NEW ORLEANS ENJOYED THE CIRCUS: THE GARRISON CASE

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Records Related to the Assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00435589
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: June 6, 2025
• Document Release Date: June 12, 2025
• Publication Date: November 30, 1969

104-10117-10433 The New York Times Book Review 30 November 1969 New Orleans enjoyed ithe circus The Garrison Case A Study in the Abuse of Power. By Milton E. Brener. 278 pp. New York: Clarkson N. Potter. $6. B4 LEXANDER . BICKEL In the the fall of 19 barrage of criticism was loosed against the Report of the Warren Com- mission on the Assassination of President Kennedy. Some of the criticism was judicious and well-taken. Much of it was wild, and there was no prospect that , It could ever be stilled. But its credibility was obviously en- hanced by the doubts of re- sponsible critics. These, in turn, could be dealt with rationally. It appeared for a moment late ' in 1966 that they would be. A reinvestigation of one sort or another seemed a distinct pos- e sibility. � Just at this point, the District Attorney of New Orleans, one � Jim Garrison, burst on the scene with an official inquiry. � It had all the trimmings, sub- � poenas, witnesses, charges of � conspiracy, and eventually an arrest. Everything else stopped. Garrison was a curious figure of a D.A.�he was known local- ly as the Jolly Green Giant� but he wielded the legitimate, indeed sovereign, power of a state, and he had a strong claim to priority. He success- fully pressed that claim until his increasingly implausible case against his supposed chief conspirator-defendant, Clay Shaw, a retired New Orleans businessman, finally collapsed, following a farcical trial. on March 1, 1969. In two-and-a-half years, Gar- rison had succeeded in de- stroying whatever possibility had ever existed of a rational reinvestigation of the murder of President Kennedy. That is too bad. It is almost certain that Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin, and that he acted alone, out of unfathomable per- sonal turmoil. It is almost cer- tain. The fact could have been established with greater cer- tainty, and might have been, � but for Garrison's imbecility. That Garrison's pretensions to having "solved" the Kennedy Mr. Bickel is a professor of constitutional law at the Yale Law School. !assassination were imbecilic,i �that his prosecution of Clay! � Shaw was a groundless per-I secution, and that the dark ac- cusations he came in time to, fling at the C.I.A., the F.B.L,i -.Lyndon Johnson and the late �Robert Kennedy were desper- ate ravings�all that has been made clear in many articles' and broadcasts, and in Edward :Jay 4?sthin's short book,- '� "Counte ot" . Brener, a New Or- leans �er ilith intimate ex- perience Garrison and of his "investig n," asks the ques- tion: What as the motor that drove Garrison � self-delusion, recklessness in the pursuit of political ambition, or. a total cynicism? Mr. Brener is particularly il- luminating on Garrison's pre.: Shaw case career. It is of a piece entirely with the later one. What makes Garrison tiler, . Mr. Brener in the end is un- able to say. He tends to the hypothesis of self-delusion, but that is rather more symptom than cause. What enabled Gar- rison to go on ticking, Mr. Brener does know. Prosecutors have immense unchecked power In the American system. We rely on professionalism to im- pose restraints, but in Garri- son's case, this reliance was ludicrous. We rely also on public opin- ion, informed by the actions of an independent judiciary, but public opinion in New Orleans Is light-headed, and the local judiciary less_ than rigorously independent. The people en- joyed the circus, and cheered when assorted Christians were thrown to the lions. The re- sponsible organs of public opin- ion feared the people and their darling. Politicians were in hiding. Fifty businessmen who supported Garrison's oppres- sions and persecutions with their money (the D.A.'s budget was not enough) must have felt, as Mr. Brener says, that "Garrison was popular. He was obviously going places. The time to tie your fortunes to a rising politician is at the start.", - "The Garrison Case" might have been subtitled, "The Dem- agogue as D.A.," or "Joe Mc- Carthy in Prosecutor's Cloth- ing." It is a cautionary tale, and a terrifying one. It will send shivers up your spine, and thus performs a great public service. On Nov. 9, Garrison won the New Orleans Demo- cratic primary, virtually assur- ing himself a third four-year. � term as District Attorney. Only � institutional changes in the ad- ministration of criminal justice' in Louisiana can prevent fur- ther abuses of power by Gar- � rison and his like. AI� .,_;. CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO DECLASSIFICATION AND/001'\ RELEASE OF CIA INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. :Azar. 2(414 Luaics 0 NOV 7969 Garrison Crossed Racial Lines To VVin New Orleans Primary. By ROY REED spfolai to The New York Times NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 9� Jim Garrison, the oontrover- sial District Attorney of New Orleans, won yesterday's elec- tion with the kind of populist coalition that Southern, liberals must dream about. An analysis of the returns from the Democratic primary, in which the District Attorney won a clear majority and avoided a runoff, shows that the bulk of Mr. Garrison's sup- port came from Negroes and working-class whites. With 405 of all precincts re- ported, Mr. Garrison was ahead of his chief rival, Harry F. Connick, 83,38-1 to 61,441, with two other candidates way be- hind. Mr. Garrison had 53 per cent of the vote. In a 12-man race for Mayor, James E. Fitzmorris Jr. was far ahead with about 35 per cent of the vote. But he will face Maurice Landrien, presi- dent of the City Council, in a runoff Dec. 13. Victor H. Schiro, the Mayor of New Or- leans, is retiring. Election 'Is Probable � Mr. Garrison's first primary victory virtually assures his election to a third term. He will face a largely unknown Re- publican opponent in the gen- era lelection in ApriL Demo- crats make up 96.8 per cent of the registered voters in New Orleans. Mr. Garrison Made it clear on television last night that he regarded yesterday's vote as an expression of confidence in the handling of his investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy. He said the investigation was finished, but added that he still intended to prosecute Clay L. Shaw on a charge of perjury. businessman, was acquitted in a jury trial last March of a charge of conspiring to kill Mr. Kennedy. � Mr. Shaw testified during his trial that he had not known David Ferrie, another figure in the Garrison conspiracy in- quiry. Mr. Garrison contended Mr. Shaw did know Mr. Fer- ric, who is now dead, and charged Mr. Shaw with perjury. No trial date has been set. . 'He Goes to Trial' Asked by a television inter-' viewer where yesterday's elec- tion left the Shaw affair, Mr. Garrison replied, "He goes to trial. He goes to trial.". Political analysts here say that Mr. Garrison's primary ao. United Press International Jim Garrison, New Orleans District Attorney, at a post election celebration. victory was due to a variety Perhaps ti tf le greatetrreaso of factors ranging from tenti-; for his, popularity among' establishment sentiment to Mr. blacks, observers here believe, Garrison's strong identification 1wa5 his reputation�deserved with the memory of President or not�for trying to solve the Kennedy. murder of President Kennedy, Among working class whites, one of the most beloved white. he is popular for "standing up" men in black America. to the Federal Government. Hel When it became known that charged repeatedly during. his1 his chief challenger, Mr. Con-, two-year investigation that the nick, had gained the support of a large number of wealthy Government, particularly the businessmen as well as both Central Intelligency ency,, daily newspapers here, an tin- was trying to thwart his effort! witting .alliance of the poor of tO discover the, truth. 'both colors against "the estab: Mr. Connick, whose appeal lishment" became likely. The was largely to middle and' analysts note that this is an exceptionally class-conscious Upper-class whites who thought sity. the Garrison investigation Was' -irrational, became a victim of' this anti-Government sentiment. The Government's Man Mr. Garrison subtly portrayed Mr. Connick, a former assistant United States attorney here, as the Government's man perhaps actually put in the race secretly by Government forces. Mr. Garrison was actively supported by a number of in- fluential political organizations in the black and the poor white communities. Black precincts voted for him even heavier than the poor white precints did and prob- ably gave him the edge he needed to avoid a runoff. Mr. Garrison was well known in the black community and his opponents were not. He had a reputation for being friendly to Negroes, although he was not regarded as a civil rights liberal, � A NATIONAL REVIEW INC. Publication 4, GARRISON CAU.S JFK KILLING CIA COUP D'ETAT: New Orleans DA Jim Garrison: in France, is airing as fact those weird theories he can't provt in court. He now blames CIA for slaying President Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther_King, and turning U.S. over to military-industrial complex. European Left is having a field day. Leftwing Paris paper Combat (no kin to COMBAT) runs long Thomas Buchanan story � on Garrison speculations. (Buchanan has admitted CP membership in past.) Westing- house Bioadcasting's Bernard Redmont.used broadcast July 29 to repeat DA's claim of a CIA coup d'etat. (Redmont was named as CP member. in Congressional testimony; left U.S. after Soviet spy courier Elizabeth Bentley named him as one of her sources.) Discrediting CIA and FBI is a major project of Soviet intelligence. �ARMY STILL SEEKING INTELLIGENCE LEAK: Pentagon sources tell COMBAT that-ibe Army is still searching for the person who leaked copies of the Army Intelligence- Command's daily summary to leftists in the Washington area (see COMBAT, June 1, 1969). Army spokesman tells COMBAT that story in May 17 issue of Guardian ("independent radical newsweekly") by Sheila Ryan of Liberation News Service, was essentially accurate in quotations for teletyped summaries prepared at Army intelligence center, Ft. Holabird, Md. Army says basic Guardian story contained several errors, including claim summa- ries are "top secret." Military classifies the report at low level category, "For Official Use Only," but mere fact its communications system has sprung a leak is cause for concern. COMBAT was told: security measures have been reviewed and tightened, the case is still under active investigation; the Army does not know who is responsible. � � � SAN ANTO:iIu, TEX. FXPilF.SS v. - 78,032 FXPRFSr *!VS - _ 1t7 .NOV 11 r-leiew Orleans Voters' Taste Jim Garrison's nomination for a third term as New Orleans district at- torney reflects the gullibility of �voters in that city. Apparently Garrison's bizarre .handling of his "investigation" of the ::- "conspiracy" to assassinate President � John F. Kennedy won him more votes than it cost him. He also charges that the federal government has and is try-...j -ing to block his "investigation." � New Orleans businessman Cl ' . Shaw was charged.as a conspirator in f. .1967, four years after Kennedy's death. He was acquitted by a jury last sum- .; mer. During the time between arrest ' and trial, Garrison flamboyantly ex- panded his "case" to include the CIA, � the Warren Commission and othe7r,:, �He uses many questionable legal tac- tics and made his escalating .charges1 In the press, on television and every- where he could find a forum. Sadly, .these tactics were endorsed instead of repudiated by the voters: 4. . Garrison is certain to win another term in the general election next year..! And he is busy with another scenario,..i preparing to by Clay Shaw for per- jury during his trial. Perhaps he will : . stumble so badly in this 'charade that the voters, will wake up before the gen- eral .eleotion.