DISPATCH: WARREN COMMISSION REPORT: ARTICLE ON THE INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY GARRISON

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Records Related to the Assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00352523
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: June 6, 2025
• Document Release Date: June 12, 2025
• Publication Date: July 19, 1968

I �-- A ..... clAssima.no " . m � PROCESSING ACTION MARKF.E1 FOR INDEXING . . T. e o Chiefs Certain Stations and Bases 46. . . . . No mama REQUIRED DIM. f 0/- 0 4/- n � . ONLY QUAUFIED DM � CAN JUDGE INDEXING FRCIA IChief 4ki> , . WOWSUA�� 318JE 1 Niail::: Commission Report: Article o 41, gatioa Conducted by . District Attorney Garrison � . - - - 7.0,1 REQUIRED CE3 1. We are . Garrison", published - Edwa.:.-d Jay Epstein, ., Warren Commission 2:-..� The wide 'f again'provpked. - : :�,,;,�,'.:rerived1;foreign--interest.in�:the .. Kennedy, too Kennedn-can be the United' States; � � murder conspiracy". - ...first-hand. observation . deals s with the . ..--, of New Orleans, � , � death..of_President � . involvement of 3: 4..=4The article ....primarily for your concerned. If 'context .of renewed - contalts, especially assets (which you ..7.- evidence of any : their audiences . of state and federal -. states are usually' ' in office as long ' '3 discuss this in � -. sufficiently serious (PersorPlity in the � - . Document li .. �.. :. for FOtA Review . 'Attachment : ' -1 .unclassified forwarding in TIE himself Report. -spread- campaign by-the assassination. The:forthcoin.ing expected to claimi.ng. � � , . herewith a reprint of the article NEW YORKER, 13 July, 1968. author of a book, ("Inquest"), � of adverse criticism of Senator Robert Kennedy,- assassination. of ,his:brother, trial of Sirhan, accused 'cause a new wave of criticism once more-the existence of sending you the attached article the author, or on other, identified investigation, conducted by District investigation tends to 'keep alive " an alleged conspiracy" , and, notably the FBI and CIA. meant for reprinting in any and for the information investigation should be cited attacks, you may use the article � '"A It was critical of the :the of the and a sinister --based sou.rees--since speculations about -. -- media. of all , - Reporter At Large: . written. by :- :.'.-. � .... 'I-7'4. of the ....., i U.S.1'.most recent .1.-: appears :to have.'....,�=" - late�-..PreSident... murder of Senator . - suspicion against -"political. .i.: either on -�-',, ..,. it Attorney Garrison �-.:����,-,. .. about the"� � ,:: the possible -� ����;:4-';--i� � : It is fcrwarded'. - _ - Station personnel ' area in the .. to briief interekted �::-. � .We are by La. hat Kennedy,. Federal agencies, is not information the Garrison anti-U.S. government may assign such conspiracy. certain basic courts elected, as his constituents order to refute impact, U.S.) must umb in your and other political leaders, to counter such attacks) that In this context, assets facts about the U.S. judicial ., and the fact that judges and. not appointed: consequently, re-elect him. Even --:or at least weaken--anti-U.S. any uersonal attacks upon and to demonstrate to - -there 'is no hard may have )o explain to- system, its separation:: district attorneys in thd . D.A. Garrison can continue if your assets have to propaganda of ;1;:f..!-`-'-::�:�::1:-. Garrison (or any other-public .-:- � t. ;- ...z.%� i4 .:-.t -.7i:: '-;;, , .1 ' ��'.'71- " --� -e.. �-� .., �,.E.,- -e- � _ . � . .., .... e � . � . � -;'.1,:.J.w..:1,,-;,....:.:�;�..,1:!,..,,,,r ? �,..- f-'-;. , -4.: ....- 1 . ":".fr " Ak. '.'..45. f ;or �4-t 1 ' .::-.-.--:. -,..-:_-i.A.- . -. ._ _ _ _ ��� .. be strictly avoided. � "9 . 8le . , � ---,..... , 4 ' � ; y , on .: -� 76 � - ,.-....1. -"' article, �per para . --.' CR= REFLRVICE TO ,.,' - .. ' ' .......- - - � : -' t;-'.-.. � OtSPATCW MGM AND MAIER - --- - - � ', : . es cop . ... DATE - *. - 3. � -. � � � - ,....firc,4 �-. ., . .19 july 1968� ..dik � - -- . .- i .z.i?.�-..-, . ' � . ' � � � �- - :-ivsl� " -� .; .;�'' ' ��" .� ; -. - - ' `r";"-,; - . ' � �:-.4. . axminmnoill - - - � - - ; � -;.:` : � � e y ' - ' � ' ' - ' '..,:f; i. ''''' ,. 7 . . . -. � . . / � . � a . � �-�-� "7- .CIA.H.I$TORICAL R 'RELEASE IN Fa...19 - 7:7 ����,, S � � ��� I �� � � � �.� � � 4 44.4 II � 41.11-.Y ����� � 'A REPORTER. AT L .ARGE, GARRISON AGREAT many me rica ns curtly told him, "At this stage, we are :bridge was crossed, a whole new set of ,. must have responded with some supposed to be closing doors, not open- clues to why Oswald killed the Presi- . measure of bewilderment when, ing them." It later turned out that dent might have been found. . on March I, 1967, they heard the news some of the doors left ajar but un- Could Garrison have discovered such � that Jim Garrison, the District At- opened led to associates of Oswald's in ;� a bridge? Skeptics tended to dismiss .: : torney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, New Orleans, so .it seemed' entirely.. the possibility on the ground that Gar- had arrested a prominent New Orleans conceivable to me that Garrison just rison was- a flamboyant and extreme- citizen, Clay L. Shaw, for "participa- might have stumbled upon some valu- ly ambitious politician: According to 2. tion in a conspiracy .to murder john F. able information that the Commission. ; Aaron M. Kohn, the managing direc- . Kennedy." The conclusions �of the had, for one reason or another, side-' tor a the .Metropolitan Crime Corn- , , _. Warren Commission, published some stepped. : . _ ... 'mission of New Orleans, "Garrison ....-'t . two and a half years before, had of- consider, for example, a story at � never lets the responsibilities of being' �fered the authoritative judgment that the root of Garrison's investigation,. :a prosecutor interfere with being a 'poli- ii , Lee. Harvey Oswald alone was respon- which involved .a meeting among Os-;.:-tician." However, the fact that Gar- i � . ,�:.-...sible for the ,ssissination. And although -: wald and three. men�David William . rison was 'politically Motivated: did not . -: .a � host. of doubts Were subsequently :.Ferrie,, Carlos Quiroga., 211(1. W. Guy- .necessanly�to my mind, at -leastr--''...1. -,... . raised � concerning : the ;adequacy of .; Banister�all of whom the-. Warren- :preclude . the possibility that he Might �:' the Warren Commission's invesigation f: Commission had had reason to be in-'::be on to something. Whereas it might -......: . ..i.,, .- .'n* and the reliability:of its conclusions, it,i.i.terested in. Ferrie, who, according to���'� not always have been in the interests of ::�.;. ;-4.,�,.seemed ;incredible . that the.i.New.;Or-;..,,the.. testimony: of one Commission,.wit.;.si the Warren =Commission, which .wast;j1 , leans DistrictAttorney could declare, as ..,.neis, commanded a Unit. of the Civil i.it,concerned - as '-. much with ' 'dispelling Garrison hid, 'My staff and .I solved.. Air Patrol in which Oswald may have-2., doubts as with � ascertaining T 'facts, to .- 4. , ,., . ..th -, 'e assassination t pursue .weeks.ago. I:Wouldn' . been a. member briefly, had been �ar-, ;puue leads that might generate fur- �'.2 � .. � . . �� �.� ,.�� �,:tlf,...i.iy . this if we didn't have the evidence., rested in Nev.., Orleans shortly after the �ther doubts, or possibly damage the ef- fl. . .. .. , ,--.. beyond a shadow of a' doubt." indeed;:::: assassination, On a tip that he was in-- fectiveness of federal agencies, an am- ,. ,:... - - the possibility .that� a , local prosecutor volved with Oswald, and then released. .t. bitious. politician, := it seemed to -ime, :���,..' hac1 found the answers tO,que.s.ji,..ons.that.;k.carlos Quiroga,. a prominent Cuban � might well pursue leads to their con- !�, ..t. ,21iid' . baffled ' theAnvestigative resources: .:.pdle, had visited Oswald's home several � :�clusion, especially since solving "the case 7"--;:�.-:.4,--. ` � kz., %of. the federal 'government seemed,So''.,,Ttimes in New Orleans, for ithe purpose : of the: century "...as Garrison called it, , '.-.I'.-.. f:,ierrifite to rn" �sr' journalists that, : soon l .fie alleged, of appraising Oswald's pro- :would certainly enhance his reputation.' 4 14',`"'ifter the initial 'stir-provoked by Shaw's ,Castro activities. W. Guy Banister, a Convinced that it Was possible�indeed, � *:'. -;,:�:',.- ii....... arrest-. news of the "assassination plot", - private detective known to be associated probable�that Garrison Could find de- �- .:.;:ft:wai generally. relegated to .the, back with anti-Castro activists in New Or- . tails of Oswald's affairs that the Corn- pages and treated about as seriously as leans; had an office in a building whose. mission had missed, I�went to New Oe:-..7., flying-iaucerreports...c:':'...��; ',,,...:, i: address appeared on some of the pro.: leans shortly after Garrison announced; .; .. . ,.:....r, for one :however, was prepared to Castro literature that Oswald occasion- : that he was getting to the bottoM 'of ....:77,` believe that DiNzrict Attorney..Garri-' 1. ally handed. out on the streets. All the era scassination .plot"' and arrested - � ..,...:',:lriin's Claims might have iOrne. substance . this information was in the hands of the _. Shaw. : t,. ,- Jr.: .... -.....: �-��... . .. �-;.:::.to. them. In the course, of ,writing my,: Commission, yet none of these three ....,'�.book "Inquest,". I had found ,that the men was�questioned by the Commis- 'Warren Commission's investigation had sion or its staff. It seemed to me that ....;.'::. been severely constrained both,by bu- leads such as these, if they had been i .,..6.:���� reaucratic pressures exerted from with- pursued, could have provided a possible 'aVER since he was first elected Dis- trict trict Attorney, in 1961, Jim Gar- rison�he legally changed his given �:�:.�.,f name to Jim from:Earling Carothers.� ".:1� ja and by limies..of, time iniposed. from bridge between the known and �un-�., has been a controversial. figure in New � . er � without . . from ileing�,t4c.,:rigor-..,-.known worlds of Lee: Harvey Oswald Orleans. He his fought long and hard . . . t ous and exhaustive examination that in New Orleans.. And once such a . against prostitutes, homosexuals in the . � � . � it was ' taken to. be the. Commission's � � � � ��� Work was, at certain .cruciat,"points, � � rseduced to little. more. than ,.an in the... clarification'. O.i..super- 7.1cial evidence When . one, delied, more . � deeply, some far more difficult prOblems � than any ac-luiorWledged.,bie'the.Ciain-�., � .. t. mission began to appear. Even Members � of the Commission's.. own staff found v-this to be true For =iff example when one-L.,' 7tS lawyer suggeSted,' late in t; e`... in- . . , �,.;.;:,:i.y.s...stigation,. that it.might be worthwhile.Et" look further,-.- into ..� the TpirilrCot- � � . - !.::.;:.;_��roborateel claim :of- one:. .witness that Oswald had. been ;�associated not ,long "tbe.1. � , � , fore. .the assassination with two � un- � identified ..Cuban �;e4lese., hisi:;.superior 44. � -. � � � �� � French Quarter, ind the more vul- nerable purveyors of vice, but, according to his critics on the Metropolitan Crime � he- has. n. egle..ted2 the. .problem of organized 'crime in -Orleans. "People"' worry about', the _ crime `syndicate," Garrison Once "but the real. danger' is the political establishment, power massing against the individual." When 'the city's eight tz criminal-court justiCes jeXercised' their Y statutory right to oversee the financing -cf of his. anti-vice 'Campaign,' Garrison � - charged that their actions "raised in-' 1- P � tercsting questions about racketeer in- fluences." A -court 'subsequently. con.- .. victed Garrison. of cnrninally.'Iibelling � � � � :22; � � � VtliV' � .� of the Roasevelt Hotel in New Orleans,! and had briefly discussed with Shaw the possibility of bringing bloodless bull- fights to New Orleans; .he had lefti his business address--P0 Box 19106, Dallas, Texas�with Shaw. In fact, .0dom's post-office box could not pos- sibly have been the number in Oswald's book, because the post-office-box num..! 1 ber 19106 did not exist in Dallas be- I � i fore it was assigned to Odom, Hn i1965�long after Oswald's death, in! �:1963. It was clear that Garrison had! ; done some questionable- interpolating of i ; his own in moving from a coincidences � to a conspiracy. First, he had told news- � men that the number in Oswald's book was PO 191Q6, although in fact it �.was A A 19106. (Wizen a television,. .. interviewer later asked him how he ; . � � , had determined that thevprefix was , PO, rather than A he answered, with perfect aplomb, "More or:less by � looking. at it.'2).Then, on. the basis of 1-- his deducdons,...he had. announced. that; � � -'i.r.1.�.:the'poso�office-box :ninnber37.was.,.fic���� dantd.. , he had 'converted e � number. in, Shaw's bool6'n to Jack ef:kROy's phone number by rearranging. ;:',:�:.71..the,' digits, subtracting.. arbitrary,. ::....'�:-;nuraber, and changing the letters "PO" lto."WH."Garrison- had constructed a. piece of evidence against' clay Shaw..; and had disclosed it, to thepress, Yet- - the, District:, Attorney.: dicl.::not, � seem.: ciencies inr. � the Warren ''::.:�-iXiaricularly perturbed ivhen-questioni 'Commission's investigation. . raised about the logic of:his de- ..(q think it I were investi- � - '� 'cluc.tions. When he Was asked on a lo-�.! gating," he said, "I'd find ��F� cal television -show how the number of the hundred � best 'riflemen :14 Post-office box that' didn't. exist until' in� 'tile world and find the .1965 could have been used to represent. Jack Ruby's phone number in 1963,. replied,. "Well, thaes a problem for. you to think over, because you obvious-i missed the point" Indeed, Garrison;. counterattacked in a press. conference, saying, "We are' very-. interested MI �/,..,.1knowing� who. introduced Mr, Odom'� ones who were in Dallas that day." Garrison recalled that in 1963 his office hid' , been interested in �"a very unusual type hell... i. I want to train killers, how- 7 . of person who made a very curious trip ever bad that sounds. It is. what we.; at a very curial.* time about the. date need." Ferrie never ,received an Air . of the assassination," and the District Force commission, but he did succeed ... Attorney added that he "might want in becoming the leader of a unit in the i ;.--. to Mr,, Sha;;,�-h-OW--.Many'-bulifights to now .go hack into some of those Civil Air Patrol (a civilian organization ; � . . . � 1�..Mr; Odom has actually produced"� events" ._...i events." .., . ... , . � ; .- . made up of volunteers), and he also set,-: _ .. !;;-,� as ff this fact were relevant.to his in-I The individual whom Garrison had himself to training youths in jungle- . �� vestigation�and "We are particularly in mind was David William Ferrie, warfare tactics. Oswald, according to a� - ',Interested in clarifying now why there l and he was, to say'the least of it, "a witness before the Warren Commis- � --, !. .33 also coded in Lee Oswald's address' very unusual type of person." Garrison sion named Edward Voebel, may have : :':,book the locaPphone number of the: later characterized Ferrie as both an , belonged to Ferrie's outfit for a brief .-....- :-.-� �� ,:central Intelligence 'Agency." Using "evil genius" and "a pathetic and tor- , - :- :time in the nineteen-fifties, .when he 1 4.1-Ran. entirely different *stem. of 'deci-; tured creature.'" To compensate .rori;.zwas a teen-ager. Ferrk was also.-.en-: �r:.;i",, pherment, Garrison Managed'io. 'Con-' being completely hairless;:Fertie Pasted '7gaged in a long-term - project to .dis- � '..'17`wert the number 1147, which appe 'cover what' looked like clumps of red man- � cover a cure for cancer, and it Was . 1 in Oswald's book, to 522-8874; the key fur on his head and wore artificial said that at one time he housed thou- ,-;...C.I.A.'s phone number. Oswald's codes eyebrows. (Explanations of how Ferrie i sands of white mice in .his apartment in wer_e: :"subjective," Garrison said, in lost his hair have become part of the,: New Orleans. For a while, he was ern-; -q that they varied from nuMbeii-ci num- folklore of the assassination. William' .. played as a pilot for Eastern Airlines' j b'er.:There seemed little 'point' in Os-' W. Turner, author of a so-called "of-1 but he was suspended, in .1961, as a� .4. *;: wald's having gone through' such an ficial history" of the Garrison investiga- ��conse_quence of an arrest on a morals � 3-- elaborate procedure, however,"' bea use ' tion-which appeared in Ramparts, re-: charge, and later dismissed. After that, : ...z...the C.I.A. number that Garrison re- I ported one- speculation that. the loss' he managed 'to inake. a meagre Iiiing � ,?..,frrred -to -was�and is--listed' in the might italic been "a physiological reac-,, ,.as a free-lance pilot.. an independent.� ,3.,,- ::: ����!.! % � � 7 ,:rt: ;- ., ' ". : . : . ' ' i . t - ' psychologist, and a private ,. .,....., 3::: ;� ..*:C.!4; ��_ ;�., ...- ,�� %." �A. 4. C. . S. . :4' ,- " I : ' , ' ,...:..,�.LLe , . , . � ��� - t �. .�-�- ...r....^ _. - :�� :4:,....v : c .-...:: ._ . ....,..-:.:1,1:: ����-r...`,., .a., -'q.'e.--c . � . 5:...:....� ...... -. ..'"f..-.5 ..04.^ .� ...It ' '' 'it k ..:.' �-� . ; 4 -;�"./.. 3. ' .".... :-..' : �QP� ',,,a",�'''''k II " '`A�,-,..;:-,�.- � . -� New Orleans telephone book don to exposure to the extreme* aid- . � What was Garrison's purpose in all tudes required for clandestine flights." : this? He himself noted, in an extended- He went on to say that Chinese Na- interview in Playboy for October, 1 tionalis 'U-2 pilots have reportedly 1967, that pre-trial publicity prejudiciall experienced the same "hair-Joss phe. to the defendant "could get our whole i nhthenors." Fred Powledge, after in case thrown out of court,' yet he him- 1terviewing Garrison, wrote in the - self had jeopardized his case by releas- j New Re-public that Ferrie's "interest in ing information that was not only I homosexuality led him to shave off all prejudicial to Clay Shaw but un- his body hair," However� the question founded. was -decisively answered by -Harold� � Weisberg, a critic of the Warren Corn- TT was aboard a jet flight between mission, whose stepbrother, Dr. Jack A. New Orleans and New York in Kety, had treated Ferrie for the disease late November of 1966 that' the Gar- alopecia, which can render� its victims rison investigation started taking shape.' hairless.) � � Prompted by a cover story in Life i Rather like. Oswald, Ferric was a that called for a new investigation into j.failure,at virtually everything he tried. the assassination, three prominent pas- He trained for the priesthood, and was H' sengerenator. Russell B. Long, of dismissed from two seminaries a Louisiana; � Joseph .M. Rault, Jr., a result of eccentric personal behavior. wealthy New Orleans oilman; and Later, he became a "bishop". in a quasi- � District- Attorney Jim Garrison�be- political .underground cult , called the gan- speculating about the events in ;Orthodox Old ;Catholic: Church : of - Dallas three years before As their con, _North America, ,Ferrier ran- a :servicet versation -.was; reported in New, ; Or- station.. in Nev.- Orleans..�HiS -gen- tesc leans, the official Magazine of the city's ambition seems to have been to become Chamber of:- Commerce, the-three '3..a fighter. pilot-In .1950; he' "wrate I agreed that, in Raules words,.".., it Secretary, of: Defense Louis:A. John--:� -would he almost preposterous to believe i-son, demanding, "W.h.tn am I going to that one man, an individual such as et the commission, when-the Russians Oswald, cOuld have been the only .one � ----,- k. are bombing the hell .out of involved' in � this thing." Cleveland?" In a letter to�;,:-:'L';: Senator Lang cited deli-' - -the commanding officer of _i_ 4 First - Air Force, � :he a wrote,. .. There is. nothing I I would enjoy . better than1-._ blowing the hell out of �,; ; -every damn. � � : Communist, Red or whai-7--- have-you.,:.. Between my . friends and I we can cook ��' up a crew that ean really blow them to - � ����, - � �,�-�.:������.. ta � At about the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion, in 1961, he became as- sociated with some Cuban exiles, and, according to one of them, he flew fire- � bomb raids against Cuba and helped anti-Castro refugees escape. It has also been reported that, in pursuit of his ; desire to "train killers," he became in- volved in teaching paramilitary tactics to anti-Castroites in St. Tammany ; Parish, across Lake Pontchartrain from. New Orleans. In 1963, Ferric was employed as.a private investigator'. for the law firiri then representing Carlos Marcello, who was reputed to he-tfieTheid Of the New Orleans Mafia. Marcell� had been de- ported in an extralegal manner--he was abducted by Justice Department ; pilot, who made a number of flights might be Lee Harvey Oswald. ' with Ferric in Order to gain his confi- Although Lewis said he was dence, and Alberto Fowler, a Cuban �tcertain that this meeting had exile and the Director of International !occurred in 1962, a time when . Relations for the City of New Orleans, Oswald. was known to be !iv- who made discreet inquiries about Fer- :i ing in Texas, and although -. re's activities among anti-Castro exiles. ,I Quiroga categorically denied Later, a self-styled intelligence expert ; that such a meeting�had ever using the pseudonym Bill Boxley i 1 taken place; Garrison intensi- joined Garrison's staff. fled his efforts in this direction. The first step was to compile a dos- * He began' digging into the ac- sier on Ferric. Cameras were secretly � twines of anti-Castro Cubans, ! .: set up across from Ferrie's apartment, i and discovered the sites of � he was followed everywhere he went. . what had been two secret training .., and his friends . were questioned about , camps in St. Tammany Parish. Ferric : his activities. Little came of this 5111.4 was.rumored to have used One of them veillance. For further information, to train his corps of commandos. In -� Garrison turned back to Martin, whose the hope of identifying the men under .�:-� . tip had first linked Oswald and Ferric.; Ferrie's command, Garrison hired Ber- i :� agents and put on a. plane to _Glace- ' Martin, who told Secret Service agents' nardo Torres, a private detective from - rnaIa.. According to one story; Ferric that he- suffers from "telephonitis" Miami who claimed to shave. assisted clandesti;ely liew'.Marcello back into when he has taken a drink and that� the Secret Service, by spotting poten- 1-- - this country. On the day of the ass.psi- it. was on such an occasion that he tially dangerous Cubans during a visit .1 :�-���.,; nation,- Ferric. ;claimed, he was ;in telephoned the District Attorney's of- President Kennedy made to -Miami in .court,-. listening .s.tor:f.i. :: judge,: declare lice about Ferrie,' Continued to narrate 1961. In Decemb.er�;.,1966,:and janu-:.4!! thesT';Marcello � deporia:tion�..illegal..:,To -.a � vast number of .014connected yarns ary, 1967; the investigation � was broad- -... . Celebrate the victory* , Ferrie � drove- to about Ferrie and the assassination. Ac- ened to include various efforts 'to -trick...-. ..-..7:�1.. Texas. ori. a "goose-hunting"' expedi- cordinvo a typical one of these, Ferric down, with Torres's help, any Cubans-ziy:�:' " tion With two friends...Meanwhile, Gar- hypnotized Oswald and then dispatched in Miami who night have knoWn Fer- -c...: ---at: rison's office reCei,ed :a� tip � from a ! him on the assassination mission. Ac-- rie. These efforts turned out to be un- -fl.'1... : .. <. . New Orleans private detective named cording to another, Ferric had a work- . productive but quite .expensive�more- ,-6 :.,-- ; Jack; S..; Martin to' the effect:: that ; ing association with certain anti-Castro i than half the total _expenditures�and...40, : -� ' 1 Ferric had trained. Oswald in marks- i activities -conducted by the private de- i Garrison began to suspect that Torres's *.ii.1:�:::- �- ! manship , and was his :!`getaway . pi- tective 4. W. .r Guy ' Banister. Garrison 'lactivity did not justify the .exipense.:Tn:-T,IL--a. .: lot.!' Martin was said, to be a member found-, this connection especially pro- '.'ward the end of January, the Florida:'t-; ..... of the same cult in which Ferric Was a� vocative,. because Banister, tp to the jmanhunt was called off...,. ,:: ..� ' t'r,.....-: 4 . . bishop. On his return.to New Orleans, time of his death, in 1964, main- But Garrison had other let.ds to fol- .. � � I. Fertamedie.; Was arrested:. and questioned, tamed offices in a 'building at 544' low�notably an old clue from a New :;.�.�: � . but, according tn F.B.I. reports, .Mar-:Camp Street, a block from the ,3Vil- Orleans lawyer named. Dean Adams :.: , tin *admitted that he had made up the - Ham B. Reily Company, where .: � ' ',�:. .Andrews, Jr. Andrew?. original story, .i. 7. ; whole story, and Veirie was released.. 7.,Oswald ': worked, and one ��� ......:, -which he told to the. Secret Service 4 .:.. < .; -. The F.B.I. may not have thought of the questions the Warren .1 '.*: � *: shortly after the assassination, was that ;,:. :L- i much- of Martin's tip*, .but it was.. this. �! Commission had left unan- -1 :;�:.: : Oswald had come' i'o his office a i tip that enabled Garrison to begin,. his : swered was why the address � . times during the summer of .1963 in !..1.. !* investigation, in December, 1966, with "544 Camp St." appeared as � the hope of finding some means by :�;;� -- .:,-- � ; a specific suspect in mind�David Fer- Oswald's headquarters on ., which the "undesirable" discharge he � i. <,..3. , rie. Garrison set about his work with some pro-Castro literature � '' .� had been given by � the Marine Corps �f .,.: , I the assistance of a small but industrious that he 'handed out * Since . 1 . could be converted into an honorable i staff. .His .chief investigator, a police- Banister's office was, as Gar- - one. The day after the asAnssination,-.,i � man � named- Louis�Iiion, had requisi-. rison put it, "a mare's-nest of 2 Andrews,..who was in the hospital un-, timed other memberi'of the New Or- anti-Castro activity," Garri- der sedation recovering from pneumo- ! leans Police Department to do. the., son postulated that Oswald I ::...:. ma, said he received. a phone call from -�*; �i - �i necessary legwork. ..William H. Gut- � might bet an "agent provoca- a man he knew as Clay Bertrand,!... : vich, a partner in one of the city's larg- teur" in Banister's employ. .� , � whom he described as "a lawyer with-- i �::: : est private-detective .agencies, handled ,:.. Garrison followed up this. ..,... t- �out a briefcase" for local homosexuals. �-� � . fi interrogations and the extraterritoriaGlead by systematically ques- . , . According to Andrews, Bertrand.aska -' � :,:s ..; ; was living in New Orleans, was put ii' ping clerk and sometime pri- -..7 by the F.B.I., he gave several dif--': �:�- � :� .. . ; aspects of ,the investigation It,: tioning Banister's former. ern- '.i. � ' him to go to Dalfas. and- defend Os- .. Be _ Beth,- a. young. British writer ter who :: ployees. One of them, a ship- '! '''' < �� . .f....�:. wald. When Andrews was questioned l charge of research. Assistant District: i: vate investigator, named. David i � ; ferent descriptions of . Bertrand, " and i: f -� '- Attorneys Alcock, Andrew J. Sciam.F. Lewis, Jr., added richly to .1 ., .; finally said that. the character bearing. 7:t7�!� ..� . I. bra,: Richardy. Burnes, and Alvin' 1 . V. ! developing drama 'the dloping d. Lewis �:: .- .; - , ., .. !that name was merely *a figment of his -: .:��;C . ; Oser: questioned the more important: !:claimed that he had been wit- ;- � imagination. A few months later, he. f..-,. :.... !: witnesses and prepared .. the legal :4 ness to a meeting among Ban- t : - - -lagain � changed his; story, telling: the3- , groundwork. Other . taslts were per.; ; ister, *Ferri; the anti-Castro s' i Warren Commission, that he had re.-.: �--- : formed by some of garrison's personal, leader Carlos Quiroga, and a , ...: cently seen Bertrand in a-bar, and de-:.- -� -. friendsamong thern::.Max Gonzales, person he called � Leon Os- - ; i- .... .. iscribing him as 5`a boy". who .was s.,5.*: a law': aerk in the criminal court and a wa , , ld who �he � later thought .,.�:.-,4,,,,..... -..:-.7":, i,.� foot inches" ar11. *.bacl:. 1a..714.tir4% .. .._ .:. . . .. s ... .. , :: �1 ' ,.. � _ , � .�, :. ..1.:-;:st .i. 4�;�.t.--,....5.tA.,---.,:�..,. ,.': .7, �,: ., :,!...;,. .16. _-.;.,,.::. .0 . 4.. . ,.... ,...i.!...;.r.;_:- ., '7....',.iiix."� ' 4.:,-;,- t.:1V <1, . !����� . � �!: 7+" ' �� -� 4����=.-. v . . . ._ No other clues to Bertrand's identity _ . think *he's too important."..jany may tangible leads if it had :. turned up, however, and Wesley J. - . Ferrie was still, at this time, i not been for some resourceful.; Liebeler, a �Commission lawyer who the only suspect. ' _...! moves by three reporters for the conducted the investigation in this area, By February, 1967, the in-.* I New Orleans States-Item�Rosemary � said he was convinced that nc such vestigation seemed to be at a i James, _tack Dempsey, and David .: . person existed. standstill. Ferric obviously I Snyder. In New Orleans, the financial Garrison nevertheless now decided knew that he was under sus- .vouchers of the district attorney's of- : to. purstre the matter further, and gave picion, and it was highly un- :fice- are a matter of public record. By - ' Assistant District Attorney Sciambra, a 'likely that he would do any- . piecing together information gleaned former boxer known by the nickname � thing to incriminate hiniself. t from these records and�through various Mao, a task he referred to as "seueez- i� The Cuban-exile trail had petered otit :leaks from Garrison's office, the re- , ing" the French Quarter. A crack- in Miami. The Bertrand matter had iparters were able to come up with 3.: down an homosexuals that Ciarrison I been shelved. Garrison's chief. witness. , fairly. accurate picture of the investiga-, :. had carried out in 1962 was generally i was David Lewis, � and, of the four:: don, even though it was still being kept � � thought to have produced a number of 1 participants in the meetine. that Lewis secret. Mrs. James wrote-an article on . informers, but Sciambra was unable to described, Oswald and Banister were i the subject and showed it to Garrison :' � find anyone who had ever heard of dead, Quiroga (according to Garrison) .con. February . 16,. .1967. � He simply � ; - Clay Bertrand. Garrison reasoned that I. could not be found, and Ferrie un--shrugged and .- told: her, ".I _ � will i . . -....-Dean Andrews was.probably protecting 1 :equivocally denied everything. .: - � , ...: neither confirm- nor deny it.".- The a. wealthy client with homosexual as-1,.., . At , this -.point, Gordon Novel, a ,-:,next day, the story broke. Garrison's in-. ; !:.sociates, and came up with the idea that i :Specialist in anti-eavesdropping devices, � i vestigation into the,. assassination. of :.7 . ;� ' rector of theInternational�Tride Mari ; � .. � .. :Vid.-New Orleans David D:. Ch'andier,ii .I.,...Shaw, a socially prominent' retired dil, �� . t autamobile:. dealer who.. was'. one.: Of', ::PtcHT 'Garrison's political supporters:: (Gar.e-� i.. lard: E. Robertson, a New Orleans- i was recommended to Garrison by Wil-:,,.President: Kennedy was now. a:pufilic efforts,; arrests that, were. to have been .. � issue. Garrison � charged that the news. -'-' had seriously interfered with his � - , .f..,...� .. : Clay , Bertrand � was in . reality -Clay! - .. ' � te av�Lite� reporter who "r. woliceif closely! - , : rison had been so concerned that the.. 'made immediately, 'he � chimed, had ..::- . � .be deferred far months iMore- '..; � �17:with Garrison in the. early clays'-bf. the' mighte tapping now to l- F.B.L b . t � his telephones � .,. . . " .;i .... n� vestigation, ,was -present when' Gar- .....,. that he had made plans a few weeks be- : over, he. announced. that he would 'seek :! 7' Aison first put -forward thii'hYpothesisl:.: fare to execute a midnight raid on the -.private financing in order not. to have .. .. C. to ,his staff. 'According to 'Chandler, �''. F.B.I. field office in New Orleans, to conduct- the inquiry .in . a.:.;!`fish- 1, . ... :.,... . ' using a.. wateri_ pistol loaded with a ; bowl.", .-. "fish- ..Garrison offered three arguments for . Two �-political -allies; ':-Joseph ..' � ... ..e..- . . . , charge Of red Pepper to disarm_ the of- i Rault, Jr, and N..V Bard Robertson, :-..f.. .e,it::First,.Shaw had the same first name. ' i � -� �'.as:.:Bertrand,,iSecond;-.Shaw :was.-'ru-'';�fier on duty; he even. invited .Chan-,: thereupon ,organized.. fifty! New., Or- ;:ttiored to have friends in. the homoe r dler,-the *Life reporter, to accompany 'leans businessmen into a � group' that -: .. sexual worlcL-And, finally, Shaw spoke rhim on the mission, but tor some reason I called itself .Truth or Consequences, i : .fluent Spanish and, although Andrew' s 1 :the plan was scrapped.) Upon learning 4 Inc., Its function was .to supply Gar- �-) : .,...had never said that Bertrand spoke ... , that Ferric was under suspicion; Novel : rison ..with both i.funds . and moral ,' i�-�:Spanish, Garrison was looking :. for a.12* told Garrison that he knew a good deal :.: conspirator involved in anti-Castro ac- f�� about Ferrie's aCtivities' in 1961. Ac- .�iittivities. Garrison brushed 'over the fact cording to Garrison, Novel .claimed . f : ' .4" that Shaw�six. feet four and a'quarter � that Ferri; a Cuban-exile ...leader �,.. . _'inches tall, fifty-four., years .:Old,'''aridi-e named Sergib Arcacha Smith, and two ,... -: white-haired�hardI:fitted Andrews': i Unidentified Cubans had been involved � --":-description � of a five-foot-eight-inch 1 in a "pickup" of arms from a bunker i:boy with sandy hair. He also ignored *1:in Houma, Louisiana, belonging to the :. i-�� the.. question of why Andrews, having � 'Schlumberger Well Surveying Corpo- '...� given a. false description and a false last ' ,radon. .Some of the arms were re- ' , � � .. name to protect -'his client,- !portediy deposited in the offices of W. ...5.-f.,: would give the client'e.:corre,ct � ;.Guy , Banister.: The purpose of! the first name. . ... -..: l'''' l''.''. 7.'raid was to acquire arms for an anti . �..,7.:.:ii...-ie 4. ..., In,. any event, . Shaw was [Castro militia, and Novel stated that a I :;����:.f.i.-:-..,....� � brought in for questioning in 1C.I.A. contact had indulgently. pro- � � - . late December, on the pretext !vided a key to . the bunker. Novel ,, _... that Garrison was attempting .'later 'claimed that one .of Garrison's . :i...:;-.:!... :.to tie-up a few loose, ends in ��.'ideas for breaking the stalemate-his in-' .....e.e.. 1.! the Warren- Report. :Accord- ��� ''vestigation had apparently . readied. in- ` ..:.r:e-e':-...., inglro Chandler; it quickly be-,i'valved a'platto kidnap Ferric. Accord- � -;�- came . apparent that Shaw, had� .: - ., mg to this story, Ferrie was to he shot : no information to offer aeout with. an atropine dart, injected with : � Ferric or his activities, and the � sodium pentothal, and forced to con- .. ... - matter was dropped. The�Dis- � ' � ' less * �Novel has said, ".Garrison asked' ..,' *5�.:1�itut. suicide, because &9 . . a person is. � .:;�:`'. ' tr 1 ict Attorney told his staff to . ** me to order him such �a dart gun so '.��:',, - -,;.. rarely aware that: an aneurysm, ..� -e�-,--., ..' "forget Shaw." In January,. that it wouldn't appear . on his j',....:7-... :F,T.,:!�, or weak . spot,: exists in a blood � when asked if. he knew the i office purchase records" . after . . vessel, and it would be virtually. the .... - : '�:. identity of Clay Bertram., by :.District . Attorney "had _read ,.:i.ci J.:. impossible to ::. induce .,i 4 .. "blow-. , : .'-'4....1a.:;4-4'..member of �Life's stiff,. Gar. -t .. . . . : � r ..: ' - . . ...4.-",'V'; Richard N. Billings,. another about the aboet the idea in one; Of the books- - C.I.A " . . : z . .. � ....:: i � '',1e . - ' � �i'...'�;i:,:iaut.'. He also ruled out: murder,.... ' :on the ground that if the rupture ��:' . ' -..!..."-='-'�'4'' trison. replied, His real name I - : - 2 � . . � . i . The entire investigation might i ...,!,..,., el.., , had been caused by. an-external...: -1-:;���� 4 is Clay' Shaw, . biit':;I 'don't! i- . : � .. � � . � 6 , . � t have expired quietly for want of , ,... : ..: .:-...; .., blow - there: : � would_ .� necenarily,::i,. :e. .. _ .i..-e!.....- �:-.i�-:.. � ..,.....e:, 1.... .....:.:;,,i'�..., �,. � � .-- ---- - .--. ... . ... .....c... � ' ,;...-,..-. , , .....1 � '.....ri:i% ....'?;': ;;.; �:!":�:S..� .c.rtir.,.: � f4.:St.,71:..:�-� : h;e.i....:':�.i:ty ;.��.;i4il. 46.4.:, 40' .!,i.' . us: -�.::t.... .; . � � : , � ���� ."� :� � k.S � � ����� :;14 = '04 ie.& � � support. Meanwhile, David Ferric told ;, a newspaperman that Garrison's inves- , tigatioh, in which he was suspected of - being Oswald's getaway pilot, was nothing but ."a* big joke." He denied - that he knew Oswald, and, for good � measure, added that he was conducting his own inquiry into the assassination. For two days, shortly- after the..1. States-Item broke the news of Gar- - rison's investigation�Ferrie was kept : under "protective Custody,"_.; , has reported, at the � Fontainebleau -.!" Motor Hotel in � New Orleans. Ac-. cording to a member of Garrison's staff, this was done at Ferrie's_reeprest. In any event,. he returned to .his own., apartment on the evening of Februarri:jt. 21st. The next day,, Ferrie was found . dead. An autopsy indicated that he had. .7 died of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by the rupture of a blood vessel. The coroner, Dr., Nicholas ..Chetta,_ ruled .........,': . . .. ....................- ...,- . . . -. �-� - -* � �- - _ .. . : F-,.... ,...F..- ....-.---.-..-...,....,,-r.. ---,..:,*14"...,.^..-'."55-r.r..�TW-4=4-1,11-7-:0"Ongt.........-,7!74-: ._ - . . - . � .. .... . . - � � , . Garrison interrogated him;he had de- .;.ly taken place. In his first interview,- ing, had. begun-. Assistant District 'At- torney. Charles Ray 'Ward and other members of Garrison's staff strenuously objected to using. Bundy as a witness, but Garrison put him-on the- stand any-. way.7.:Bundy;%ta. �narcotics 'addict'. and petty thief, testified that in:the stinimer� of '1963, while he Was preparing to inject the contents of two capsules of the more sensational aspects of the �.heroin into his arm, he saw two ..:iii;case,..shlis. helping-to � stimulate public :c:inen � meet on .� the shore of" Lake ,..-:p 1- ; .interest..-.. Whether or ,not!'Garrison'S:'...Pontchartrain, on the outskirts of New ...r.,,extraordinary.a:move did;..a.*he claimed, Orleans One, �whom Bondy described �,,;,,,,, . enhance the-. defendant's .,proSpects-:for'� ,as--"a junkie � or: beatnik: thse"- With a light -growth of beard, he had � later recognized from photographs as �Lee .... Harvey Oswald. The other man Bundy ...4tin; attendance, the hearing�began � on !Identified � as Clay Shaw. Like Russo, .'$M arch 14th,:.before a panel of three.i Bundy had 'never before told anyone. . F4judges, . with ..*the testimony. of -Per- labout his encaunter with 'Oswald. The .,,...., . -ry, Russo. � Russo stated- that :�_ie had three-judge panel ruled that there was Fiattended a meeting at Ferries apart-I sufficient evidence for a trial. The deci- ..,' :ment in September, 1963; at which. I sion was by no means startling; it mere- 'the - assassination of President:. Ken- 11y:established that there Was evidence � .-���":;�nedy was planned by a..three.: men:1 that merited judgment. Yet to many . .!.:'!i;Ferrie, a. man; he called "Leon OS- people the ruling suggested that Garri-' I � � wald," and' another he-called ."Clem son had won some sort of legal victory. Ii-Bertrand." Russo identified' Leon Os-1 --As it turned out, the evidence used. � ..[C..wald- as Lee Harvey Oswald from at the preliminary hearing was even less' . , . 1-:.4a photograph.. Then Garrison ' asked IsoUnd than It. may have appeared at, � (...SRusso hether he recognized the man � the time:. About six weeks after. the: t....:;-- he called Clem. Bertrand in the court- : hearing; James R. Phelan reported in . . room. Russo pointed out Clay Shaw. the Saturday Evening Post that Russo L',...4�He testified that after the, three men a had told two contradictory stories-7Km.e .. c�-.1 had discussed such details'a.i.the need in his first interview with Sciambra, the' it :for "diversionary tactici,". the. "trian-.,'Other in court, after being questioned *i � Pat.: ',:-..Lthat he did so -in order to over backwar.d and,give the de-4 : 5. � i:t.feniiant every 'chance." A. preliminary ..a4hearing-, however; has at .least one ex- :�i*:.;:tralegal-: consequence , . that �::a. pol � minded :prosecutor, might 'fincla'advan-; i� -.1:.4,�tageous::-st provides- the I prosecution ...st,with. a dramatic opportunity, to reveal ;�,...ifpublicly far in.advance of the-trial some ���?--`;e4ustice,. it unquestionably - worked to . fft.focus national attention on the' case.' � 4-.1if:;�,,liVith a full complement of reporters - . � ;was when he pulled into Terrie's .serv- 'ice station to get his car fixed,:,S4w was the person sifting. In'. the compact, ar talking Nyith. Ferrie.:He 'remembers E�';F7'. Seeing' hipn again af .the N'ashville Street ;�*4ii .1 Wharf'. when he went to' ['speak." Here Stiambraspescifically states -' r . s. ,. ,... that Russo said he saw Shaw twice,and ....... ;neither occasion'involved :a iendezvous ..: � 7 'in Ferrie's apartment', during which :-Shaw, Ferric, and Oswald planned the -.--..! (assassination*. If Russo went on .to:d-....'1,1.� 'Scribe a-third encounter, and that was the' only one � relevant'. to Garrison's' case; it is difficult to understand 'how � Sciambra could have -neglected to - -, in- clude-.:,ii�in the, memorandum. More- over, , according to Billings, Scia.qs-r1,......_ p 'did not mention the '.alleged ",third � en- counter", in an oral report he made to" ' Garrison the day after � the interview. � Sciambra reported that Russo said he:: . had seen Shaw only_ twice7-once sat 'S -Ferries service station and once at the Nashville Street Wharf. In fact, the -', first time Billings heard � of the third' encounter, during which Russo was -: "supposed to. have overheard, Bertrand, �,i ..Ferric, and Oswald planning . the -as- sassination in .Ferrie's apartment, was t :when Sciambra himself told Russo that � �1 he had mentioned the , name ..Ber-*: i - trand and had described the meeting ! . In ,Ferrie's ..apartrnene...This was after �i� Russo had taken the .''truth serum.",...1 And Russo still, at this time, said that -.� � � .k.-s.% gulation" of crossfire, inerthe Selection tinder. hypnosis. 'Phelan discovered the � he could notremember, anyone named. t� �I of an appropriate "scapegoat," they discrepancy when Garrison, with his Bertrand. � ' s. . . ',"? ended the conversation by bickering customary generosity to journalists, . If a witness tells two contradictory over various methods of escape. -� supplied him with. a memorandum ,stories, -external evidence may make it r .Under cross-examination the follow- i'of Russo's first interview... Nowhere possible: to choose-. :1?tWeen. them:rn i..ing day, Russo admitted that he had not in this document, which ran to thirty. Russo's case, the corroborative evidence T,been able to identify Oswald positively five hundred Words, was the supposed available casts doubt on his second ; until after an artist in the District At- :meeting 'among Shaw, Ferric, and ry�the one he told in court. He tes--. torneY's office spent six hours drawing . Oswald mentioned,, either directly oii tified that Oswald was Ferrie's room- S���� --fdifferent beards on phOtograPhs cf Os- .; implicitly:. Yet. two weeks later, , in .mate an..early � September, ,,1963,4 'yet � ; �swald. It Was also revealed that, before: court, Russo stated that it had definite. .there is evidence that at. that time � t :�� f - , , �� � � . ������ � ��� � ing before a grand � jury meeting in I closed session, he requested a prelimi- nied in a number of interviews that he jinoreover, "Russo did not state that , nary hearing, which takes place before had ever seen Oswald or that Ferrie '!he had ever met Shaw,. and he him- a judge and is public. The purpose of a had ever specifically discussed the as- self made no mention whatever of: � preliminary hearing under Louisiana sassination of President Kennedy.Ta Demand�either Clay or Clem. law is to determine whether or not the Many of the details of Russo's story, .;Assistant District attorney Sciambra, state has sufficient evidence to warrant it turned out were developed under ;� who conducted this first interview and, a trial. Although it is not unusual for hypnosis�a method that Garrison said the .defense to request a preliminary I he used in order to "objectify" testi- . hearing, if only to atterript to compel the state to tip its hand and disclose . :vital evidence before the ac- tual trial, such a hearing is- rarely,' if ever, requested by�17. , � the prosecution. Why,. then, i'should. Garrison, the prose- 1. . ���;:. � ...cutor, have elected to dis- a close some of his evidence before the trial�an appar- , � � en tly gratuitous favor to the ; ' �;. .� ! defense? Garrison . has said. . wrote up the memorandum, later said that Russo did tell him mony. Moreover, it was learned that .of the assassination plot . Russo had been under psy- but that he forgot to. .:� chiatric treatment for eight- include it in his report. .,.. een months, ending in late Yet Sciambra's own . 1960, and had last consulted words in the merrui-_..,.- - � a psychiatrist just two months ;land= would appear . � before he went to see Gar- to belie this explana- � ; � � i rison. . � . �tion: "The next picture- ; 4. ,........ ' The District Attorney that he [Russo] identi- . ..-.:..4 . found his only other witness,: fled was that of Clay .,....,........,-.-;�1.,....1:.._ --.4..� Vernon B. Ilundy, in the Sha.w. Hz said that. he ,... .....- --�--Parish Prison after the hear- saw this man twice... The. first. time a � �4:.� � � � �Ir � � � � � - -� � � � ' ' 4 . � . I:. � 1..���� %AI � ; I, 4, I. 4 :���: . . � r , � �������� � "'"7::"="4 . . . itAL,* �!, 7 '7 1- -8- wild was living with his wife and their . statements of Torres and Candler "in :Bertrand was indeed a fiction, invented infant daughter on Magazine Street in .� view of their criminal records." 'But if by Andrews after the assassination, how New Orleans. Russo described Oswald i : no credence is to he placed in the testi- ...could Russo testify that he had met as having a beard in early and mid- i moo), of Bundy's fellow-convicts, what Shaw before the assassination under � . , September, yet generally reliable wit-; i of the testimony of Bundy himself? � ;the pseudonym Bertrand?. nesses reported that Oswald was clean- : Garrison's entire case at the prelimi- . 'According to the Sciimbra. � shaven at that time. Russo claimed that . nary hearing, then, was hied on the: memorandurri,....Russo .had . -.,,.. . - - -.� - -.. .. he saw Oswald in Fer-i i allegations of two witnesses who had not mentioned . the name ., i. re's apartment in the:. . both waited four years before disclos-:' Bertrand in his .initial inter- �- first week of October,. � ing uncorroborated stories and who view. It was only after Sci- yet Oswald was known both subsequently cast corisiderable � ambra. told. Russo that he ..i.--�. to have been in Mexico :doubt on their own testimony. . . .. had identified one of the par-, � t� -,. . , .. i and. Dallas during this -! � A few months after the hearing,: ticipants at the meeting in.. ,...:. .! period Russo said that ' there was another legal skirmish that: .Ferrie's apartment as.. Ber--1,,,,,...;�..;...,:..;. a . friend of his, Niles strengthened the appearance, if not the; *trand while under the infiu-: �,....1.:-.:�:�� - r, � ... Peterson, was at a par- :. substance, of Garrison's case: Dean. ence of sodium pentothal�an .i....3 .: *: ..,...7.- .;.. ty.ar Ferrie's apartm ent , And rews, the New 0 deans lawyer. 'identification which, accord- -:.. - the night that he say/ .! who had c.laimed that shortly after the .. i.:ing to Billings, Russo did not �;f7r.-:. �:�;�:,. -�����11'.: . --.., ����� .: � ��--,�' Oswald : ' and t'!' SfiawriaSsassination *a shadowy figure named; ,recall at the time�and after Russo - there, yet Peterson flatly denies that:. he i: Clay Bertrand appealed to him to go i ;was. allowed to. 'ask leading; questions:.- , savr anyone - fitting:. the description ,�� of'.i to Dallas and defend Oswald, became i .about the case .so . that, in.. his -own 4t. either Shaw or Oswald.. (Peterson did; i.,involved in...perjury proceedings, An-.1;wards, he "could figure out what they t.... . . ''. however; recalVa:ibearded : man .: who ''relrews*; after telling a number of Storks' ? wanted io�know,7_.that .the name .-Berr �!�was;six. feet.talland � otherwise; fittedLlabiiiit.Bertrand;'and at one point claim:t !trarid found its way into his Story,::::',�,.. : . � .. ..,,...� ...,..,... .....�.,.. - .:.,...!!..,...,..., .,....... , � ...,.::� . 7:thecdescription ,s of; the � man ;-..vhowas�rting.'� thar-,Beirrand� was a figment * of r *-i* 7. �'. � � , � . : e-,.---... - .�-�.:.:.,,,�,.:.....,-: �;.,-� -,...�- �:- . ..'"�7known to be�Feirie's�roommate-at the his iMigination; had nevertheless stated ER , the .,preluninary, �heanng,4,;�, i'time�James.�-Liaewallen;) t.1.lusso! categorically when Garrison questionedr"! there was a�.second notable. shift.i4 � � �:� :Claimed, further, that a young wornan.'lhini� in December that Shaw was not ...in the nature ...14 - the- investigation...I'll:I 'Sandra.- Moffitt, ';:accompanied, him '. to' I Bertrand.. In late Februag, after Russo :Whereas the first phase Wad concentrat- I ..Ferrie's apartment . the night :of � the 'l had come forward, Garrison .again � ed' on . the activities-. of David- Ferrie,..I.,:; ...4,meeting, yet, shei4nies.- this;rand r.Says.1'. fillet .witli-AndreWs. According to ' An-1 ;arid � the second was devoted principally � � .:., - ,i- that she did not meepFerrie until 1964. :.d.rews; the � District Attorney said he to efforts. to . substantiate ...Russo's al-:' 1 :.�:1In-sum, Russo' .court ; testirrinny....ip= : :hid 'other eVidence that Shaw .was iri7:_!legations 'about Clay Shaw, the third ...'.: -::::�..`:. . it.f pears to be at odar;Twith. a great many :vOlVed,�and asked Andrews not to deny : .. , .... : phase, � had no single, specific..,objective: l'-of� the external points of reference he , !that haw and Bertrand were one and It was, in .. .effect, a hunt. without - a ... .14: 'himself provided After the preliminary'. the Same. Andrews agreed,--because, he. :quarry, a search': for anYrinformathin F.T. . Giant would pounce any Green Gr . .. � - . .... . -�hearing, Russo began expressing doubts ,has said, he was afraid that "otherwise * from any source that might relate to ..1:aliaut : his identification of Shaw ..� He � :the Jelly � aspect of, the isiassination .l. For. . : . . .. ... : � i told .� James - Phelan, � who had spent:. ion me like a thousand-pound canary n ." this desultory . pursuit, ',Garriso . re- r,. . � , �!. more:than forty hours questioning hini1IVVhen called before a grand jury in ' inforeed. � his. permanent . staff with 'c for. his Saturday.- Eilening Post -article,' i March and asked if Clay Shaw was - volunteer recruits from the growing 1 '�: !.. that he wished he could have an�:",opi k.Clay Bertrand, he replied,. under Oath, ' corps of Critics of the Warren Com- .i�. ! portunity to talk.:;tiv Shaw for a few' �. "I can't say that he is and I can't say. � mission. A number :of these..., people ..i �-; .. i hours so I can be sure he was the righti that he ain't." Three months later, on who might best � be described as, pen.. . , : man." He told Richard Townley, a ' June 28th, Andrews volunteered to ap- .patetic. demonologists ' found � in New . . ..... � 4 i. reporter for WDS.U-TV, in New Or-'I pear again before the grand jury. This � Orleans an unexpected rallying point; ;����� : I leans, that he was Arnsure of his testi-I i time,.he told of a "deal" with Garrison they were attracted to Garrison like the .1 , i mom,. � 4--- �-- '� ..-- iF.:�:.:,.iv1�::and testified that he had never thopght 'children of Hamdin'tn the Pied Piper.�,.! f .' . .. 1 The testimony of Garrison's -f other. i fora moment that Shaw was Bertrand:r'At the head of .. the - line stood Mirk .. 1 7.- I ' witness, Vernon Bundy, also raised a' 'Bertrand, he admitted, was a fictitious r :I.,anq, the author of. "Rush to . judg--.4: . number. Of questions: One of . Bundy's: name he had used in order to protect -.'.. Mint,' who, togethei,.:With William . fellow-inmates- irithe Parish Prison, a friend -of his., a bartender in the i 'Turner, a: staff writer for Ramparts, � Miguel Torres, told an N.B.C. inter-. French Quarter. Andrews acknoWl- � spent months assiduously combing Gar...! . :,.viewer . that Bundy. had. admitted to . edged . that he had perjured �.himself:1�rison's files on the .case for new dues :���,.... him that he was teirifying for Garrison i previously, and said, "It doesn't .make !. anddevising ingenious schemes to pro- ..1.- . . . . . . . . .,:"hecause it's the-only: way that I can i :any difference to me if I'm Convict:. r�duce new disclosnres..... (When one as I i get cut loose"indicating that 1 .unlessi r;*kd. :��.:. Clay Shaw - is not Clay Ber-',',Iisistant 'diatriet aitorney--Protested 'that he did testify, his would be trand. Indict me if you wane to." �� � � �'� "- by ma ng Xerox. copies of the evt-- ., , ... . �-.. 'I revoked and he would have to corn-,. Andrews was subsequently ar- ; dence Line might be jeopardizing the i f !I plete :a five-yeari�sentence in'-prison .� raigned, tried, and convicted for per- ?.sease,..GarrisOn . replied that Lane and ..:. � � � . ,... !I Bundy. was subsequently arrested .on � .. jury Although the conviction is being fTurner were "Writing the official 'his-....:.: . [Charge of robbery.. Another inmatte,:appealed;' Garrison declared that, this tory of the investigatinn.7) Reports on � . 1. .i�John (the Baptist) Cander, said in .I an; 'represented "a. major conviction :... in -developments in Texas came from : interview that Bundy had told- him, connection With this case.s, It was, if Penn Jones, Jr., the editor of the Mid-- . : . � *that his account of the events at Lake � anything, ' a Pyrrhic victory. 'Assistant � lothian, Texas, Mirror. and the author .:...:' i-'1ion.ichartrain was;a fabrication Of District. Attorney Alcock charged that '':Of a 'series' of booklets..ealled."FOre,ive :�.";�:- .!- � � , �- course, felons are not known for theirt :the. name Bertrand had been "foisted ..'. MY Grief," the most celebrated feature - �r., -probity, and Garrison 'dismissed � the on the World' .by Andrews but ifi Of which was a ;death 'co-64 Of indi�-�:- � . . . . � , �,��������7;r, � , - ":"....�� :..ti ''s, � .;,�,; .1. 7::�1; f%,..f, './... ' � ' 1. ....,:. s4i. 4 .... : ... 4;:r.'1..'4,;4t..'!.;;A:4":': SA;./..-17.� . ;10--.-...''7. ' i.-.1-4:* ' ''.:';'� . � - �.t....'r� ...:�''' ....� :�.-'-r�k' , . "���-� - �� � , � , � � "...7! � , t : viduals who were even peripherally , in DealeY 'Plaza that day ' in . Dallas, .: On what sort of evidence was this' � connected with the assassination, and Garrison stated on television that the- I extraordinary _ conspiracy predicatear: from Allan Chapman, a knight-errant i bullet that killed President Kennedy ; Garrison's method of deducing the last ..t in a two-buntired-year-old 1: WA "fired by a man standing in a-7i member of the team is perhaps indica- . ! crusade against the illuminati :sewer manhole." Thus, Garrison add- i.: tive. The figure of what may he reek.;! (supposedly a worldwide . ed a sixteenth man to the team that he !. oned as the sixteenth assassin was ex- t trapolated from two photographs taken. . about -ten minutes after the assassina- tion. The first shows a man, in a dark . Weisberg, the . author of a 1 Garrison hatl.theorized that there were . ; suit .apparently examining a curb near numerically consecutive series of hooks called "White- wash," was charged with the task of going through the twenty-six volumes of the Warren Commission's testi- case with Weisberg, who believes that:. Matted grass, and he .states that this 7------ ----- mony and evidence for new there was another rifleman in the near- ...object. is a .45-calibre bullet. "which ' .. ;. leads relevant to Garrison's investi- by Dal-Tex Building, Garrison accom--:,t, killed John Kennedy,' which has mark- :-�:;.,..�� ����:gation. Two specialists in. photographic modatingly , added �, a third :rifleman; lings on it that. would show [that]. the �:_.i.' .. ..'!ri interpretation, Raymond Marcus and there, - and :also exonerated Oswald' ,automatic gun froni, which it. came ....:-.:. ':...:.li���Richard Sprague, scanned' .of - from hairig fired any of the shots. I [was a] handgun." .The bullet 'is not � ...HIT- the assassination- to .., detect previous- Then Marcus came along with a blow-H readily. visible to the�naked eye; in fact,:.:;:-.:'1..... . . . ly .. neglected .�;-pieces :. that ,"might - fit Up rof Some trees and shadows on the': !according to One member of Garrison's..,:r.!:, into. what Garrison calls his "jigsaw_ grassy knoll, claiming that this reVealed:. ';."!taff; the photograph ..iisO grainy that it �-�-":,'it.-.,-.';'.:' .. . ... . ..� '..:'i..--t, puzzle."7-tTh'ree.; trOuble;�shociters-at-; four gunmen in cowboy hits, and Gar--.;-; is difficult even: tr.). diStinguish the. curb ..,..,:..;�:-,:. .-���:-.:,:-.iiilan,e alsO'assisted:-;--JOnes Flirris;' with dion- added' *four. more. assassins to the from the grass:"The-'other-h � h ';'1.�4 ... .. ., . . p otograp ,.:.,, .i1.-ei��';whe'om I had gone through the ..evi-� lband. (Two of. them, he has suggested,' ' 7 taken secondS. later, Shows: the ynan in ''- !."-F-,�,-. - ,.... L :tx. �, 2 It dence when -iI.... first � arrived "iii�. New .; were there to pick ,.up stray cartridge the 'dark' suit ' iValking.Ta4WaY-..... With his, * �-�-,.':14; Orleans; -.Richard H. Popkin;i:profes- !eases.) : 'Next, ' Jones � Harris ' showed ., I h.ands -closed. Flashing this photograph -'1*.!;::: ' !..'�-, ....� �-�,. ...�., .!. �sor of philosophy at the UniVersitY, of',...'PGarrisUn a blowup 'of a. 'truck parked 'in front of television cameras. in Dallas, ..ic.7..... ......:41:California at San Diego and the author behind ia picket fence, . and the corn- I. !Garrison declared that.the..Man (from ..i1-1. -- ar "The SecOrid .Oswald," i'..COnject-fMandO' team"' grew by ..two. By mid- .!his :appearance Garrison . has sOrriehOW:-...i.�.. :;:,..1...t:Arra1 essay originally published .in - the.E1.0e;', Garrison was saying ....that the . 'surmised him to be a "federal. agent") -�:r. ..t....� �- , � i.,Iill. Wrirp. Yor,C.Riview, of[BOoki:"Whith ''. isiasi Mtien Was'. -. performed bfa.four- ihia .....gpv. the .'bullet ...cluiChett;.in..-his , ... . -si . 1 . . conspiracy of intellectuals claims carried out the assassination and : who now control the tele- a fifth. spot from which he has said the ; vision networks). Harold I shots were fired. Six months before', ; only two assassins--Lone in the Texas. ; the spot where President Kennedy was School Book Depository Building and shot, with two policemen shown look- one on the so-called grassy knoll, just, ing on. Garrison claims that he can � beyond the building and on ,the same '. detect in this photograph' a pebblelike side of the street. After discussing the object partly concealed .by the heavily : " suggests that the assassination �wai per- teen-man ' team of Cuban guerrilla : 'hand the bullet that killed Jrhn Ken- � , ; , . � , ..:";formed not by � Oswald - but by his fighters. Finally, after discussing the ' jnedy.". Garrison has never ;explained - .� -- :-.''' tDoppelganger; - - and the - night-club .,matter at some length with Professor i.,:how he could determine from a photo- ....:. 7, � . . � � .1 .� comedian Mori Sahl. Although these ! Popkin, Garrison posited a "second !graph that a bullet was being held in a :::,..� amateur sleuths, who sometimes refer : Oswald," who was sent to 'impersonate. !man's closed fist-'-and even discern its - .- ., i..t."-� :Ito themselves as the Dealer Plaza Ir�-�. the first Oswald at the scene. (This un-. icalibre. However, this was the ..,".evi--;.. 7 regulars, have' provided Garrison with derstandahly ,disconcerted some mem-. r. dence".. that Garrison .cited in support the bulk of. the-'new -"evidence" that ;bets of his staff, since the presence of, � 'of the theory that an assassin was in a -.:`, �.' he has cited - in numerous publ;c ap-' 1a second Oswald would tend to vitiate. '. sewer, and of his own charge on. tele- ...- earances�he �sappeared on ;numerous the legal case against Clay Shaw: Did: :vision that "the - bullet which : killed -�4 . radio and television shows in the course Shaw conspire with h Oswald, as he is: : John Kennedy, which fell in the grass ' I ..� 21-Of a coast-to-coast tour arranged- in accused of doing, or with an imper-: _: with 'pieces of the President's head, -....,;::fconnection� with : the Playboy inter- . sonator? ) The assassins were support-. ' was in the hands of the federal govern- -.4 .. . view�they 'have � occasionally proved, ed, according to Garrison, by Jack ment ten minutes after the President.' : ... � a source- of friction for the professional' Ruby and some members of the Dallas, . !was dead." And Garrison went even ..1. 2... 1 investigators on Garrison's staff. � . 1- Police Department. � '' - "This ni- eons . that the' federal :government, knowingly participated in :4 ! framing Lee Oswald," he said. "Lyn; .� ..t. � - don Johnson had to know this.."..-'; : ... Although most ,of the issassint were , identified only as projections of con- '.; . nected dots in enlargements of photo- 7.4 . graphs of trees and shrubbery, the man �?...--1-_-: 1 � ,A member of Garrison's staff who; � Although the exact number of as- � trouble with these' third-rate-students � is that the only 'Way' they Can Mike' a .0itiong � iinpreisiOn Garirisori"ii .by �",.;coming up With flamboyant nonsense, � thus hoping to be hired as someone .with original ideas. They therefore represent a serious threat to the sanity the in vestigation:. One: Of them has .,,.:a' bad habit of' steering. Garrison into crackpot directions; such is the `Storm 1. Drain__Theory,'... to which Garrison. .';tends to be susceptible. When Allan 'the-i i ..Illuminat specialist, -lent his support- to the theory that a - .'shot had been fired from a storm drain , has 'worked on 'the investigation since sissins changed from one.public state- its inception' has described the contribu-! merit' to the next, the "forces behind of the amateurs this way: "The the conspiracy" grew steadily. In the :early stages of the investigation,'Garri- . _ son told Senator Russell Long that only :a few insignificant men were involved. (Then;' 'after 'Ferries' death,* Garrison ;began *to specify the guilty parties, identifying them as a band of perverts iand anti-Castro Cubans. With. the ar- rival of the demonologists', hinVever, ;the conspiracy was rapidly escalated to include Minutemen, C.I.A. 'agents, 'oil .millionaires, Dallas policemen, muni: :dons exporters, "the Dallas. establish-:; !mserit,".. reactionaries, White Russians, and certain elements of ."the invisible Nazi substructure." whom Garrison identified in'Playboy as the seventh member of the assassina- :tion team turned out, much to the Dis- - 'trici Attorney's embarrassment,: to be. person. Garrison alleged that this 7 '; 'seventh man !'cyeated a diversionary ;I': action in order to distract people's at- . �tendon from the�-sniPers," explaining,. ; ;:`,`,This. individual fell to the groundrand � � lated an epileptic fit, draw- ������.,:t. ing people away from the � -.44. 4�0* -�;'� ir�-�-�+1A: ..;�� � - 7 � -10- . . . the Dallas Times Hcrald: 1 Robert Hollingsworth, man- aging editor of the Tinies� ! . Herald, has told me that he ! personally inspected with a 1 magnifying glass the photo. graphs given to Chapman, and that they showed noth- ing more than some bystand- ers, two of whom were em- ployed in the 'building in which Oswald worked, being � routinely questioned by po- licemen. Carson, who was, of course, . seeing the pictures for the first time, had no way of knowing who the individuals in the pictures were or whether they were in fact "being ar-, rested," and he had no way of chal- lenging ..Garrison's. claim that. they were connected with the C.I.A. What Ciarrison presented to the public that night, then, was not actually '-new. evidence�witnesses pictured in, his photographs had, testified befCre the Wairen7C-orn-m-.1iii�on�-�=bu,t a new. and totally unsubstantiated interpretation of Old. evidence: � Any sensational murder case attracts its share of crank letters, publicity seek- � ers, and bogus tips, and, whereas most I was a convicted bankernbezzler with. a I prison record* But even though Nor-! ton was tarned, down in July as a sible court � witness, Garrison referred . to him as a "secret. witness" in the I � :interview that appeared in the October issue of Playboy.. "We" have evidence . :that Oswald maintained his C.I.A. contacts . . . and that Ferrie was also ; employed by the. .C.I.A.," he an-, nounced. "In this regard, we will pre- sent in court a witness�formerly a C.I.A. courier�who met both Ferrie : and Oswald officially in' their C.I.A. !connection." This "courier" was sub- isequently identified by a member of Garrison's staff as Norton. .... � � � I.Another witness who was found in � the one.with Professor . i kin's. assistance-was. Richard f:Case.. Nagel., an inmate. of. a federal institu-s, ..tion for the criminally insane in Spring-.: 'field, Missouri. Nagell had been arrest-:.;� , ;ied while he. Was.. attempting. to rob a: .1 I bank. in Els.P.,aso:� in:September, and had been. sent , to. prison.. A tt!...r 015 lassassination, ' he claimed that, he had ' purposely got himself arrested in ortler,;-�1 ; to provide himself. With an alibi for. his.j..as.;. involvement ..in .,..the.assassination. spiracy; his part.;..in it, he said, had been � ,�-iiiirsinS newswoqT!y�rntist produei new'fldistrict attorneys regard such offers of to kill Oswald who was the "patsY." � � cinity of the knoll just before the President's motorcade reached the ambush point." f Garrison further described" this man, presumably one of a 'number of anti-Castro Cu- ban paramilitarists, as being clad in green combat fa- tigues. As it happened, how- �� ever, the person :Garrison. � was talking about was Jerry I. Boyd Belknap, an employee of the Dallas �� Morning Newt, who had fainted in � Dealcy Plaza about twenty minutes be-. lore the motorcade arrived. Belknap 'explained to the F.B.I. that he had had . frequent fainting Spells since he suf- fered a serious head injury in an auto- : � �� Mobile accident fin*A960 and that he � � had . been receiving-daily medication to. � .Prevent these spells. � When Garrison learned that the...Man .Who fainte&was' :.'7;:not the paramilitirist 16 had presumed' him- to be, he his staff' tO.,'fp4et-:. . . the matter ....� statements he'continued tri.iif that be. located this seventh:member�61 the rcommaido t : . ....� wants to' insure � '`.....that the story of :his investigation re-. ,i;,.. , �� : ,..; evidence.constantly: Garrison's�Coips of: : :K.,- ��� f, help, as a nuisance, Garrison found :Although the court records indicated".,::: .. . them .a' rich source of new witnesses, that Nagel had -Suffered braiKdamage.,..!".. ..�-.-.Ttirregulars provedilelpful:not:::simplk: digging out ne...y.. evidence�but,-on . � ... '-crash' ' ready. to provide allegations and dis- ' in an airplane m 1957, Garrison --�-�;7..occasion, in finding opportunities for � . closures of the sort reqiired to keep his thought his story worth Pursuing; and ; g!. Garrison to present it. When ' . Mort: story ia the press.. Although it sent a formes' assistant district attorney,,,.- . appeared oz the Johnny Carson is extremely �,,.� � doubtful whether any of William R. Martin, to IVItssoun to ; television show �tist-' January and corn- theie votunteer witnesses will ever question him:- Nagell insisted that" � � a:Alined. about' the coverage- that' the testify' in court, � the case of a . man had proof of the7'conspiracy in the 'form ��. media hitt given the Distria:�.narried 'Donald Philetus Norton illus.. of .tape recordings stashed 'awn): hi. i.� �!lAttorney and hie-case, Carson agreed' ;, to have Garrison?. on his � prograni, , .. . provided that, he?would not tnerely .� � reiterate old charges but would present ;new' evidence.' � Garrison telegraphed l.Carson accepting the impromptu offer. � And on the ivening of last January !��31st Carson devoted most of his show to an interview "with Garrison. When � , Carson a. sked Giiiison to reveal the ['new evidence thathe claimed he had, Garrison reachedlinto*a black leather trates� the use to which the testimony of such "secret witnesses" can be put in the open arena of public opinion. Nor- � ton, a thirty-foar-year-old night-club entertainer, got in touch 'with Gar- rison in June, 1967,. claiming that he had been a C.I.A. courier, and that he had' delivered fifty thousand dollars to a man Who was "a dead ringer for Oswald" in Mexico in 1962 and had . received a hundred-and-fifty-thousand- dollar "l'iickup" from David Ferrie in �� portfolio he held in his lap and pulled 1958. He said, further, that he Would. �.. � � out some photographs,�which,�he� said, L. like to work as an investigator for t.7.'showed suspects:;:being.:''arrested. .'im- Garrison.* Norton' was immediately 1:2= .3. mediately after die�assassination "Here brought .to New Orleans from ,Van- .1.:!..-are the pictures"c,/ five- of them being couiter - , where he was living at :the '''�:arrested," he said; "and they've never time, was interrogated by Garri- been shown before." He went on to son's pseudonymous intelligence expert -say, "Several o0hese men 'arrested Bill Bpxley. Though Norton was more . ili-have been connected by our office with than Willing to identify Oswald, Ferric 'the Central Intellience Agency." The and even Shaw as C.I.A. agents, his ''�;.:'1'!'�i''. _ new evidence. Garrison pre- story *contained so many contradictions sented that night 1,4;d been and, implausibilities that Boxley and found. '', by Allan Chapman other staff members concluded that he some��:Weeks" before,- in'-,.the photogFaPhic'departmenc of �-�� � 4. � ' .7' � 1...� would be totally ineffective as.a. wit- ness. Ik.Y/P._14;.qr _r_qvCAlAd_ .that � � steamer trunk in California. When pa *recordings Could. be' found; however, � � �-� Nagel told Martin, ,"They've . the tapes,"*and,refused to discuss the: matter any: further.' Though Nage11,71. like Norton, was rejected as:.a, coure'. witness, GarrisOn. Continued iduse Na= gell's story to bolster his case in 'public. Explaining Oswald'i role as iPatsy in the conspiracy, Garrison stated in his Playboy interview, "We have evidence 1! that the plan was to have him [0s-.: " ward] shot as a cop killer in the Texas ,Theatre 'while resisting arrest.''.'. Gar- . rison said he was i4nable to divulge the ..evidence � at- ths�-time, but the whole .,thing was one of 'Nagell's tales � Another 'confidential "witness � with... .., whom Garrison has spent a good deal of time is a Dalas ex-convict who wa's ; recently under suspicion in Texas for 'it- tempted murder7kccording to Thomas .. Bethel, this witness ."drops into the office at fairly, frequent intervals vand _ readily identifies almost al./one you... _ . 4 ' o rate. Of thirteen 31e.W witnesses found .and the unsubstantiated testi- sponded to attacks maden � through the mail or with the help of mony of unstable witnesses, � his thesis that there was a������ the Irregulars assisting Garrison, nearly .why has the press been so conspiracy to kill President all have turned out to have criminal ineffective in checking Gar- : Kennedy has been by ; g talk- records or to have been under psychi- 's rison? In his study of the in about a second conspiracy i . atric care. late Senator Joseph R. Mc- that grew out of the first The "mailbag," as all of the unso- Carthy, Richard H. Rovere one�a conspiracy of secre- � iy ' licited tips and offers to testify are called � demonstrates how a certain -- c dedicated to concealing . I, � around the District Attorney's office, kind of demagogil, when he the truth about the assassination. As s has led to one arrest. William Turner, is assailed by the press, can turn the in a. speech he gave -last December .: -- : :the Ramparts staff writer (and a for-: hostile criticism in New Mexico jocularly entitled to his own advantage. . mer employee of the F.B.I.), ran across Such a , demagogue builds his political "The Rise of the Fourth Reich, or s .an anonymous letter alleging that a base on the: systematic exploitation of I .How to Conceal the Truth About an . Californian named Eugene Bradley had inchoate feat* and sets about organiz-1.-Assassination Without Really Trying," once made inflammatory comments on :ing a popular flight from reality. TO Garrison often seems more deeply pre- : , President Kennedy. Checking through him, even the most vocal censure, how- occupied s with exposing an � insidious �� 'a file he keeps on right-wing extremists, 'ever adverse its ostensible effect, repre- :It'misprision on the part of federal e.:; au- Turner.found an Edgar Eugene Brad-,. sents useful publicity, for the more rig-, thorities than with establishing the facts who raised funds for a.radio pro-ous.ye h. assaulted y the press, the.] of the assassination itself. To. be sure., �t� � b r-gram called !,20th, Century. Reforma-, more prominently he figures in the such an obsessional concern with gov- don Hour," and who happened. to have, !popular imagination. A false charge haslernme. ntal � suppression is not ..--.a.� new . been in Texas on. the day of; the 'acsas-.. to be repeated if it is to be refuted, and 1phenomenon, .nor � is it urn ed to the i....;�sina bon�though in El .F�Lin,.1,not in if ..the charge happens, to be more ap-r1Pssacsinanomissue.*.Thepo snCio7 lo- 1-1 � �� � � " Dallas. On ..the_basiSof . pealing.; than .;t�he-:, truth entirely,. �gisr.E d wa r Shils.has pointed to a high-.,..14 ����� � �,. , � � � _ . . � . 0 0 � � � � 1.� Garrison, limbo at the time was ;�possible that it, rather than its refuta-, ly Suggestive link between the general- 'Los Angeles. raising don, will Win general. credence:, This ized fear- of secrecy and the � Populist his office in New Orleans , is especially likely to occur if the dem- ;tradition in America. In his book "The�.,:f y-nand ordered Ai:Ostia.. District Attar- agogue's charge offers a more or less i Torment of Secrecy, he � argues thati: ney Alcock to. issue warranta for %plausible explanation,. of disturbing la repugnance toward secrecy is scideep-:',1. � Bradley's ariest,�,..ehargingZhim with�events, and if its refutation � depends on�-:*IY ingrained in American political life conspiracy to kill President Kennedy the word of government officials; since,Athat even in matters�involving national ; 'Bethell, reported.;concern.,amOrg- the .the people most apt to accept Conspira-e, security secrecy is tolerated only as a � ' staff members, there was nothing in tonal interpretations of history are those, necessary evil. To exploit this � fear Of 77 � . �. �. . . � the files on: Bradley except the anonY, ;Who are Most suspicious ;of both corn.... !secrecy, a truly Machiavellian politician ..� � ;�� thous letter,, and no: one. in the. office pIexity and authority. As Rovere points 'could be expected to portray himself as ! .1. had even heard of Bradley as 4 Suspect. out with regard to McCarthy, the dem-. engaged in a life-and-death struggle to � ��?.' The warrant was issued. anyway, and agogue soon learns that "the penalties wrest secrets from some powerful elite . . . 'that controls the 'government and the � Bradley was arrested in . Los Angeles L for a really audacious mendacity are not . . . I ' -I � media, and to interpret all aid-. � � � and then released in his own I. as. severe as the average politician fears ..news. � I,. � : i � zance. When ;Garrison returned 61 them to be, that, in fact, there may be .cism levelled aFainst him as part of a- i. ! New Orleans, he remarked .. that'. he r � no" penalties at all but only profit." � !.; plot to conceal the dark truth from -the' ���� � . . saw little prospeit, of 'Bradley's everi rn;:In a-sense, the man who exploits' ,P0Oulace- � " : � '�:; � 's being extradited by Governor Reagan;.,. popular 'fears builds his reputation on. :1 The first full-kalecriticism Of Gar- After leaving Garrison's staff, William '� the prestige -� of his. adversaries The risOn came in the last week of April, i. :- :.A.Gurvich said,. "Jim has a philosophy more impressive the list of detractors 1967, in the Saturday Evenng Post, e,abOut national headlines He. believes can cite, the more important his charges .:i when, in an article entitled "A Plot to ' � i �::: that everyone th , reads e' headlines con- they appear to be.. "Why are .Kill Kennedy? Rush to Judgment n arrests . trying to ,.e� , � Icerning arr" and -charies..bu).-- few destroy -:New Orleans' James Phelan revaled ; me?".the demagogue asks. But � - --.that the crucial part of Russo 's testi- the surest benefit he derives from being .:mony�the section incriminating Clajr!..1. publicly- criticized is the "right to re- Shaw�was contradicted by 'a state- -1,- � ply"�a right that is greatly enhanced HE principal consideration oper- by the demands of day-to-day report-. .ment Russo had made earlier to Assist- : � . District Attorney': SCiambra.--The ating to .:restrain,.! duly elected which cause the press to focus more ;:sant- ,r.-,sclay: Phelan's story .appeared,:�;i'bold .district attorney frqrrk:. making ',int:Ifs- directly on the :individual:under attack � . . at S iff,;headline in the New Orleans paies- .,,..?.icrimmate arrests., and charges�aside . se than-on the general issue- at ." ��" normal ethical considerationsis :. the demagogue :is :Challenged' on .radio.4'Item� announced; "MOUNTING CE EVI- fear of exposure by the press if sup- or television, he can demand "equal: 1DEN LINKS CIA TO 'PLOT' PRO13E..'!; that the C.I.A. :The article under this. head, which.sim-. was attempting to.- ,i ..porting proof shoold, not be forthcom- � time',' to respond. And, of course, his slied : mg. Yet, despite,cogent evidence'. of: reply need not restrict itself to a defenseAi ' :��� - -.:malfeasance on Garrison's part report- - of. his original :position. 'Indeed, Garrison's efforts; because for- ed by a number of. journalists, public- fuscate_the issue further and mitigate , ;mer agents were- involved in the Con- . � . �� ' opinion polls indicate that there has ac- the attack on him, the demagogue may :'41:11racY, had been Prepared by several" .; � tuilly been a substantial increase in the ..strike out in an altogether different di- States-Item reporters, including Hoke � IMay� tickey, .. who at ' " the 'number of people, not only in Louisi), rection. For he is, typically, concerned. and Ross Y d � 1' ana b � [tame were working closely with Gar.; :�.�� but throughout the: country�;;who -not with substantive issues but *th' t � ' share Garrison's belief in a c � inson on the investigation .Whether conspiracy e ways of manipulating... the ' If in fact his case is based on .� g emotions Of the electorate lbrdesign or by accident, the charges: .' � . '.-...:ef � 3 little more than wild rumors :;.;;7:- One way Garrison has 1.-e-.t �against the CIA effectively over- � - - 74. e� shadowed the Phelan �story,_. at least 7 � � �.� � � � . - " � , � - � --, -;.�� ;et; , , � �. , � , �r:, �- .� . t, . ,�!"..;27:� . � v... . , � �.- 4-1;c:Uti:13-tr. � r � �-� A.,: � � � ; r�� � � I ' -people read denials or correcting.state- t. ..men.ts.". :,...,,:.,....�,.,, t'.. r -.��ki '-,-..aA' : ... , y. '� - - � . .� 7: ;ma, - ...12- . . .. . . . , .. - � �would only add to the effect .of Crim- from a source a'riliibions as .' ..:,.:. __:., . New Orleans. . Two weeks later, in an article writ- inally charging an F.B.I. agent. But lie-detector tests left the pro- ..; ...._.:J_:_ ...3 ., ten by Hugh Aynesworth, Newsweek Garrison had second thoughts about . grams conclusions open to...7..-,....1,.....� . . - ,.. ..-.. - .. - . reported that a- friend of David Ferrie's attacking the F.B.I. and, according to serious criticism 7 ' had been offered a three-thousand-do!- th . Gurvich, chose e C.I.A. .because, as garrison, however, did � hr bribe to implicate Clay Shaw in Garrison himself put it, "they van,t not bother with serious :. '-.� � . the conspiracy. The offer had been afford to answer." criticism of the- program's 'I. ...:. � secretly tape-recorded by the witness's On the evening of June 19th,. content; instead, he launched his calm- y. . . . lawyer. Although. the tape left it un- N.B.C. devoted an hour to a critical terattack b denouncing N.B.C. as a : clear. whether the money was to be in examination of Garrison's investigation, p arty to an "Establishment" conspiracy . 1 ..: payment for true information, or false,. entitled "The J.F.K. Conspiracy: The to destroy him. "All of the screaming � it was damaging under any circum- Case of Jim Garrison!" The first part . and hollering. now being heard is evi--;:t stances. (At one point, Garrison's rep- of the program dealt with. Russo's dence that we have caught a very large � � resentative - said, .We can change -allegation that he had � seen Oswald', i fish," he proclaimed the Morning after i . � r. .... � the story around.".)- When Garrison- Shaw, and Ferrie plotting the assassina- the N.B.C. show. "It is obvious that learned of the impending Newsweek - tion at a party in Ferric s apartment in ;there arc', elements .in . Washington; -'....: .'. � disclosure, lie prepared a memorandum . September of _1963. The N.B.C. re, :i D.C.I which are desperate because we '': - � ..::. . on C.I.A. participation in the avossina- �porters demonstrated that at least one:. are in the process ot uncovering their- 1 . don; this document promptly found its other-Fe-lion present at the party Imo'- hoax." To account for N.B.C.'S inter-'"? �-�,..-.::.� : � w.ay: ..into the ,hands of ,Yockey and . not seen Shaw or Oswald there and � :, est in his haw:nig:hind,' he.. fold...:riU; iii;r'f-;'. ' 1Vlay3- who wrote it up in in exclusive that Ferric's bearded roommate, who .: i. terviewer that the 'network "Ls Owned :7 ' ' -.stOry . in 'the Stfirepltem. Upon being! Russo claimed: was Oswald, had been ii by Radio .Corporation of ..Articrie.:03it..e.T. i asked about the'..Netarweek.- charges, identified by ,other people at the par-4-of. the top ten defense contractors in :�1.-'-: ' Garrison answered by confirming the i- ,ty as James :.LeWallen.:The program.1.t:the country. (It :is,':�actually:twenty.'' ',.-.....Stlitri-Item report :9R the .L A .C....,ti�T;.i. ot pc 'then concentrated on . Garrison's in ves- ''seventlr,'�� according_:tO"�ther:'Depaiim-4'i.rit744 I A � � f!.'1.. eileraragents-:,wTha� ,:::�.'Concealecl.;:iyital :tigative::methods,. and. a .parade of wit-- of :Defense.) IGarrithii:ad'ilal -s"All-*OW .. .: , . . , , l'.....knnWledge regarding:.PresidentKid;nesies.,:w-as..-0rese. ntea to allege ',that these - ladies of- the'"eveningi art..- verrn -..,- . ?-:----,. n4.:dy.'S ituassinatiiin;;and. their superiori.. Garrison representatives :had attempted ,I.l'� much alike--:the-preferredrcUstoMerTii-1, ,--..- ,, .who- are now engaged: in .,,a. dedicated i ,to � bribe . or intimidate them..., In - ad- ; ,-the one with the big bankroll and .'irry7.-4;..,.-,:.:....-, ; ffrirt. to'. -discredit.,; and . obstruct the %' 'dition,- .N.B.C. revealed. that , both of il� position ... he suggests ...is.' eagerly .," as�-:; ,- .i'',..:�',' . . .:�..... - ��; :� 'gathering of evidence;'' are guilty . Of ..Garrison's � key witnesses, Russo and sumed." Moreover, Garrison - implierl":'.'t- .' 7 � . A . � . � - . ! � being. accessories after the fact to o:ae ,'Bundy, had failed lie-detector. tests be- � that the �program ,7: had 7been.:::ieeretti: ! ..;of � .,!ti 'Cruelest inUrders in our,histnry,.;;;,:fore testifying at the preliminary heir�-�;,i:.:financed by. the C.I.A;',I;,N.4:4.:-. '.,: .,... :lie--. declared, and.;liet..-.went on ,tri :Warn ,. ing. Frank McGee,. the.N.B.C. anchor ..:-���..Garrison.demanded.eitniar thrie;ra'ritr.:7��'' . , . � - .. .,' t 'at- the arrogant.;..totalitariau:. efforts,. .rnanr -'conchided, "The case-he has' built ;'.N.B.C.:: granted7 him :a�-halF.hoirt- of`�:.�!- - � 1 -. .of these federal agencies to 'obstruct the , ;against . Clay � ShaW: is based on testi.7...i: prime evening tune on July 'MI 967,--c--.1..' j.. discovery of truth: ii a Mitter.wirich I...imony .tha::- did not pass 'a .. lie-detector .;,... to reply .to the. charges.' Once 'nil ..the";??.�-�--.... ' i � intend to. bring to light" An article, in. Itimt Garrison 'ordered�and Garrison ..;.:air, however, ,Ile.'' said; "I :am nut eVeri..7'.1`..,. the New .Yorlt.Timer.: the...following knew...it.',!....The lie-detector. evidence !... going .to bothertn dignify the- foolish- � '.:1:-.:7. i day atteSted tir-.Ga'rrisOn's SuCceis-. in. that N.B.C. used to cap its case against - nos 'which 'Nei. urviii-ek -u-id N.B.C.-and;'.)';' .. i;blurring issues"; ..although ,the . � Times Garrison was almost certainly- the 4 some of the other news agencies have..;-4i'Y'-' . ....� .. :article focussed nnihe. ,Newsweek :re,' weakest part of that case The lie-de- ', tried to :malcc you believe -about - my , portis:, the headline.- read: "GARRISON ..' tector test carries a certain authority in ...., office," and went on to denounce the.--- .; ;� : � _.... � - ! � CHA?GES C.I.A. AND:F.B.I.:CONCEAL: the popular imagination, because it ap- �:, met ia for manipulating the news. After--; � i ALD ..- -n '' -�-�'-.. _EVIDENCE ON OSW." '' ''�r,'.:,� " � pears to give unambiguous answer�i .; . ...:�:-..-,-� giving. five specific examples of "sup.-"7 i .:�,- .� . - . Garrison continua his offensive by ..the man is either lying , or telling the �!. pressed news,".. he: presented . his � fa,...�:::11..-.,: .� .. .. issuing a subpoena .for Richard .Helms,.. truth�and Newsweek, the Chicago : .miliar argument that the attacks on Itis7-1� the director of the. Central Intelligence _ %Tribune, , and the Hearst Headline.: � case attested to its validity:-..".:.-.;'.if our�-:--1:-.: ' Agency,. demandinethat.- Helms pro--; :Service also used lie detectors to dem- ...investigation was as � haywire' as . i ducea photograph showing Oswald in ,:ionstrate .that.Garrison's ease was base.d f ..would..Iike to have you think, theu you ! � the -.company of ..a...c.I.A.,��ageriti.in ...on untruths. But the lie detector is in : - would not see such a coOrdinated bar--'i."-1.,:�' : Mexico. Subsequendy, it was mad .. fact merely .a device for measuring the ,.. rage Coming' from the news centers in .. i plain that Garrison had .no reason � to emotional stress that a witness is under- ''l . the East" And he conCludLici,..4.......as--'1--- .. believe that a 'phritograph - showing going while lie is being questioned. Such , long .as I am 'alivi;, no one is going to 4:-.7: F. stop me ,from seeing that � you obtain- '',.!..7.',....-: Oswald, with a r.C.I.A. agent .�._had.,�stress may indicate nervousness over de- ever. existed, but _Garrison's � subpoena.:;� ception,�or .it.: ma indicate any -of al, the full truth, and nothing less than ther:...1;,i`.:44.^ ...: ! - .-,� ' drew.. national cnverage and tended : to .;....number of . other .emotiona full truth, and no fairy tales." Gar' l . responses. l ,. -.dilute�ftirther the effect .of .the.,Neurs--; J: Edgar, Hoover had informed the I .rison 'had an audience of some- twenty . . r...._ week- starv. It IS- w.orth noting that Warren Commission in a memciran- t million; and for � that, � In. .said'' in 7.111i � .. ";':-. '�.-: .. '4 � 4 ..�_ NarbOr interview,- he � .was � -'; ' before Garrison subpoenaed the direc- � dum that lie-detector tests were un- � . .,,' tor ,of . the Central .Intelligence: Agcn- reliable and of dubious value. ..., - � ..� .,�-:,....,:.... "singularly grateful to Waiter -r-rk :���� i--41'Sheridan,"cone- of those Wit "1"- cy he. had considered -another�rnove--...;..N.B.C....,. had , 'assembled ._ a ;...,.,, . -.:�,.... ;.7e 0 Ty� . .. -,. ....,...� 'had prepared the N.B.C: 'Cri-71 esi.,..; arresting Regis Ken-nedy '...ari. Fa/. : good deal of cogent, if cona-'4!...J. z. .;..-.-.-,�_. �.:-... ;p. mine or n is case: �-�.;:-!�;: 7...�.7:747nr�;2:,..7....;,7.7; . . .. , agentin New Orleans who .had: taken ph., � evidence., to show that .�',.. �.. �� '.''.- ::':-....-s�---.- . part .in the government's investigation i Russo's allegation � was un- � . :.. - Garrison's .gratitude � was 7 !.; .......---,.., of the, assassination. Garrison explained 1 true.. But :for it to resort :.i � ... less than total Not long r, ., ..::-..: '" --� - 7 ti?:. gurvich .that_. although the :�agent ..I finally_ to a simple. ,indiictment 1:,after titc N 13 C program, 4.7. ., . '.- ;47. ....i. ; t would ' deny � the': aarge �-�the'l. denial lbased --..on evidence ., drawn.i'..-, hessued warrants: f for%the'' ���� . ' ..--,...12-:,V.�7 `'�:'' SV,V-:-1),�:�WgF������ C ,�4 7 7- �� .:�������. , .41 � � 7, � ��� ��� -- � - . . le � :7'477 - � , �� : � ; ��-� ; 7:Y� ��7"..���.. �-... arrest of Sheridan and also �� After it had become quite clear that Was arrested in Ohio. After some Richard Townley, Townley, who had , criticism of �Garrison's case � could be �nal reluctance,. Governor � James assisted in the preparation of used to generate a spectre of con-. Rhodes,�of.Ohio, finally agreed to ex- � the show, charging . them 'spiracy, Garrison took the logical next .:tradite Novel. to Louisiana.if Garrison -, � with attempted bribery. Spe- . step and started creating pseudo-attacks would complete the papers within sixty . ; ..- cmcally, Garrison alleged i on himself. When reporters in Tokyo days. Garrison, however, did not take that they had offered Perry Russo asked Chief Justice - Earl Warren his - a free trip to California. But if this, opinion of the Garrison investigation, offer technically constituted an act of:. he replied, "I want to skirt this very , bribery,. Garrison himself had taken i' carefully, because the case could some- � considerable pains to bait the trap. He day come before the -Supreme Court.".. -, told me himself that be had directed : Pressed as to whether Garrison pos..; �Playboy interview Garrison insisted::: ' Russo to speak to the reporters over sessed any evidence that might contra-, "The reason we were unable to obtain ,- . a monitored phone and.. inquire. I dice the findings of the Commission lie Novel's extradition from Ohio ..! .. is�-� ''- �� � what protection they ' 'could 'offer � had headed, the Chief Justice an- that there are powerful :frrces - in -, - him if he were to change: his . testi-. 1.. swered, "I've heard that he claims to Washington who .find it imperative to � i'.:.. � ninny. The purpose was, as he put it, have such information, but I haven't conceal from the American. public the ,i... ..: !. "to give N.B.C. enough rope to hang Iseen any." Garrison immediately char- truth about the assassination"*.,.He went ..:....:. 7 .i. itself." In, his public Statement on. the 'acterized this ."new counterattack" as on to indicate that ..Novel :was now a .. h matter, Garrison ' � charged .that .' the i�"hea:--,Y. �artillery whistling in from :material witness in his: case, and, ;16.; : -,..N:B.C. program "will probably probably. stand ....;...Tokyo," and said in a press releAse, "It cording to attOrneys�for�Novel, implied' :t; -.- .L: 1. for many years to come as a'.'sYmbOl of :- iValittle disconcerting to find the Chief .' that his former: "inveitigatoe'-was ti'' � . i�. ,:..the length to which some powerfu.T.Out-..i. justice � of : the United .� States � .on his i � somehow . connected ..- With...the,......con--',;. 7 7: . . .. sitleiinterests arei..willing'.to!..gol.in':-Ordei..;:.hands..and..- knees�-ttrying:. to tie.. some i/spiracy..- (NoVel'ii--tiirig....- qarrison..and.-.1.f.,. , .1.r.,..t.,. u.,,interiere,'with4'State.: irie�&-ril sucks�nent."(�:''�- .2 ... ��.z.p,.of:.dynarnite:..to the case. .7.How- r.:Playboy:: for' ten million dollars .,.. in :��;'..����- � � 4.16T.he cases are Still' pendihe59...47�7'..',7;;;: 'e;,er�:;:the Chief � Justice is a practical 70-Unitive and :compensatory dainages.). -.-. 'Min and I expect he .knows what. he is !..'Aricl. ''in:ahe:illadio,...and,-;, .._. i .4orni.-....1. The last time he was called .:.'Television ..:''.'NeWS7::�AssOciation....,;'-'cifa into action to 'perform a service was �'' Southern CalifOrniairi....LOs .:Angeles, ..,-.1.... when � the President of the United , -.Garrison ' cited ' his failiire. to ' obtain .':'-. � - . ..f.4.1,�:,nedr that.. there was no-basisi in. fact .. States was assaisinated hymen who had!, extradition :� .a.s.--eVidenCe. � that. ..f. . ...Void's': !.1,4�ancl:-.zno.:-.materi.OP evidenee'zinI Garri-... :been ..connected with the Central ..In-1."Presideni- johrison"waS..-Piriting, pres- � ti": '' ..,t son's . case..:.Gurvich"s.:*.private:deteetivel .- . � ' i: telligence.Agenci.",..Garrison 'predicted 1:..stire on local Offithli. to i secrete:, wit- -&;:-. ;!...'1. zworgency,had �conducted most Of thelie-i....new.broadside..from.the federal au-;;.1..2-,.il- asses' -.7 from' hirri:.He7...went on., tn. ac- '.7���-detector tests- that Garrisonhad'br-.:�'thoilties. use es : "Judging .from ihe. careful ;:.0 '''' 'Pr. e id nt johnsan-of -.PieVenting '.� \--1 . � � � � � deied, and at the time of his resignation which the Establishmentr."thepeople in. this country from seeing ;-,4�Gurvich had in his possession ".a master showed in its last offensive against. the the evidence,". and. asserted, with .the ..!......- file of the principal evidence in'the'cise.:.�., case, it is safe to expect that other ele-;:i.rlogie�of cid bono.,. !,!.:.:: the. fact that he ... 3,..i.'�-� � :'...i.This defection not only . de in'' . for e � ma -- ments of the federal government. and , . . . i''.' has � :profited ' from 'I *the ...a.2tsinsation..- -..,.� - ....t.;:barrassing headlines but opened up the: . national 'press will now follow' up with ,i .1.ni,st, more than 'any 'cithet: Man, makes' 4 ... �:; ;^k possibility- that . Garrisons con- a '.- fund' of ':. ..:.: , new effort to discredit the case and - it imperative that he see that the evi- fiden dal information�or - .- 'Ilis''..*Ic ofi the prosecution?' ,.,:,-. -i:�i:k,-,. t. ... s! "rile.n' Ce is released,. SO7 that we know .5.,....� :-..- :...,� .......-1Such .� l d a fund�would be Made' pUblic.i. . ,%:..--� Another example .of Garrison's tech: t. that he is .not involved ."'..." �.!...:-.!�,,...:.- ..,.;';::.,�:- ' � Shortly ,afterGarrison's'-;:skirinish --.with N B C William :Gurvich.. re- .signed. as :�� one OP- Jul inveitiga torsi after telling Senator Robert" F: Ken-- 44- rison expresses his ,ideas in af .paranoidstyleiloes.:pot of it- If 'ride _out, the possibility 'that there is substance to claims. .Is the C.I.A., for ex- ample,.really concealing some the assassination, as Garrison involvement orf....imts.,. agents 96 in has claimed?n ay, . . . . .. . . , the file , grand. jury.' Instead of op- -) - �� ,:. Garrison declared on. the A.B.C. "Is- �,, - ;� with- petty larceny, claiming the nle pcaring, Novel left the state 1.sues and Answers"..television program, i. , . : that he had was worth nineteen dollars.: and went to Ohio. Garrison filed bur- I "Of course the Central. Intelligence 'glary ; 1 And, for good measure, he.`Charged'on -charges against Novel, alleging Agency had no in the or ,u. � '..� 'the ,:�-A.B.C.-' "Page ' One'74telision '.) ev In a statement to the preSS,':Garrisoni "nique. involved Gordon Novel, the I � electronics expert, who had told him, GARRISON'S tech-niqiie in. expounding the so-called second conspiracy is quarters of- the Establishment to it-. I tempt to discreditour investigation." It ,..Lwas- all part !'of . 'Cogrdinated 'plot f,:against him. In-mother ores:J.:release, f.he said, "All they are doing is proving : itwo things: first,' that we were correct when we uncovered the involvement :of the Central Intelligence Agency in ".the� assassination ; ',second, that, thdeis � i.something very wrong today7With our: !government in Washington;-.D.CTin;�!: 'S.:.asmuch as it is;willing to' tiserniSsive economic power to conceal the truth ; from the peopler.Later, in his Pliiyboy. interview, Garrison implied that Gur-t i vich had been a C.I.A infiltrator; horn ! the start. He. also charged': Gurvich 1. described Gurvich's resignation as "the' latest move from the Eastern' head-. about Ferris's participation in a "pick- up": of munitions from the Schlum-, b.erger Well company, in Houma, Lou- isiana.; Novel rapidly advanced from advising -Garrison on anti-eavesdrop---- ing of persecution is central,' -; ping techniques, the business that had and which is"systernatized in first � brought him � to Garri- 1.* 'Tgrandiose theories of cOnspir- son's attention, to become a acy."Still, the fact that Gar: . - witness against Ferric and, at least in. Garrison's mind, an �!I -"investigator."t Then, ac- cording to one account, Gir-.7z.1::. rison was told that his inves- tigator had been furnishing information to N.B.C. re- porters, and Novel was sub- poenaed to appear before a "� that he had participated in the conspir- r intending the assassination of President : show . that - Senator- Robert "Kennedy , ; acy to steal arms from the in I.Kennedy.. I think that would; he -a "has made a :*�-�:- �ger Well company in Houma, and he i ridiculous position for arsone to take" ,�-,... � ,. real effort to .Sto: th -ri:. . e�. - � � � t , � .�vestigation."....---4- - i - � .f. - � "....� . - - � � - - � 4 4 ' `.. '.......' '� �' � � . . S - '''''' ' - :1* .... � r..., , � ... ,......b.�,..' :A-, �y ,, , ,t-K:Ar.,..- .47,4���� � :_�7 � �' '.,_ ...� .., .4."'Zi--- i, t �' � ' s ' 't.:,,, ',;,.; , . .: 4.+, � r-w.,11-- r;';.; rAci: :4,61.., ". -,1; - , , the steps that were necessary. As the deadline approached, Assisnint District Attorney Alcock asked if he should re- turn .the papers to Ohio, and Garrison - � told him not to bother. And yet in the � typical of what Richard Hofsmdter has classified as "the _paranoid , style .in 'American politics," to which !!the feel-- � ����-� ���� � � iskq, 4.7 � i � . v."�rs,, '�������������1.1���......... �1041����� a- wig tlmel sider� Item No, 1, the missing CIA. e cover scene--:'photograph, on which Garrison based He has, however, taken precisely that ; that reveal, itI-ii. implied, that Oswald :F.B.I. However, as it turned out, I. . ........ .. . . .....___. . _ . ' position on several occasions. His al- was involved in the C.I.A.'s '11-2, continued, the man in the photograph -: .. legations regarding the culpability of project, (5) the fact that the CIA: (which was published in Volume . XX ..: � the C.I.A. have varied widely. On destroyed a document that the War- . Of the Warren Commission's testimony May 9, 1967, �the C.I.A. was accused i ren Commission had requested, (6) :ad evidenCe)._was obviously not Os- :. � of merely concealing evidence; by May the identification itf Oswald's C.I.A. !wald but a heavyset individual who � 13th, Oswald and Ruby were them- "babysitter," (7) the identification of j could not be identified. The staff law- selves identified by Garrison as C.I.A. , a C.I.A. "courier," and (8) "the con- ' yer Wesley J. Liebeler, who was trying employees; on May 21st, the District 'sistent refusal of the federal govern- ! to clarify the incident for-the Warren.. .Attorney stated that the C.I.A. knew �ment" to provide Garrison with "any ' Commission; inquired of the C.I.A. "the name of every man involved and Information" about the role of the i whether a photograph showing Oswald . : the name of the individuals who pulled' i CIA,' in the assassination. This hist .1 in Mexico City, did in fact exist. He ._ . - the triggers;" on May 24th, he-added ;piece'of "evidence" Garrison calls "the i �never received an Answer. Garrison . that the C.I.A. was presently hiding: iclincher." . . postulated that the C.I.A. .had for..., , the killers' whereabouts; on November: I � -At least half of the "evidence" on warded the picitire of a man who was. 14th, he decided: that "employees--�hich Garrison's repertory of charges : not Oswald and had withheld a photo-.. limited number-7-of the Central Intelli- 'against the C.I.A. is based is itself de- graph that did show Oswald leaving � gence Agency of the U.S. government: duced from evidence that Garrison has ,the Cuban Embassy. Furthermore, he. are involved in the assassination;" �": never seen. He has accomplished this conjectured that the most likety reason _ trick - by simply sketching in on the for suppressing such a photograph was,,f'. that it revealed :Oswald .to .he in the company of another man--and since - the identity of thiiiman...was being con- cealed,'he must have been working for.�.; . � . _ the CIA: It seems Unlikely that Gar7:::. rison hid my knowledge 4)f this-.A-Oto-17"4: graph- other than :what ,he. gathered from the account of it in my hook, he-":1 -cause he repeats'ihe--dettils Of that mc- count, including a certain .erroneous de- tail. As Liebeler-whn as an executive action -This takes - ... .. the:',Isstructed him to produce a photograph i ffiiir �our: of it As -f. a:::matter of fact, '. to that C.I.A. agents had taken in Mexico ' 'the.C.I.A. employees, the sin 'then be-;-1 ..1. City abOut seven weelis betore the as- ;..cornei failing to clo,your job :prrperly; sassination and that,.Garrison claimed, , lin the executive.aetiOn.. Of course, even 'showed Oswald in front of the Cuban as L describe it,. I'm conscious- of the Embassy in the company of a CIA. ..-.parallels with regard to Germinrtin-- ' - - ,, � �c! ' ? � agent.,-.--The supposed facts conveyed in his second and third items of . evir.�,n,,, ! :dei,Hitler.. What I'm talking aboidis .. . by this missing snapshGt were what led &nee," asserting that ' files on .Ferrii' !,-. : . nothing less tham,rascism, which *has " Garrison to assert that the C.I.A.' and - the ' President's ys X r a-psy auto : ..... ' '' . arrived in America.'......"'-': C../T'.4":::94,. ' knew ' the identity of Kennedy's as- and photographi''and other vital evi7.J. i.:. � - - --. Just how solid: the _basis' for 'these . sassins. and was concealing the truth: 'denCe were classified lbecause they ,.��:. !charges is can he deduced from Gar-.: � ; . � -. But how had this in yy formation been de- --:���:.-:-.*:-..": ' ' .. '���:-".ituld indicate the ex- '.-... - .1 ,ii:;-- .".t. ..� � :rison's twenty-six-page interview in ; II duced from a missing- -;----,��,---�-�----7:41--IL:Z.--.;0 :. ------ litence of a conspiracy - � 'Pk7yboy, which is 'doubtless the fullest. , photograph which Gar- . !,' : - . - - . � - - - Involving former ern, and most coherent. single presentation ,_ t_ ; � il �: . in:son admits that he has . , .' ' plciyees of the C.I.A. ..� -- : ;of his case to � date. � When he : 'pressed by Pin; boy's interviewer;''Eric''' was never seen? ., ,, - ; -1.:1... i , ,I, Actually,' the story � could :Specify' �what . -; �-..r.,-.�.:.--,-....-- 4 ' ' ' � - � Exactly how Garrison �-'..,' .Norden, for the 'evidence on ,which i ..Of the,.C.I.A. photo- � ' would be indicated by "....- - , his charges of CIA. complicityWerel graph had its origin in evidence he had never . i i . based, Garrison mentioned eight specific! an incident r myself �" f viewed is left problem- : .,. ., items: (I) a missing C.I.A. phnto71, first reported, in my . �,- :-.�;�.".'-'.;:-:. � I 'atical,;liiit ,�again tile : ;.g.raph that shows Oswald in the c!.3m-.`... book "Inquest," as a -- - � tabula rasa of miss! g t i pany of a C.I.A.:agent in Mexico 17.'1 means. of-. illustrating .:4'...i. ''-",' ' ...4.. - 'evidence'-. -. � -.--- him � ' ''''-'--- , : -,- gives i ,fore, the- assassination,-:� (2). diSsified � ' - , , .. . I the problems. that the - ,- : , : ;,:- � -� - -. - - 4. � ,--- - ---- � - � opportunity toin . ---- sketch * " * � I :files on David Ferric; which ''"Vould, 1 _ _ , , ... 1...;,, 1...te, e . ea . . ,. _ . - ...;.:,:c.7�7... ,.., - . . 'Warren : Commission ----'-- ' ' ---- 1 unverifiable details of a C.I.A: conspir- ' indicate the existence of a conspiracyy lawers faced in communicating with I ac (Every once in a while, . the ev.i....... , :..,1:� January 31, li-68, he- said - on the: : Johnny Carson show that "the Centrna.I;i,tabulti rasa of missing (or nonexistent) . Intelligence AgenCy was deeply- '.i,-.... evidence .facts that appear to incrimi-: ' volved in-- ihe assnsination; 'and ""':nate:'-the C.I.A. If the evidence is . February he said in an interview filined'' n iss � g a.revelation of its contents is fort Dutch- television � that- "President" 1 t.itc,i'cours.e, easily refuted. And the I Kennedy was killed by; elementso'offri,he4ip 7d-suspicion of secrecy qua secrecy also � � '.Central :.Intelligenee'-'vkgencr� me�,c.!Olays2a,-ipart.,-;`,!If:- there's nothing: to ; United States-goverrintent,"�'ithie.-0''hide "i.:'people-�wonde "why , ;thing missing in the first place?"isCothne-; i .:to;explail,."The...Central'Intelligence::1 � '' : -.;tAgency�.:.had wcirked for 1 * � * ' creating the tableati-,!-th : beforehand. This is standard fora Len-. 'his original charge that the C.I.A. me the story, pointed out a few.weeks ....c... i tralt:Intelligence ;Agency assassination.: :.'was., concealing vital. evidence. When after."Inquest",..was Published, thc.pic-i,..-. � f t-AS4-1 matter of fact; the C.LA4 when � � . .. .. . '''',Garriion, subpoenaed Richard Helms, ` cure in question. had been taken of a it conducts an assassination, 'describes... 't.' the, director of the � C.I.A., .he-:in- ' man in front of the Soviet Embassy in --�':. : Mexico City, not the Cuban Embassy: ',--- ' Yet Garrison repeated the erroneous :1-.,... :information (My own) to contrive_an,i_ ominous piece of ."evidence".. that was -not simply "missfng", but nonexistent. :.,....:::-- - Garrison relied on a similar device,:;.. - involving former - employees of ..the the CIA... According � to my account, l� Ideny. ce proves to: be. existent .C.I.A. to kill the President," (3) sup...) . L a.man in front of the Cuban Embassy' son is caught in ths-act. For example,.*: and photo-1 in Mexico City pressed . autopsy X-rays and before the assassination. he stated in his Pin; boy interview .that .-...,..,. graphs of President , Kennedy's- bodyt ;had been routinely photographed by a four frames of a film taken of the. as- and ."other vital evidence," which 'als�1 hidden C.I.A. camera and identified as sassination�frames . 208-211-7-were reveal that former C.I.A. agents took: Iee Harvey Oswald; the information missing from the-frarne-,by-frame, re-.,,:,....� part:in the murder,;.:(4)- 1: had subsequently been forwarded to the !production of the film in the:testimony.,;.-..7., S - 47.� r"C4 3%:t 4. � :A4t, A.�+Ar .r� ..$ �y, ,a.. - �-�:� � � . . . . . � ' � - � . . . . . ...As...A. � ��������*, � KJ . ,- . and e%�idence pub.n:5ed by the Warren Ctunmisi,,n, and he went on to. claim that :h-....� frames "%veal siv.ns r'.4 stress aparing suddenly or, the hack of a street sign" and to suzzest era: "these signs of 5iress may ver.� well have been caused by the impact of a stral. bullet � on the sizn." But frames 268-211, while missing from the �Varren vol- umes, are not mis,Sing� from a copy .of the film that Life 'no:cis, .and they re- veal no "signs of stress.") : - in his fourth item, Garrison suo- .: pc-,:edly reveals the contents of classified' . dent from Volume XVIII of the Cont-i ' news as a ,means of suppressing known .....� . .. C.I.A. documents in the � National . mission's testimony and evidenced � facts about the assassination. "Behind .i�-� Archives. These documents were pre- When Sylvia Meagher, who has in-; the fa�e of earnest inquiry *into the ... � pared for the Warren Commission by de:eed the twenty-six volumes of the' assassination is a thought-contra proj- �!: .- . .the C.I.A. And although. the tide of. Warren Commission testimony and ev-i ect in the best tradition of '1984: " he .':�.- . ,...: each of these. reports�usually re fe r- ! .idence,. and has. tried earnestly to cor-!-. has written-. "Because of their-role in.. '-- ..., ...ring to the general topic on which, .rect the mistakes of the critics as well; the Establishment and their- failure- to � 1_1,C:or:I:mission lawyers rt%;11tect that the....as those of the Commission, pointed. conduct an effective Inquiry, major'''. , .:..C.I.A... provide in forma don. or. answer'. . out to Garrison .that his charge was. . news agencies have a vested interest in,. :����� ...,.,...if.q. ueries�is listed in. the-index. of Corn- :�.,based on a fallacy, he acknowledged: Maintaining- public ignorance.". Most . .:.1.4 � � ...." � � �� .:. ...."' : .,,...:srusston. docurnents,4the.reports--them-1,,,,the,error, but,. even. so,.. he.: went ..oni� .of what Garrison has hatl.to .&-ty o rt this ;.,;:.... ,....' .seives arc, classified, as arc . al �� C.I.A..r using the non-fact to support his..charg&�� ;,subject- has ..been vague philippics, but :::i�';:'� ..tireports containing the .names of Opera- i... that the C.I.A. was "incinerating" evi-i ...: in his half-hour N.B.C. rebuttal he did.:��Fn;.;I� :. rives, informers, :and ,foreigny'sources.,�.: clence:�.: .5.7-�-.. .17-.i�- ..� �-� ' .��.� � �!!�!;�:..- - ...fv-71..t.'give five specific examples of news sup-1',...'�.:-.: i.: .: The sixth item of evidence, the iden-4.� pression; and they are Worth examining :.:i��:-.!''. �:f � I Gar-is)-; customarily: rattles � .off the:. .,,. . . . . � ., .....� � i tides of. the ."suppressed C.I.A.:�filet,"; '. ntY , of Oswald's :C.I.A. "babysitter,"1--. in detail Of "powerful news agenc6,".-.1-1- he calls . them, and then sets forth was extrapoate . ...! ld frOm a purchase order ..,Garrison alleged:'�-�-;-:-:-.7'�;,..e.':�-�-��;-:-- - - � ��,1. � ....4,their "contentP in � his, own terms Fort for .ten Ford � trucks. Oscar. Deslatte,k*i Th ..-r- - -s., � --. �����*::- ��':�-;r=�::�* :It% 4??;�?,�1: ''''' *. ' �-... � i � ey�donot.tell you that Lee Harvey.:::. ..,,,,..... � . example, in. Playboy he. cited :Commis- 'la . ' he :assistant ' manager of a New Or-i- I-: �� Oswald 's fingerprints were not found on stun Document No 931, entitled. "Os-. leans Ford agency, . who wrote which was supposed to have te up the the gun . . ,. ...� i; wald's � Access to -�Information,,About :,.�lorcler on.; January.20,��1961, subse-I ,. killed the President. .-� : � :.y.:: s.-i:4.����: ..-�,-:-�:-:.�:�-i.,�:-. . . . . .. � ,. :�:::='�1�Z . 7 . And they do. not tell you that nitrate .. : � the U-2," and then ombously.s.uggest- ',��� squently reported to the P.B.I. that his' - '���:-.i� � tests exonerated Lee. Oswald from the -- - � that Oswald. was . involved. in the!.. customers told him the trucks were toi 1 actual'shooting by showing that he had �;:',' , :.4.i:I.:U-2 program... He amplified .on this: :�� .."evidence" in* a.' h h .f . speech e made a ter - : ..."Friends� of Democratic Cuba." Des- - : � And they do not tell. you that it was si - ..,,be used by. an organization known al not fired a rifle that day. � : �':' � .... -:.... � - ..;�-� .... :4 ?.. .: � virtually impossible for Oswald to. h �� , � -. .s.., he. Playboy �interview appeared, stat-I latte: listed the pbrchaser of the trucks1:. ...ave-; '- thaken his fingerprints ciff the gun, hid-den ...� � �: .,..1 t ing, "The -reason .you can't , see that i.:- . as : "Oswald" (no first name given) i, �t e gun and gone .clown four flights. of � � . L4[Commission Document o.. ..0 ', . ' D N 911) for: and said that the individual with "Os- ��� r stairs by the time he was seen on the �.;'� -, ..-:::,;,,irriany years � is because you ...will. then it 'wakr : called himself Joseph MOOTC�.: � 'second floor. . - -:��-� :� '',.� -4-;,t;���� 6- ...-4,-.'� � ... . i....,� realize that tLee , Oswald : was � then- .When. F.B.I. . agents 'asked Deslittel.';', Above all they do not tell- you of the. --� '. �� .overwhelming eyewitness testimony that shots were coming from behind the stone � ' wall on the grassy knoll.... - .: _:: �--7=�� - .: - "You have not � been told - that ' Lee i.. - Oswald was in � the employ of U.S. intel-: i'_. Aigence: agencies, but. this was the case. -1- . .� It is true that the' public 'had ...not `-! ���,-: been told any of these th ings,-except by -:- ' , .. . . � ..-_ � secretive. - � I Garrison's "clincher," the nSscrtion : r The fifth item of evidence�that the ' that the government has nor revealed to - � Warren Commission was never able to him any information of the. C.I.A.'; . I obtain "a secret C.I.A. memo on Os-7 complicity in the assassination, is a. - i ' walci's activities in Russia" that was at- � perfect example of Garrison's own .: tached to a State Department document, brand of logic, in which the fact that because the memorandum had been ,he has not found or been given any � .. "destroyed" the day after the assassina- ...evidence of C.I.A. complicity is itself .- l don�is simply Untrue. While it is cruel proof; that the C.I.A. is withholding' : that one copy of thi? memorandum 'was evidence of its guilt. � '. - - '.' � destroyed while being photocopied, an-1 .�' .. other copy was duly forwarded to the.GARRisorf has also charged that the : Commission on May 8, 1964, as is evi-r press has furtively controlled the 2. :working for the United States govern--: about the incident, he sai^ d that he ,....r....�ment, as a C.I.A. employee, and they "::. could "neither'. describe nor identify � � , '..����,;rtclon't want you to know that." Garri-� , either of the men.". Garrison believes, -.� :.*;:t son used this'. classified 4.document, � :however, that the purchase was Made . i,:kiiwhich, of course,, he had not seen, to' for . the. C.I.A., and that Moore, who �.: tri ;substantiate: the � �charge! that , Oswald ',.has � never ..been located, was � in:, fact .4. :acted as�a C.I.A. agent. Yet teitimony'. Oswald's. C.I.A. chaperon. It is pos- .. [,.:"..in. the Warren �Report indicates that it; :sible, of course, that Moore was : s� ...:.:L�� - Garrison, but there ;a good rea- , ,.. rnay well contain information on what; the C.I.A. "babysitter" of some ; , , �-���� .. � .!�- , son for that.' A11-five Of the ..i . : . . , Oswald heard when, during his stay Oswald, but � in .1961, at the . - 'charges areither falscore .1.in � the Soviet .. Union,. he dropped in � time � the � purchase order was , ���� 1 '.'-!...1- '�;�. :- Fingerprints - were _-found on ...r. ..- :: ' 4., ;.. on. the trial- of the. U-2-pilot Francis. filled: out, Lee Harvey Oswald.' '� � ''....---�'i''':;�:the. rifle "which 'was' supposed to' ..: :-� ' . , ._ .._ . .. , 3 �Gary Powers. In any event,..!it seems 7:7. was �working at.. the 'Belorussian' ...�.� ',:. : . ... 4.;have.':killed- chi ' President'," but' .�:.�-.7"�hif�hly unlikely that if the c.L.IL weref .; Radio: :and: .Television Factory in - : , -:. the prints could not be 'PO:siiiYelY id;nt.i-...7-: it: 'Minsk. � fied. Sebastian F.Latona, a .nationally ! indeed as sinister as Garrison alleges, . � .:-: would admit in a report to the Corn- � - The seventh item of evidence,� con- recognized 'fingerp' rint expert, testified 1 *. ...;�:; mission that Oswald::: was, a �� C.I.A.t.:! cerning a. C.I.A..."courier," refers to - :before the. Warren Commission that ' .?... ",..agent, especially since. its reports- were.' Donald Philetus Norton, the bank cm- : because of the 'tin'pOlishe cl''finh of the � .,,- to � be read by lawyers working for4lbezzler and night-club entertainer who 'rifle, which 'allowed it to, absOrt; 'Innis- � :. ',*; ;�e�re� Commission. :. who, � were� ' not (as ::. Irhad been thoroughly discredited as a . ture, it was highly unlikely that an iden7 '�::,' � i my own interviews with them dem; witness and Was jettisoned by Garrison tillable fingerprint would have been left � -- gave the 1:14Y-f on the weapon. Contrary, to. the ::. �. i� . .... il onstrate) particularly � inclined to be ;himself even before he . �. . . . i. � mr.... pop- ..-----;-.;.---.,,. ����=7-. . . i boy interview:. - r-f�-"...--. '1'-'� ' .'.-'11- '.'" '� -.'ular impression''.1"egar:clinK'fingerprinta.�, .; . ;:., � .:-. ;f....1; ).-.-'' .;."';':',..:7:71:!'.'� � � � �,,.:- � ,;... �.�7.., ,-r; '. ;-, ;L..: .1::-)���-t .,r;:';.i7 ';'��:�-: 1 *.:�=itit't,..; r.:',..:�-� :�::'.F�,7777.-_ 7,:: .!.. � .:-.- �;-.-. ,-..1 � -...-...,-: - .. � ' � F"..- ,..1-,,:. ..., ..-. ............-....,....i-ve.:"; � i'�.*: ' ......'.. !"'r'.'''r''..� � . : �: � �-� �����:. � :�,,�:.f � :����'� � �-�;, -;.z..;':.:,...-..,::.�:,,-. 4 ;:::. ti-.4,�17,..z.......-e � . -`4:-''' � "' . i . ' ''',' '''t !'-'' *. ' .,';'.. �-� , ... � . i.,. -....... , � - '� � '-'�&':'� i'.� I. 15 - - . 7C. o..i....I � � -,..viT.-. ' -.-c" -1�.* - .41:77 5:::. ". i v� � --:- .,7: � ; .,/.".S.'it�:..',. ' '-�,�-��.:,,r, 'C-....:i. ;;;:.,-.�:" . i + . .,ii.:'; �* ,f': .e-Vil rer...r., � "t..-....% t .. . 1., ....., . . . . , . , ... . ' ��;:�-.� .��� �-:;.�;' - , � - � ��-� � . . - � � � 767 � , � - ' : ��� � ����!.. . . . � ;;""1:. ; t:;.� � � ."� � � ' � - .....1���.,��������-:�����: �=:-,.�����������se.::' " � � � %,���� �����, � 7 � ' . �� �� =�,74 ��' ����- 1���� � � ���:".).:-,--r-.0. � � ...-e-.114��� � to .-., :t�W� � .7 � -1������:."^: � � � ����1...:� .;�-���t � � �:.! � � � �-� s : .. � ,����=7 -7�'� -executive order by Lyndon. Johnson, � the 'man gained the most from; the assassination.":.:-...-,:.= � 1:�=4"4'. ;No;'itich= ex' ecutiVe7-Oriler'';'::4-tr-al...s.'-'�. 4:4.[.has�eier been� issued. Many inVestigatiie 'files- ire' with-'1."7:1-' '. . overwhelming .eytwitness 'testimony" it sassination� site showing a � .held. from Use by law for ' I..: that the shots came from behind a stone V man with a closed fist, which by Gar- years�a number arbitrarily selected to ..7; wall�is also sophistical None of the ' rison's surmise conceals the bullet that exceed the life-span of persons likely to t' e hundred or so 'Warren Comm ission- wit-!'.killed the President. From this con jec- b mentioned in the reports�in order ; ' , nemes who testified on the matter or Were.ture he gOes " on to postulate that the to safeguard confidential information questioned by the F.B.I. said that they man in the 'photograph, is a federal � (such as tax returns), to protect .con- saw a rifle being fired from behind the agent, that the bullet has been turned fidential informers, and to 'avbid stone wall. The em-witness testimony,' over to the federal government, a barrassing innocent persons mentioned which . i; .... � - which is undependable. in determining � � that the .; government consequently incidentally But an the. case of the the source. of any shots where there is *knows the assassin's identity; The sec- Warren Commission's doitimear;Mc.- . �� a na ity of echoes, divided. More � ond item of evidence he mention; is. a.l. George.--!Bundy,.factine. on behalf 'of--:�-;- � . ,� � �� � -.L .'� � � c--;�s-.-- � , � . . . . . . . 1 P.' ;NI 4 1. 41 Laiona noted, they are usually discern- ible. only on highly polished surfaces. What Garrison does not say is that a palmprint was discovered on the under- side of the barrel of the rifle in question - and that three different experts posi- tively identified it as Oswald's. Garrison's assertion that the nitrate � - tests exonerated" is � equally questionable. In the tests to. which Garrison referred, the Dallas police � :made paraffin casts of Oswald's hands and right cheek, and these casts were 'than half the witnesses thought the shots originated in some spot other than' the � Depository Building, hut only a few of the earwitnesses thought the shots came from the direction Of the stone wall. Finally, the assertion that Oswald' was a C.I.A. agent, as has already been -shown, -was based on Garri:ton's own 'private interpretation of "missing" or :classified. documents that he had never seen. Of the five examples of "news sup.. .pression" that Garrison cited, then, not :one was based on accurate information.' than checked for traces of nitrates. Ni-1 � � , � � traces were found on the casts of hoth�-i hands but not on the cast of his cheek. ANOTHER of Garrison's sweeping charges about a "second conspira- The test, however, in no way proves 'cy" is that the federal government� that Oswald did or did not fire 4 rifle. through its .agen ts Lyndon -Johnson, � The nitrates found.peed not have come Robert Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover, . :.from gunpowder;' many other: sub- Earl Warren, and Ramsey Clark�has stances--tohacco,..matches, or urine---- � :been involved in a sinister plot to quash 'Will leave such "residues.' Conversely,! 'his investigation. It would have been . :the absetce of nitrates:indicates just as �difficult to gainsay Garrison's imputa : little, because. a rifle- (which,::: unlike a;!tion of federal obstruction if he had 1 e !revolver, has... noff,f.gap�.. between*thei Cha- rged merely that %the,: government . chairther and the:,fiarrel) is mieas4likeVvas hindering his case. Certainly feder- . . � - � �L��*.ly to leave nitrate traces on the cheek al agencies have been less than coiipera- , In fact,. the rifle in.qtsestiiia was .experi-�Itive, and important federal officials, in- mentally, fired three times hiart F.134. i"eluding Attorney General Clark, have .� :agent and no tracespf nitrates were de- openly (and often harshly) criticized teemd on his hands or cheek. Accord�-:, the. New Orleans investigation. But � mg tone Cortlandt !.,Garrison's allegatioin have gone far be- Cunningham, the so-called paraffin test ,f yond the charge of interference in thisi is completely unreliable, and its Princi� r sense:He has accused the. federal goy; �"pal�s�ii �,iii.Ork 'produces simply. to in-; eminent of conspiring to wreck his in- ; timidate 'suspects;..: kr. produces ,. more vestigation specifically because it harbors .apprnhension evidence. Gar-I a motive of its Own in Concealing the rison's suggestion-that such tests could !'truth about the assassinations and he .have . proved that ;Oswald "had., not,, has levelled his accusation in no un- fired ayifle that day" plays on the. gul- icertain !,terms:' f`. the United States of the general public regarding !government�rneaning the present i the reliability of scientific-sounding data.: administration, Lyndon Johnson's ad- �.: As for Garrisons statement -that it-tininistration�is obstructing the inves- . was -"virtually impossible". for Oswald:. tigation�any investigation. It has con- to have been on the second floor Of Oe..cealed the true facts�to be blunt about ;Depository Building a few minutes aft- 'it�to protect the individuals involved :er the assassination� it, too, is .specious... in the assassination of John Kennedy." A Secret Service agent,. simulating Os- In other words, he is charging that tIr wald's movements,,reached the second government knows the tru floor from the sixth in one minute and .concealing it, is itself con- eighteen seconds. In any case, it' is im- Ispiring to protect the con- possible to ascertain, exactly what time, .spirators. � � Oswald was seen on the second floor; So far, Garrison has of- it could have been as long as five min- fered only two specific items utes after the assassination...: .,."evidence" to. support � Garrison's next ssertion�that chef. this charge. The first item press failed to yeportl that there' was.; is the photograph of the as- :telegram � that .was supposedly sent to = J..; Edgar Hoover before the assassina- tion. Garrison charged last December that this telegram, which he has been :unable- to obtain., proves that. Oswald � ; telephoned the Dallas field -Office of the F.B.I.� five days before the assassina- tion and gave details of the plot, which : were then forwarded by interbureau _ telegram; to Hover in �Vashington: -� � This, Garrison'tlaimed, was proof that � President Johnson had "actively coo- . � ccaled evidence 'about the murder of ' his predecessor." 'When 'a reporter. .... . asked him what evidence he had that ..: such a telegram ever existed, he : swered, "If you and I were in a closed -� ' 2� , :i room, I could prove it. But I'm not go-. ; ing to alloW any evidence to get out � now." His evidence, it later turned our, ;I: . . was simply a story that Mark Lane had . , told him.� � .-. '::-....- �-' 7 '�-.7 .3 -:: '' '..'''' : -: .-..".r:..-: -s.'` %. Apart from such `speculation by Gar-. ..r- ' .:; rison and Lane; the charge- of. federal :.; - .. i�� complicity �is based alrriost solelr on the i� fact that, there ;is goVernment secrecy;:-TT IAccording to Garrison's logic,.the gov,.. . ernment would not classify information � !.:;,.`i --- 1 � pertinent to the' assassination unless it-�.;-I.:-=;- had something to hide. Garrison has .'.. persistently .exploited popular suspicioni :.�;i,'`;,.. . about secrecy, �:' accusing :those ....,.who.:.Ir ::.�-� � would, in his estimation, benefit most .--4-:..........,. from the maintenance:of such secrecy.4:- =,. For example, after notink�that part of ::�i_:_. _ . the Warren Commission's documents '.�:-....: are classified in the National Archives, r_...� � Garrison claimed on a Texas television show last December, "They 'destroyed ._ li --.1', evidence in every possible way.".TheT.; ,�,.: : President of the United States, the man . ''.. who has the most to gain, the man who gained more than any' other human from the assassination, is the man- who---.1.--:''- � � issued the executive order -concealing �I, : ; 7' . . -vital evidence for seventy-five years so '-'-'. '-'' . that we can't look at it, so that you can't look at it, .so that no 'American ..": - "R;:.A:7, � 4?�43i#t' th and, in can see or seventy- ve years:. Now,'-this was an-'���=!::- . � . � � ������:-.,.��� ��t: �� ,. � r,.....�'. ; -- .-,...? 41..:-.,-...., i ......0 "" ,.. ...,..,. .. , . �s; President Johnson, ient a special re- quest to Archivist of the United Stares that the seventy-five-year ban be i waived wherever possible and mueli of � the material be opened, to the public.; Following guidelines approved by Bun-.- thy, 'all the agencies involved in the in- ' vestigation were to review their files ! ! oid style, Ho2stadter writes, ,.,p.. is:�:the:the population appears to believe his _.:,...'curious leap .,in, imaginatioe between ��claims. The extent of his popular sup-1 ! :had put forward' so' em'phatically. In !critical point in an. argument to cover al ,.. .. any event, the change in public opinion 7 ,I : not be some political. calculation behind i 'gap in reasoning... Consider in this...lig ' C ht ' . ' 7 r- . i.. his choice of chimeras. -.. . : 4,z, ...- , I ' seems to have been ....stibsta.n.tial. � after [the follnwing.,remarics: by Garrison, Early � in 1967, befoi e the. New' Garrison appeared. on .the,scene;..13e- --�,- ,,--Itaken from one nt. the many speeches Orleans investigation became public. �r ----.----:.tween -February and May of .-:�.:; , :��-lie 'delivered during the fall of 1967:,...;:! knowledge, a poll conducted ,by. Louis i ' ' .....-..-- 1967, Harris surveys indi-� ���; .: . ., :.:-�7 .. : ..., . � ., , � r.:.:�;.- ... : � . 1 . � . � 1 �� � � ..cated nearly half ..(sixteen out ; .. .i .i;.-. Is this a Great -Society' which allows Harris and Associates indicat- ,;- � :L---��:- innocence to be butchered as Oswald was, 'ed that some forty-four per ' .�-� .' Of thirty-five per cent, to be .:�;- :r! � � '.the streets, knowing�without anY euestioni; thought that the murder of i ..., A. � , . � with no concern, no interest? �Which al-1 � f the ,,, cent o eAmerican people : .. . ...; ,..,- exact) of the people who had - . . lows the guilty, the. murderers to waix,, ��� � � - believed _. that Oswald , wai the lone- assassin were . now ; who they ire;�knowing- what happened, is�� President Kennedy was the ��.-.1 . ,this a Great Society? Is it a Great So.:: result of a 'conspiracy. In ' r....� .,. changing their Minds. In oth- .1 .- ,. ciety which causes blackouts in news cen-11 may, .;� 1967, shortly after -- . �: - er words, once Garrison be- 1 ters like New 'York when there's i;; de- 'Garrison t - � , gan issuing his charges some thirty mil- ' Nelopment in the case?Great" had announced the : - Society which monitori.your phone if it discovery of a plot, had gone � -- .,, lion -Americans who ..-had. � apparently . has the slightest bit of curiosity about I on to arrest Clay Shaw, and had charged 1 isou 1 This is not a Great Society�this is the C.I.A. with concealing evidence, 0 ,� i a Dangerous Society, a society which de- ,-, � �� a Harris 'survey , indicated 'that sixty- volved Lee Harvey Oswald.) In Gar- rison's case against the news media, a leap is made between the fact that the media failed to broadcast some Un- truths about the assassination and the fantasy of a conspiracy to suppress the news. In his charges against the C.I.A., a saltatory advance is made from miss- pretation. of any event as historically momentous as the assassination of a' . PrEsidant. Indeed, earlier Harris sur- � veys showed that at least thirty per cent of the population believed from the out-. set that Oswald had not acted entirely , alone, and continued to believe this � after the Warren Commission ren- . 7 . and declassify. everything except pages ing or nonexistent. evidence to th.e.', dered its verdict. Moreover, Harris containing the names of confidential in- � fantasy of C.I.A. complicity in the asH concluded-from the questionnaires filled formers, information damaging to in. sassination. For Garrison, the C.I.A. ; out . by his. respondents � immediately , '.nocent parties, and information about- epitomizes all that is feared in govern.... after the. Warren Report was issued � .� the agencies'. operating, procedures.' mental seerecy: � an invisible govern- ) that eleven per Cent of the population. ;. : 'There was to he a periodic review by, mem, .answ t may he- considered. `!chronic doubters .�-: . ; erable to no one,. with un- 1, , all the agencies concerned: By the time' limited resources and tUilimited power. who tend to feel that the freal' story Garrison had begun his own investiga-� Since all its acts are veiled in secrecy, about almost any. important- public :tion, virtually all the documents that- it may be postulated to be the �real ! event is never .quite:-:told."'...The fact . -': could he declassified according to, these I that there was a -.�marked increase-7 "force" behind anYevent. The govern- guidelines had been opened. to . puhlic�;!ment, Garrison claims, .4.!is the C.I.A. .from thirty-one per cent to forty-four, .; ;scrutiny, Garrison's claim. in .-iP4yboy.;'and the Pentagon"7--an elite that per- .according � to ,Harrii. surveys�in . the, -: that "any..docurnent the.C.4.wanted ;:petuates. its 'number of people, who believed � in a7,4-`, *power by concealing the �' classified: was shunted hitt', the Archives. : conspiracy when .the Warren Contritis.:.:tli..... . .-..t. *truth about the assassination, and &eat- . without examination"',. by 1 sion became the subject of. heated. con-:r�.:14:Y tile. c.91'PrniS''' --.ing,..���through. the "manipulation of the - � .. . .. ' 7.'Isidn' is. simPIY::i.ititrile:�411- the:.c.,eitVant-ImaSs-"media," :what he :Calls - "a.: can- � I troversy; , owing: to�the.,,publication;�in,"jf:v ...;:ici.O6'm. en ts relating.in:the.' 'inquiry which f. . ; ...:' � '''....:1 the :latter half 61,1966;6r a number � f -..: 34.c'entra- h.on camp o the mind" � ,..f4re. now in the _Archives were sent .:.:-..i:. a,,, 1��� � : ; . . ' .:.' ..... . I books and articles by critics of, the �Ite..:..-....t.4.-_-:�; ...;.��:::there by the Warr- en Commission .after i,- .s . his inv. ...i port, may reflect a certain resistance: by estigation continued, Gar- , �.!,'-`tfile.:�: Warren Report was published. the general public against accepting:a .;�,.. � riSOn appeared to become increas::. :�;::..;Moit of the. C.I.A. reporti, were pre-!. in al y ' 'CI purported "truth'? that is neither clear-7:.'? .- � obsessed with governmental se- .: :;;.,gr.).. the.,. ..Y. �..Commission ..lawyers, t the issues of his court ease. His obsession concerned with i cut nor obviously irrefutable.,7he ideo.-!",f. : that even a few points in the_Warren. ., .. pared to answer, specific . questions. put...;'erecy-,: and less directly -Agency.t h.- ' ,. 1114. .there is no reason...to assume thatReport were subject to dispute, or ..r.c. ; with the "second conspiracy" might be � . � -- �,.� ...., � ifre. easily dismissed if it. ere. not far � � ., .,. . .� . . . ,,..}.0.. went tinre.ad.,..,..;;;:i;- i�-:.:,'�-,.,..;'"�-.;�*;:i... ,..i.'ineven a few of its facts could be differ- .. - . ,T ,-,.. )..�.�. he distinguishing mark of the para-.::thi. .. . .. : :ently - interpreted, probably led tnany.::_IT fact that a consiOrabli portion of . , � .. . .,,,. . , people to reject, or at least doubt, the .�:�,. . ,...:�-�-� .over-all conclusion that the Commission . ---� . . . . -.4 --- � - ..;. �-: �fact and fantasy whic.h is made at some 'port leads one to wonder if there may !spite the lip servite to lx,pulism ... SO . � your children are in danger. �."l�-� i now believed that the assassination had � !morally threadbare' that the futures' .of Px pei- cent , of...the American palic � . � � ,-�-���.F.. � � :�74:�qte f'14 been carried out by a conspiracy. A � :Here the curious leap in ;magma- , Ty � third Harris survey, taken in Septem- own conclusions about the assassination . � :tion" is made, between the. fact that some investigative files are still classified ,and the fantasy that the. government is protecting the assassins by censoring the , news, monitoring telephone calls, and ; threatening the futures of children. (It is worth noting,. incidentallyt. that the I image .of,.."innocence .." butchered :.as Oswald was" .creates complications in , the case of Clay ,Shaw,. who-was,. after all ' indicted for a conspiracy. that in- .. q";t ��� been neither predisposed to believe in a . . conspiracy nor moved by 91rlier-criti- .4. cism 'of the Warren ...Report started 'L' ..,.!���.- h.aving second thoughts on the question,., , Of a lone assassin. '.- :.�,:lii ,t: �Az,: .,,f, ..3 'In presenting to the. public his ber, revealed that despite the fact that of President Kennedy, .Garrison- has Garrison's inquiry had produced no enjoyed some strong advantages over-...! :tangible results, sixty per cent of the all other critics of the Warren Corn--.' mission. The first and most obvious is: . people still believed that Kennedy had , been killed by a conspiracy. To be sure, simply the authority of his office: he ! the district attorney. of a major Amer..it is by no means clear that Garrison was chiefly responsible for effecting this ican , city. . Garrison has been.; able ,tio , remarkable change in public opinion. . make' news at, will, merely by submit- . ting charges, issuing , subpoenas, ;and -'es !It can be argued that a considerable � --� - - - z. � !number , of people are naturally dis--,, 1,!11 :a: -;* ;wZ d to make a conspiratorial .,. ' � ' � ."� � - � - tr-) r�r-, . �'� � 4 - ' ,"�-sr.Le 1V-I� 3. , � - � - _Jr .� � . � - . � . � making arre�sts. Moreover, to many !reason: because he was working for a � people it must seem almost inconceiv-. reconciliation .with the U.S.S.R.. and � able that an elected prosecutor's care-I Castro's Cuba." And he goes on to de- fully worded �"factual" statements� I !dare that this is not mere speculation, for example, that "at 12:45 P.M. mil 'insisting, "... we know enough about November 22nd, the Dallas *police had: the key individuals involved in the con- broadcast a wanted bulletin for Os-. spiracy�Latins and Americans alike� wald�--eould he demonstrably false. to know that this Was their motive for Still another important benefit that; the murder of John Kennedy." To Garrison derives from being a public those who expect a momentous event prosecutor with a case pending is the' to have some significant cause, Gar- right to refuse to divulge the evidencei rison's explanation naturally sounds. on .which his charges are based. And more logical than the explanation that � Garrison has exercised this right with .a lone accassin acted out of personal stunning effect, particularly in the Play- disaffection. � � .boy interview. Take, for example, his 1. Moreover, Garrison has found ready statement that "we know from incon- ..allies, eager to proselytize on his behalf, trovertible evidence' in our possession among dissident political writers. His who the real Clay. Bertrand isr�and -charge that there is a conspiracy be- we will prove it in court." Since Gar-':- tween the government and the mass rison- has charrree' that Clay Shaw; rneclia to:conceal the truth from the support. The logic of Ramparts has not. been significantly different; William: . Turner concluded one of his articles . � on Garrison in the magazine by saying *that the anti-Garrison tactics of N.B.C.: and the daily press "smack of despera- tion�and indicate that. there is much. to. hide." The Councilor goes along - with most of the details of the plot the- ory outlined in. Ramparts, differing only in,its belief that New York Corn- .munists, rather than* right-wing. ex- tremists, were behind the conspiracy. (Perry Russo, always, accommodating, ' told the Councilor in an exclusive in- terview that David Ferric was really a "Marxist" aria.. a :follower of che ;Guevara.). � 'Garrison's 'cause .bas also found.. champions in���:-more highly. respected -1 journals that pride themselves on their � ! used -the alias Or Clay Bertrand, this is people accords perfectly, after all, with intellectual credentials�notahly ,. the I an., extremely important claim, but al--; what such journals see as their i�aison New Y ork.Revicret of Books, which has �;.i ;. . I though the question of the identity ofr ;cl'etre. It is therefore hardly surprising rejected the ' Warren : Commission's ::f.,... - � i Clay Bertrand was a central issue-in the!.4to find his speeches printed verbatim in � conclusions because : the 'Commission's . l...� ,:' perjury trial of D.'eari'Aridrews,',:yvhich4's�uch ' papers as the Los Angeles. Frac . well after investiaation ,a,as, defective hut has un-.; '- . ; took place � the Playboy . in terr t Press, and to find his portrait on the braced Ga rrisan's : investigation despite.. --- '-� . ...,,. ; W.was conducted, Garrison- faileC to i :cover of Ramparts, with the words: ' ' its far more glarinedefects. Professor: _ . introduce any...evidence:at � that ..time w o � Richard Popkin, in �ii� lengthy.:. defense '''''Whoa'Ppoiated RamseY, Clark, h ' . ,concerning it. Lafer,.a source in Gar- . � � � Jison's office suggested that the only :evidence to which Garrison could.have !been referring in'ihi Playboy interview , was -.a:,library card taken out ,under .the'..ifame City Bertrand and bearing :Clay-, Shaw's former business address. .. - This': card hardly .qualifies as incon- itrovertible evidence.!For one thing, the card turned up well after Shaw was ar- rested, 'and, for some reason, bore no : .idate.ot issuance or expiration. For an- other, the signature- on the card was :definitely not in Clay Shaw's hand-- g ,� Among Garrison's most . if;ct.� that Garrison s. own staff con- ardent supporters is the ; � ifirrnetl..In other words, it appears that Councilor, the- bimonthly i someone other than Clay Shaw filled official journal of-the Citi:- �;out a library card under the alias that zens' Council of Louisiana, ;Garrison has claimed Shaw used and .whiai claims a circulation NShaw's former .business address pti of some two hundred and � ., 'it ' :.. � � ... :-,- gy - � �,,. , - z oa, ...liNi sixty �thousand, and which f. ' Garrison has also enjoyed the. ad-.. 'actively campaigns against vantage of what might be called stra-; Communism, the suppres- i tegic plausibility:. As Hannah Arendt sion of news by the mass points out in her essay "Truth and media (supposedly con- Politics," the harts usually more per- .trolled by Zionist interests) has done his best to torpedo the investi- gation of the case? Who controls the C.I.A.? Who controls the F.B.I.? Who controls the Archives where this evidence is locked up for so long that it is unlike- ly that there is 'anybody in this room who will be alive when it is released? This is really your property and the property of the people of this country. Who has thefl arrogance and the brass to :prey:nt the people from seeing that evidence? Who indeed? The one man who has profited ,most from. the assassina- � tion�your friendly Presi- 'dent, Lyndon Johnsor!!" - � of Garrison's investigation in the New:: York Review, argues' that ..Garrison:'-.t should be given a. `,`fair heari9g",..Jrt, court, and not haVe his Case' "pre--; � -� judged" by the press. H. claims that,. L: while Garrison has "studiously avoided. �1 ; -any discussion of Shaw and the ' . cific 'evidence against him," the press has interviewed "potential witnesses,",,.... _ evaluated the evidence, made "charges � . against ...the District At- .- . torney.and his office :; . in�:.; �L ���; � effect, trying the cise out: : - of coure,., Ths !`wave at �.'� 'attacks in the press and suasive than the truthteller,. simply be-. :race mongrelization Ta plot aided by .cause he can fashion his facts to meet the C.I.A. and � the Rothschilds), and , ! his audience's expectations. Since Gar- the insidious intrusion of federal author- : rison is under no compulsion to reveal -ity into the sacred domain of states' his evidence, there is nothing to prevent rights. That Garrison 'had been . him from contriving his own explana- "fought by Sterns, Newhouse papers, . tion of the assassination. Whereas nei-� 'and Agnes Meyer" (i.e., the N.B.C.. � ther'..-the Warren. Commission nor its- 'affiliate in New Orleans, WDSU-TV; �� 'critics could offer a definite motive for. the Times-Picayune I . and States-Item; . i the Murder of the. President, Garrison and the Washington Post and New:-.. can..I�le states categorically in Playboy,r!week) was for the Councilor sufficient.. )".President 'Kennedy was killed for one reason to lend Garrison its enthusiastic r.:-2.-,_::::.. � : - . � ���1..,-� � ���-�7. 4;�t���,�%. :����� 4. .............:, ���� d� .,..�It. .4 -.- !. - ' '. - ' � � , - 77... :',..t�71 � t� ' ' . � ;*?���1';* - '"' ..'' ' V ;7 ..'" . ' � ''' ' ' '.' %. .. ' -,�' .:. 4 � iN � 7.., ; : . ;.'.` - ''' ; ''' / t'. '''' -:� ' . :::�1�;i'V. �-:.; , .4 -.:-..,,, . . . I ,-.,�; .� � ��� 7 : � . -17 . � t�77,-st� � ' tz:47;:',;:- � t. � � TV.". -against ..Garrison,:: , Popkin. contends, "surely. �..; � prejudices a fair trial."..He..4,. concludes that no investi- gation of Garrison is nec--:.�; essary, for the evidence 1- is as contrived and cock--. I . eyed as the press and Ty-- � � allege, they should 'expect -.* . .1 that twelve jurors along with-Ithe judge) .will see through -it." It .is true � thar.:..the....!!.. right of a defendant* not :to ..be-pre-;4.:_ judged is a fundamental principle of --7! jurisprudence. And pre-trial publicity, c!. - by prejudicing public opinion, can cer- . tainly deny the defendant his- right to.:. a fair hearing.. Jim.. Garrison,- how--.4: ever, is not, the defendant. Clay_ Shaw-- : is. -The rights of the. defendant. have. ' been established precisely to counter-:1- - balance the .powers of the state. Pop- - kin's plea that the press Suspend..scrutiny ?�;�;; ?OF c ti � :-� .f4 7' z " � � �- � r f���./ � 4, z���:.. ,�� � s� � �: ' . . � � . .� . and criticism of the 'methods by which Walter Sheridan, of N.B.C., have ',,' Arendt points out, only "through testi-. - Garrison is gathering evidence and stated that in separate inquiries they.; mony by eyewitnesses�notoriously un- bringing the case to trial . would, if it discovered at least six witnesses who reliable7-and by records, documents,' r were taken to heart, undermine a de- said that they had been offered bribes-and monuments, all of which can be � ; fendant's legitimate protection against - blackmailed, or otherwise coerced by,; suipected as forgeries." If one has sea-. ! � the possibility of a prosecutor's using ! Garrison's representatives. All were, in , son to doubt the process by which ' his power and resources to fabricate : one way or another, vulnerable people. "facts" have been ascertained or con-. -evidence and intimidate witnesses. 1 William Gurvich said that while he was firmed, how can one ever be certain . MOreover, Popkin's contention that working for Garrison he saw the way that they bear any relation to the truth, ,Garrison has "studiously avoided"; the powers of a district attorney's *of- or even that the "facts" -themselves are discussing the evidence is disingenil- 1 fice could he used "to intimidate ancl not outright fabrications? Questions -, ous, at best. The fact is that an I coerce witnesses." Popkin intimates that such as these have been taken under - :interview that PopkIn had with Per. Sheridan and Gurvich may have had Iconsideration.by a federal court in New ;ry Russo, Garrison's star witness some ulterior motive in revealing in- -Orleans: On May 211th, United States !against Clay Shaw, was arranged by formation about Garrison's mode of* District Judge Frederick Hecbe, after the District Attorney 'himself. It was operation. One can, as the British phi- considering a forty-five-page complaint . :Garrison, too, who told reporters that losopher A. J. Ayer points out, always from Clay Shaw's attorneys alleging... , he had found Jack Ruby's coded tele- sustain one's beliefs in the face of op- that Garrison had conducted a "reign -:.! . 7 ; phone number in both Shaw's and ' parently hostile evidence if one is pre-; of terror by the misuse and abuse of the ,-;.... :. � Oswald's address books, and repeat- . pared to make the necessary ad-hoc as- powers of the public office?? issued a'.�:',.. ed the allegation on television and to 'surriptions, and in this case supporters of temporary-restraining order that prO-� 2.7' .---,, newspaper reporters. even after it was Garrison seem all too ready to assume hibited Garrison from an/ further ::r-. � . shown to be false. It Was Garrison w . ho� 'that everyone who criticizes Garrison's prosecution of Clay Shave until a fed- '��-i",, 1:::: stated in the. National Observer,.; conduct is part of a plot to conceal the eral court has had the � opportunity to. ",:way that... ClaY:, Shaw' truth. But such rationalization explains decide the merits' of the charges ,filed .. There. is no ,. . can get an acquittal" It was Garrison', - .�, . ,,, nothing. In the year I have been study- against Garristin. .-.,' ::', -:;'�.:.,:.--.:...7,:-...:,:���::1-1./�:',. `7.1'who allowed Mark Lane and William ing Garrison's inyestigation and . have -� In view of the shortcomings of the r��,.:;:.- , '-i-.Turner to photostat .evidence in his had access to his office, the only evi- ; Warren Commission's investigation,iir files And � it was Garrison who, that in his .1dence I have seen or heard about at i becomes apparent that there is no eas-y:.:P.7-'' -�:,�: Nay b oy interview and on his subse.:: �T . could connect Clay Shaw with the as.. � way to devise a process for ultimately:. r.:. .. i...W:i quent coast-to-coast tour, made numer-: sassination has; been fraudulent�some ; answering such complex and elusive.... references either to evidence in the devised by Garrison himself and some historical questions as those provoked by Shaw case or to Shaw himself (includ- ' !cynically culled from criminals or the the assassination of President Kennedy. ;�:.f�,�:: -!ing,. the demonstrable falsehood 4hat.,!emotionally unstable Ts fail to. report- :Indeed, there can be no certainty that :�.-.::!-L ,,,�.: � Shaw as with President Kennedy "on if this information so that darrison might such a process is even within our in- : I v.- an airplane flight in 1963"). Indeed; � - � have a "fair hearing" in court could , stitutional means. But there can be ' � ..; .:�.:,.,:Garrison has gone on about the case in preclude the possibility of the defend- i: certainty that as long as the means by � - f� �,�-�.:speeches, radio talk shows, television ant's ever receiving his fair' hearing in:, which an investigation has beer( con- , , ,:-. _.� . - � programs press conferences and inter- . '-court. ' - : - ' - - - ' : ' � - :i� ducted remain suspect the truth v411: . .r � �:,' 'views almost without pause. Of course, : � To see the issue of the Assascination i never be fully established. 7: 7 --... � . most of the evidence Garrison has drs- 'as of such overwhelming importance: . � �-� - �EDWARD JAY EPSTE111. ,.. ,. .: CUZSe d is spurious, but surely that makes; .that the juridical rights of the defend-. .� . , - - ,.,_ ,, �#� - �,-- ,.., .:-. it all the more imperative for the press ant ant may be neglected, the Constitu- � ..,....:.., 7.�:,:r. i- , '���':',.:''not; to waive its responsibility for ex- [ . tional rights of witnesses disdained, the -?71 amining it closely. - :* :. :. � f ,scrutiny and criticism of the pres.4 sus-. - � ; `-': Popkin's notion that there is no need; 'pended, and the traditional methods of! -� for the press to scrutinize Garrison's i � the state's prose�cution ignored is to .ac-; 7 : 1 techniques for recruiting witnesses and ;cept a curious sort of ethics. It is to say. ; � rassernbling evidence because if the evi- ...� i ;that in aAsearch for facts the means.Can . dence is contrived a judge and juryi be disregarded if the ends�the facts�: ; ..r will see through it and "destroy Garri- :are of enough consequence. Fred ' "- *! son at the trial" shows an unusual con- :Powledge, writing in the New Repub-1 ' !fidence in the legal process. While it is 'lie, suggests the dilemma: "... I had, , true that a judge and jury can detect the, irrational feeling that. he [Garri-? . . ,contradictions:.; in testimony and other son] was on to something. I had the! --4.irricongruous evidence, there is no cer-. equally startling feeling that it did not'.,. 7.-. � .; � , , ,tarnty at all that they can uncover .really mattetif Garrison Were paranoid, ' � i ::-..perjury that has been systematically ar--� opportunistic, flamboyant, or if Ill�s wit- : ranged for, with one perjurer corrob- nesses were not candidates for The . . . orating another's testimony, or that they ;Defenders. Was he right?" But can. � . , .. ,,. can recognize artfully fabricated "facts", the process of establishing the truth ever ' -:-.! purposely designed to fit into the pat-: !be separited from its and product�, �.. tern of evidence. Exposure of such sys- the truth? Facts must be selected, in-!-- :timatic fraud would, in fact, depend terpreted, and arranged in the context .,on an outside investigation of the pros- provided by other information before� �.." eeutor's means and methods:- Gene� they take on 'meaning. Factual evidence;'. -,� Roberts, of the New York Timea r, nd can be established .as_cruth, as Hannah.' - � - . - ;�*-77=�.4. . . . . :as � ���� � ' rr�-, ���r��� ��� . ����-��-.7` � �r-% ��� 4,11 ' ''.-"1:4-4���;WN-Nr':��, - , . .