CIA Documents
The CIA was involved in a "benign cover-up" of the JFK Assassination. That involvement was even admitted to by then CIA Chief John McCone. That cover-up extended to alteration of assassination photographs and films, especially the famous Zapruder film. This section describes the CIA's involvement using its own documents, plus a couple of other relevant contributions.
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CIA Director John McCone and the "Benign Cover-up"
CIA historian David Robarge reported on 1963's CIA Director John McCone's involvement in a "benign cover-up" intended to keep the Warren Commission focused on "what the Agency believed at the time was the 'best truth'--that Lee Harvey Oswald, for as yet undetermined motives, had acted alone in killing John Kennedy." This was reported in the October 4, 2015 issue of Politico.
CIA historian David Robarge reported on 1963's CIA Director John McCone's involvement in a "benign cover-up" intended to keep the Warren Commission focused on "what the Agency believed at the time was the 'best truth'--that Lee Harvey Oswald, for as yet undetermined motives, had acted alone in killing John Kennedy." This was reported in the October 4, 2015 issue of Politico.
Excerpt from the October 04, 2015 Politico article
The original Robarge article that inspired the Politico article can be found in the CIA's "Reading Room" website. The details of the cover-up are left out, and the reason behind it is pure speculation (provided mainly by JFK assassination researcher Max Holland). The exact reason for the "benign cover-up" is never given.
The original Robarge report on which the Politico article was based. From https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB493/docs/intell_ebb_026.PDF
Again, the reason behind the Agency's "control of information" given to the Warren Commission, is the Agency's clumsy attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro ("Operation Mongoose"), but that explanation is pure speculation. Assassination attempts are hardly "benign." I contend that the CIA's "benign cover-up" extended to the altering of films and photographs related to the assassination in order to cover up the Secret Service accidents and mistakes. Proof of Zapruder film alteration can be found elsewhere on this website at https://www.a-benign-conspiracy.com/zapruder-film-alteration.html.
But would the CIA help the Secret Service to cover up those accidents and mistakes? Part of the Secret Service's success depends on the illusion of protection, just as much as the actual protection, as a deterrent to prevent threats. The Secret Service probably did not have the wherewithal to alter films and photographs like the CIA did, but they could certainly collect all the films and photographs that the could, and turn them over to the CIA. Would the spy agency cooperate in such a cover-up? I believe that they did. For one thing, there is evidence of a cooperative agreement between the two agencies.
But would the CIA help the Secret Service to cover up those accidents and mistakes? Part of the Secret Service's success depends on the illusion of protection, just as much as the actual protection, as a deterrent to prevent threats. The Secret Service probably did not have the wherewithal to alter films and photographs like the CIA did, but they could certainly collect all the films and photographs that the could, and turn them over to the CIA. Would the spy agency cooperate in such a cover-up? I believe that they did. For one thing, there is evidence of a cooperative agreement between the two agencies.
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Agreement Between CIA and Secret Service
Even though there was no CIA agent "detailed at the moment to the Secret Service" when this particular memo was written in 1975, this memo proves that there was such an agreement in 1971, and implies that previous agreements were in force before 1971. This memo states that there is a standing agreement ("This authority...remains in force unless revoked by the President") that the CIA would "assist" the Secret Service on such occasions as the "death of a President." Of course, the only President whose death could trigger such assistance would have been Kennedy's.
Even though there was no CIA agent "detailed at the moment to the Secret Service" when this particular memo was written in 1975, this memo proves that there was such an agreement in 1971, and implies that previous agreements were in force before 1971. This memo states that there is a standing agreement ("This authority...remains in force unless revoked by the President") that the CIA would "assist" the Secret Service on such occasions as the "death of a President." Of course, the only President whose death could trigger such assistance would have been Kennedy's.
Evidence of a Cooperative "Agreement Between CIA and Secret Service." From https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78-00300R000100090165-1.pdf
So what might the CIA be willing to do for the Secret Service? One aspect of their cooperation might be to alter photographs and films that might prove embarrassing to the Secret Service. Did they have the ability to do that? The next memo shows that they most certainly did.
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CIA Ability and Willingness to Alter Images
Greg Burnham posted this CIA document on the Education Forum site, regarding a request to "retouch" the Mexico City image that was supposed to have been of Oswald:
Greg Burnham posted this CIA document on the Education Forum site, regarding a request to "retouch" the Mexico City image that was supposed to have been of Oswald:
Image posted by Greg Burnham at Greg Burnham post at https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/31885-nobody-would-have-altered-any-photographic-or-film-evidence-right/ Burnham Saved it to his computer "some time ago" and believes it originally came from Ralph Thomas's online book "JFK: A Question of Conspiracy."
Note the hand-written "Denied" at the bottom of the memo. Denied by whom is not clear. ASCHAM or the "Commission" (Warren Commission, presumably), or someone else?
The photos in question are these:
The photos in question are these:
Posted by David Josephs on the same Education Forum site: Image posted by Greg Burnham at Greg Burnham post at https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/31885-nobody-would-have-altered-any-photographic-or-film-evidence-right/
Obviously, it's not a picture of Oswald. The "denied" notation might explain why it does not look like Oswald, although the original request for "retouching" the image did request "retouch of face to degree obviously not identifiable with Ruby but also not with actual subject of photo." Marina reportedly identified the image as belonging to Jack Ruby, although I have not yet verified that.
Nevertheless, the image was passed off as supposedly being of Oswald.
And even though the request to "retouch" the photo was apparently "denied" as the hand-written notation seems to indicate (Was it really "denied"? If so, by whom?), this memo does indicate that the capability existed to alter backgrounds and faces. Otherwise, why would the request have been made in the first place?
And such alterations did take place.
For example, one or more of the Phil Willis photographs was "physically altered" because "something showed in them that the Secret Service did not want known,"
Nevertheless, the image was passed off as supposedly being of Oswald.
And even though the request to "retouch" the photo was apparently "denied" as the hand-written notation seems to indicate (Was it really "denied"? If so, by whom?), this memo does indicate that the capability existed to alter backgrounds and faces. Otherwise, why would the request have been made in the first place?
And such alterations did take place.
For example, one or more of the Phil Willis photographs was "physically altered" because "something showed in them that the Secret Service did not want known,"
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Linda Willis on her Father's Pictures
Linda Willis gave an interview to Texas Archives in which she stated that "trains" had been edited out of one or two of his pictures, because, she believed, "something showed in them that the Secret Service did not want known." Her interview was interviewed by traffic noises, but can be found on both Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh2123ycgBg), originally in the Texas Archives at
Linda Willis gave an interview to Texas Archives in which she stated that "trains" had been edited out of one or two of his pictures, because, she believed, "something showed in them that the Secret Service did not want known." Her interview was interviewed by traffic noises, but can be found on both Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh2123ycgBg), originally in the Texas Archives at
The original source is in the Texas Archives https://texasarchive.org/2010_02553 (starting at about 17:20). (I used the YouTube version, because I could set the start time, though not the end, whereas I couldn't figure out how to set the start time for the Texas Archive version, which would be about 17:20 or 1040 seconds.)
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The CIA's Hawkeye Works Laboratory
In his recounting of the "The Two NPIC Zapruder Film Events: Signposts Pointing to the Film's Alteration" (See https://www.lewrockwell.com/2012/05/douglas-p-horne/the-two-npic-zapruder-film-events-signposts-pointing-to-the-filmsalteration/) Doug Horne relates how at the second event at the National Photographic Interpretation Center involving the (altered) Zapruder film, the courier of the film, one purported Secret Service agent "Bill Smith" told the NPIC staff that he had just come from "Hawkeye Works."
Hawkeye Works was a secret CIA film laboratory affiliated with Kodak and located in Rochester, NY. It was closed in 2011.
This particular film was an un-slit film masquerading as a "camera original." The way that Zapruder's 8mm camera worked, it recorded half of the 16mm film on one side, then recorded the other half of the film on the other side. The film is then slit down the middle in processing, and the two strips spliced together to form one longer one.
The original Zapruder film was known to have been slit in Dallas when it was originally processed.
The fact that the film at the second NPIC was un-slit is one indication that it was an altered product. The fact that it came from the CIA's Hawkeye Works laboratory is another.
In his recounting of the "The Two NPIC Zapruder Film Events: Signposts Pointing to the Film's Alteration" (See https://www.lewrockwell.com/2012/05/douglas-p-horne/the-two-npic-zapruder-film-events-signposts-pointing-to-the-filmsalteration/) Doug Horne relates how at the second event at the National Photographic Interpretation Center involving the (altered) Zapruder film, the courier of the film, one purported Secret Service agent "Bill Smith" told the NPIC staff that he had just come from "Hawkeye Works."
Hawkeye Works was a secret CIA film laboratory affiliated with Kodak and located in Rochester, NY. It was closed in 2011.
This particular film was an un-slit film masquerading as a "camera original." The way that Zapruder's 8mm camera worked, it recorded half of the 16mm film on one side, then recorded the other half of the film on the other side. The film is then slit down the middle in processing, and the two strips spliced together to form one longer one.
The original Zapruder film was known to have been slit in Dallas when it was originally processed.
The fact that the film at the second NPIC was un-slit is one indication that it was an altered product. The fact that it came from the CIA's Hawkeye Works laboratory is another.
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Dealing with Critics of the Warren Report
A CIA "Dispatch" to its assets gave instructions on how to deal with critics of the Warren Report: by praising how "thorough" the investigation was, by saying that further speculative discussion was "without serious foundation" and "plays into the hands of the opposition" (i.e., Communist propaganda), and so on. The assets's "play" should suggest that critics were wedded to theories before the evidence was in, that critics were politically or financially interested in promoting their theories, that they were hasty and inaccurate in their research, or infatuated with their own theories--in other words, ad hominem attacks.
Never mind all the evidence that the Warren Report was faulty or just plain wrong. Never mind all the counter-evidence that led to the theories in the first place. Ad hominem attacks are logical fallacies. But that was really the only strategy they could use, because even if some conspiracy theorists may have jumped to erroneous conclusions, they had some valid reasons for doing so.
A CIA "Dispatch" to its assets gave instructions on how to deal with critics of the Warren Report: by praising how "thorough" the investigation was, by saying that further speculative discussion was "without serious foundation" and "plays into the hands of the opposition" (i.e., Communist propaganda), and so on. The assets's "play" should suggest that critics were wedded to theories before the evidence was in, that critics were politically or financially interested in promoting their theories, that they were hasty and inaccurate in their research, or infatuated with their own theories--in other words, ad hominem attacks.
Never mind all the evidence that the Warren Report was faulty or just plain wrong. Never mind all the counter-evidence that led to the theories in the first place. Ad hominem attacks are logical fallacies. But that was really the only strategy they could use, because even if some conspiracy theorists may have jumped to erroneous conclusions, they had some valid reasons for doing so.
The CIA Dispatch instructing its media assets how to deal with critics of the Warren Report. From https://ia800705.us.archive.org/30/items/COUNTERINGCRITICISMOFTHEWARRENREPORT/COUNTERING%20CRITICISM%20OF%20THE%20WARREN%20REPORT.pdf
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Oswald as CIA Asset--McCone Memo
I found this memo embedded in YouTube video "JFK: Absolute Proof: The Killing of a President--Robert Groden" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEWLrJjr270 starting about 46:28) and took screen shots of it;
I found this memo embedded in YouTube video "JFK: Absolute Proof: The Killing of a President--Robert Groden" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEWLrJjr270 starting about 46:28) and took screen shots of it;
How Groden acquired this memo, which is also apparently presented in Groden's book JFK: Absolute Proof, The Killing of a President, Vol III, is a mystery. It was certainly not released as part of any of the officially released documents. Trying to find another source for this online, especially since it does not have any official "release" information with it, I learned that it was supposedly a "discredited forgery." However, if it is a forgery, it is a really good one. Of course, the yellow highlighting and red notation on the signature page are Groden's work, not original to the document.
Exactly who discredited the memo appears to be none other than the CIA itself, which would certainly have motive to claim it was a forgery.
Exactly who discredited the memo appears to be none other than the CIA itself, which would certainly have motive to claim it was a forgery.
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McCone Memorandum as a Forgery?
There is the contention that the McCone memorandum above is a forgery. Let's examine that claim.
Information supporting the Rowley memo as a forgery can be found in the article "Lee Harvey Oswald and that CIA Memo: The 'Smoking Gun' Backfires" (at https://steemit.com/news/@garrickalder/garrick-alder-mccone-rowley-fake-memo-lee-harvey-oswald-published-02-july-2018)
Basically, the claims are that the reference number given in the top right-hand corner of the first page, "C0-2-34,030," just below the date, is a Secret Service file number, and "No authentic CIA document would incorporate the recipient's file number in this fashion." Moreover,...But more importantly, it is the reference number from an authentic document – which definitely wasn't created by the CIA. It's from a real Secret Service memorandum, concerning a with Earlene Roberts, who was Oswald's landlady."
So on its face, it does indeed appear to be a forgery.
But things are not always as they seem--especially when it comes to the CIA.
There is the contention that the McCone memorandum above is a forgery. Let's examine that claim.
Information supporting the Rowley memo as a forgery can be found in the article "Lee Harvey Oswald and that CIA Memo: The 'Smoking Gun' Backfires" (at https://steemit.com/news/@garrickalder/garrick-alder-mccone-rowley-fake-memo-lee-harvey-oswald-published-02-july-2018)
Basically, the claims are that the reference number given in the top right-hand corner of the first page, "C0-2-34,030," just below the date, is a Secret Service file number, and "No authentic CIA document would incorporate the recipient's file number in this fashion." Moreover,...But more importantly, it is the reference number from an authentic document – which definitely wasn't created by the CIA. It's from a real Secret Service memorandum, concerning a with Earlene Roberts, who was Oswald's landlady."
So on its face, it does indeed appear to be a forgery.
But things are not always as they seem--especially when it comes to the CIA.
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McCone Memorandum as Authentic?
However, if the memorandum is a forgery, it cis an extremely good one. As Groden points out, the document bears McCone's signature. Those arguing "forgery" point out that the page bearing the signature is extremely "generic" and could easily apply to any number of other documents (none of which has been produced as an example).
The webpage at https://mccone-rowley.blogspot.com/2005/09/?m=1 .points out some reasons why the memorandum might be authentic. First, it points out that ""CO-2-34,030" was used for the entire Secret Service file on the assassination investigation. Each individual report had a distinct 'Control Number.'" And "Therefore, there is no reason to connect this document with the one RIF in the NARA database which has "CO-2-34, 030" in the title field. (There are obvious differences, and that 1978 HSCA-related document is about "JFK ASSASSINATION FILE CO-2-34, 030", not a single document.)"
So when the Secret Service uses that ""C0-2-34,030,\" number for everything related to the assassination, the claim that the number could only refer to the Earlene Roberts interview loses its potency. It may be true that, it's not a CIA-generated number, but if that number is indeed original to this memo, it may have been given by McCone as a reference for Rowley's Secret Service files.
But there is another issue as well. In a letter from Jim Moore to JFK assassination researcher Peter Whitmey, posted on this same site, Moore points out that the CIA would use an information-disinformation technique, leaking genuine information in a manner that could later be "discredited."
As you may know, it is a common approach in the intelligence community to leak accurate information in a manner in which it can later be discredited to (a) protect exposure of the source or (b) cover someone's ass. The CBS-Dan Rather- GW Bush memos are excellent examples. Even the secretary admitted that yes, she did type very similar memos (apparently containing the same information), but that these specific memos were NOT the ones she typed. Get my drift? They could be retyped (on a different typewriter or on different colored paper, for instance) and one or two typos or obvious red herrings could be included, added or substituted. The controversy then centers on the discrepancies while the CONTENT is ignored.
--Jim Moore to Peter Whitmey, posted at https://mccone-rowley.blogspot.com/2005/09/?m=1
Moore also references the Minox camera that was found in Oswald's belongings in the Paine garage. The Minox camera is an expensive little gadget--one that Oswald was hardly likely to afford on the salaries from his various low-paying jobs--and which was more likely to be favored as a tool for spies than by ordinary people.
However, if the memorandum is a forgery, it cis an extremely good one. As Groden points out, the document bears McCone's signature. Those arguing "forgery" point out that the page bearing the signature is extremely "generic" and could easily apply to any number of other documents (none of which has been produced as an example).
The webpage at https://mccone-rowley.blogspot.com/2005/09/?m=1 .points out some reasons why the memorandum might be authentic. First, it points out that ""CO-2-34,030" was used for the entire Secret Service file on the assassination investigation. Each individual report had a distinct 'Control Number.'" And "Therefore, there is no reason to connect this document with the one RIF in the NARA database which has "CO-2-34, 030" in the title field. (There are obvious differences, and that 1978 HSCA-related document is about "JFK ASSASSINATION FILE CO-2-34, 030", not a single document.)"
So when the Secret Service uses that ""C0-2-34,030,\" number for everything related to the assassination, the claim that the number could only refer to the Earlene Roberts interview loses its potency. It may be true that, it's not a CIA-generated number, but if that number is indeed original to this memo, it may have been given by McCone as a reference for Rowley's Secret Service files.
But there is another issue as well. In a letter from Jim Moore to JFK assassination researcher Peter Whitmey, posted on this same site, Moore points out that the CIA would use an information-disinformation technique, leaking genuine information in a manner that could later be "discredited."
As you may know, it is a common approach in the intelligence community to leak accurate information in a manner in which it can later be discredited to (a) protect exposure of the source or (b) cover someone's ass. The CBS-Dan Rather- GW Bush memos are excellent examples. Even the secretary admitted that yes, she did type very similar memos (apparently containing the same information), but that these specific memos were NOT the ones she typed. Get my drift? They could be retyped (on a different typewriter or on different colored paper, for instance) and one or two typos or obvious red herrings could be included, added or substituted. The controversy then centers on the discrepancies while the CONTENT is ignored.
--Jim Moore to Peter Whitmey, posted at https://mccone-rowley.blogspot.com/2005/09/?m=1
Moore also references the Minox camera that was found in Oswald's belongings in the Paine garage. The Minox camera is an expensive little gadget--one that Oswald was hardly likely to afford on the salaries from his various low-paying jobs--and which was more likely to be favored as a tool for spies than by ordinary people.
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An Important Question--or Two
When evaluating whether the McCone Memorandum is or isn't a forgery, consider also this important question: when most "Conspiracy Theorists" seem to believe that Kennedy was murdered as part of a CIA coup d'état plot, why would a forger stop at naming Oswald as a loose cannon minor CIA agent/asset?
And when one considers the James Willett testimony along with the assertion of Robert Morrow and the problems of the George Joannides (a CIA officer who ran psychological-warfare operations and how was directing and financing a Cuban exile group--he had direct, documented contact with Oswald in New Orleans) , Oswald's unlikely friend Russian national George DeMorenschildt (who maintained a relationship with CIA contact agent J. Walter Moore), the fact that CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Angleton maintained a dossier on Oswald before the assassination, and numerous other Oswald/CIA connections--those certainly adds strength to the notion that Oswald was, in fact, a CIA agent.
So let me leave you with these important questions regarding the McCone memo:
1. If the McCone memo is a "forgery," why would it stop at naming Oswald as a minor, unreliable, loose-canon agent?
2. Are there any other sources that suggest Oswald might have been an actual CIA agent, rather than being "under heavy surveillance" by the CIA as some sources reporting on the Oswald/CIA connections imply?
When evaluating whether the McCone Memorandum is or isn't a forgery, consider also this important question: when most "Conspiracy Theorists" seem to believe that Kennedy was murdered as part of a CIA coup d'état plot, why would a forger stop at naming Oswald as a loose cannon minor CIA agent/asset?
And when one considers the James Willett testimony along with the assertion of Robert Morrow and the problems of the George Joannides (a CIA officer who ran psychological-warfare operations and how was directing and financing a Cuban exile group--he had direct, documented contact with Oswald in New Orleans) , Oswald's unlikely friend Russian national George DeMorenschildt (who maintained a relationship with CIA contact agent J. Walter Moore), the fact that CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Angleton maintained a dossier on Oswald before the assassination, and numerous other Oswald/CIA connections--those certainly adds strength to the notion that Oswald was, in fact, a CIA agent.
So let me leave you with these important questions regarding the McCone memo:
1. If the McCone memo is a "forgery," why would it stop at naming Oswald as a minor, unreliable, loose-canon agent?
2. Are there any other sources that suggest Oswald might have been an actual CIA agent, rather than being "under heavy surveillance" by the CIA as some sources reporting on the Oswald/CIA connections imply?
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James Wilcott's Testimony
Supporting the notion that Oswald was indeed a CIA agent (albeit a low-level one) is the HSCA testimony of James Walcott, who was employed at the CIA's Tokyo office (Remember that Oswald was stationed as a Marine at a base in Japan).
The James Wilcott testimony to the HSCA can be found at https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/docid-32263407.pdf. Wilcott was employed by the CIA as a finance employee who handled disbursements (giving out money) at the Tokyo office of the CIA. He testified that he had heard from other employees in the office, immediately following the assassination, that Oswald had been a CIA agent with a cryptonym and the whole works. He couldn't remember what the cryptonym was, but he was aware that it existed. He told the HSCA that it was more or less casual talk in the Tokyo office that Oswald had been a CIA agent.
Here is a .pdf of Wilcott's testimony:
Supporting the notion that Oswald was indeed a CIA agent (albeit a low-level one) is the HSCA testimony of James Walcott, who was employed at the CIA's Tokyo office (Remember that Oswald was stationed as a Marine at a base in Japan).
The James Wilcott testimony to the HSCA can be found at https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/docid-32263407.pdf. Wilcott was employed by the CIA as a finance employee who handled disbursements (giving out money) at the Tokyo office of the CIA. He testified that he had heard from other employees in the office, immediately following the assassination, that Oswald had been a CIA agent with a cryptonym and the whole works. He couldn't remember what the cryptonym was, but he was aware that it existed. He told the HSCA that it was more or less casual talk in the Tokyo office that Oswald had been a CIA agent.
Here is a .pdf of Wilcott's testimony:
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The CIA Provided the Rifle?
One very interesting document suggests that the CIA may actually have provided Oswald with the rifle that was used to kill the President--a special 7.35 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that could be broken down and reassembled quickly. It also says that Oswald had been a low-level CIA agent sent to Russia on assignment. This document was mentioned in the video "JFK: Absolute Proof: The Killing of a President--Robert Groden" but can be found at https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/jfk/jfk00020.pdf
One very interesting document suggests that the CIA may actually have provided Oswald with the rifle that was used to kill the President--a special 7.35 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that could be broken down and reassembled quickly. It also says that Oswald had been a low-level CIA agent sent to Russia on assignment. This document was mentioned in the video "JFK: Absolute Proof: The Killing of a President--Robert Groden" but can be found at https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/jfk/jfk00020.pdf
There are some other things like pre-assassination rumors that Kennedy was going to be assassinated that Morrow apparently did not pay much attention to at the time. Those could have referred to the Chicago plot, or something unrelated to the actual assassination. But it is the rifle that is of most interest at the moment.
Of course, the CIA asserted that Morrow's claim is bogus, that he was never an employee of the CIA. Morrow responded that the Agency was using semantic tricks. He was a "contractor" rather than a direct employee.
Assuming Morrow's claim is true, it would certainly explain many of the shenanigans surrounding the Carcano rifle's "provenance." I wrote about these problems in one of my books, I think. When I get the chance, I'll create a web page that reiterates all the problems linking Oswald to the purported assassination rifle.
But note that Morrow's assertions do put the rifle that he gave to Oswald in the TSBD immediately following the assassination.
Of course, the CIA asserted that Morrow's claim is bogus, that he was never an employee of the CIA. Morrow responded that the Agency was using semantic tricks. He was a "contractor" rather than a direct employee.
Assuming Morrow's claim is true, it would certainly explain many of the shenanigans surrounding the Carcano rifle's "provenance." I wrote about these problems in one of my books, I think. When I get the chance, I'll create a web page that reiterates all the problems linking Oswald to the purported assassination rifle.
But note that Morrow's assertions do put the rifle that he gave to Oswald in the TSBD immediately following the assassination.
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James Angleton Dossier
There was apparently a 180 page dossier on Lee Harvey Oswald sitting on the desk of James Angleton before the shooting, tracking Oswald's movements from 1959. Angleton's dossier, in my view, means that it was much more likely that Oswald was a low-level agent. See the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sIt3HWrww4
There was apparently a 180 page dossier on Lee Harvey Oswald sitting on the desk of James Angleton before the shooting, tracking Oswald's movements from 1959. Angleton's dossier, in my view, means that it was much more likely that Oswald was a low-level agent. See the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sIt3HWrww4
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CIA and the Media
Investigative reporter Carl Bernstein, the same Carl Bernstein of the Woodward and Bernstein team that unraveled the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post, did an exposé of the CIA's presence in the mainstream media, published in the October 20, 1977 edition of Rolling Stone magazine (reprinted online at https://www.carlbernstein.com/the-cia-and-the-media-rolling-stone-10-20-1977).
Bernstein spent 6 months researching his article, and reported on the prevalence of the CIA's influence in American main stream media. It was a symbiotic relationship. The newspapers and magazines provided cover identities for CIA operatives, and many of the regular newsmen were on the CIA payroll. Bernstein specifically mentions the New York Times, CBS (Columbia Broadcast Services) and ABC (American Broadcast Company), Time and Newsweek and Life magazines, the Washington Post, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the New York Herald Tribune, the Copley Press, Penthouse, San Diego Union, Evening Tribune, the Saturday Evening Post, Scripps-Howard newspapers, Hearst newspapers, Associated Press, United Press International, Mutual Broadcasting System, Reuter's, and Miami Herald were "just a small part of the list" of organizations with CIA ties of various natures and degrees. Exactly what influence the CIA may have had on what was specifically published is not clear.
It is worth noting that Henry Luce, the founder of Time and Life magazines, had a strong link to the CIA in his close friendship with Allen Dulles. Luce's personal emissary to the CIA was C.D. Jackson. Jackson was a Time, Inc. vice-president and the publisher of Life magazine. It was under his direction that the Zapruder film publishing rights were bought from Abraham Zapruder.
Investigative reporter Carl Bernstein, the same Carl Bernstein of the Woodward and Bernstein team that unraveled the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post, did an exposé of the CIA's presence in the mainstream media, published in the October 20, 1977 edition of Rolling Stone magazine (reprinted online at https://www.carlbernstein.com/the-cia-and-the-media-rolling-stone-10-20-1977).
Bernstein spent 6 months researching his article, and reported on the prevalence of the CIA's influence in American main stream media. It was a symbiotic relationship. The newspapers and magazines provided cover identities for CIA operatives, and many of the regular newsmen were on the CIA payroll. Bernstein specifically mentions the New York Times, CBS (Columbia Broadcast Services) and ABC (American Broadcast Company), Time and Newsweek and Life magazines, the Washington Post, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the New York Herald Tribune, the Copley Press, Penthouse, San Diego Union, Evening Tribune, the Saturday Evening Post, Scripps-Howard newspapers, Hearst newspapers, Associated Press, United Press International, Mutual Broadcasting System, Reuter's, and Miami Herald were "just a small part of the list" of organizations with CIA ties of various natures and degrees. Exactly what influence the CIA may have had on what was specifically published is not clear.
It is worth noting that Henry Luce, the founder of Time and Life magazines, had a strong link to the CIA in his close friendship with Allen Dulles. Luce's personal emissary to the CIA was C.D. Jackson. Jackson was a Time, Inc. vice-president and the publisher of Life magazine. It was under his direction that the Zapruder film publishing rights were bought from Abraham Zapruder.
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CIA in Other Places
I found a personal connection to the CIA in an institution where I used to work, which came as a great surprise to me when I learned it. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf, where I used to work, is one of the colleges of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). I left NTID for a better job, and on a holiday break returned to visit old friends who still worked there, The entire institution was abuzz with the scandal of the CIA's involvement with the leadership of RIT. Not only President Rose, but also a number of other senior staff were reportedly on the CIA's payroll.
The RIT magazine Reporter (September 9, 2021) outlines the scandal and provides links to various related articles from the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper: https://reporter.rit.edu/6460/orientation-2021/cap-and-dagger/#:~:text=Another%20article%20covered%20an%20alleged,over%20educational%20programs%20at%20RIT.
Here is one of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle articles about the scandal:
I found a personal connection to the CIA in an institution where I used to work, which came as a great surprise to me when I learned it. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf, where I used to work, is one of the colleges of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). I left NTID for a better job, and on a holiday break returned to visit old friends who still worked there, The entire institution was abuzz with the scandal of the CIA's involvement with the leadership of RIT. Not only President Rose, but also a number of other senior staff were reportedly on the CIA's payroll.
The RIT magazine Reporter (September 9, 2021) outlines the scandal and provides links to various related articles from the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper: https://reporter.rit.edu/6460/orientation-2021/cap-and-dagger/#:~:text=Another%20article%20covered%20an%20alleged,over%20educational%20programs%20at%20RIT.
Here is one of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle articles about the scandal:
image from https://democratandchronicle.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle/76474188/
RIT has other connections to the JFK assassination. For one, it is the institution that "certified" the Oswald "Backyard" photographs to be "authentic." Knowing as we do now the CIA connections that the Institute had at the time, it brings into question whether or not we can actually trust that "certification." See "REPORT TO THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS U.S. CONGRESS--HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THE OSWALD BACKYARD PHOTOGRAPHS" (found at https://www.davidhazy.org/andpph/text-oswald-HSCA-report.html).
The other connection that RIT has with the Kennedy assassination lies with a man named Quentin Schwinn, who was a senior photography student nearing graduation. Schwinn was approached by a CIA recruiter apparently affiliated with the campus, who knew of his interest in the JFK assassination and used that interest to entice him to join the spy agency. The recruiter showed Schwinn one or more autopsy photographs, and promised that all would be revealed if Schwinn agreed to join the Agency. Schwinn did not agree. And later, he commissioned an artist to reproduce what he saw. This is the drawing that Schwinn commissioned:
The other connection that RIT has with the Kennedy assassination lies with a man named Quentin Schwinn, who was a senior photography student nearing graduation. Schwinn was approached by a CIA recruiter apparently affiliated with the campus, who knew of his interest in the JFK assassination and used that interest to entice him to join the spy agency. The recruiter showed Schwinn one or more autopsy photographs, and promised that all would be revealed if Schwinn agreed to join the Agency. Schwinn did not agree. And later, he commissioned an artist to reproduce what he saw. This is the drawing that Schwinn commissioned:
Image taken from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w-LbMlxL-vVfgHfe3HcMK0d-wnxDUuEq/view?pli=1
Note the small wound above the right eye, just at the hairline, as well as the small throat wound that in no way resembles the gaping gash seen in the purported autopsy photographs. Note also that there is no damage to the face, and no apparent blow-out at the upper-right part of the front of the head. The Parkland doctors were consistent that the large head wound was at the back of the head, not the front. This drawing matches what they saw, aside from the wound near the hairline. The fact that most of the Parkland staff didn't see this small forehead/temple wound can be explained by its being hidden by Kennedy's thick head of hair. Dr. Charles Crenshaw, however, did see this wound, and went public with what he saw on the April 3, 1992 episode of the 20/20 show. It also matches the autopsy photographs that White House photographer Robert Knudsen described to his family when he explained that hair had been "drawn in" to autopsy photos.
The forehead/temple wound location also matches the account of young Alan Smith as printed in the Chicago Tribune. Smith's account shows that he was positioned almost directly below the shooter's window, about 15 feet away from the President, when he saw Kennedy shot in the "forehead."
The forehead/temple wound location also matches the account of young Alan Smith as printed in the Chicago Tribune. Smith's account shows that he was positioned almost directly below the shooter's window, about 15 feet away from the President, when he saw Kennedy shot in the "forehead."
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The CIA Mindset
Formed from the remnants of the disbanded OSS or Office of Strategic Services (due to the end of WWII, the loss of its primary supporter Franklin D. Roosevelt, and bureaucratic infighting 'driven by rival agencies like the FBI who feared the creation of a permanent, peacetime 'American Gestapo'), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was formed from the national Security Act of 1947, the CIA's original mission was to provide a centralized coordination of intelligence collecting, analyzing, and dissemination of foreign intelligence. The Agency has loosely interpreted that mission and spied on individuals and organizations involved in activities that the higher-ups in the Agency deemed "subversive"--including peaceful anti-war activists, Civil Rights activists, journalists, and others. The Agency has also engaged in targeted political assassinations (or in the case of Fidel Castro, attempted assassinations), LSD mind-control experiments on unsuspecting U.S. citizens (MK Ultra),
Some of the Agency's unethical activities began to come to light in a December, 1974 New York Times report by Seymour Hersh, which exposed the Agency's "Family Jewels," which was a massive domestic operation targeting anti-war activists and journalists. This reporting led to the formation of the Rockefeller Commission (led by Gerald Ford's Vice President Nelson Rockefeller). The Rockefeller Commission's job was to investigate the allegations that the CIA engaged in illegal domestic spying and other abuses against American citizens (per Google search on "Rockefeller Commission," citing the Ford Presidential Museum). The commission found that the Agency maintained files on thousands of American citizens and dissident groups, illegally opened almost 215,000 pieces of first-class mail, wiretapped journalists, and conducted unauthorized (illegal) break-ins. The commission purposefully ignored or suppressed details concerning CIA plots to assassinate foreign leaders (e.g., Fidel Castro) , and the White House (via Ford's Deputy Assistant Dick Cheney) 'edited parts of the report to strip it of its independent character (per Google search of "Rockefeller Commission." sourcing National Security Archive).
The Rockefeller Commission was criticized as an effort to limit political fallout, and public sentiment led to the realization that stricter oversight of the CIA was needed. This led to the formation of the 'more expansive" Church and Pike Committees.
The Church Committee, whose formal name was "the United States Senate Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities" and chaired by Idaho senator Frank Church (D), investigated abuses by the CIA, the NSA (National Security Agency), the FBI, and the IRS. Its House counterpart was the Pike Committee. The Church Committee reveled the existence of the CIA's Operation MKULTRA, which involved the drugging of unsuspecting U.S. citizens, especially with LSD, as part of mind-control experiments. It also unveiled COINTELPRO, which involved the surveillance and infiltration of American political and civil rights organizations, unveiled more of the Family Jewels activities involving illegal and inappropriate CIA activities, and brought to light Project SHAMROCK (a program in which the major telecommunications companies shared their traffic with the NSA and confirming the existence of this signals intelligence agency to the public) and Operation Mockingbird, which was intended to manipulate news media by recruiting journalists as assets in a propaganda campaign (not to be confused with Operation Mongoose, which was the Agency's clumsy attempts to kill Fidel Castro). (See wikipedia entry on "Church Committee.") Leonard Bernstein's exposé "CIA and the Media" reveals some of the extent to which Operation Mockingbird was successful.
The Agency has always been very tight-mouthed and secretive about its activities. Following a botched recovery mission of a Soviet sub via a Howard Hughes contracted ship, the Hughes Glomar Explorer, and obsessed with controlling information about its activities, the Agency adopted the "Glomar Response" to any inquiries regarding its activities--to "neither confirm nor deny" whether any documents existed concerning the Glomar Explorer activities. That refusal to confirm or deny any allegation has become the CIA's standard operating procedure. It avoids responsibility. In fact, it was the response used to claim that they could not say whether the government used drones to carry out lethal strikes overseas, for example.
This "neither confirm not deny" response has spread to other agencies and has been used, for example, to circumvent local public records requests, such as a New York Civil Liberties Union filed request seeking documents regarding the NYPD's monitoring of protestors' social media activity and cell phones. The NYPD's response was that revelation of the existence of such records would harm "national security." This secrecy extends to the CIA's torturing program, in which the CIA abducted hundreds of Muslim men and boys, held them incommunicado, brutally tortured them, and denied them due process (see ACLU website.)
The CIA has a history of using disinformation (fake news) and psychological warfare (PSYOP) techniques to manipulate public perception and foreign policy outcomes. Per a Google search of "CIA Dissemination Techniques," one technique used has been "Black" Propaganda, or disseminating information that is falsely attributed to an adversary or a source other than the true creator, which is. designed to sow confusion and distrust (Google search of "CIA disinformation techniques," sourced as CSIS Center for Strategic and International Studies) The Agency also uses Conditioning (seeding accurate, factual content through fake or compromised outlets to build credibility, while keeping the true source hidden--sourced as Taylor and Francis Online) and Forgeries and Fronts (using proprietary organizations, subsidized media entities, and counterfeit documents to legitimize specific narratives in foreign countries--sourced as Taylor & Francis Online). The Agency uses psychological and Emotional Targeting, and has apparently found it more effective to target the personalities of opposing leaders or groups via caricature and hyperbole rather than debating complex political issues (sourced as The Hill). They manipulate targets using four core motivators: reward (money, praise0, ideology (religion, nationalism), coercion (guilt, blackmail), and ego.
The CIA also routinely uses non-disclosure agreements (NDA's) with nearly all its employees as a means to maintain secrecy about its activities, whether ethical or not.
And one of the most effective techniques in the CiA's toolbox is the extent to which it uses "Plausible Deniability." By masking origins of information and controlling the outlet, the agency can plausibly deny its role in domestic or foreign activities.
Formed from the remnants of the disbanded OSS or Office of Strategic Services (due to the end of WWII, the loss of its primary supporter Franklin D. Roosevelt, and bureaucratic infighting 'driven by rival agencies like the FBI who feared the creation of a permanent, peacetime 'American Gestapo'), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was formed from the national Security Act of 1947, the CIA's original mission was to provide a centralized coordination of intelligence collecting, analyzing, and dissemination of foreign intelligence. The Agency has loosely interpreted that mission and spied on individuals and organizations involved in activities that the higher-ups in the Agency deemed "subversive"--including peaceful anti-war activists, Civil Rights activists, journalists, and others. The Agency has also engaged in targeted political assassinations (or in the case of Fidel Castro, attempted assassinations), LSD mind-control experiments on unsuspecting U.S. citizens (MK Ultra),
Some of the Agency's unethical activities began to come to light in a December, 1974 New York Times report by Seymour Hersh, which exposed the Agency's "Family Jewels," which was a massive domestic operation targeting anti-war activists and journalists. This reporting led to the formation of the Rockefeller Commission (led by Gerald Ford's Vice President Nelson Rockefeller). The Rockefeller Commission's job was to investigate the allegations that the CIA engaged in illegal domestic spying and other abuses against American citizens (per Google search on "Rockefeller Commission," citing the Ford Presidential Museum). The commission found that the Agency maintained files on thousands of American citizens and dissident groups, illegally opened almost 215,000 pieces of first-class mail, wiretapped journalists, and conducted unauthorized (illegal) break-ins. The commission purposefully ignored or suppressed details concerning CIA plots to assassinate foreign leaders (e.g., Fidel Castro) , and the White House (via Ford's Deputy Assistant Dick Cheney) 'edited parts of the report to strip it of its independent character (per Google search of "Rockefeller Commission." sourcing National Security Archive).
The Rockefeller Commission was criticized as an effort to limit political fallout, and public sentiment led to the realization that stricter oversight of the CIA was needed. This led to the formation of the 'more expansive" Church and Pike Committees.
The Church Committee, whose formal name was "the United States Senate Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities" and chaired by Idaho senator Frank Church (D), investigated abuses by the CIA, the NSA (National Security Agency), the FBI, and the IRS. Its House counterpart was the Pike Committee. The Church Committee reveled the existence of the CIA's Operation MKULTRA, which involved the drugging of unsuspecting U.S. citizens, especially with LSD, as part of mind-control experiments. It also unveiled COINTELPRO, which involved the surveillance and infiltration of American political and civil rights organizations, unveiled more of the Family Jewels activities involving illegal and inappropriate CIA activities, and brought to light Project SHAMROCK (a program in which the major telecommunications companies shared their traffic with the NSA and confirming the existence of this signals intelligence agency to the public) and Operation Mockingbird, which was intended to manipulate news media by recruiting journalists as assets in a propaganda campaign (not to be confused with Operation Mongoose, which was the Agency's clumsy attempts to kill Fidel Castro). (See wikipedia entry on "Church Committee.") Leonard Bernstein's exposé "CIA and the Media" reveals some of the extent to which Operation Mockingbird was successful.
The Agency has always been very tight-mouthed and secretive about its activities. Following a botched recovery mission of a Soviet sub via a Howard Hughes contracted ship, the Hughes Glomar Explorer, and obsessed with controlling information about its activities, the Agency adopted the "Glomar Response" to any inquiries regarding its activities--to "neither confirm nor deny" whether any documents existed concerning the Glomar Explorer activities. That refusal to confirm or deny any allegation has become the CIA's standard operating procedure. It avoids responsibility. In fact, it was the response used to claim that they could not say whether the government used drones to carry out lethal strikes overseas, for example.
This "neither confirm not deny" response has spread to other agencies and has been used, for example, to circumvent local public records requests, such as a New York Civil Liberties Union filed request seeking documents regarding the NYPD's monitoring of protestors' social media activity and cell phones. The NYPD's response was that revelation of the existence of such records would harm "national security." This secrecy extends to the CIA's torturing program, in which the CIA abducted hundreds of Muslim men and boys, held them incommunicado, brutally tortured them, and denied them due process (see ACLU website.)
The CIA has a history of using disinformation (fake news) and psychological warfare (PSYOP) techniques to manipulate public perception and foreign policy outcomes. Per a Google search of "CIA Dissemination Techniques," one technique used has been "Black" Propaganda, or disseminating information that is falsely attributed to an adversary or a source other than the true creator, which is. designed to sow confusion and distrust (Google search of "CIA disinformation techniques," sourced as CSIS Center for Strategic and International Studies) The Agency also uses Conditioning (seeding accurate, factual content through fake or compromised outlets to build credibility, while keeping the true source hidden--sourced as Taylor and Francis Online) and Forgeries and Fronts (using proprietary organizations, subsidized media entities, and counterfeit documents to legitimize specific narratives in foreign countries--sourced as Taylor & Francis Online). The Agency uses psychological and Emotional Targeting, and has apparently found it more effective to target the personalities of opposing leaders or groups via caricature and hyperbole rather than debating complex political issues (sourced as The Hill). They manipulate targets using four core motivators: reward (money, praise0, ideology (religion, nationalism), coercion (guilt, blackmail), and ego.
The CIA also routinely uses non-disclosure agreements (NDA's) with nearly all its employees as a means to maintain secrecy about its activities, whether ethical or not.
And one of the most effective techniques in the CiA's toolbox is the extent to which it uses "Plausible Deniability." By masking origins of information and controlling the outlet, the agency can plausibly deny its role in domestic or foreign activities.