taken out the POTUS. Did some kind of reward come to Walker for organizing such grand conspiracy? He couldn't even buy off the Dallas cops at the time of his two arrests.

Take a look at the 1963-era pictures of Walker's Turtle Creek house and compare it to real estate listing photos taken in this decade, or look at it today on Google Earth. Any financing Walker collected was sufficient only to print the boxes of provocative literature piled up inside. It's the house of a recluse and an obsessive, a tool trotted out by others who needed an opposition figurehead, and that status was afforded him solely due to his "martyrdom" at the hands of the Kennedys.

With a more moderate administration in the White House, and an active anti-communist war escalating, Walker became a puppet with cut strings. There would be no more presidential bids, no elective office of any kind. When his phone calls were returned, the replies became condescending and off-putting, and then ceased to appear. He couldn't make the money for Texas oil and industry that a Texan president in control of the defense budget could. One thinks of George Lincoln Rockwell, gunned down because he had to go to the same laundromat every week.

brilliant, David Andrews...

[Paul Trejo]

Not to go on about this, but a rap sheet such as this is hardly indicative of the lifestyle of one who, a dozen years before, is alleged to have taken out the POTUS. Did some kind of reward come to Walker for organizing such grand conspiracy? He couldn't even buy off the Dallas cops at the time of his two arrests.

Take a look at the 1963-era pictures of Walker's Turtle Creek house and compare it to real estate listing photos taken in this decade, or look at it today on Google Earth. Any financing Walker collected was sufficient only to print the boxes of provocative literature piled up inside. It's the house of a recluse and an obsessive, a tool trotted out by others who needed an opposition figurehead, and that status was afforded him solely due to his "martyrdom" at the hands of the Kennedys.

With a more moderate administration in the White House, and an active anti-communist war escalating, Walker became a puppet with cut strings. There would be no more presidential bids, no elective office of any kind. When his phone calls were returned, the replies became condescending and off-putting, and then ceased to appear. He couldn't make the money for Texas oil and industry that a Texan president in control of the defense budget could. One thinks of George Lincoln Rockwell, gunned down because he had to go to the same laundromat every week.

Excellent points, David. It is fruitless to harp on Walker's "weird" personality and ignore the elephant in the room, which is the JFK assassination.

Your question about the "reward" that Walker might have received for his role in the JFK murder is a good one, so let's take a closer look at Walker's lifestyle in Dallas.

First, Walker's family home was in Center Point, Texas, not Dallas. That two-story Dallas home in which Walker lived was not his own -- it was rented. But how could he could afford to rent it? We know that Walker forfeited his US Army pension in 1961 when he resigned in protest against the alleged "Communists" in the US Government.

The answer, most likely, is that Walker had help, and the helper, most likely, was H.L Hunt. First, many relatives of H.L. Hunt already lived in this nice neighborhood near Turtle Creek Boulevard.

(Some background may be in order. In April 1961 the Overseas Weekly newspaper slammed Walker in Germany, and the Joint Chiefs quickly removed Walker from his command over the huge 24th Infantry Division in Augsburg. This made news in the USA, and the Right-wing press, especially, jumped to Walker's aid. Even William F. Buckley, Jr. defended Walker forcefully in his National Review -- as long as Walker was still a General. When Walker resigned from the US Army in November 1961, however, William Buckley lost all interest in Walker as just one more right-wing civilian clamoring for attention.)

Anyway, Walker immediately began writing his copyrighted speeches in Dallas, and these were a smashing success in Dallas and other Southern cities. Walker received thunderous, standing ovations wherever he went, and Newsweek put Walker on their front cover. So Walker started his own non-profit educational company, American Eagle Publishing, which he ran entirely inside his Dallas home.

Walker enjoyed the friendship and financial support of H.L. Hunt when Walker chose to run for Texas Governor. Hunt financed this campaign entirely at his own expense. (When Walker lost, Hunt said it was because Walker didn't listen well enough to him.)

Now -- many folks have written that if the resigned General Walker was involved in the JFK murder, it was probably in the service of H.L. Hunt. I personally don't see enough evidence for that. IMHO, just as George De Mohrenschildt talked tough about Edwin Walker, but was surprised when Lee Harvey Oswald actually rushed to action against Walker -- it seems to me that H.L. Hunt would talk tough about JFK, but was surprised when Walker actually rushed to action against JFK.

At least -- this will be my theory until more evidence is presented. IMHO, Edwin Walker was clearly supported by H.L. Hunt financially, until his American Eagle Publishing company became stable -- and yet it is hasty, IMHO, to just blame H.L. Hunt as the mastermind of the JFK murder, simply because Hunt was so rich.

Also, Walker wasn't a recluse. He was plugged in to many social organizations in Dallas, including the John Birch Society, the Minutemen, and his own Friends of Walker. The president of his company, Robert Allen Surrey, kept his office in Walker's Turtle Creek Home. Also, Walker had a full-time secretary, Julie Knecht, who worked closely with Surrey right in Walker's home. Also, Walker had a live-in house-boy, William McDuff, for several months. Also, Robbie Schmidt (from CUSA) was Walker's live-in chauffeur. Walker was almost never alone.

The ruination of Walker was almost certainly the episode when JFK and RFK sent him to an insane asylum following the failed racial riots at Ole Miss University in September 1962, as Walker failed to prevent James Meredith from becoming the first Black American to register at that public college.

In other words, the resigned General Walker had plenty of personal reasons to kill JFK all on his own.

Soon after the JFK murder, Walker had no further hopes in politics, and so he was spent. Hunt stopped supporting him, and eventually Walker moved back to Center Point, Texas, and begged the US Army for his Pension. Ten years later he finally got it.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited August 28, 2015 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

Not to go on about this, but a rap sheet such as this is hardly indicative of the lifestyle of one who, a dozen years before, is alleged to have taken out the POTUS. Did some kind of reward come to Walker for organizing such grand conspiracy? He couldn't even buy off the Dallas cops at the time of his two arrests.

Take a look at the 1963-era pictures of Walker's Turtle Creek house and compare it to real estate listing photos taken in this decade, or look at it today on Google Earth. Any financing Walker collected was sufficient only to print the boxes of provocative literature piled up inside. It's the house of a recluse and an obsessive, a tool trotted out by others who needed an opposition figurehead, and that status was afforded him solely due to his "martyrdom" at the hands of the Kennedys.

With a more moderate administration in the White House, and an active anti-communist war escalating, Walker became a puppet with cut strings. There would be no more presidential bids, no elective office of any kind. When his phone calls were returned, the replies became condescending and off-putting, and then ceased to appear. He couldn't make the money for Texas oil and industry that a Texan president in control of the defense budget could. One thinks of George Lincoln Rockwell, gunned down because he had to go to the same laundromat every week.

Excellent points, David. It is fruitless to harp on Walker's "weird" personality and ignore the elephant in the room, which is the JFK assassination.

Your question about the "reward" that Walker might have received for his role in the JFK murder is a good one, so let's take a closer look at Walker's lifestyle in Dallas.

First, Walker's family home was in Center Point, Texas, not Dallas. That two-story Dallas home in which Walker lived was not his own -- it was rented. But how could he could afford to rent it? We know that Walker forfeited his US Army pension in 1961 when he resigned in protest against the alleged "Communists" in the US Government.

The answer is most likely that Walker had help, and the help was most likely H.L Hunt. First, many relatives of H.L. Hunt lived in this nice neighborhood near Turtle Creek Boulevard.

(Some background may be in order. In April 1961 the Overseas Weekly newspaper slammed Walker in Germany, and the Joint Chiefs quickly removed Walker from his command over the huge 24th Infantry Division in Augsburg. This made news in the USA, and the Right-wing press, especially, jumped to Walker's aid. Even William F. Buckley, Jr. defended Walker forcefully in his National Review -- as long as Walker was still a General. When Walker resigned from the US Army in November 1961, however, William Buckley lost all interest in Walker as just one more right-wing civilian clamoring for attention.)

Anyway, Walker immediately began writing his copyrighted speeches in Dallas, and these were a smashing success in Dallas and other Southern cities. Walker received thunderous, standing ovations wherever he went, and Newsweek put Walker on their front cover. So Walker started his own non-profit educational company, American Eagle Publishing, which he ran entirely inside his Dallas home.

Walker enjoyed the friendship and financial support of H.L. Hunt when Walker chose to run for Texas Governor. Hunt financed this campaign entirely at his own expense. (When Walker lost, Hunt said it was because Walker didn't listen well enough to him.)

Now -- many folks have written that if the resigned General Walker was involved in the JFK murder, it was probably in the service of H.L. Hunt. I personally don't see enough evidence for that. IMHO, just as George De Mohrenschildt talked tough about Edwin Walker, but was surprised when Lee Harvey Oswald actually rushed to action against Walker -- it seems to me that H.L. Hunt would talk tough about JFK, but was surprised when Walker actually rushed to action against JFK.

At least -- this will be my theory until more evidence is presented. IMHO, Edwin Walker was clearly supported by H.L. Hunt financially, until his American Eagle Publishing company became stable -- and yet it is hasty, IMHO, to just blame H.L. Hunt as the mastermind of the JFK murder, simply because Hunt was so rich.

Also, Walker wasn't a recluse. He was plugged in to many social organizations in Dallas, including the John Birch Society, the Minutemen, and his own Friends of Walker. The president of his company, Robert Allen Surrey, kept his office in Walker's Turtle Creek Home. Also, Walker had a full-time secretary, Julia Knecht, who worked closely with Surrey right in Walker's home. Also, Walker had a live-in house-boy, William McDuff, for several months. Also, Robbie Schmidt (from CUSA) was Walker's live-in chauffeur. Walker was almost never alone.

The ruination of Walker was almost certainly the episode when JFK and RFK sent him to an insane asylum following the failed racial riots at Ole Miss University in September 1962, as Walker failed to prevent James Meredith from becoming the first Black American to register at that public college.

In other words, the resigned General Walker had plenty of personal reasons to kill JFK all on his own.

Soon after the JFK murder, Walker had no further hopes in politics, and so he was spent. Hunt stopped supporting him, and eventually Walker moved back to Center Point, Texas, and begged the US Army for his Pension. Ten years later he finally got it.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Paul -- do you have correspondence from H.L. Hunt to Walker and Walker replies? If so, what did Hunt want Walker to do differently -- which, apparently, Walker rejected?

My understanding from reading the obit on Walker's father, is that his Center Point TX property was a ranch? Does anybody know the specific address?

With respect to Walker's income sources:

* I suppose it is possible that after spending a long career in the Army, at least 10 years of which was at rank of Lt. Col or Major General - Walker could have saved a significant amount of money. In 1943-1944, for example, a Lt. Col. in the US Army (single not married) was paid approximately $470 month in salary and $90 month for a housing allowance. This would be about $7600 month today. When the Army restored his pension rights (in 1982), his annual pension as a Maj. General was $45,120 (he served a total 30 years in the Army)

* In the 1960's, it was fairly common for speakers to receive $100-$250 per speech. I assume Walker received income from his "Midnight Ride" speaking events around the country in conjunction with Billy James Hargis. Newspaper coverage of those events often reported that 1000+ people filled an auditorium. I assume Walker also received income for most (if not all) the speeches he gave before Citizens Councils or other white supremacy organizations.

* For a time, Walker was "Military Editor" of (and a stockholder in) American Mercury magazine -- and I assume he got paid for that. His articles were printed in many different publications and perhaps he received some small amount for some of them.

* Robert Surrey reported during his Warren Commission testimony that Walker contributed about $1000 to the American Eagle Publishing Company and that company received about $10,000-$15,000 from sales of its publications and (Surrey claimed) it also received about $100 in donations.

* No clue how much money H.L. Hunt gave to Walker but he certainly could afford to be generous.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Ernie Lazar

[William O'Neil]

Dr. Caufield wants his readers not to think he disregards Harry Dean as a witness!

While it is true that Caufield has found some faults in the way Dean has told his story, in the end he concludes that Dean did indeed have inside knowledge about the assassination conspiracy and General Walker. One example of this is Dean’s claim that Mormon Ezra Taft Benson was a part of the conspiracy. That is not too hard to believe when you consider that Joseph Milteer, a General Walker associate, met with Benson a month before the murder in Utah. Milteer also had a bank account set up in Provo under an assumed name with considerable amounts of money for no honest reason. A massive amount of new evidence is presented on Milteer, who we know had pretty dead-on accurate foreknowledge of the JFK murder. There are more examples like this about Dean’s unique knowledge in the book.

Caufield concludes that Dean has not deliberately lied or attempted to fool anyone. He gets a little off line when he tries to interpret events he had no firsthand knowledge of, through those he did have knowledge of. Given that, I think Dean deserves that we take a kinder, more understanding and appreciative approach to him and his story.

Bill

[Ernie Lazar]

Dr. Caufield wants his readers not to think he disregards Harry Dean as a witness!

While it is true that Caufield has found some faults in the way Dean has told his story, in the end he concludes that Dean did indeed have inside knowledge about the assassination conspiracy and General Walker. One example of this is Dean’s claim that Mormon Ezra Taft Benson was a part of the conspiracy. That is not too hard to believe when you consider that Joseph Milteer, a General Walker associate, met with Benson a month before the murder in Utah. Milteer also had a bank account set up in Provo under an assumed name with considerable amounts of money for no honest reason. A massive amount of new evidence is presented on Milteer, who we know had pretty dead-on accurate foreknowledge of the JFK murder. There are more examples like this about Dean’s unique knowledge in the book.

Caufield concludes that Dean has not deliberately lied or attempted to fool anyone. He gets a little off line when he tries to interpret events he had no firsthand knowledge of, through those he did have knowledge of. Given that, I think Dean deserves that we take a kinder, more understanding and appreciative approach to him and his story.

Bill

Well, Bill, I will wait until I see the entire story which is presented in Caufield's book but nobody seriously believes Harry's story -- particularly when you review his FBI and CIA files (and the relevant FBI files about subjects which Harry discusses in Paul Trejo's 2014 eBook--which I am not sure is even still available) and you also review the contradictions in what Harry has said or written over the years (both here in EF and on the Mary Ferrell website) and when you consider the absolute total absence of verifiable documentation for his recollections.

I know I am not reflecting the standard orthodoxy here in EF about conspiracy theories -- but it is the credulous acceptance of stories presented by people like Harry which explains why so many researchers have arrived at conclusions totally different from what Bill has summarized. I previously mentioned Joan Mellen. I also have quoted what Penn Jones wrote in his JFK-assassination newsletter [The Continuing Inquiry] in September 1981:

"While on the subject, there is another 'former' CIA operative (or FBI or both) in whom I put little or no credence and that is Harry Dean."

As Robin Ramsay points out in his book, "Who Shot JFK?" (2nd edition 2009):

"Dean has never been taken seriously by the Kennedy researchers, though I am not sure why."

And last year, I contacted many of the most well-known JFK-assassination researchers who have their own websites, and they universally rejected Harry's story although one said he never heard of Harry!

With respect to Joseph Milteer -- and claims made by former FBI Agent Don Adams, I received the following email from former Agent Wesley Swearingen:

Dear Mr. Lazar,

Joseph Milteer may have heard about a plan to kill JFK. The CIA was developing a hit squad. Milteer may have heard something, somehow. To my knowledge, Milteer did not have any Chicago Mob connections, therefore I don't know how he could have offered any assistance....Don Adams was a new agent when he talked to Milteer. I know from experience that new agents tend to believe whatever they are told without checking the facts. It is not that I don't believe Adams, I don't believe what Milteer told Adams. Milteer could have heard rumors about a plot to kill JFK. I don't know what his connections were. The Chicago Mob figures who received training at a CIA run camp in Florida would not pay any attention to someone like Milteer who just happened to have 'made himself available' to help the crew who actually murdered JFK (in any way they requested). Adams does not mention the Chicago Mob as having been involved. I know for a fact that the Chicago Mob was involved and that those who were involved have been violently silenced.

In 2010, Swearingen received a copy of Harry Dean's "Crosstrails" pamphlet. After reading it and receiving additional information about Harry's story from Paul Trejo -- Swearingen made the following conclusions (from three separate emails to me):

Mr. Lazar,

I vaguely recall Dean's story, but I immediately dismissed it as not truely connected to the JFK assassination. This does not mean that Dean's story of another plot is not true. It means that the folks Dean mentions were not connected to the assassination. LHO was a fairly public figure with his Fair Play for Cuba Committee activities and public comments. Any group could have looked at LHO as a patsy, or a sucker play.

It is my belief that LHO played a secondary role, whatever that may have been. The physical evidence in this case does not support LHO as the lone assassin. The FBI Lab changed the story to fit Hoover's plan to blame LHO. Please read my book as to what I believe happened and what sources I know to be reliable have told me...Why do you want to believe stories by Dean and Milteer when they have no evidence to back up what they claim?" Sincerely, M. Wesley Swearingen

---AND---

"Ernie,

The fact that Dean has the names of two former agents in Chicago does not make Dean an informant. Maybe, in Dean's mind he was an informant, but not in the mind of the FBI. Just because someone gives information to the FBI, it does not make them an informant. Maybe a source, but not an informant. The FBI has very strict rules on informants and Dean does not appear to have met these rules.

Dean claims to have met with Wesley Grapp, SAC of the Los Angeles FBI office. Grapp did not become SAC until 1964. Agents are never assigned to an office and then made SAC. They are made SAC directly from the Training and Inspection Division in Washington, D.C.

Grapp would not have driven around in a car with Dean when Grapp was SAC. Grapp was not in Los Angeles before he became SAC of LA. Now that Grapp is deceased, Dean can claim anything, but he needs to get his facts straight.

The description of Dean by William McCauley as a "mental case" is proof to me that Dean was not an FBI informant. I don't know how to make it any clearer. It sounds as though Dean met McCauley, but is claiming to have met with Grapp, just to give his claims a little more class.

Dean may have illusions that he knew some group, whatever name he wants to pick, as wanting to kill JFK. If he knew some group that was thinking of killing JFK, that does not mean that the group he had in mind actually did kill JFK. In my opinion, Dean is just blowing smoke rings at Paul Trejo and Trelo is grasping into thin air.

I hope this answers your question about Dean and what I think of his theory and alleged information on the killing of JFK."

Sincerely,

M. Wesley Swearingen

---AND---

When Paul Trejo objected to my summary regarding what Swearingen believed and in particular my statement that Swearingen "dismissed" Harry's recollections as non-credible, Swearingen then wrote one more email to Paul (below) to make his position as clear as the English language permits (although Paul Trejo still pretends that Swearingen does not "dismiss" Harry's story). I highlight the final two sentences which should make Swearingen's conclusion manifestly understandable to everyone (except Paul).

Mr. Trejo,

Please let me explain one more time what I think of Dean's information. If you read my book TO KILL A PRESIDENT, you should know what my position is on who killed JFL.[sic] I have reliable witnesses. Dean has only his opinion, which he cannot support with reliable witnesses or physical evidence.

Dean claims to have been a FBI informant and to have ridden in a car with SAC Wesley Grapp. Dean could have talked to FBI agents in Chicago. That does not make him a FBI informant. As to Dean's informant status, FBI agent William McCauley of Los Angeles characterized Dean as a "mental case." There is no way McCauley would have had Dean as an informant. Dean may have talked to an agent in Los Angeles. This does not make him an informant.

As to Dean riding around in a car with SAC Wesley Grapp, that is absolutely preposterous. SACs do not do agent field work. JFK was killed in 1963. Grapp did not become SAC of Los Angeles until 1964.

Dean may, or may not have talked to various individuals and groups. These people may have been joking with Dean, especially if they thought Dean was a "mental case," just as FBI agent McCauley thought.

Dean's idea that some people he talked to were involved in the JFK assassination is as weak as his idea that he was a FBI informant and that he rode around in a car with SAC Wesley Grapp.

It is my opinion, after reading Dean's manuscript and hearing what you claim is true about Dean, that Dean is drastically in need of professional help. It is also my opinion that what Dean has claimed as fact is absolute fiction.

Sincerely,

M. Wesley Swearingen

Edited August 28, 2015 by Ernie Lazar

[Ernie Lazar]

As a postscript to my previous message, I would like to offer this larger context.

I first learned about the Freedom of Information Act and about what type of records were available through making FOIA requests in late 1979 or early 1980. Shortly thereafter I made my first FOIA request to the FBI but I had no clue what I might expect to receive (if anything).

My original requests were limited in scope to Birch Society-related subject matters. When the FBI acknowledged my requests, most of the time they informed me that I was the first and only person to have submitted requests on the subjects I listed in my letters. I was astonished.

Then, after I began receiving interim releases, I realized that I had found something quite unique because nobody had ever discovered this information before and, consequently, it opened up whole new vistas for interested researchers and students of the extreme right in our country.

I mention this because as many historians have confirmed, the FBI's files are an exceptional archive of U.S. history. That archive does NOT require anybody to agree with statements or conclusions in FBI memos and reports. Instead, I am referring to the incredible amount of primary source documentation which exists in FBI files --- including, in some instances, the only known copies currently extant of obscure newsletters and pamphlets and other material which either does not exist in any library OR which exists (only in part) in a handful of locations. Not to mention the literally millions of letters written by all sorts of people as well as letters from organizations and institutions who often enclosed copies of newspaper and magazine articles and pamphlets and even books with their letters AND the tens of thousands of legislative hearings and reports which were channeled into various FBI files.

The other fascinating thing which can be learned from FBI files is the extent to which the FBI was intimately familiar with the activities and beliefs of every conceivable political, religious, educational, labor, business, and professional organization in our country,

Often, that knowledge was acquired simply because someone voluntarily provided unsolicited information to the Bureau -- such as by writing a letter or making a phone call to their local FBI office or to FBI HQ.

The FBI also learned about controversies all over the country from receiving millions of inquiries and complaints from ordinary citizens, as well as from journalists, politicians, other government agencies, and even foreign governments.

And, lastly, the FBI had its own specific sources of information -- including what they called "panel sources", "established sources" and, of course, "informants" within both legitimate, criminal, and subversive organizations.

It is impossible to quantify the total volume of data which exists in FBI files (HQ and field office) although we have some clues.

I would like to suggest (although I know many readers here will disagree with this) -- that it would be totally impossible for anyone to successfully hide (in perpetuity) their criminal or subversive activities (or even just their intentions i.e. proposed actions) for months and even years not just from the FBI -- but from all their city, county, and state law enforcement entities and their local and state legislative investigating bodies as well as local, state, and national media.

If we lived in a regimented and closed society without numerous independent centers of power and authority and knowledge (such as North Korea for example) --- then it would be much more likely to be able to totally hide or suppress inconvenient data. [i am reminded that people used to have to request government permission to purchase a typewriter in the former USSR!]

I know people here do not accept this -- but the type of conspiratorial plot you are proposing we accept cannot exist (in secret) in any open society.

Let me be clear: I am NOT saying that one or more conspirators cannot plan and execute a plot without anybody initially being aware of it -- but I am saying that such a plot cannot remain secret and unproven months, years, or decades later --- and thus be subject to 13 different and often mutually irreconcilable "theories" about its primary actors, their motives, and their objectives.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

Dr. Caufield wants his readers not to think he disregards Harry Dean as a witness!

While it is true that Caufield has found some faults in the way Dean has told his story, in the end he concludes that Dean did indeed have inside knowledge about the assassination conspiracy and General Walker. One example of this is Dean’s claim that Mormon Ezra Taft Benson was a part of the conspiracy. That is not too hard to believe when you consider that Joseph Milteer, a General Walker associate, met with Benson a month before the murder in Utah. Milteer also had a bank account set up in Provo under an assumed name with considerable amounts of money for no honest reason. A massive amount of new evidence is presented on Milteer, who we know had pretty dead-on accurate foreknowledge of the JFK murder. There are more examples like this about Dean’s unique knowledge in the book.

Caufield concludes that Dean has not deliberately lied or attempted to fool anyone. He gets a little off line when he tries to interpret events he had no firsthand knowledge of, through those he did have knowledge of. Given that, I think Dean deserves that we take a kinder, more understanding and appreciative approach to him and his story.

Bill

Thanks, Bill, for this interesting perspective on the 1965 claims of Harry Dean, first made public on the Joe Pyne Radio Show in Los Angeles in January 1965, soon after the publication of the Warren Report. Harry Dean was the first person to publicly name the resigned General Walker as a key member of the JFK Kill Team.

Firstly, I'd note that Harry Dean's 1990 manuscript, Crosstrails, is still available from Harry Dean himself, and is an interesting read. I would secondly note that the 2013 eBook by Harry and myself is still available from Smashwords online (along with my three-part research paper on the personal papers of the resigned General Edwin Walker for historian H.W. Brands).

Secondly, I'd note that the former FBI Agent, Don Adams, clashed head-on with former FBI Agent Wesley Swearingen, because Swearingen insisted that his narrow view of a Chicago JFK plot (starring Richard Cain) must trump all other views without exception.

IMHO, Swearingen rightly names Richard Cain as one plotter in the Chicago arm of the JFK plot, but the Chicago arm was only a small part of the Big Picture, contrary to Wes Swearingen. On the contrary, Don Adams also rightly names Joseph Milteer, who in many ways was closer to the center of the JFK plot because he was closer to the Southern politics of the plot.

The accounts of both Swearingen and Adams are like two blind men touching an elephant, one on the tail, the other on the leg, and each insisting that the other has no idea what an elephant is like.

In fact, both men offer partial views.

IMHO, the fact that Joseph Milteer is named as an important element in the JFK murder by Dr. Jeffrey Caufield in his new book, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: The Extensive New Evidence of a Radical-Right Conspiracy, is a strong suit. Milteer was close to the John Birch Society, the Minutemen, the Friends of Walker, the States Rights Parties, the White Citizens Councils, and to Edwin Walker himself.

It is indeed interesting that Caufield finds a link between Joseph Milteer and former Mormon President Ezra Taft Benson, whom Harry Dean has long insisted was a part of the JFK plot.

Harry Dean was also close with Loran Hall, Larry Howard and Guy Gabaldon, an extreme rightist speech-maker and darling of the right wing in Los Angeles. Jim Garrison had linked Loran Hall with the resigned General Walker in Dallas on multiple occasions throughout the summer of 1963 -- running guns and medical supplies to Cuban Exiles from well-heeled members of the Los Angeles JBS.

I look forward to reading Dr. Caufield's connection of the dots. Because of the lopsided slant of JFK literature toward a CIA-did-it theory for the past-half-century, these insights about the Extreme Right Wing in the JFK plot are likely to be fresh, new and thought-provoking for many.

Regards

--Paul Trejo

Edited August 28, 2015 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

Dr. Caufield wants his readers not to think he disregards Harry Dean as a witness!

While it is true that Caufield has found some faults in the way Dean has told his story, in the end he concludes that Dean did indeed have inside knowledge about the assassination conspiracy and General Walker. One example of this is Dean’s claim that Mormon Ezra Taft Benson was a part of the conspiracy. That is not too hard to believe when you consider that Joseph Milteer, a General Walker associate, met with Benson a month before the murder in Utah. Milteer also had a bank account set up in Provo under an assumed name with considerable amounts of money for no honest reason. A massive amount of new evidence is presented on Milteer, who we know had pretty dead-on accurate foreknowledge of the JFK murder. There are more examples like this about Dean’s unique knowledge in the book.

Caufield concludes that Dean has not deliberately lied or attempted to fool anyone. He gets a little off line when he tries to interpret events he had no firsthand knowledge of, through those he did have knowledge of. Given that, I think Dean deserves that we take a kinder, more understanding and appreciative approach to him and his story.

Bill

Thanks, Bill, for this interesting perspective on the 1965 claims of Harry Dean, first made public on the Joe Pyne Radio Show in Los Angeles in January 1965, soon after the publication of the Warren Report. Harry Dean was the first person to publicly name the resigned General Walker as a key member of the JFK Kill Team.

Firstly, I'd note that Harry Dean's 1990 manuscript, Crosstrails, is still available from Harry Dean himself, and is an interesting read. I would secondly note that the 2013 eBook by Harry and myself is still available from Smashwords online (along with my three-part research paper on the personal papers of the resigned General Edwin Walker for historian H.W. Brands).

Secondly, I'd note that the former FBI Agent, Don Adams, clashed head-on with former FBI Agent Wesley Swearingen, because Swearingen insisted that his narrow view of a Chicago JFK plot (starring Richard Cain) must trump all other views without exception.

IMHO, Swearingen rightly names Richard Cain as on plotter in the Chicago arm of the JFK plot, but the Chicago arm was only a small part of the Big Picture, contrary to Wes Swearingen. On the contrary, Don Adams also rightly names Joseph Milteer, who in many ways was closer to the center of the JFK plot because he was closer to the Southern politics of the plot.

The accounts of both Swearingen and Adams are like two blind men touching an elephant, one on the tail, the other on the leg, and each insisting that the other has no idea what an elephant is like.

In fact, both men offer partial views.

IMHO, the fact that Joseph Milteer is named as an important element in the JFK murder by Dr. Jeffrey Caufield in his new book, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: The Extensive New Evidence of a Radical-Right Conspiracy, is a strong suit. Milteer was close to the John Birch Society, the Minutemen, the Friends of Walker, the States Rights Parties, the White Citizens Councils, and to Edwin Walker himself.

It is indeed interesting that Caufield finds a link between Joseph Milteer and former Mormon President Ezra Taft Benson, whom Harry Dean has long insisted was a part of the JFK plot.

Harry Dean was also close with Loran Hall, Larry Howard and Guy Gabaldon, an extreme rightist speech-maker and darling of the right in Los Angeles. Jim Garrison had linked Loran Hall with the resigned General Walker in Dallas on multiple occasions in the summer of 1963 -- running guns and medical supplies to Cuban Exiles from well-heeled members of the Los Angeles JBS.

I look forward to reading Dr. Caufield's connection of the dots. Because of the lopsided slant of JFK literature toward a CIA-did-it theory for the past-half-century, these insights about the Extreme Right Wing in the JFK plot are likely to be fresh, new and thought-provoking for many.

Regards

--Paul Trejo

Here again we have to confront rudimentary common sense. Ezra Taft Benson certainly was an eccentric guy but does anyone seriously believe that Benson (given his deep religious and moral values) would ever consider murder as an acceptable act? Here is a guy who was never arrested in his entire lifetime and he was well-known both within and outside Mormon circles as an exceptionally devout and spiritual person.

Only in Conspiracy Land does someone concoct a theory in which someone like ETB is a co-conspirator in a murder plot.

Only in Conspiracy Land does the total absence of factual evidence to support the idea that ETB believed in murder as a political tool -- seem plausible.

Of course, nobody who actually personally knew or talked with ETB has ever posited that possibility --- but let's not be discouraged by that.

In August 1989, during his ninetieth birthday celebration, President George H. W. Bush presented Benson the Presidential Citizens Medal, naming him "one of the most distinguished Americans of his time" .

OK -- now let's hear about how President Bush also was involved in the conspiratorial plot to murder JFK because, he, too, is the type of person who believes in murdering his political opponents in the United States.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Ernie Lazar

[Ernie Lazar]

Just for the record:

I contacted Steve Benson -- ETB's grandson. For those of you who are not familiar with Steve, he has written extensively (and caustically) about his grandfather. In fact, Steve sent me an email about 10 years ago in which he described ETB as a racist.

Furthermore, Steve is extremely hostile toward and has publicly feuded for many years with the Mormon hierarchy. He has contributed numerous articles on websites which excoriate Mormon theology and he renounced his membership in the LDS Church.

I sent Steve the gist of what Caufield wrote in his new book about ETB, particularly the reference on page 606:

"What makes Harry Dean's story particularly compelling is the mention of Ezra Taft Benson's involvement in financing and backing the assassination."

Steve Benson's reply:

"That is a ridiculous, unfounded, spurious and outlandish claim."

Edited August 28, 2015 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

IMHO this new book by Jeff Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: The Extensive New Evidence of a Radical-Right Conspiracy, will shine a light on a period of US History that has not only been forgotten by mainstream literature, but literally suppressed by US Policy as expressed by the Warren Report.

The Fulbright and Reuther Memoranda emphasize these specific days in the middle of the Cold War as illustrated in the life of General Walker.

The Fulbright Memorandum was written in July 1961, when General Walker was still a General, and when the US Cold War Conservative Media were rushing to defend his alleged mistreatment by the Kennedy Administration, when Walker was dismissed from his command in Augsburg -- and the details were still unclear.

The Reuther Memorandum was written in December 1961, after General Walker had resigned from the US Army -- becoming the only US General in the 20th century to resign-and-forfeit-his-pension.

The Fulbright Memorandum complained about Walker's Pro-Blue Program, which would import very partisan Right-wing speakers to Germany's troops, and some of those speakers would bad-mouth former and sitting US Presidents -- true to form for the Extreme Right-wing.

BTW, General Walker's Pro-Blue Program was actually successful by some measurements. Discipline in the 24th Infantry Division was evidently high, and they won numerous awards for sharp-shooting during the period of Walker's command. Walker gained the respect and admiration of many troopers, some of whom would continue to follow Walker after they left the US Army -- some of them joining the Minutemen in their respective States when they returned from Germany.

Some of Walker's former troops and later followers rallied to his call to descend upon Ole Miss University in September 1962 to confront the thousands of Federal troops that JFK would send to enforce the Supreme Court's Brown Decision there. One of those troops was named Jack Martin, and his home movie of Walker's Dallas home after the highly-publicized April 1963 shooting also contained footage of Lee Harvey Oswald passing out FPCC leaflets in New Orleans in August 1963.

The Fulbright Memorandum highlights a period in the Cold War in which groups like Walker's Pro-Blue Program proliferated in the civilian USA, with Rightist speakers complaining of Communism and blaming Washington DC for its spread with paranoid fantasies about former and sitting US Presidents. It was a national Fad, like the Twist or the Hula-hoop, and had become part of American culture.

The Reuther Memorandum on the other hand, complained about the resigned General Walker personally -- and expressed dismay over the fact that his 1959 resignation had not been accepted. It's publication reflected the fact that US Mass Media had placed an extraordinary focus on General Walker in his stance of 'martyrdom' in which some writers compared him to General Douglas MacArthur during the period from April 1961 through December 1961 (when Newsweek actually portrayed General Walker on its front cover as shown here: http://www.pet880.com/images/19611204_Newsweek_Cover.JPG )

The year 1961 was not only JFK's first year, it was also the year of General Walker in the media. The Overseas Weekly slamming of General Walker occurred on 17 April 1961 -- the same day as the Bay of Pigs invasion, and General Walker was dismissed from his command by the Joint Chiefs the very next day. US Media defense of General Walker therefore occurred at the same time as US Media criticism of JFK for the Bay of Pigs.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited August 29, 2015 by Paul Trejo

[Steven Gaal]

The year 1961 was not only JFK's first year, it was also the year of General Walker in the media. The Overseas Weekly slamming of General Walker occurred on 17 April 1961 -- the same day as the Bay of Pigs invasion, and General Walker was dismissed from his command by the Joint Chiefs the very next day. US Media defense of General Walker therefore occurred at the same time as US Media criticisms of JFK for the Bay of Pigs.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

=========================================================================

same time as US Media criticisms of JFK for the Bay of Pigs. // Trejo ///

Paley and Allen Dulles were very,very close friends who visited each other on the holidays,exchanging gifts. gaal

---------------------------------------------------------

Criticize JFK ??? How did that happen ???? SEE LINK

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-cia-and-the-media-50-facts-the-world-needs-to-know/5471956

"CBS’s Paley worked reciprocally with the CIA, allowing the Agency to utilize network resources and personnel. “It was a form of assistance that a number of wealthy persons are now generally known to have rendered the CIA through their private interests,” veteran broadcast journalist Daniel Schorr wrote in 1977. “It suggested to me, however, that a relationship of confidence and trust had existed between him and the agency.” Schorr points to “clues indicating that CBS had been infiltrated.” For example, “A news editor remembered the CIA officer who used to come to the radio control room in New York in the early morning, and, with the permission of persons unknown, listened to CBS correspondents around the world recording their ‘spots’ for the ‘World News Roundup’ and discussing events with the editor on duty. Sam Jaffe claimed that when he applied in 1955 for a job with CBS, a CIA officer told him that he would be hired–which he subsequently was. He was told that he would be sent to Moscow–which he subsequently was; he was assigned in 1960 to cover the trial of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. [Richard] Salant told me,” Schorr continues, “that when he first became president of CBS News in 1961, a CIA case officer called saying he wanted to continue the ‘long standing relationship known to Paley and [CBS president Frank] Stanton, but Salant was told by Stanton there was no obligation that he knew of” (276). Schorr, Daniel. Clearing the Air, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977, 277, 276."

Edited August 29, 2015 by Steven Gaal

[Ernie Lazar]

IMHO this new book by Jeff Caufield, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: The Extensive New Evidence of a Radical-Right Conspiracy, will shine a light on a period of US History that has not only been forgotten by mainstream literature, but literally suppressed by US Policy as expressed by the Warren Report.

The Fulbright and Reuther Memoranda emphasize these specific days in the middle of the Cold War as illustrated in the life of General Walker.

The Fulbright Memorandum was written in July 1961, when General Walker was still a General, and when the US Cold War Conservative Media were rushing to defend his alleged mistreatment by the Kennedy Administration, when Walker was dismissed from his command in Augsburg -- and the details were still unclear.

The Reuther Memorandum was written in December 1961, after General Walker had resigned from the US Army -- becoming the only US General in the 20th century to resign-and-forfeit-his-pension.

The Fulbright Memorandum complained about Walker's Pro-Blue Program, which would import very partisan Right-wing speakers to Germany's troops, and some of those speakers would bad-mouth former and sitting US Presidents -- true to form for the Extreme Right-wing.

BTW, General Walker's Pro-Blue Program was actually successful by some measurements. Discipline in the 24th Infantry Division was evidently high, and they won numerous awards for sharp-shooting during the period of Walker's command. Walker gained the respect and admiration of many troopers, some of whom would continue to follow Walker after they left the US Army -- some of them joining the Minutemen in their respective States when they returned from Germany.

Some of Walker's former troops and later followers rallied to his call to descend upon Ole Miss University in September 1962 to confront the thousands of Federal troops that JFK would send to enforce the Supreme Court's Brown Decision there. One of those troops was named Jack Martin, and his home movie of Walker's Dallas home after the highly-publicized April 1963 shooting also contained footage of Lee Harvey Oswald passing out FPCC leaflets in New Orleans in August 1963.

The Fulbright Memorandum highlights a period in the Cold War in which groups like Walker's Pro-Blue Program proliferated in the civilian USA, with Rightist speakers complaining of Communism and blaming Washington DC for its spread with paranoid fantasies about former and sitting US Presidents. It was a national Fad, like the Twist or the Hula-hoop, and had become part of American culture.

The Reuther Memorandum on the other hand, complained about the resigned General Walker personally -- and expressed dismay over the fact that his 1959 resignation had not been accepted. It's publication reflected the fact that US Mass Media had placed an extraordinary focus on General Walker in his stance of 'martyrdom' in which some writers compared him to General Douglas MacArthur during the period from April 1961 through December 1961 (when Newsweek actually portrayed General Walker on its front cover as shown here: http://www.pet880.com/images/19611204_Newsweek_Cover.JPG )

The year 1961 was not only JFK's first year, it was also the year of General Walker in the media. The Overseas Weekly slamming of General Walker occurred on 17 April 1961 -- the same day as the Bay of Pigs invasion, and General Walker was dismissed from his command by the Joint Chiefs the very next day. US Media defense of General Walker therefore occurred at the same time as US Media criticisms of JFK for the Bay of Pigs.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Re-enlistments in the 24th ID also were very high during Walker's time as commanding officer. In fact, if my memory serves correctly, he had the highest percentage of any command -- which tends to support the contention of the soliders I contacted who told me that they never were exposed to "JBS doctrine" while serving under Walker.