Edwin Walker

[Ernie Lazar]

What Was Lee Harvey Oswald Doing in Mexico

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/jfk-assassination-lee-harvey-oswald-mexico-116195_full.html?print#.VQt4T47F89Y

Much about his trip—weeks before the assassination—remains unexamined.

By PHILIP SHENON March 18, 2015

What if the answers to the many, persistent questions surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy lie not in Dallas or Washington, D.C., but in the streets of a foreign capital that most Americans have never associated with the president’s murder? Mexico City.

Only hours after shots rang out in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963, U.S. Ambassador Thomas C. Mann told colleagues in the American embassy in Mexico that he was certain Lee Harvey Oswald had not acted alone in killing JFK.

Oswald had visited Mexico City several weeks earlier, apparently to obtain a visa that would allow the self-proclaimed Marxist to defect to Cuba, and Mann, a veteran diplomat, suspected that a plot to kill Kennedy had been hatched on Mexican soil, during Oswald’s encounters there with Cuban diplomats and Mexicans who supported Fidel Castro’s revolution. How did Mann know about those meetings? It turned out the CIA had Oswald under surveillance in the Mexican capital after he had showed up at both the Cuban and Soviet embassies there.

Back at the State Department, however, a baffled Mann hit a brick wall. No one in Washington seemed interested in his suspicions, he would later complain to colleagues. And within days of the assassination, the ambassador received an astonishing top-secret message directly from Secretary of State Dean Rusk. According to Mann’s testimony years later to congressional investigators, Rusk ordered the embassy to shut down any investigation in Mexico that might “confirm or refute rumors of Cuban involvement in the assassination.” No reason was given for the order, the ambassador said.

Mann told the congressional investigators that he was under the impression that the same “incredible” shut-down order had been given by the CIA to the spy agency’s station chief in Mexico, Winston Scott. In memoirs quietly declassified in the 1990s, after his death, Scott confirmed that he, too, suspected that Oswald was an “agent” of a foreign power who may have been part of a conspiracy to kill Kennedy (though Scott did not suggest that the CIA’s investigation was shut down).

What happened in Mexico City in the weeks before JFK’s murder? It is clear from government files declassified in recent decades that Oswald’s six-day trip to Mexico was never adequately investigated by the CIA, the FBI and the State Department—and, as a result, by the Warren Commission, the panel named by President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the assassination. The question has been raised anew in recent weeks by a surprising source—the Warren Commission’s chief conspiracy hunter. And in fact, lots of evidence has accumulated over the years to suggest that historians, journalists and JFK buffs who are still trying to piece together clues about the president’s murder—whether from the memories of still-living witnesses or in the new tranche of assassination-related documents the National Archives is set to release in two years—would be wise to look to Mexico City.

In the half-century since the commission named for Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded that Oswald was the sole gunman in Dallas and that there was no evidence of a conspiracy, foreign or domestic, it is startling to discover how many credible government officials—beginning with Ambassador Mann and CIA station chief Scott—have suggested that evidence was missed in Mexico that could rewrite the history of the assassination. The list includes the late former FBI Director Clarence Kelley and former FBI Assistant Director William Sullivan, as well as David Belin, a former staff lawyer on the Warren Commission.

Last month, another commission staffer joined their ranks: David Slawson, a retired University of Southern California law professor who, 51 years ago, was the commission’s chief investigator searching for evidence that might have pointed to a foreign conspiracy in JFK’s murder. In interviews for a new edition of my 2013 history of the assassination, Slawson said he is now convinced the commission was the victim of a “massive cover-up” by the CIA and other agencies to hide evidence that might have identified people in Mexico City who knew and encouraged Oswald to carry out his threat when he returned to the United States.

Declassified government records back up Slawson’s suspicion of how much information was withheld in 1964, when senior officials at both the CIA and the FBI assured the commission that there was no evidence in Mexico—or anywhere else—to suggest that Oswald was anything other than a delusional lone wolf. In sworn testimony to the commission, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover insisted that “there was nothing up to the time of the assassination that gave any indication that this man was a dangerous character who might do harm to the president.”

The records declassified decades later tell a very different story, and show just how much evidence about Oswald’s Mexico trip —including CIA tape recordings of wiretaps of Oswald’s phone calls in Mexico—never reached the commission. Although the spy agency assured the commission in 1964 that there were no surveillance photos of Oswald in Mexico, CIA Station Chief Scott, in his memoirs, strongly suggested that there were photos, and other CIA officials later told congressional investigators in the 1970s that they recalled seeing the pictures. CIA and FBI records, meanwhile, show that the agencies never tried to track down or interview key witnesses who had encountered Oswald in Mexico.

Slawson is also convinced that someone blocked him from seeing a top-secret June 1964 letter from Hoover to the commission in which Hoover revealed that Oswald may have openly boasted about his plans—“I’m going to kill Kennedy”—while in Mexico, apparently at the Cuban embassy. Slawson believes the CIA was desperate to shut down any investigation in Mexico City out of fear the Warren Commission might stumble onto evidence of the spy agency’s long-running schemes to murder Fidel Castro. (Mexico City had been a staging area for some of the plots.)

Slawson is careful to note that he is not suggesting any sort of far-flung, carefully laid-out conspiracy. For one thing, he notes, Oswald did not get the job he held at the time of the assassination, at the Texas School Book Depository, which was on the president’s motorcade route, until after he had returned to Texas from Mexico in early October 1963; the route itself was not announced until days before JFK’s arrival in Dallas.

Still, if Oswald openly boasted about his plans to kill JFK among people in Mexico, it would undermine the official story that he was a lone wolf whose plans to kill the president could never have been detected by the CIA or FBI. In Slawson’s mind, it could even raise the question of whether people in Mexico might have been charged as accessories in the murder if they had known about Oswald’s threats but did nothing to stop him.

Ambassador Mann appears to have had similar suspicions. After retiring from the State Department, he told House investigators in 1977 that he had never stopped believing that Oswald had been part of a conspiracy somehow linked to Cuba, and that the CIA and other agencies had refused to investigate Oswald’s activities in Mexico “because it would have resulted in the discovery of covert U.S. government action” that somehow involved Cuba.

In memoirs published in 1987, former FBI Director Clarence Kelley, Hoover’s immediate successor, revealed that, after having a chance to read through the bureau’s raw files on the Kennedy assassination, he, too, came to believe that Mexico held the key to unanswered questions about the president’s murder. “Oswald’s stay in Mexico City apparently shaped the man’s thinking irrevocably,” Kelley wrote.

He said he became convinced from the files that, during meetings with Cuban diplomats in Mexico, “Oswald definitely offered to kill President Kennedy,” and that he had probably made a similar offer during the same trip at a meeting at the Soviet embassy in Mexico. That did not mean that either communist government was behind the assassination, Kelley insisted. But it did mean that people in both the Cuban and Soviet embassies were aware, weeks before the assassination, that a young American—a former Marine with rifle training who was eager to be known as a champion of Castro’s revolution—was talking openly about killing the president.

Another top FBI official, former Assistant Director William Sullivan, who directed the bureau’s investigation of JFK’s murder, wrote in his own memoirs that “there were huge gaps” in the FBI’s investigation and that many of them involved Oswald’s trip south of the border. “We never found out what went on between Oswald and the Cubans in Mexico City,” Sullivan admitted.

After finishing his work on the commission, staff lawyer David Belin, who died in 1999, wrote in a little-publicized book that he came to believe that Oswald may have planned to head from Dallas back to Mexico by bus after the assassination because he had some promise of help from co-conspirators who were waiting on the Texas-Mexico border.

Belin’s theory, which he developed during his work on the commission, stemmed from his analysis of local bus schedules and of a bus transfer issued on the day of the assassination that was found in Oswald’s clothing. According to Belin, Oswald may have met with Cuban diplomats and others in Mexico City who saw the Kennedy administration as a mortal threat and who “promised financial and other support to Oswald if he was ever able to succeed” in killing the president. Belin said that, to his disappointment, there was no mention of his theory in the commission’s final report because, as he admitted, it was “pure speculation” that undermined Chief Justice Warren’s hopes to snuff out conspiracy allegations.

Belin’s theory would have made sense to another American official—diplomat Charles William Thomas, whose once-promising career was mysteriously derailed after he pressed colleagues in the U.S. embassy in Mexico to pursue unanswered questions about Oswald’s Mexico City trip. In late 1965, Thomas was told by a friend—a prominent Mexican writer, Elena Garro de Paz—that she had seen Oswald at a dance party during his visit to Mexico that was also attended by a Cuban diplomat who had spoken openly about his hope that someone would assassinate Kennedy. Thomas said he was also told that Oswald had a brief affair with a vivacious young Mexican woman, a committed Socialist, who worked in the Cuban consulate and who had introduced Oswald around town to other Castro supporters.

State Department and CIA records declassified in recent years show that the agencies rebuffed Thomas in his requests for a new investigation, which he continued to raise even after he left Mexico in 1967 for a new posting in Washington. Thomas was dismissed from the department in 1969, a decision that the State Department years later would acknowledge was made in error—the result of what the department insisted was a clerical mistake related to the misfiling of some of Thomas’s personnel records. The department’s admission would come only after Thomas, who struggled to establish a new career, committed suicide in 1971.

Congressional investigators, who later reviewed the case and obtained pension benefits for Thomas’s family, said they suspected, but could not prove, that the diplomat had actually been forced out because of his persistent, unwelcome effort to open a new investigation of Oswald’s activities in Mexico. “It was impossible to prove, though,” one of the congressional investigators told me when I was writing my book. “If he was forced out because of Mexico City, it was all done with a wink and a nod.”

Decades after Thomas’s death, the State Department would declassify internal memos that he had written to superiors, in which he had pleaded for someone to go back and reinvestigate Oswald’s Mexico trip. What Thomas had learned in Mexico would not, by itself, “prove that there was a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy,” he wrote. But he warned of what might happen if long-secret evidence suggesting a Mexican-born conspiracy in JFK’s murder ever became public. “Those who have tried to discredit the Warren Report could have a field day,” he wrote.

In 1975, Thomas’s widow received a formal apology from the White House. “The circumstances surrounding your husband’s death are a source of deepest regret to the government he served so loyally and so well,” the letter said. “I can only hope that the measures which came about as a result of this tragedy will prevent reoccurrences of this kind in the future.” The letter was signed by President Gerald R. Ford, who, as a rising Republican congressman from Michigan in 1964, had been a member of the Warren Commission.

Thomas’s family may have reason to hope for even greater justice for the late diplomat, since so many of the people who encountered Oswald during his mysterious trip to Mexico half a century ago were young at the time and are still alive. I found some of them for my book, including people who suggest that Oswald had many more contacts with people in Mexico City who might have wanted to see JFK dead. The National Archives faces a 2017 deadline to release about 1,200 documents related to the assassination, many of them from the CIA, that still remain classified. While refusing to describe what is in the documents, CIA lawyers have acknowledged over the years that many of them are out of the files of agency employees who were stationed in the early 1960s in, of all places, Mexico City.

Philip Shenon, a former Washington and foreign correspondent for the New York Times, is author, most recently, of A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination. This essay is drawn from the afterword to the new paperback edition of the book, scheduled for publication by Picador on Feb. 3.

[Ernie Lazar]

...The problem is, you have many of us all wrong. I'm a STUDENT of the assassination. I haven't solved anything, nor do I claim that there's any "coded" confession in anyone's papers. I'm convinced that the JFK assassination is a jigsaw puzzle. Some of the pieces are missing. And some pieces have been tossed in that won't ever fit. But it's up to us to build a case.

I can't watch someone try to construct a Taj Mahal with a foundation of cardboard...and thin cardboard at that. Until or unless you can find something concrete to reinforce that cardboard, the Taj Mahal is going to come down around you and crush you. And I'm still waiting to see something concrete from you.

Notice I used the term "build a case." As Bill Kelly brought up some time back, we need to come up with evidence that a prosecutor can present to a grand jury, evidence that will stand up to cross-examination from a dozen different sides. Yet when I question the quality of your evidence, suddenly I'm harassing you. Obviously, you must never have seen any courtroom proceedings; otherwise, you'd know that my questioning you HARDLY qualifies as harassment. I don't even know Ernie Lazar or Paul Brancato, but they see the same flaws and missing pieces in the structure you're building, and they question you about them for the same reasons I do.

I actually WANT you to be right. I WANT you to solve the JFK assassination. But you can't have as many missing pieces in the foundation of the structure you're building as you currently do, and solve the case.

So what was it that Harry Truman said about heat and the kitchen? [i think you know...] So go FIND your missing evidence...if it exists. And if it doesn't, be man enough to say so. "Coulda-woulda-shoulda-been-there" evidence never made a case...ever. It's YOUR theory; YOU have to fix the holes in the FOUNDATION before you can expect anyone to pat you on the back for the walls you're constructing.

Actually, Mark, my FOUNDATION is stronger than you think. Edwin WALKER was considered a suspect in the JFK murder even by some WC attorneys -- and the questions that WALKER was asked by the WC attorneys go far beyond the time when OSWALD tried to kill him.

WALKER was grilled about the Deutsche Nationalzeitung; about his connections with the DRE and Carlos Bringuier; about the Black-bordered Ad; and about the Wanted for Treason: JFK handbills. WALKER was a person of interest in 1963-1964, however, WALKER was inadvertently protected by the WC mission -- to prove that OSWALD was a "Lone Nut."

Any talk that OSWALD might not have been alone in the JFK murder (e.g. that WALKER was somehow involved) would raise the problem of Accomplices, and that would have led to the film, radio and newspaper evidence that OSWALD had FPCC and Communist Accomplices -- exactly as WALKER insisted -- and had planned all along (IMHO).

Rather than debate whether OSWALD worked for the Rightists or the Leftists, J. Edgar Hoover, LBJ, Earl Warren and Allen Dulles preferred to avoid the whole question by relying on the "Lone Nut" theory of OSWALD. For that reason, WALKER would just walk away.

Among the best WC clues are: Deutsche Nationalzeitung, Carlos Bringuier and the DRE, the Black-bordered Ad and the Wanted for Treason: JFK handbills -- and their close relationship with the John Birch Society program.

The WC had to stop digging by necessity of National Security. We today have no such excuse.

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

A more plausible explanation -- which has an actual evidence trail to pursue -- is discussed in Phillip Shenon's article which I just copied and posted into this thread.

Also notice that many (if not most) of the 1200 documents which remain to be released in 2017 are CIA documents and many of those pertain to LHO in Mexico City.

As ARRB mentioned in its Final Report --- intelligence information received from foreign governments and from our own intelligence assets in other countries are among the classified material that should be released in 2017.

Contrary to Paul Trejo's speculation -- the remaining classified material is NOT about groups like JBS or Minutemen. That is what I meant by my previous comment concerning "the type of documents" which remain to be released are NOT "the type" which Paul Trejo believes are currently being withheld.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

...Contrary to Paul Trejo's speculation -- the remaining classified material is NOT about groups like JBS or Minutemen. That is what I meant by my previous comment concerning "the type of documents" which remain to be released are NOT "the type" which Paul Trejo believes are currently being withheld.

This is typical, Ernie, your claiming to know what is -- and what isn't -- contained in "the remaining classified material" of the US Government on the topic of the JFK murder.

This is what I meant by my previous innuendo that simply holding the world record for most FBI documents obtained from the FBI does not grant one clairvoyance..

You have no idea in the world what is -- and what isn't -- inside the content of the US Government classified material on the JFK murder, Ernie. Why not just admit it?

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 20, 2015 by Paul Trejo

[Steven Gaal]

You have no idea in the world what is -- and what isn't -- inside the content of the US Government classified material on the JFK murder, Ernie. Why not just admit it?

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

You have no idea in the world what is -- and what isn't -- inside the content of the US Government classified material on the JFK murder, TREJO. Why not just admit it?

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo (GAAL)

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

• ONCE THE CIA PEOPLE KNEW OF WALKER PLOT IT WAS PENETRATED (VIA BLACKMAIL probably) BACK TO FRONT.

AS YOU YOURSELF STATE WALKER WAS ON THE OUTS WITH THE JCS. WELL GOLLY TAYLOR WAS DULLES MAN >> NOT JFK, AS JFK THOUGHT...a fatal error IMHO.

MILLITARY UNDER BUNDY (with TAYLOR-DULLES NOD) SENTS SHOOTING TEAM TO DALLAS. ALSO CIA VIA LANSDALE HAS OWN KILL TEAM . AND WALKER PROBABLY HAD SOME OF HIS OWN PEOPLE THINK THEY WERE PART OF A SHOOTING TEAM = TO SET UP WALKER AS PATSY. (GEE MAY I GIVE A TREJOISM.....CASE CLOSED !!)

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Richard Case Nagell: The Most Important Witness, Pt. 2

The Man WHo Knew Too Much, By Dick Russell

Reviewed by James DiEugenio

In reviewing Dick Russell's new anthology book, On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, I noted how it revealed just how long the author had been writing about the JFK assassination. It goes back to at least 1975. And in my review I noted the multiplicity of subjects Russell had covered in that regard. These two factors, hitherto not fully revealed, shed backward light on his earlier JFK book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, in both its incarnations (1992 and 2003).

When I first read Russell's 1992 version of the book I was disappointed in the work. That book got a lot of exposure and was strongly pushed by its publisher. Russell got TV exposure and also an article in the LA Times. I thought the book was bloated, confusing, maddeningly meandering, and—most of all—wasteful.

Why the last? Because, like others e.g. Jim Garrison, I have always believed that Richard Case Nagell was one of the most important witnesses there was in the JFK case. The only two rivals he has in regard to a conspiracy before the fact are Sylvia Odio and Rose Cheramie. Yet in the 1992 version of the book, Nagell's story got lost. Actually, the better phrase would be it got buried. And today, in the aftermath of the current anthology, I think we can see why. In 1992 Russell was so eager to put so much of what he had been working on in the last 17 years into that book that he lost sight of the forest for the trees. This was unfortunate since, as anyone can see from reading On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, nothing else Russell wrote about in the JFK case ever approached the importance of Nagell. I could have easily foregone every sentence about Mark Gayn, and the Japanese International House etc. in the 1992 book for just one more section about Nagell. Russell did not understand this. And neither did his original publisher. This is what editors are for. To give a book wholeness and perspective. To tell a writer when he is wrong.

Lachy Hulme finally did that. Hulme is an Australian actor who Russell is lucky enough to have as a friend. Hulme has a strong interest in the JFK case. And he understood the mistake Russell made in his first book. He convinced Russell to reissue the book in 2003 and he helped him edit out a lot of the pork. As we shall see, not quite all of it. But a very large portion of it. The text now comes in at a much more manageable 466 pages. The appendices and footnotes are about another hundred. The important thing is that now the Nagell story stays on center stage. It is not frequently consigned to sideshow status. Or, at times, completely absent. And that is the way it should be. Nagell should be the star—the name above the title. Sharing it with no one.

Russell explains why right at the start. A most compelling piece of evidence that Nagell had at the time of his arrest in September of 1963 was a near duplicate of Oswald's Uniformed Services Identification and Privileges Card. (See p. xvii) As Russell notes, it had the picture and the apparent signature of Oswald on it. Russell did not recall this card in the Warren Commission volumes. Neither did two other researchers he consulted with at the time. (ibid) The only other place the card had appeared was in an obscure book by Judy Bonner called Investigation of a Homicide. Bonner had gotten the card from the Dallas Police. But there is something even more interesting about the mystery. In the card seized by the Dallas Police, there is an overstamp that appears which says "October 1963". In the version that Nagell had, the imprint does not appear. Why? Because Nagell was in jail after September 20, 1963. Also, the photo of Oswald in the Nagell version is different. That photo is from a different ID card. And on that card, Oswald used his Alex J. Hidell alias. As Russell notes, this second card is believed to have been fabricated by Oswald himself, including the added picture. In other words, Nagell had to have been very close to Oswald prior to his September 1963 arrest. For he actually had access to Oswald's identification cards. Some versed in espionage would say that this indicates Nagell might have been either a "control agent" or a "surveillance operative" for Oswald. (The cards are pictured in the photo section of this book.)

From this information in the Preface, Russell cuts to chapter one of the text. It is aptly titled, "The Man Who Got Himself Arrested". At this time, Nagell had other things in his possession similar to what Oswald had in November: names in their notebooks, Cuba-related leaflets, and miniature spy cameras. (p. xviii)

Russell details Nagell's actions in El Paso on the morning of 9/20 better than anyone ever has. Nagell first went to a nearby post office before entering the bank. He mailed five hundred dollar bills to an address in Mexico. He then mailed two letters to the CIA. (p. 1. Later on, the author reveals that one was addressed to Desmond Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was heavily involved in both Clandestine Services and Cuban operations at the time.)

From the post office, Nagell walked over to the State National Bank. There was a young police officer in plain sight. Nagell walked over to a teller and asked for a hundred dollars in American Express traveler's checks. (ibid) But before Nagell could retrieve the checks, he turned and fired two shots into a wall right under the ceiling. He calmly returned the revolver to his belt and walked out the front door into the street. He stepped into his car and waited. When no one came out, he pulled his car halfway into the street. He saw the policeman from inside and stopped his car. When the policeman came over to his car with his gun pulled, Nagell put his hands up and surrendered.

The arresting officer was one Jim Bundren. When Bundren searched Nagell one of the odd things he found on him was a mimeographed newsletter from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee (FPCC). (p. 2) When Bundren notified the FBI, lest the arresting officers forget, Nagell asked them to get the machine gun out of the trunk of his car. Of course, there was no machine gun. But there was a suitcase, two briefcases filled with documents, a 45-rpm record box, two tourist cards for entry into Mexico (one in the name of Aleksei Hidel), a tiny Minolta camera, and a miniature film development lab. As previously noted, the personal effects Nagell had uncannily resemble Oswald's.

On the way to the El Paso Federal Building, Nagell issued a statement to the FBI: "I would rather be arrested than commit murder and treason." (ibid)

Now, to anyone familiar with the JFK case, just the above would be enough to certify that Richard Case Nagell was in the know about who Oswald was and what was going to happen. But Bundren related to Russell an incident that makes it all even clearer. At a preliminary hearing for Nagell, the defendant related to the officer the obvious: that he wanted to be caught. To which Bundren replied that he knew Nagell was not out to rob the bank. The following colloquy then occurred:

Nagell: Well, I'm glad you caught me. I really don't want to be in Dallas.

Bundren: What do you mean by that?

Nagell: You'll see soon enough. (p. 3)

When Kennedy was assassinated, the full impact of Nagell's prediction did not hit Bundren. But when Jack Ruby shot Oswald, it did. Bundren exclaimed to himself, "How the hell would he have previous knowledge of it? How would he know what was coming down in Dallas?" (ibid) When Bundren went to the FBI to try and talk about Nagell's stunning prognostication, the agent he knew there told him he was not at liberty to discuss it. Bundren concluded from the experience that "Nagell know a lot more about the assassination then he let on, or that the government let on. Its bothered me ever since." (ibid) Indicating Bundren was right about what the government knew, Russell notes at this point that one of the notebooks seized from Nagell that day was not returned to him for eleven years. The other notebook was not returned at all.

As Nagell told Russell, the CIA was not the only government agency he tried to notify in advance of the murder. He also was in contact with the FBI. In fact, an FBI agent's phone number was in his notebook. But that wasn't all. He also had written down the names of two Soviet officials, six names under the rubric of CIA, a LA post office box for the FPCC, and an address and phone number for one Sylvia Duran of the Cuban Consulate in Mexico. This last was in Oswald's notebook also. (p. 6) And not revealed until many years later, Nagell had a Minox miniature spy camera in the trunk of his car upon his arrest. The same kind of spy camera that the FBI tried to deny Oswald had for many, many years. (p. 6)

I think it's important to note: If the above was part of the contents of the notebook that the FBI finally returned to Nagell, imagine what was in the notebook they never returned to him.

On March 20, 1964 Nagell wrote a note to Warren Commission Chief Counsel J. Lee Rankin. In that correspondence Nagell revealed his warning to the FBI. But he also revealed that he had made a request through the prison authorities for the Bureau to get into contact with the Secret Service about an upcoming assassination attempt. The date: November 21, 1963. Incredibly, Nagell's name does not appear either in the Warren Report or in the accompanying 26 volumes.

But probably the most interesting correspondence to survive is a letter that Nagell wrote to Senator Richard Russell. Russell was the former Warren Commissioner who had expressed doubts about what the Commission was doing. So much so, that he had conducted his own mini-investigation using his own investigators. Apparently, Nagell had heard of this. And in this letter Nagell, for the first time, revealed some of the specifics of what he knew about Oswald. He began by saying that he had been monitoring Oswald in both 1962 and 1963. This surveillance, plus information gathered from others, led him to conclude that: 1.) Oswald had no real relations with the FPCC 2.) He also had no real relations with pro-Castro elements, but he was gulled into believing he did 3.) He had no real relations with any Leftist or Marxist group 4.) He was not an agent or informant, in the generally accepted sense of the word. 5.) He was involved in a conspiracy to murder President Kennedy which was not communist inspired or instigated by a foreign government. (p.7, Russell's italics.)

The date of this letter is January 3, 1967. Before any of the discoveries of the Garrison investigation were made public. Before the domestic publication of the works of Mark Lane or Sylvia Meagher. In fact, Nagell was still in prison when he wrote it. And he had yet to be visited by any investigator for Jim Garrison.

Later on, in a letter to Representative Don Edwards, Nagell revealed that his letter of warning to the FBI was specifically addressed to J. Edgar Hoover. He wrote it using one of his aliases, Joseph Kramer. In it he said that Oswald was part of a conspiracy to murder President Kennedy which he thought would take place in late September of 1963. (The mistaken date is why Nagell did what he did in El Paso on September 20th.) He gave the Bureau a complete description of Oswald including his true name, physical description, two aliases and his residential address. He conveyed certain data about the plot including one overt act which was a violation of federal law. And he used the name Kramer because two FBI agents in Miami knew him by that alias at the time.

No wonder Garrison called Nagell the most important witness there is.

II

Russell reveals in his anthology that he first discovered Nagell through his meeting with Richard Popkin. He had gone to California to meet Popkin while on assignment for the Village Voice. But before actually meeting the most important witness, the author decided to stop in El Paso to do some research through the local papers.

He discovered some interesting facts. When he appeared before the court on November 4, 1963 Nagell told the judge, "I had a motive for doing what I did. But my motive was not to hold up the bank. I do not intend to disclose my motive at this time." (p. 13) Russell also discovered something that is interesting because it did not happen. Even though two FBI agents were in on his arrest, and the Bureau confiscated his belongings, no FBI representative testified at his trial. (p. 14) This is especially intriguing since, in a newspaper story of 1/24/64, Nagell revealed that the FBI had asked him about Oswald and Oswald's activities. (p. 14) After he was convicted, Nagell leaped to his feet and shouted, "Why weren't the real issues brought out in court!" Later adding, "They will be some time." (p. 16)

After his trip to El Paso in October of 1975, Russell then traveled to Los Angeles to meet Nagell for the first time. At this meeting Nagell was not really forthcoming but he did reveal that he had a photo of Oswald in his trunk at the time of his arrest, which the FBI never returned to him. (p. 26) That his mother and sister were both interviewed by the FBI after the assassination. (Which, of course, is strange since Nagell is not in the 26 volumes of the Commission.) Researching Nagell's appeals case, Russell discovered a filing made in 1974 which was quite revealing about Nagell's monitoring of Oswald. He wrote that although he was under contract to the CIA in 1962-63, he came to the conclusion that his inquiries in the time period which concerned not just Oswald but people like Manuel Artime and Vaughn Marlowe, were also being done for a "foreign nation", that is the Soviets. (p. 29) This holds out the possibility that someone in the CIA was working with the original KGB agents who hired Nagell to prevent the assassination of JFK.

As mentioned above, the FBI interviewed Nagell's sister after the assassination. It is clear from reading this book that Nagell was quite close to her. Right after he was arrested, but before the assassination, he wrote to her that "I have refused to offer an explanation as to certain overt acts ... Someday I shall explain everything in detail to you pertinent to this apparent disgrace." (p. 37) His sister's widower said that Nagell's mission was to eliminate Oswald before the assassination. (p. 39) He also told Russell that the FBI visited them in 1965 to see some of the papers Nagell had sent to them. While they were on vacation, the FBI broke into their home and stole some of the documents. (p. 40)

Nagell's career in the armed forces was distinguished. In 1953, during the Korean War, Nagell attended the Monterey School of Languages. In 1954, he suffered through a plane crash. And although many have said that somehow this impacted him psychologically forever, the army cleared him of any kind of personality change afterwards. (p. 46) In fact, less than a month after the crash he was approved for a new intelligence assignment. (ibid) Working for Army Intelligence, Nagell opened the mail of suspected communists with postal inspectors right next to him. They broke into the offices of suspected communist organizations and stole whole file cabinets. (p. 47) It was in the winter of 1955-56 that the CIA first recruited Nagell. (p. 48) And in fact, the names of his two recruiters were found in his notebook. Russell called one of them and he confirmed that he had worked in the LA office of the CIA. (ibid) Later in 1956, Nagell was transferred to another intelligence agency called in the Far East called Field Operations Intelligence (FOI). FOI was involved in black ops: assassinations, kidnappings, blackmail etc. (p. 54)

While in the Far East, Nagell worked in Japan. He used the aliases of Joe Kramer and Robert Nolan, and the CIA has certified this. (p. 61) It was at this time and place, Japan in 1957-58, that Nagell first met Oswald. This was after Oswald was observed outside the Soviet Embassy in Tokyo. (p. 72) Curious about what he was doing there, Nagell arranged to be introduced to the young Marine under an assumed name. (ibid) Also, Nagell told the author that both he and Oswald had girlfriends at the Queen Bee, a famous nightclub in Tokyo. (p. 76) Further, Nagell raised the possibility that Oswald was involved with him and a Japanese local in an attempt to get a Soviet intelligence officer named Eroshkin to defect. (p. 73)

When Nagell left his Far East assignment in late 1959, he moved to Los Angeles, and a he got a job working for the state of California. But, he told the author, that he was still working for the CIA. Specifically, in the Domestic Intelligence unit, which would later be formalized under Tracy Barnes as the Domestic Operations Division. (p. 263) This is quite interesting of course since this part of the CIA was an illegal unit that was doing all kinds of weird things and it employed people like Howard Hunt, and according to Victor Marchetti, probably Clay Shaw. (William Davy, Let Justice be Done, p. 196) What makes it even more interesting is that former CIA agent Robert Morrow later revealed that in 1963, Barnes told him that he was aware of a plot to kill President Kennedy which included Shaw. We will refer to this fascinating aspect of the Nagell story later.

After a shooting incident on the job, Nagell left his state employment. He secured a Mexican tourist card from the consulate in LA. From there, he went to visit a friend of his at the Hotel Luma in Mexico City. And this is where Nagell's tale takes on a large and sinister dimension.

III

In 1966, Nagell hinted at what had happened to him in Mexico in 1962. He wrote his dear sister, "If it does eventually become mandatory for me to touch upon the events leading to my sojourn in Mexico in 1962 ... (where and when it began), I shall do so, but only subsequent to being granted immunity from prosecution ..."( p. 145) Nagell was now purely under the employment of the CIA. And a friend of his in Mexico, Art Greenstein, went to a party with him once where he later referred to someone he had talked to, his contact there, as a typical CIA agent. (p. 147) His mission was to serve as a double agent for the Agency in an operation against the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City. The timing of this "disinformation project" was near the outset of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And since these kinds of operations were the domain of David Phillips--who had a Cuban desk in Mexico City--Nagell hinted to Greenstein that Phillips had been an accomplice in this project. It was after the completion of this mission, when the Missile Crisis was over, that Nagell first learned of a plot to kill JFK. And he learned of it in his double agent status through the KGB. (p. 152)

In October of 1962, a Soviet contact of his told him that he had heard that a Cuban group named Alpha 66 had been talking about a plot to kill JFK. The reason being that they had gotten wind of Kennedy's no invasion of Cuba pledge made to close the crisis. The contact asked him to investigate the rumor to see if it was true. If it was to try and ascertain those involved, the method to be used etc. (p. 154) Nagell had barely begun his inquiry when he was called to the Soviet Embassy. Something that had never happened to him before. He was told there that it was not just a rumor. He was briefed further, furnished a number of pictures, and told to return to the USA and continue his investigation in earnest. (ibid) Alpha 66, of course, was a violent Cuban group backed by the CIA. In fact, Antonio Veciana was probably its most famous member. And Veciana famously told investigator and author Gaeton Fonzi that David Phillips was his CIA handler, and he had seen Phillips meeting with Oswald in Dallas in the late summer of 1963. And before he left Mexico, Oswald's Soviet contact showed him a photo of Oswald since they were suspicious of him from his Soviet sojourn. (p. 155) Though, at this time, not in relation to the plot to kill Kennedy. On October 21st, 1962 Greenstein saw Nagell off from the Hotel Luma. He asked Nagell if he would be hearing from him in the future, or if he would read about him in the papers. Nagell said that he would. Greenstein then said, "Something big?" To which Nagell replied, "Yes ... something big." (p. 160)

He first journeyed to Dallas to inquire about the status of Oswald. At this time, Oswald had been back in Texas for about five months and was carefully ensconced in the White Russian community. This had been done with the help of George DeMohrenschildt. But only after the approach to Oswald had been approved by local CIA Station Chief J. Walton Moore. After doing this, Nagell then went to both Washington DC and New York City. While in Washington he was approached by what he thought was a Soviet agent and he reported this to his CIA handlers. He was then told to go to Miami and wait in a bar to be approached by a Soviet agent. (p. 163) At this time, not sure whom he was working for, caught up in a web of intrigue, Nagell journeyed both west to Tallahassee, and south to St. Petersburg. There he checked into a Bay Pines VA Hospital complaining of headaches, blackouts, and amnesia. This was on December 20, 1962. Some commentators have used this incident, and another to be described to discredit Nagell as being neurotic or worse. But what they always leave out is what Nagell told Russell about what he learned in Florida. He had penetrated a Cuban exile group who had planned on blowing up the Miami stadium where Kennedy was to speak to the prisoners released from Cuba in the Bay of Pigs exchange. (p. 164) Nagell was trying to keep a safe distance from the plot. So far from discrediting his story, this is consistent with what he did in El Paso in September of 1963. And Russell furnishes evidence of the plot. There is an intelligence report from the Miami Police Department that says that a local Cuban was overheard saying on the night JFK spoke in the Orange Bowl that "Something is going to happen in the Orange Bowl." (ibid) Nagell was right. But the FBI and the VA tried to smear him anyway. The FBI file on Nagell excerpted the first line of the Bay Pines report which said, "Chronic brain syndrome associated with brain trauma..." (p. 179) The FBI left out the final line of the report which declared Nagell competent upon his departure. Further, the VA exaggerated his so-called "brain trauma". It was actually diagnosed from his previous injury as "brain concussion, cured." (p. 180) With a witness as good as Nagell, the Bureau pulled out all the stops. Especially when he blamed Hoover for not heeding his letter of warning previous to the assassination.

Nagell then did some work in Miami. He was checking on an alleged relationship between Eladio Del Valle and New Orleans Cuban Revolutionary Council representative and former Batista official Sergio Arcacha Smith. (p. 182) He also was checking on an associate of Dave Ferrie. This is all extraordinary of course since Smith and Ferrie will soon figure prominently in Oswald's life, in a most intriguing manner. Nagell was one heck of an investigator.

In April of 1963, Alpha 66 announced the opening of a Los Angles chapter. (p. 208) Consequently, Nagell decided to move to LA temporarily in order to monitor this new branch opened up with much fanfare. Nagell picked up the scent of another plot to kill JFK when he arrived in LA in June of 1963. The man the plot focused around was Vaughn Marlowe, an executive officer with the LA FPCC. (p. 210) Marlowe had written a letter to Jim Garrison in 1967 telling him about Nagell and how, for reasons unknown, he had been tailing him back in 1963. Nagell revealed in 1964 that he was watching Marlowe since he was being scoped out by an Alpha 66 Cuban who would later visit Sylvia Odio in September of 1963. (p. 211) According to Nagell, the plot was to take place during JFK's visit to the Beverly Hilton hotel for the premiere of the film PT 109.

When Russell found Marlowe he told the author that Nagell approached him like some kind of double agent would. He told him he was a former Army Intelligence officer who actually wanted to help Marlowe in his social causes. (p. 213) Nagell later filed a report on Marlowe that was 23 pages long. Which he kept on microfilm. (ibid) The reason Marlowe was such an attractive candidate was that he was a stern critic of JFK from the left. He had a critical poster of JFK in his bookstore front window and he organized a demonstration against him around the time of the Missile Crisis. Finally, and this made him a better candidate than Oswald--Marlowe was an ace rifleman from his days in the service. After the assassination, Nagell wrote Marlowe a letter from prison telling him not to tell anyone that he mentioned the name of Oswald in his talks with him. Marlowe then got in contact with Nagell's mother and told him he thought Nagell was somehow involved with the JFK murder. When she dodged the point he asked her if someone had told her not to talk about the JFK assassination with anyone and she replied they had. Many years later, in 1975, Marlowe finally located Nagell and wrote him a letter. He apologized for not doing more to help inform the public of why Nagell was in jail back in 1964. (p. 218)

On June 4, 1963, three days before JFK was to arrive in LA, Nagell did what he had done in Miami. He attempted to check himself into a VA Hospital. This time, the resident psychiatrist apparently saw through the sham and he was not admitted. (p. 219) Meanwhile, one of the groups demonstrating around the Hilton was the civil rights group named the Congress of Racial Equality. A group that Marlowe had once worked with.

Repeat: Nagell was a good investigator.

IV

From here, that is around July of 1963, Nagell began to monitor the plot that finally was enacted in Dallas. But when Oswald stepped onto center stage that summer, Nagell felt that something about the motivation behind the plot had changed. Why? Nagell wrote his friend Mr. Greenstein that the Cubans had gotten wind by now of the back channel Kennedy had been working on to effect a rapprochement with Castro. (p. 239) Two of the Cubans, Angel and Leopoldo, had convinced Oswald they were actually pro-Castro. And that they wanted to involve him in a plot to kill JFK. This was in reaction to plots enacted by the USA against Fidel. If he did so, Oswald would be furnished a "safe conduct" pass into Havana by the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City. Nagell told Russell he had been in Mexico City with Oswald, but not at the time of the notorious trip discussed in the Lopez Report. Nagell had told a friend of his, John Margain, about this trip. Russell later interviewed Margain and he confirmed certain details about it. (pgs. 240-241) Including the fact that Nagell told Margain that Oswald was being set up by the CIA and the Cuban exiles.

From here, Russell describes some of the characters and events from Oswald's last summer on earth. Which he spent in New Orleans with a now famous cast of characters. He quotes William Gaudet saying he saw Oswald leafleting and Oswald did not know what he was doing. Guy Banister had put him up to it. (p. 253) Russell also tells us that Nagell too had the famous Corliss Lamont flyer, "The Crime Against Cuba", but he does not tell us which edition it was. Russell produces witnesses who say they saw Oswald and Ferrie at a Cuban exile training camp that summer. (p. 256) Interestingly, Russell discusses one Carlos Quiroga, a colleague of both Carlos Bringuier and Sergio Arcacha Smith. Quiroga has often been accused of acting as a double agent. That is of posing as a pro-Castro sympathizer. Which of course, is what Nagell described as what the plotters were doing around Oswald. When Garrison aide Frank Klein interviewed Quiroga in 1967, he tried to pin the assassination of JFK on Castro. At the end of his memo, Klein wrote "This man knows a lot more than is telling us." (p. 261) Apparently, Klein was correct. Quiroga later took a polygraph test. He indicated deception on, among others, two key questions: did he know in advance JFK was going to be killed, and had he seen the weapons to be used in the assassination beforehand. (ibid)

The above dovetails perfectly with a memo that another Garrison investigator wrote. This was one William Martin who was the first person Garrison sent to interview Nagell in prison. Nagell told Martin that in his work infiltrating the conspiracy, he was able to "make a tape recording of four voices in conversation concerning the plot, which ended in the assassination of President Kennedy." (Garrison Memorandum of 4/18/67) When Martin questioned Nagell about who was on the tape, Nagell replied that one of them was named "Arcacha", and another he only identified as "Q". (ibid) (Although later, Nagell told Russell that Arcacha was discussed on the tape, not one of the actual speakers he had recorded. P. 275)) The first person referred to must be Sergio Arcacha Smith, and the second is very likely Quiroga. Further, when Garrison tested Quiroga with the question, "According to your own knowledge, did Sergio Arcacha know Lee Oswald?", the criteria indicated a deception. (Davy, pp287-88) It very much seems that Quiroga was hiding his advance guilty knowledge. Of course, Martin turned out to be one of the several CIA agents who helped capsize Garrison. He may be the reason the tape never surfaced. (Or that may be due to new information to be discussed later.)

As Russell notes, most of Nagell's time from July to his arrest in September was spent on Oswald. And although Nagell was deliberately vague about exactly what he was doing, another source, besides Garrison, shed some backward light on those activities. In 1976, former CIA agent Robert Morrow wrote Betrayal, a fictionalized account of his days in the Agency leading up to the murder of Kennedy. In that account, he named a man who was almost eerily resembled Nagell. Except in that book, he was called Richard Carson Fillmore. It was not until many years later, in the nineties, that Morrow discussed openly who the actual people in the 1976 book represented. As we have noted, Nagell revealed he worked in the forerunner of the DOD from 1959 onward. In 1962, Tracy Barnes exercised control over this newly named and organized unit. With both Nagell and very likely Clay Shaw under him. Interestingly, Morrow knew that "Joe Kramer" was one of Nagell's pseudonyms. (p. 264) Barnes told Morrow that he had sent Nagell to New Orleans to investigate certain goings-on with the Banister-Ferrie group in the summer of 1963. As Russell notes, Nagell corroborates this part of Morrow's story in a letter to Greenstein he wrote in 1967. There he mentioned that he had received instructions from someone at CIA HQ to join a Cuban exile affiliate of Alpha 66 in New Orleans to "find out if things were real." (ibid) Further, Nagell later told Garrison that "Angel" and "Leopoldo" both had worked with the group Movement to Free Cuba which was supervised by Barnes. Nagell also said at the time that Ferrie knew both of these men who, of course, ended up at Sylvia Odio's home in late September of 1963. (p. 265)

Let me mention another fascinating linkage between Nagell, Odio, and the Garrison inquiry. Sylvia Odio always maintained that the Caucasian who accompanied the two Cubans was referred to as one "Leon Oswald". This, of course, corresponds with the name given to the man at Ferrie's apartment discussing some kind of assassination plot as testified to by Perry Russo. Nagell told Russell that he knew both Oswalds, Lee and Leon. (p. 287) And he said the latter showed up on the fringes of the nascent conspiracy. Nagell added that Leon Oswald worked only with the anti-Castro Cubans and made no attempt to appear pro-Castro. He also said that this second Oswald was in Mexico City somewhere between July and September of 1963. Nagell wrote to Russell that Leon Oswald was eliminated in the latter part of September by mistake. (Russell surmises that it was probably by the KGB.) This new Nagell aspect now makes three witnesses who met someone referred to as "Leon Oswald". All of the meetings taking place in a clearly conspiratorial aspect and pre-assassination. (I should add, there is a fourth witness to this Leon Oswald. It is Ferrie's friend Ray Broshears who said Leon resembled the real Oswald. p. 367) It sounds very much like someone was trying to confuse things about multiple Oswalds before the fact. For instance, Nagell says that the Leon Oswald he knew was killed around the third week of September. If so, Angel and Leopoldo were still using that name with what was probably the real Oswald. Further, both the KGB and Barnes strongly suspected a conspiracy to kill Kennedy forming in New Orleans with Cuban exiles like Smith, and with CIA agents like Ferrie.

Russell implies that by the end of August and in early September, Nagell realized he was in the middle of something very big and very evil. In late August Nagell communicated to Desmond Fitzgerald of the Clandestine Services that something was clearly transpiring. (p. 275) Except at this point Nagell apparently thought the actual assassination attempt would take place in the East, in the Washington-Baltimore area. In fact, he actually tried to join Communist Party cells at the time in those areas. (p. 276) Journeying to Mexico for further instructions, Nagell could not meet with his CIA contact there. But his KGB contact told him to try and separate Oswald from the conspirators by telling him he was being duped. And if this did not work, and the plot appeared to be heading forward, to eliminate him. (p. 278) Later, Nagell told the author "If anybody wanted to stop the assassination, it would be the KGB. But they didn't do enough." (ibid)

From Russell's narrative it seems that Nagell failed in his KGB mission. He could not convince Oswald to admit he was being used. Therefore the plot proceeded. Nagell describes a meeting with Oswald in Jackson Square where this confrontation occurred.( p. 282) What seems to be happening in this incident is that you have two agents from different parts of the CIA taking orders from different chiefs. Oswald connects through officers like David Phillips and Howard Hunt through to James Angleton. Nagell works through his Mexico City contact named Bob up to Tracy Barnes. I have never seen any evidence that connects Barnes to the conspiracy. I have seen a lot of evidence that connects Hunt, Phillips, and Angleton. Because of that unseen gulf, Nagell could not fulfill his mission. What made his dilemma worse is that he also could not bring himself to kill Oswald. Feeling lost and helpless, Nagell used his old stand by trick. He tried to check into a VA Hospital. This time in Los Angeles. Again, he couldn't pass muster. (p. 278) Because of his failure, it appears that Nagell expected to be killed. For when he visited a friend in LA, he informed him of what to do with some of his possessions in case of his demise.

I must note here that Russell insinuates an absolutely diabolical possibility in a chapter called "The Setup". One of the reasons Nagell may have panicked is because the CIA was freezing him out. (p. 283) He got no reply from his communication with Fitzgerald. While in Mexico, his contact failed to meet him. His only communication about the plot was now with the KGB. Russell holds out the possibility that Nagell had been duped into thinking that he was working on this mission for both sides. When in fact the CIA was using him to both monitor and confuse the KGB effort to thwart the plot. This may be why Leon Oswald was mistakenly eliminated and why Nagell was confused about the conspiracy's ultimate location. (Although, as seen by his conversation with Bundren, he ultimately found out its actual destination.) Another possibility is that someone in the know learned about Barnes' efforts and told him to back off.

Nagell became so confused that he actually thought of leaving the USA and going to Eastern Europe. And his KGB contacts agreed he should. Around September 17th, he mailed a letter to the FBI alerting them to the conspiracy. He then drove to El Paso. He was supposed to meet a contact across the border, in Juarez. (p. 290) Nagell was thinking of going from Mexico to Cuba. He cruised the streets for awhile and decided against crossing over and meeting his contact. He went to the post office, and as related above, mailed the money to Mexico and wrote the letters to the CIA. (Later on in the book, Nagell reveals to Russell that the five hundred dollars was for Oswald's expense money on his Mexico trip. p. 290) He then walked over to the bank to purchase the American Express checks. Nagell told Russell there was a reason for this. As revealed in On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Nagell was being paid by the CIA through this company. And there is strong evidence that Oswald was also. Since there was no robbery, Nagell believed he would be tried on a misdemeanor. And that all the things in his car, plus the purchase of the American Express checks would allow him to reveal the machinations of the plot in court. But as also revealed in the previous book, the prosecution vehemently objected to any mention of American Express. And many of the things in his car were disposed of. In his first interview with the FBI Nagell actually said, "all of my problems have been solved for a long time, and now I won't have to go to Cuba." (p. 292)

Oh ye of too much faith.

V

While Nagell was in jail, the plot he monitored proceeded forward. Russell does an OK job of outlining it. For instance, he describes the incredibly important Hunt memorandum. This was an internal 1966 CIA memorandum describing the need for an alibi for Howard Hunt for November 22nd since he was in Dallas at the time. It came from James Angleton's office. And as anyone knows who has read Mark Lane's Plausible Denial, Howard Hunt never did have an alibi for where he was on 11/22/63. Yet people who worked with Angleton tried to give him one at the legal proceedings depicted in Lane's book. (Lisa Pease probably did the best short treatment of this issue. See The Assassinations, pgs. 195-198) Russell also relates the information about David Phillips' deathbed confession admitting he was in Dallas on the day of Kennedy's murder. (p. 272) This comes through Shawn Phillips, David Phillips' nephew. Shawn's father was the writer James Phillips, David's brother. The brothers had been estranged for a number of years. James had told his son that from conversations with his brother, he understood that David did not care for JFK at all. James also suspected that his brother had a serious role in his demise. After a period of estrangement, David called up James when he knew he was dying. At the end of the call, James asked his brother if he was in Dallas the day of JFK's murder. The CIA officer started to weep and said that yes, he had been. Since this confirmed what he had long suspected, James hung up on him. (ibid)

While in custody, Nagell wrote a letter to the FBI again. He stated that what he did on September 20th in El Paso came from a love for his country no matter how inappropriate or incomprehensible it appeared. This note was sent by air-tel to Washington the next day. Two days after, President Kennedy was killed. (p. 347)

To complete the cover up, Nagell was sent to Springfield prison as part of his incarceration. He was part of their behavior modification program. (p. 385) As was also-and I suppose this was just a coincidence-- Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden. (See James W. Douglass' JFK and the Unspeakable, p. 216) It just happened that both men were intelligence officers who, based on their privileged knowledge, tried to blow the whistle on the Kennedy plot. The FBI fully took advantage of Nagell's Springfield predicament by telling the Warren Commission that Nagell was psychologically disturbed and could not be trusted. (p. 386)

The first judge at Nagell's trial retired before the trial actually began. He was replaced by Homer Thornberry, a close friend of President Johnson's. Further, the CIA friendly Texas attorney Leon Jaworski recommended Thornberry. (p. 391) After his conviction and sentencing, Nagell was dragged from the courtroom screaming that the FBI had allowed Kennedy to be shot. And further that they had questioned him about Oswald before the murder. (p. 393) The FBI agents on the scene made sure that Hoover was alerted to this fact. When he was sent to Springfield, Nagell wrote a letter to his sister saying he understood why he had been sent there: "If the American people think that only the Chinese are experts at brainwashing ... I am afraid someday they will be in for a big surprise when it is discovered that the FBI is not too far divorced from Hitler's Gestapo ..." (ibid) While in jail, Nagell was visited by the CIA who told him to stop talking about Oswald. (p. 401) Nagell was then transferred to Leavenworth where he was tortured. (p. 404) On trips back to El Paso for hearings on his appeal, he was beaten up.

Nagell's attorney, Joe Calamia, was so intent on getting Nagell freed that he got his client to cooperate with the government in a psychological ruse. An army doctor named Edward Weinstein had once treated Nagell after an airplane crash in the service. Nagell actually told the FBI about Weinstein himself. But the court made it clear that Nagell now had to lie about this in order to have any chance upon appeal. In other words, Thornberry and the FBI were striking a deal with the defendant: We will give you a chance to go free if you go along with our deceitful discreditation of you as a witness. Urged on by Calamia, Nagell went along with this ploy, but he did so kicking and screaming. (p. 408) Eventually this is how Nagell was finally released. Weinstein said Nagell had suffered brain damage from his plane accident and therefore had "confabulated" his story about Oswald and what he did in the bank. Here is the problem with Weinstein's thesis: Nagell underwent an EEG and psychological testing at Springfield. The examining doctor wrote: "I did not find any evidence or finding suggestible of brain damage." (p. 407) This report was deliberately kept out of Nagell's second trial. By both the defense and prosecution. Calamia made a deal with the devil to get his client out of jail. Nagell got out in April of 1968.

When Nagell was released the CIA gave him $15,000. He then left for East Germany on a mysterious mission. Russell believes this may have been to be debriefed by the KGB. And Nagell has also written to Greenstein hinting at this possibility. (p. 427) The context of this debriefing would have been his meetings with Jim Garrison and his volunteering to appear as his witness at the trial of Clay Shaw. And if anyone doubts how important Nagell's testimony would have been, consider this: On February 12, 1969 while in New York, a hand grenade was thrown at Nagell from a speeding automobile. After this, Nagell went to New Orleans. He told the DA he did not think it would be a good idea for him to testify at the Shaw trial. He then turned over the remnants of the grenade to Garrison and his staff. (p. 436)

But this game worked both ways. Nagell's ex-wife had split and taken his two children with her. As part of his dealings with the CIA upon his release, they told him the State Department would help locate his children who he thought were in Europe. While searching for them in Spain he told a consulate officer that if they did not keep their part of the bargain, he would reveal the whole story about President Kennedy's murder to the media. (p. 437) The CIA took this very seriously and now had the press monitored to see if Nagell was talking. (p. 438) They also began tracking Nagell throughout Europe. Further, Russell checked every CIA name in Nagell's notebook and they all were really with the Agency. A number of them were from Angleton's staff. (p. 439)

In the spring of 1970, Nagell was finally alerted to the whereabouts of his children. In a rather incredible revelation to Russell in 1993, Nagell's son told him that he recalled being in East Germany as a small child with his sister. When he revisited Germany as an adult, he recalled some of the places he had been. But he added about the earlier sojourn, "It was not with our mother. We went by plane, with some blonde woman ... A very strange situation." (p. 445) Was the CIA using Nagell's children as bartering chips for his silence?

The other chip the CIA used was Nagell's retirement benefits. Which he finally received after a protracted struggle. (p. 446) But the rest of his life was very much controlled. The government was not satisfied with smearing him as being "disturbed". His files had him pegged as a racketeer "and associated with people I never even heard of." (ibid) His mail was monitored and stolen. Many letters Russell wrote to Nagell during the writing of The Man Who Knew Too Much never got to him. (p. 449) His handlers ordered him to stay completely clear of Russell. When he would not they ordered him to clear any talks with the author beforehand. (p. 448)

The day after the Assassination Records Review Board sent Nagell a letter requesting a deposition, he died. When the authorities broke into Nagell's home they found a key ring with 19 keys on it. Six of them were for footlockers in which Nagell had stored his valuables concerning his CIA service and monitoring of Oswald. While living with a niece, Nagell had told her of the contents of one of these foot lockers. Pointing at a purple one, he said "This one contains what everybody is trying to get hold of." (p. 451)

Nagell's son Robert found out the location of the foot lockers was Tucson. He went there and found five of them. The one that was missing was-no surprise-- the purple one. And the day Robert went to Tucson, his house was ransacked while he was gone. Someone was definitely worried about what Nagell would leave behind. When the niece was shown the inventory of what was in the other lockers she said Nagell told her about a couple of audio tapes and a couple of photos. None of these articles survived.

The new edition of The Man Who knew Too Much closes with some compelling information not available to Russell in 1992. First, the author talked to a former military intelligence officer named Jim Southwood. Southwood actually saw the 112th Military Intelligence file on Oswald. The one that was famously destroyed after the assassination. (p. 456) While stationed in the Far East, he received a request from the 112th to do some research on Oswald and the DeMohrenschildts. Southwood told Russell that he discovered Oswald was under surveillance by both ONI and Army Intelligence while in Japan. One of the reports had Oswald frequenting gay bars. And one of them had him intimately involved with a Soviet Colonel named Eroshkin. Which, of course, would confirm Nagell's story about his first encounter with Oswald. From perusing the file Southwood was convinced Oswald was some kind of intelligence operative. And although he could find no new info on the DeMohrenschildts, he did find out something quite interesting. All the info the 112th already had on Oswald came from that couple. And it was all of a prejudicial nature: he was a strange personality, he had weird sexual habits, and he needed to be watched at all times. As I noted in the review of On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, this contrasts dramatically with what the DeMohrenschildts toward Russell in 1975. And it is further evidence that they had been used earlier and felt badly about it later.

Russell, with the help of Hulme, did a much better job of telling the above story in 2003 than he did in 1992. If anything, Hulme did not go far enough with the editing scissors. I would have cut out about sixty or so more pages. For example, the chapters on General Walker and the material on Charles Willoughby seem to me to have almost no relation to the Nagell story. Further, it seems that Russell never read the declassified Lopez Report, one of the crown jewels of the ARRB. Because in his discussion of Mexico City in late September, he makes some statements that are contradicted by that adduced record.

But finally the Nagell story is in a manageable and understandable narrative form. To me it is one of the crucial and most powerful stories in the Kennedy literature. And for anyone to deny it, one must believe in something of a wild conspiracy theory. Witnesses like Art Greenstein, Nagell's sister, his niece, his son-in-law, and his son must all be lying. And they all must be lying to the same effect. Jim Bundren and John Margain are lying and the lies just happen to coincide with what Nagell screamed out to the crowd after his conviction. When he was arrested, Nagell just happened to have all that paraphernalia in his car that was so similar to Oswald's. And he then just happened to guess right at the mutual American Express payment method for the two spies. And Nagell just happened to have the phone number for Sylvia Duran before anyone knew how she figured in the plot. And he had a version of Oswald's Uniformed Services Privilege Card before Oswald altered it. And somehow, what Nagell knew about the conspiracy just happened to partly coincide with what both Sylvia Odio and Rose Cheramie knew, down to the actual Cubans involved.

Oh, really? Who is wearing the tin foil hats now? But that's how good a witness Richard Case Nagell was.

* * *

Edited March 20, 2015 by Steven Gaal

[Paul Brancato]

Ernie - the article you posted is out of step with current research. Strongly suggest that if you are going to begin engaging about theories rather than just focusing on Trejo you do some reading. Newman's Oswald and the CIA, Simpich's State Secrets, come to mind immediately because of their focus on Mexico City.

[Ernie Lazar]

...Contrary to Paul Trejo's speculation -- the remaining classified material is NOT about groups like JBS or Minutemen. That is what I meant by my previous comment concerning "the type of documents" which remain to be released are NOT "the type" which Paul Trejo believes are currently being withheld.

This is typical, Ernie, your claiming to know what is -- and what isn't -- contained in "the remaining classified material" of the US Government on the topic of the JFK murder.

This is what I meant by my previous innuendo that simply holding the world record for most FBI documents obtained from the FBI does not grant one clairvoyance..

You have no idea in the world what is -- and what isn't -- inside the content of the US Government classified material on the JFK murder, Ernie. Why not just admit it?

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

Take note everyone. Trejo has never read the ARRB Final Report.

[Ernie Lazar]

Ernie - the article you posted is out of step with current research. Strongly suggest that if you are going to begin engaging about theories rather than just focusing on Trejo you do some reading. Newman's Oswald and the CIA, Simpich's State Secrets, come to mind immediately because of their focus on Mexico City.

I was just bringing everyone's attention to an actual evidence trail which can be pursued -- which researchers are aware of -- nothing more. Strongly suggest you re-read the article.

[Paul Trejo]

Richard Case Nagell: The Most Important Witness, Pt. 2

The Man WHo Knew Too Much, By Dick Russell

Reviewed by James DiEugenio

<snip>

...The new edition of The Man Who knew Too Much closes with some compelling information not available to Russell in 1992. First, the author talked to a former military intelligence officer named Jim Southwood. Southwood actually saw the 112th Military Intelligence file on Oswald. The one that was famously destroyed after the assassination. (p. 456)

While stationed in the Far East, he received a request from the 112th to do some research on Oswald and the DeMohrenschildts. Southwood told Russell that he discovered Oswald was under surveillance by both ONI and Army Intelligence while in Japan. One of the reports had Oswald frequenting gay bars. And one of them had him intimately involved with a Soviet Colonel named Eroshkin. Which, of course, would confirm Nagell's story about his first encounter with Oswald.

From perusing the file Southwood was convinced Oswald was some kind of intelligence operative. And although he could find no new info on the DeMohrenschildts, he did find out something quite interesting. All the info the 112th already had on Oswald came from that couple. And it was all of a prejudicial nature: he was a strange personality, he had weird sexual habits, and he needed to be watched at all times. As I noted in the review of On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, this contrasts dramatically with what the DeMohrenschildts toward Russell in 1975. And it is further evidence that they had been used earlier and felt badly about it later.

Russell, with the help of Hulme, did a much better job of telling the above story in 2003 than he did in 1992. If anything, Hulme did not go far enough with the editing scissors. I would have cut out about sixty or so more pages. For example, the chapters on General Walker and the material on Charles Willoughby seem to me to have almost no relation to the Nagell story. Further, it seems that Russell never read the declassified Lopez Report, one of the crown jewels of the ARRB. Because in his discussion of Mexico City in late September, he makes some statements that are contradicted by that adduced record.

But finally the Nagell story is in a manageable and understandable narrative form. To me it is one of the crucial and most powerful stories in the Kennedy literature. And for anyone to deny it, one must believe in something of a wild conspiracy theory. Witnesses like Art Greenstein, Nagell's sister, his niece, his son-in-law, and his son must all be lying.

And they all must be lying to the same effect. Jim Bundren and John Margain are lying and the lies just happen to coincide with what Nagell screamed out to the crowd after his conviction. When he was arrested, Nagell just happened to have all that paraphernalia in his car that was so similar to Oswald's. And he then just happened to guess right at the mutual American Express payment method for the two spies.

And Nagell just happened to have the phone number for Sylvia Duran before anyone knew how she figured in the plot. And he had a version of Oswald's Uniformed Services Privilege Card before Oswald altered it. And somehow, what Nagell knew about the conspiracy just happened to partly coincide with what both Sylvia Odio and Rose Cheramie knew, down to the actual Cubans involved...

* * *

Many of us on this FORUM miss the participation of James DiEugenio, who sadly was also made a Moderator of this list, though he held a strongly partisan position. James used his Moderator powers to bully his debaters, and so was asked to resign.

While I don't miss his bullying or unfair debating practices, one cannot deny that James DiEugenio was one of the most interesting writers on the JFK murder case in the first decade of the 21st century.

In this long article, DiEugenio specifically praises the second edition of Dick Russell's book, The Man Who Knew Too Much (2003).

The new material on Jim Southwood, for example, who actually saw the 112th Military Intelligence file on OSWALD was indeed a step forward. Southwood's research into OSWALD and the DeMohrenschildts showed that OSWALD was under surveillance by the ONI as well as Army Intelligence while in Japan -- and this confirmed Nagell's story about his first encounter with OSWALD. All very good.

It is also interesting that all of the data that the 112th had on OSWALD had come from the DeMohrenschildts, mostly negative: e.g. OSWALD was "strange," "weird," and should be watched. It was almost as if George was applying for a paid job to watch OSWALD more closely.

I must disagree with DiEugenio, however, on the value of Russell's work on Edwin WALKER and his political roots close to General Charles Willoughby. These topics are indeed related to the Nagell story because of their connection to the JFK murder. DiEugenio failed to connect those dots -- but Dick Russell glimpsed them.

I do agree with DiEugenio about Russell's neglect of the declassified Lopez Report, our first FOIA release from the ARRB pursuant to the JFK Records Act of 1992. Without the Lopez Report, it is impossible to get the clearest insight into OSWALD in Mexico City.

I am in mixed agreement with DiEugenio about the Nagell story. I believe Nagell as far as I can understand him, but Nagell is deliberately cryptic. This is the reason that Jim Garrison chose to omit Nagell from his friendly witnesses in New Orleans. Given that Nagell is telling the truth -- he is still unclear. DiEugenio seems to believe that the CIA killed JFK, and that Nagell offers clues about it.

I say that Nagell saw something in New Orleans, but was never perfectly clear about what he saw. The CIA was indeed watching OSWALD -- but never fully controlling OSWALD, as I read it.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 20, 2015 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

With respect to the ARRB methodology (and the requirements of the JFK Act of 1992), I copy below some of the relevant material. This will help explain "the type" of documents which could be withheld entirely OR postponed until 2017. I present some comments afterward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congress clearly emphasized the supremacy of the JFK Act over other laws that might preclude disclosure of assassination-related records. Thus, where the JFK Act required public disclosure of a record, the Act would “take precedence over any other law..., judicial decision construing such law, or common law doctrine that would otherwise prohibit such transmission or disclosure....” The only records that the Act exempted from its “supremacy clause” were (1) IRS tax-related records in which Section 6103 of the IRS Code precluded disclosure, and (2) records donated to the United States under a deed of gift whose terms precluded disclosure.

The JFK Act guidelines that governed the disclosure of records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy were detailed in section 6 of the JFK Act. The JFK Act allowed the Review Board to postpone the release of assassination records only where the agencies provided clear and convincing evidence that one of five enumerated harms would occur if the Review Board released the record and that the harm outweighed the public interest in disclosure. The statute allowed protection of intelligence agents and intelligence sources and methods if the agency could show that the agent, source, or method currently required protection. The statute further allowed the Board to protect the identity of living persons who provided confidential information to the government if the agency could show that disclosure of the person’s identity would pose a substantial risk of harm to the person. The JFK Act allowed the Review Board to postpone release of information if release would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or if release would compromise the existence of an understanding of confidentiality between a government agent and a cooperating individual or foreign government. Finally, the JFK A c t allowed the Review Board to protect current information concerning protection of government officials.

The most pertinent language of the JFK Act was the standard for release of information. According to the statute, “all Government records concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure.” The statute further declared that “only in the rarest cases is there any legitimate need for continued protection of such records.”

With respect to the FBI

Third, the Review Board staff researched existing law on each of the FBI’s “positions” and determined that the arguments that the FBI put forth in support of its JFK Act postponements were essentially the same arguments that the FBI offers to courts for FOIA cases. Of course, in legislating the declassification standards of the JFK Act, Congress intended for the JFK Act standards—and not the FOIA standards—to apply. Aware of congressional intent, the Review Board rejected the FBI’s general policy preferences on the basis that the arguments did not constitute the clear and convincing evidence necessary to support a request for a postponement under section 6. The FBI did appeal the Review Board’s decisions to the President, but the Review Board’s document-specific interpretation of the clear and convincing evidence standard ultimately prevailed when the vote was withdrawn.

Where an individual provided information to the FBI and requested that the FBI protect his or her identity, but the FBI provided no evidence of an ongoing confidential relationship with the individual, the Review Board voted to disclose all identifying information about that individual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See, in particular, the section pertaining to the FBI in this chapter of the ARRB report:

http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/review-board/report/chapter-05.pdf

MY COMMENTS:

1. The FBI vigorously objected to release to many of its records and their position was ultimately rejected by ARRB (or the FBI withdrew their objection)

2. "The type" of records which were permitted to be withheld or postponed concerned the identity of specific intelligence agents or sources or methods, tax records, and other types of documents which harmed our national security.

3. In a previous message, I asked Paul Trejo to explain why Harry Dean's files (FBI HQ, FBI field office, and his CIA file) were released (without redaction) even though they contained VERY personal (and private) and derogatory information which normally is totally exempt from disclosure --- particularly on living persons who have not consented to release of their personal information. I also pointed out that U.S. Supreme Court decisions (and lower court decisions) explicitly forbid disclosure of some types of information requested under FOIA provisions.

The reason is simple: The JFK Act of 1992 trumps FOIA law (and all other laws).

So....what can we learn from this?

1. We know that the FBI never opened a formal investigation of the John Birch Society. From the day that the FBI opened its JBS HQ file (62-104401), it explicitly and repeatedly told its field offices that "no investigation" of the JBS was necessary or desired.

2. We also know that the FBI never attempted to insert one or more informants into the JBS because there was no information about the JBS which the Bureau wanted that required an informant.

3. IF the JBS was even suspected of any sort of criminal or subversive activity OR if the FBI thought that criminals or subversives were interested in using the JBS for any purpose -- then the FBI would have instructed field offices to open a formal investigation --- just like the FBI did with every other suspect person or organization. EXAMPLE: The FBI did open a formal investigation into the Minutemen almost from the day it learned about the Minutemen.

4. All FBI files (HQ and field office) regarding the JBS have been released and there are very few redactions of substantive text. Personal names and addresses are often redacted but nobody has ever found a JBS file number which the FBI refuses to release.

5. We know (from Harry Dean's example -- and other comparable examples---including Edwin Walker) that the FBI is prepared to release entire files (without redaction) which contain extremely private and derogatory information (including, but not limited to, rap sheets which are normally totally exempt) -- EVEN WHEN that person is connected in some way to (1) the JBS or (2) the Minutemen or (3) connected to suspect organizations and persons who were being closely monitored by the FBI on an ongoing basis and EVEN WHEN those persons or organizations are thought to be or are suspected to be involved in some sort of illegal activity or involvement with political extremists.

6. Consequently, there is no reason to believe that any JFK-related documents exist that are being withheld or postponed (which pertain to JBS) --- because "the type" of FBI and CIA and National Security Agency and State Department and other documents which the ARRB discusses in its Final Report which could be withheld or postponed -- are NOT "the type" which correspond to the JBS and similar groups or to Harry Dean, Edwin Walker, John Rousselot, and similar individuals.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Brancato]

Ernie - read the article Bill Kelly linked to his recent post on the June Cobb thread.

[Paul Trejo]

Ernie - read the article Bill Kelly linked to his recent post on the June Cobb thread.

Well, Paul B., that link doesn't seem to work right now.

--Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

OK, it works now...I'm reading it...

[Steven Gaal]

l Brancato, on 19 Mar 2015 - 9:56 PM, said:

Ernie - the article you posted is out of step with current research. Strongly suggest that if you are going to begin engaging about theories rather than just focusing on Trejo you do some reading. Newman's Oswald and the CIA, Simpich's State Secrets, come to mind immediately because of their focus on Mexico City.

I was just bringing everyone's attention to an actual evidence trail which can be pursued -- which researchers are aware of -- nothing more. Strongly suggest you re-read the article.// LAZAR

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

see http://www.ctka.net/reviews/shenon.html

and

Read the analysis by Arnaldo M. Fernandez (< LINK) for more on Shenon's use of this improbable "threat" by Oswald

####################>>>>>>>>>>>>>> excerpt of review

Towards the very end, Shenon does something even worse than that. He tries to aggrandize the Garro de Paz twist party with Oswald into something like the Murchison ranch party in Dallas the night before JFK's assassination. (Shenon, p. 556)According to Shenon, the whole purpose of the occasion was to put Oswald up to killing Kennedy! Recall, according to Duran and Contreras, its not even Oswald at the party. With Elena Garro there! This I what I mean about the book scaling the walls of high camp.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Steven Gaal

[Paul Trejo]

Well, Paul B., looking at Bill Kelley's review of Phillip Shenon's, A Cruel and Shocking Twist (2013), which Bill published just this week at this URL:
http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/phillip-shenons-cruel-and-shocking-act.html?m=1

It's about the AARB, and I can see why you directed Ernie to this link. Here are some excerpts.

"So we are left with what Shenon calls a 'Dual Curse,' too little direct evidence has survived, yet thanks to the JFK Act too much has been released -- millions of pages of government documents, too much for any one person to read it all, yet Shenon doesn't mention that there are still so many records being withheld for reasons of national security that the National Archives can't even tell us how many." (Bill Kelly, 2014)

So, the upshot is that if we can't even tell HOW MANY documents are still being withheld, there is no way for anybody (not even Ernie Lazar) to guess what their CONTENTS might (or might not) be.

Also, Kelly says this:

"The former Warren Commission staff attorney...now claims he is outraged by what 'they did not see' and have learned over the years, critical and crucial facts that should have been provided the president's commission, especially about the CIA plots to kill Castro, but also...the mysterious and bizarre escapades in Mexico City." (Bill Kelly, 2014)

This tells me that Phillip Shenon was not part of the Inner Circle of the WC (e.g. Warren, Dulles, Hoover, LBJ) who knew from the start that OSWALD really wasn't the "Lone Shooter," but that lies must be created to convince the public that OSWALD really was the "Lone Shooter". This is the only way that Shenon could have been "outraged" by what the WC folks "did not see".

Actually the WC folks saw everything -- and they reported the Big Lie. If Shenon was outraged in retrospect, then clearly he wasn't part of the Inner Circle of the Big Lie about a "Lone Nut" OSWALD invented by J. Edgar Hoover at 3pm CST on 11/22/1963.

Such a low-level WC asset could logically try to resolve the JFK murder on the theory that plot was "hatched or encouraged" by Cuban Communists in Mexico City. In other words, Shenon was clueless in 1964, and remains clueless to this very day.

Oswald's mother and Mark Lane would argue the opposite extreme -- that the JFK murder plot was "hatched" by the CIA. Shenon thinks that conclusion is "looney," but in fact it was not hatched by Marguerite Oswald -- it was also proposed (as Bill Kelly says) by George deMohrenschildt, Gaeton Fonzi, Senator Richard Schweiker, John Newman and countless others.

The details of the Twist Party story and its implications goes too far afield for the current thread -- for which we have already pointed out the main issue -- if we can't even tell HOW MANY secret documents are still being withheld by the AARB, there is no logical way for anybody to guess what their CONTENTS might (or might not) be.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 20, 2015 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

Well, Paul B., looking at Bill Kelley's review of Phillip Shenon's, A Cruel and Shocking Twist (2013), which Bill published just this week at this URL:

http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/phillip-shenons-cruel-and-shocking-act.html?m=1

It's about the AARB, and I can see why you directed Ernie to this link. Here are some excerpts.

"So we are left with what Shenon calls a "Dual Curse," too little direct evidence has survived, yet thanks to the JFK Act too much has been released -- millions of pages of government documents, too much for any one person to read it all, yet Shenon doesn't mention that there are still so many records being withheld for reasons of national security that the National Archives can't even tell us how many." (Bill Kelly, 2014)

So, the upshot is that if we can't even tell HOW MANY documents are still being withheld, there is no way for anybody (not even Ernie Lazar) to guess what their CONTENTS might (or might not) be.

Also, Kelly says this:

"The former Warren Commission staff attorney...now claims he is outraged by what "they did not see" and have learned over the years, critical and crucial facts that should have been provided the president's commission, especially about the CIA plots to kill Castro, but also...the mysterious and bizarre escapades in Mexico City." (Bill Kelly, 2014)

This tells me that Phillip Shenon was not part of the Inner Circle of the WC (e.g. Warren, Dulles, Hoover, LBJ) who knew from the start that OSWALD really wasn't the "Lone Shooter," but that lies must be created to convince the public that OSWALD really was the "Lone Shooter". This is the only way that Shenon could have been "outraged" by what the WC folks "did not see".

Actually the WC folks saw everything -- but reported the Big Lie. If Shenon was outraged in retrospect, then clearly he wasn't part of the Big Lie of the "Lone Nut" OSWALD invented by J. Edgar Hoover at 3pm CST on 11/22/1963.

Such a low-level WC asset could logically try to resolve the JFK murder on the theory that plot was "hatched or encouraged" by Cuban Communists in Mexico City. In other words -- clueless.

Oswald's mother and Mark Lane would argue the opposite extreme -- that the JFK murder plot was "hatched" by the CIA. Shenon thinks that conclusion is "looney," but in fact it was not hatched by Marguerite Oswald -- it was also proposed (as Bill Kelly says) by George deMohrenschildt, Gaeton Fonzi, Senator Richard Schweiker, John Newman and countless others.

The details of the Twist Party story and its implications goes too far afield for the current thread -- for which we have already pointed out the main issue -- if we can't even tell HOW MANY secret documents are still being withheld by the AARB, there is no logical way for anybody to guess what heir contents might (or might not) be.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Paul, as usual, your predicate is mistaken. There is considerable evidence concerning not only how many documents remain to be released but also the type of documents.

I presume that the Bill Kelly who authored the review you cite, is the same Bill Kelly who participated in our "Harry Dean Memoirs" thread? Significantly, Bill posted a hostile reply to my June 2010 message concerning what I had discovered during my 30+ years of research without asking me a single question. Bill wrote that he was "suspicious" of me. Why? Because I pointed out that there were no documents in FBI files in my possession that verified Harry Dean's assertions.

This is the same Bill Kelly who posted a reply to a message sent to me by David Boylan. David asked me if I had ever found anything in JBS files about Gordon Hall, Grace Hoag, Burt Mold or Robert DePugh. By some unknown mental process, Bill Kelly immediately responded to David as follows (again---without asking me a single question):

Dave, Don't hold your breath. Ernie is so full of it that he will never share anything unless it fits in with his program, whatever it is. If you figure it out, explain it to me, will ya?

[Note: with respect to me "sharing" documents -- all the FBI files I received on CDROM's from the FBI or from NARA (including Gordon Hall and Robert DePugh) are currently uploaded onto the Internet Archive website. There are some I sent to the Archive in late January that will be uploaded as soon as my Archive contact has time to do so. In addition, as I recently pointed out here on EF and elsewhere---my paper files (about 400,000 pages) will be scanned and uploaded onto Internet Archive and then they will donated to some educational institution so that all researchers will have access to them. Obviously, scanning such a huge amount of documents is going to require considerable time and expense---and the Archive is searching for people who are willing to underwrite the cost and volunteer the labor to scan them.

BY CONTRAST: Where are the files and documents of people like Harry Dean or Bill Kelly?]

Again there was no rational basis for Bill assuming something so unkind about my integrity or about my motives -- but this did reveal something very important about Bill Kelly's mental processes and his pre-existing bias against anybody who presents information that he does not like.

This is the same Bill Kelly who accepted as absolute literal truth every syllable that came out of Harry Dean's mouth and every jot and tittle that Harry ever wrote. Bill posted the "redacted short version" of Harry's 11/63 letter to Hoover and, naturally, Bill accepted Harry's assurances that the FBI had forged or edited that document in some manner. Significantly, Paul Trejo bought that same argument and went even further to explain the alleged psychiatric reasons which motivated FBI employees who supposedly had nothing better to do than convert a sentence case original letter into an ALL CAPS piece of correspondence.

As already discussed numerous times -- Paul Trejo's standards for good "evidence" and compelling "logic" are very simple and uni-dimensional --- namely -- ANYTHING which Paul thinks can be used to support his already formed beliefs is something he considers to be accurate, truthful and factual -- no matter whom or what is the source and no matter how illogical or fact-challenged.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Ernie Lazar