JFK60 Interview with Jim DiEugenio

[Lori Spencer]

My thanks to Jim DiEugenio for such a wide-ranging and informative 2 hours & 40 minute interview. 
 

We covered the JFK60 anniversary, the Cyril Wecht conference, the Dallas gathering this year, medical evidence, the autopsy, Roger Stone’s LBJ-Did-It Book, Richard Nixon’s role in the conspiracy, and much more.
 

Jim’s been a pretty regular guest on Maverick News, and it’s always a pleasure. This latest show was our best interview yet. Enjoy, friends… 

 

[James DiEugenio]

Thanks for this Lori.

I have to say, of all the many interviews I did over the anniversary, this was the most detailed and the most comprehensive.

Its always better when someone knows something about the case, which you do.

[Anthony Venturella]

Great interview and information by both of you. Much appreciated. 

[Cliff Varnell]

Do I need to listen to the entire 160 minutes to verify that “comprehensive” Jim DiEugenio ignored the genuine physical evidence — the bullet defects in JFK’s clothes?

If he did cite actual physical evidence, I’ll buy Cory Santos a brew and a brat at a Vegas A’s game.

[Cory Santos]

9 minutes ago, Cliff Varnell said:

Do I need to listen to the entire 160 minutes to verify that “comprehensive” Jim DiEugenio ignored the genuine physical evidence — the bullet defects in JFK’s clothes?

If he did cite actual physical evidence, I’ll buy Cory Santos a brew and a brat at a Vegas A’s game.

What Cliff fails to note is regardless of whether Jim mentioned it, I still bought the club seats to the game lol.   

[James DiEugenio]

Thanks Anthony.

Much appreciated in return.

The opening of this is really interesting where we compare the 50th and Dallas, and the 60th.

Both her and I were in Dallas for that terrible travesty in 2013, with McCullough--of all people-- as a speaker.

And we compare that with what happened this time, and then we talk about Pittsburgh, and What the Doctors Saw.

From there I go on to Horne's work and why he was in the recut version of the film.

And I talk about the history of that film.  You will not see this kind of info from anyone else at the 60th.

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by James DiEugenio

[James DiEugenio]

Quote

LS: Thanks for such a Wide ranging and informative interview.

I have always felt that as a WC critic it was my function to know as much as I could about all of the evidence I could find.  This included not just the micro analysis of the evidence in the TIppit and JFK cases plus the murder of Oswald, but also about what his enemies were thinking of Kennedy and why.  

This is why in Cincinnati, at an event arranged by Matt Crumpton, a co author on the JFK Assassination Chokeholds, i did the micro analysis for that crowd.  BTW, i got the result I wanted since a couple of people came up after and asked, "Well, then who killed him?"

In Pittsburgh, I did a Big Picture address called, "The Death of JFK and the Rise of the Neocons". In that one I went from how Truman altered FDR's foreign policies, to Kennedy returning to Roosevelt with the great 1957 Algeria Speech, to how the Neocon movement really started and took over through, you will never guess, Senator Henry Jackson of Washington. Richard Perle, Eliot Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeane Kirkpatrick and Frank Gaffney all came from working with Jackson. In other words a  Democrat was the smithy for the Reagan Neocon revolution. I then said, this virus spread to the Democrats. What kind of policy says we should bomb Africa through NATO and then use Islamic Fundamentalist thugs to try and remove a secularist leader in Syria, and have the Russians bail him out?

I said Kennedy befriended a secularist leader in the Middle East, one of the great Arab leaders in history, Nasser. JFK was trying to westernize and moderate the Middle East through Nasser, and Nasser loved Kennedy. I said,I did not think the 1967 war would have happened if Kennedy had lived.  I ended with, if anyone asks what is important about Kennedy's murder today,  reply : Everything, including Gaza.

Edited November 29, 2023 by James DiEugenio

[Cliff Varnell]

1 hour ago, James DiEugenio said:

I have always felt that as a WC critic it was my function to know as much as I could about all of the evidence I could find. 

He excludes the extant physical evidence — the bullet defects in JFK’s clothes.

https://www.forensicsciencesimplified.org/csi/how.html

Why?

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Cliff Varnell

[James DiEugenio]

BTW Anthony, I showed that Nasser tape in Pittsburgh, the one about the Muslim Brotherhood and his dispute with them.

People reacted like it was from the other side of the moon, the vast majority had not seen it. 

One guy said it was the highlight of the conference. 

[Anthony Venturella]

18 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

BTW Anthony, I showed that Nasser tape in Pittsburgh, the one about the Muslim Brotherhood and his dispute with them.

People reacted like it was from the other side of the moon, the vast majority had not seen it. 

One guy said it was the highlight of the conference. 

Jim, I'm sure ha. The JFK-Nasser relationship is little known, but certainly the Middle East would be far different today with Nasser and JFK leading throughout the 1960s.  A great point you made. Nasser used his considerable wit to expose his dispute with the Muslim Brotherhood, much like JFK did on many contentious topics.

The book you reference, The Revolution of Robert Kennedy: From Power to Protest After JFK, by John Bohrer, is indeed enlightening on his transformation after 1963. Glad you mentioned. 

[James DiEugenio]

I am really glad you noticed the comparison which I did not actually name on stage.

How Nasser, like JFK, could use his dry humor to neutralize his opposition.

Bohrer's book I thought was the best of the RFK books of recent vintage.  A shame more people have not read it. Like I said, the RFK of 1968 made his brother look like a moderate.

[Steven Kossor]

The interplay between Jim DiEugenio and Lori Spencer was engaging, informative and contained more than a few pieces of information that I hadn't heard before.  Nice work!

[James DiEugenio]

Thanks Steven.  Like I said it always helps when the interviewer is knowledgeable about the subject.

She really let me get into the Horne/Gunn evidence about JFK's brain.  Which Doug talked about in Pittsburgh. It was one of the best presentations there.