Umbrella Man revisited . . .

[Chris Davidson]

https://www.jfk-assassination.net/russ/jfkinfo2/jfk4/witt.htm

[Leslie Sharp]

Setting aside the fact Witt failed to come forward long before he was called to testify before the HSCA, the first time I read this testimony I thought his story was plausible, including his account of the remark made by the fella who sat down beside him.  However, when I tracked his history at Rio Grande National and the company his boss kept professionally and socially, the Chamberlain excuse seemed more and more contrived. Years later, when I started work on Coup with Albarelli, we revisited the high strangeness and synchronicity of dozens of "coincidences" one comes across when studying the "lay of the land," Dallas.

 

Whether Witt/RGMLI/Baxter are anything other than 2-3 degrees of separation hasn't been resolved.

Edited August 10, 2023 by Leslie Sharp

[Cliff Varnell]

8 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Did you once think umbrella man was firing a flechette?

No, not at all.

8 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Or was that someone else with a high tech military weapon?

Black Dog Man.  The HSCA identified “a very distinct straight line feature...in the region of his hands”.  Rosemary Willis identified him as a “conspicuous person” who happened to “disappear the next instant.”

8 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

of course Leslie’s question ‘why’ did he come forward at that time is a good one. 
in the excerpts posted here the idea that Mr Witt was intending a symbolic act (Chamberlain?) doesn’t come from him. Could someone post a link to the complete testimony? 

https://www.jfk-assassination.net/russ/jfkinfo2/jfk4/witt.htm

[Paul Brancato]

4 hours ago, Cliff Varnell said:

No, not at all.

Black Dog Man.  The HSCA identified “a very distinct straight line feature...in the region of his hands”.  Rosemary Willis identified him as a “conspicuous person” who happened to “disappear the next instant.”

https://www.jfk-assassination.net/russ/jfkinfo2/jfk4/witt.htm

Thanks for jogging my memory and for the link to the very strange testimony of Mr. Witt. It helped me recall why I found his testimony so unconvincing  the first time I read it. 

[Mervyn Hagger]

I read the testimony of the man claiming to be the person holding the umbrella, but his description does not fit the pictorial evidence.

[Leslie Sharp]

9 minutes ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

I read the testimony of the man claiming to be the person holding the umbrella, but his description does not fit the pictorial evidence.

Do you have the image of Umbrella Man and Radio Guy sitting side by side some minutes later?

[Mervyn Hagger]

Yes, and in sequence. But after reading the testimony of this so-called umbrella guy, I conclude that he is a phony using what would be described today as stereotypical racist language to reflect comments by the radio man sitting nest to him. Not only that, but his testimony does not correspond with the images above or the film images of him sitting down next to the man on the radio, and then walking off. I am not convinced that the man on the radio is non-Caucasian. However, I wanted to focus upon the actual moment of killing in these two shots with the added captions by me.

[Leslie Sharp]

5 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Thanks for jogging my memory and for the link to the very strange testimony of Mr. Witt. It helped me recall why I found his testimony so unconvincing  the first time I read it. 

I'm curious what specifically in Witt's testimony you found unconvincing?

Did you consider him to be a suspect based on the flechette theory?

Did you consider he might have been a point man for the experienced assassins?

Assuming he did not live in a vacuum following the assassination, he was aware for years that investigators pondered over the identity of Umbrella Man so why did he wait to come forward until his testimony before the HSCA?

If he had simply been afraid to come forward, who or what might have instilled that fear?
 

[Leslie Sharp]

12 minutes ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

Yes, and in sequence. But after reading the testimony of this so-called umbrella guy, I conclude that he is a phony using what would be described today as stereotypical racist language to reflect comments by the radio man sitting nest to him. Not only that, but his testimony does not correspond with the images above or the film images of him sitting down next to the man on the radio, and then walking off. I am not convinced that the man on the radio is non-Caucasian. However, I wanted to focus upon the actual moment of killing in these two shots with the added captions by me.

Reading between the lines:
Witt wasn't Umbrella Man but years later he was persuaded to claim that he was.

By whom? For what purpose?

Umbrella Man and Radio Guy appear to be acting in league in some capacity, in contradiction to Witt's testimony?

Radio Guy has been identified as non-Caucasian by many researchers ... but you speculate he may not have been.

If he wasn't, does that change the dynamic between him and UM?

If he was, does that somehow support a "direct capacity" role of Cubans in Dealey?

Could Radio Guy have been French or Algerian? Does his clothing suggest Cuban or European?

If Witt wasn't Umbrella Man, who was?

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by Leslie Sharp

[Mervyn Hagger]

5 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Thanks for jogging my memory and for the link to the very strange testimony of Mr. Witt. It helped me recall why I found his testimony so unconvincing  the first time I read it. 

I agree with you Paul, that so-called 'testimony' would never have been heard in an ordinary court of law. It is ridiculous in its timing and just downright absurd in its explanation. In pre-trial motions for a regular trial the judge would have hauled the attorney who brought in this so-called witness, over the coals and told him to stop wasting the time of the court. The witness would have been reminded that perjury carries penalties. This is not the guy who had the umbrella, but on the rare off-chance that it was, he lied knowing that there was no penalty for spinning such a tale under the circumstances that he delivered it.

[Leslie Sharp]

1 minute ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

I agree with you Paul, that so-called 'testimony' would never have been heard in an ordinary court of law. It is ridiculous in its timing and just downright absurd in its explanation. In pre-trial motions for a regular trial the judge would have hauled the attorney who brought in this so-called witness, over the coals and told him to stop wasting the time of the court. The witness would have been reminded that perjury carries penalties. This is not the guy who had the umbrella, but on the rare off-chance that it was, he lied knowing that there was no penalty for spinning such a tale under the circumstances that he delivered it.

 he lied knowing that there was no penalty

To what end, and at whose behest?

[Mervyn Hagger]

2 minutes ago, Leslie Sharp said:

Reading between the lines:
Witt wasn't Umbrella Man but years later he was persuaded to claim that he was.

By whom? For what purpose?

Umbrella Man and Radio Guy appear to be acting in league in some capacity, in contradiction to Witt's testimony?

Radio Guy has been identified as non-Caucasian by many researchers ... but you speculate he may not have been.

If he wasn't, does that change the dynamic between him and UM?

If he was, does that somehow support a "direct capacity" role of Cubans in Dealey?

If Witt wasn't Umbrella Man, who was?

 

Who knows? A joke? His moment of fame? I knew of a handful of Texans who would do that and they were also practicing attorneys! Not only that, Gordon McLendon and Clint Murchison Jr. also shared that kind of stupid humor (but they were not the Texans I was referring to.) I mean that I know, for a fact that some Texans engaged in this kind of behavior.

[Mervyn Hagger]

1 minute ago, Leslie Sharp said:

 he lied knowing that there was no penalty

To what end, and at whose behest?

There was no "end". It was a joke and a good time was had by all.

[Leslie Sharp]

Just now, Mervyn Hagger said:

There was no "end". It was a joke and a good time was had by all.

I seriously doubt that.

[Mervyn Hagger]

1 minute ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

There was no "end". It was a joke and a good time was had by all.

without tipping my hand, I worked for one attorney who asked me to create Dallas newspaper ads for him. I did and one of them read "GRASSY KNOWL TERRORIST? Call *********" It was a one and half inch box ad that immediately solicited a call from the news staff wanting to know if the attorney has some inside information. It was a low-cost ad and a joke that worked!