Morley Weighs In on Landis

[Benjamin Cole]

	View in browser The Latest From JFK Facts Secret Service Agent Says the 'Magic Bullet' Wasn't Magic For the first time, the New York Times questions the official theory of JFK's murder JEFFERSON MORLEY SEP 10     READ IN APP   Retired Secret Service agent Paul Landis. A retired Secret Service agent tells the New York Times he found a pristine bullet in the limousine in which President Kennedy was slain, calling into question the official theory of a “lone gunman.” The account of Paul Landis, drawn from an article in Vanity Fair and a new book, draws attention once again to the bullet which the Warren Commission dubbed Commission Exhibit 399. Forensic analysts dubbed it “the magic bullet.”  As Times reporter Peter Baker summarizes Landis’s story: The Warren Commission decided that one of the bullets fired that day struck the president from behind, exited from the front of his throat and continued on to hit Mr. Connally, somehow managing to injure his back, chest, wrist and thigh. It seemed incredible that a single bullet could do all that, so skeptics called it the magic bullet theory. Investigators came to that conclusion partly because the bullet was found on a stretcher believed to have held Mr. Connally at Parkland Memorial Hospital, so they assumed it had exited his body during efforts to save his life. But Mr. Landis, who was never interviewed by the Warren Commission, said that is not what happened. In fact, he said, he was the one who found the bullet — and he found it not in the hospital near Mr. Connally but in the presidential limousine lodged in the back of the seat behind where Kennedy was sitting. If true, Landis's story show that the Commission’s theory about CE 399 is wrong. If true, it proves that President Kennedy and Texas Governor Connally were wounded by in the back by two different bullets fired within less than a second, a physical impossibility for a single shooter. If true, Landis’s story confirms Connally’s unequivocal testimony—rejected by the Commission—that he and the president were struck by two different bullets. In short, if Landis’ story is true, the Warren Commission’s conclusions about a “lone gunman” are false. The Times account treats this as a real possibility. Mr. Landis has been reluctant to speculate on the larger implications. He always believed that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman. But now? “At this point, I’m beginning to doubt myself,” he said. “Now I begin to wonder.” That is as far as he is willing to go. And that is as far as the Times is willing to go—which is new territory for the nation’s newspaper of record. Landis is a credible witness and his story, especially as told in the Vanity Fair article, is a new and compelling account of the gunfire that took JFK’s life on November 22, 1963. Baker’s story in the Times is a significant breakthrough in media coverage of the JFK story. The country’s newspaper of record is now open to serious and respectful coverage of the long-scorned view of the majority of Americans that the official theory of JFK’s assassination is wrong. Baker is the epitome of mainstream Washington reporter, a fast and prolific chronicler of news as it understood by the political class in the nation’s capital. This is not the first time he has made JFK news. Last July, Baker picked up on the reporting of JFK Facts and broke the story of Reuben Efron, “the CIA man who read Oswald’s mail.” Earlier this year JFK Facts reported the previously unknown fact that the CIA station in MIami rejected the “lone gunman” scenario in favor of investigating certain anti-Castro exiles for orchestrating the Dallas ambush. The findings of that internal probe have yet to be made public by the CIA. The Heath memo, the Efron memo, and now Landis’s memoir provide new insights into a murder case some people said was closed a long time ago.  Questions Aside To be sure, there are factual issues with Landis’ account, which Baker notes. Mr. Landis remained silent for 60 years, which has fueled doubts even for his former Secret Service partner, and memories are tricky even for those sincerely certain of their recollections. A couple elements of his account contradict the official statements he filed with authorities immediately after the shooting, and some of the implications of his version cannot be easily reconciled to the existing record. Gerald Posner, stalwart defender of the official theory, doubts Landis’ story. So does historian David Kaiser, who rejects the official theory. JFK Facts will report on what experts say about Landis’ story in coming days. But for now, the respectful treatment of Landis story—and its dire implications for the “lone gunman” theory—signal a sea change in how the Times’ editorial leadership thinks about Kennedy’s assassination.  For the first time in sixty years, the Times is open to explanations of the president’s murder that are not dependent on factually dubious (and politically propagandistic) formulations like the “magic bullet” and the “lone gunman.” For the first time, the Times is practicing independent journalism on the JFK’s murder.  This is an important development, for which this Substack publication takes partial credit.  Eleven years after Rex Bradford and I launched JFK Facts with the goal of improving news coverage of the JFK story, with fact-based reporting supported by the original documentation (available at MaryFerrell.org.) We think our influence has reached the highest level of American journalism.  If you like what we’ve accomplished … JFK Facts is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrade to paid           You're currently a free subscriber to JFK Facts. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   LIKE   COMMENT   RESTACK   © 2023 Jefferson Morley 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104  Unsubscribe

[Charles Blackmon]

Looks like this is the latest hot topic. I will check back often!

[Douglas Caddy]

David Talbot wrote on Facebook yesterday:

 

The Confessions of a Secret Service Agent -- Former agent Paul Landis -- as he approaches 90 -- is apparently a low-key guy. But what he writes in his new book about the Kennedy assassination will change history forever. Landis, who rode on the rear bumper of the Secret Service car that followed JFK's limousine in Dallas with his partner Clint Hill, finally gives evidence that demolishes the magic bullet story as the fairytale it has always been. Landis's account of that fateful day also casts grave doubt on the lone gunman theory -- the twin fable that underpins the official Warren Report.

For nearly 60 years, the New York Times -- the mainstream media's gold standard -- has clung to the increasingly tattered Warren Report. Now even the Times has finally begun to question the official story. https://www.nytimes.com/.../jfk-assassination-witness...

 

This should open the reporting floodgates: since there were clearly at least two shooters that day, who were they? Who did they work for?

By pursuing the mystery that continues to haunt America, the New York Times and the rest of the press can begin to win back its credibility. Now that the official version of the Kennedy assassination has been debunked, other more tantalizing stories beckon.

As the Bible (and Allen Dulles) said, "You shall know the truth, and it shall set you free."

 

VANITYFAIR.COM

 

A New JFK Assassination Revelation Could Upend the Long-Held “Lone Gunman” Theory

In a new book, f

[Michael Griffith]

It's very simple: Landis is nearing the end of his life, and so he's decided it is time to reveal something that he has always known would be a bombshell revelation. Landis undoubtedly recognized right away that the bullet he found embedded in the back seat must have been fired from the front. He also undoubtedly recognized that revealing the finding of the bullet would cause a gigantic firestorm because it would prove there was more than one shooter. 

Within a few hours of the assassination, the dominant story on TV and radio was that there had been a single gunman and that he had been arrested. There was virtually no talk about multiple gunmen, four to seven shots, etc., etc. 

Thus, it is totally understandable why Landis chose to stay quiet about finding the bullet. 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Michael Griffith

[Charles Blackmon]

Was this bullet "embedded" in the back seat in such a way that is not possible to have fallen out of the shallow back wound?

[Douglas Caddy]

7 hours ago, Michael Griffith said:

It's very simple: Landis is nearing the end of his life, and so he's decided it is time to reveal something that he has always known would be a bombshell revelation. Landis undoubtedly recognized right away that the bullet he found embedded in the back seat must have been fired from the front. He also undoubtedly recognized that revealing the finding of the bullet would cause a gigantic firestorm because it would prove there was more than one shooter. 

Within a few hours of the assassination, the dominant story on TV and radio was that there had been a single gunman and that he had been arrested. There was virtually no talk about multiple gunmen, four to seven shots, etc., etc. 

Thus, it is totally understandable why Landis chose to stay quiet about finding the bullet. 

 

I concur with your assessment.

[Benjamin Cole]

10 hours ago, Michael Griffith said:

It's very simple: Landis is nearing the end of his life, and so he's decided it is time to reveal something that he has always known would be a bombshell revelation. Landis undoubtedly recognized right away that the bullet he found embedded in the back seat must have been fired from the front. He also undoubtedly recognized that revealing the finding of the bullet would cause a gigantic firestorm because it would prove there was more than one shooter. 

Within a few hours of the assassination, the dominant story on TV and radio was that there had been a single gunman and that he had been arrested. There was virtually no talk about multiple gunmen, four to seven shots, etc., etc. 

Thus, it is totally understandable why Landis chose to stay quiet about finding the bullet. 

 

MG--

 

If Landis found what is now CE399, then was it shot from the front? 

Or was it an undercharged bullet that struck JFK in the back, and somehow fell out? 

[Douglas Caddy]

 

The New York Times today in its print edition devotes a full page to Peter Baker's report on Landis.

 

This is an important development.

[Charles Blackmon]

14 hours ago, Benjamin Cole said:

MG--

 

If Landis found what is now CE399, then was it shot from the front? 

Or was it an undercharged bullet that struck JFK in the back, and somehow fell out? 

If the bullet was lodged in the seat, that makes it sound more like it came from the front. If it was the bullet that fell out of JFKs back, that would require an explanation of how it got embedded. One possibility is the SS agent (Hill?) inadvertently pressed on it when he landed in the limo.

[James DiEugenio]

How could it be CE 399?  That ended up in Connally's thigh.

How could it eject backwards?

[Cory Santos]

27 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:

How could it be CE 399?  That ended up in Connally's thigh.

How could it eject backwards?

During a press conference, I recall one dr stating a bullet was still in JC’s leg?

Edited September 12, 2023 by Cory Santos

[Cory Santos]

delete

Edited September 12, 2023 by Cory Santos

[Charles Blackmon]

7 minutes ago, Cory Santos said:

During a press conference, I recall one dr stating a bullet was still in JC’s leg?

a bullet or a bullet fragment?

[Cory Santos]

1 hour ago, Charles Blackmon said:

a bullet or a bullet fragment?

I cannot recall.  I thought he stated it was a bullet.  

[Benjamin Cole]

3 hours ago, Cory Santos said:

I cannot recall.  I thought he stated it was a bullet.  

Yeah, the whole fragment v. bullet in JBC's leg is another string of nonsequiturs. 

If it was a fragment...how could that be? CE399 is complete. 

If it was CE399...then how did it travel several floors and fall underneath a gurney? 

Landis' statements are iffy. But the official CE399 tale is even iffier.