![House Select Committee on Assassinations](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/House_Select_Committee_on_Assassinations.jpg)
The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was established in 1976 to investigate the assassinations of
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
and
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
in 1963 and 1968, respectively. The HSCA completed its investigation in 1978 and issued its final report the following year, which concluded that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
. In addition to now-discredited acoustic analysis of a
police channel dictabelt recording,
the HSCA also commissioned numerous other scientific studies of assassination-related evidence that corroborate the
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
's findings.
The HSCA found that although the Commission and the different agencies and departments examining Kennedy's assassination performed in good faith and were thorough in their investigation of
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
, they performed with "varying degrees of competency" and the search for possible conspiracy was inadequate.
The HSCA determined, based on available evidence, that the probable conspiracy did not involve the governments of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
or the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. The committee also stated that the conspiracy did not involve any
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
group, anti-
Castro
Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''.
...
group, nor the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
,
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
, or
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
. The committee found that it could not exclude the possibility that individual members of the national syndicate of organized crime or anti-Castro Cubans were involved in a probable conspiracy to assassinate president Kennedy. However, some members of the committee would later state their personal belief that one of those groups was involved in the assassination, with Representative
Floyd Fithian
Floyd James Fithian (November 3, 1928June 27, 2003) was an American educator and politician who served as a United States Representative from Indiana as a Democrat. He was one of the forty nine Watergate Babies who won election to the House of R ...
believing that the Kennedy assassination was orchestrated by members of organized crime.
In a
Justice Department
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
memo to the
House Judiciary Committee
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...
in 1988, the Assistant Attorney General formally reviewed the recommendations of the HSCA report and reported a conclusion of active investigations.
In light of investigative reports from the FBI's Technical Services Division and the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
Committee determining that "reliable acoustic data do not support a conclusion that there was a second gunman", the Justice Department concluded "that no persuasive evidence can be identified to support the theory of a conspiracy in … the assassination of President Kennedy".
Formation
Several forces contributed to the formation of the HSCA. With the growing body of assassination conspiracy material, public trust in the findings of the
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
report was declining. The Hart-
Schweiker and
Church Committee
The Church Committee (formally the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities) was a US Senate select committee in 1975 that investigated abuses by the Central Intelligence ...
hearings had recently revealed CIA ties to other assassinations and assassination attempts. There was also significant public interest after a video segment of the
Zapruder film
The Zapruder film is a silent 8mm color motion picture sequence shot by Abraham Zapruder with a Bell & Howell home-movie camera, as United States President John F. Kennedy's motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November ...
was first shown on TV in March 1975, after having been stored by ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine out of view for almost twelve years.
In September 1976, the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
voted 280-65 to establish the Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) in order to investigate the assassinations of
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
and
Martin Luther King Jr
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 196 ...
. The committee was both controversial and divided among itself. The first chairman, Thomas N. Downing of Virginia retired in January 1977 and was replaced by Henry B. Gonzalez on February 2, 1977. Gonzalez and Chief Counsel Richard A. Sprague had irreconcilable disagreements over control of the committee, budget and investigative techniques, ending with Gonzalez's resignation. Sprague also resigned, in part to increase the chances of Congress voting to reconstitute the HSCA for the new two-year congressional term. Sprague's like-minded deputy
Robert K. Tanenbaum also resigned shortly thereafter. Louis Stokes replaced Gonzalez as chairman and
G. Robert Blakey
George Robert Blakey (born January 7, 1936) is an United States, American Attorneys in the United States, attorney and law professor. He is best known for his work in connection with drafting the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Ac ...
was appointed as Chief Counsel and Staff Director to replace Sprague.
Members
*
Thomas N. Downing
Thomas Nelms Downing (February 1, 1919 – October 23, 2001) was a lawyer, politician, and Democratic Congressman from for nine terms.
Biography
Downing was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia. He attended Newport News High School, and ...
(
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
) First Chairman
*
Henry B. Gonzalez (
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
), Second Chairman
*
Louis Stokes
Louis Stokes (February 23, 1925 – August 18, 2015) was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the firs ...
(
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
), Third Chairman
*
L. Richardson Preyer
Lunsford Richardson Preyer (January 11, 1919 – April 3, 2001) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina and later a United States representative from North Carolina.
Educat ...
(
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
)
*
Walter E. Fauntroy
Walter Edward Fauntroy (born February 6, 1933) is an American pastor, civil rights activist, and politician who was a delegate to the United States House of Representatives and a candidate for the 1972 and 1976 Democratic presidential nominations ...
(
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
)
*
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke
Yvonne Pearl Burke (née Watson, later Brathwaite; born October 5, 1932) is an American politician and lawyer from California. She was the first African-American woman to represent the West Coast in Congress. She served in the U.S. Congress from ...
(
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
)
*
Christopher Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...
(
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
)
*
Harold Ford, Sr.
Harold Eugene Ford Sr. (born May 20, 1945) is an American politician and Democratic former member of the United States House of Representatives representing the area of Memphis, Tennessee, for 11 terms—from 1975 until his retirement in 1997. H ...
(
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
)
*
Floyd Fithian
Floyd James Fithian (November 3, 1928June 27, 2003) was an American educator and politician who served as a United States Representative from Indiana as a Democrat. He was one of the forty nine Watergate Babies who won election to the House of R ...
(
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
)
*
Robert W. Edgar (
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
)
*
Samuel L. Devine
Samuel Leeper Devine (December 21, 1915 – June 27, 1997) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served in the United States House of Representatives as Representative of the 12th congressional district of Ohio from January 3, 1 ...
(
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
)
*
Stewart McKinney (
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
)
*
Charles Thone
Charles Thone (January 4, 1924 – March 7, 2018) was an American Republican politician. He was the 34th Governor of Nebraska, serving from 1979 to 1983. He previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representi ...
(
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
)
*
Harold S. Sawyer
Harold Samuel Sawyer (March 21, 1920 – April 2, 2003) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sawyer represented Michigan's 5th congressional district in the United ...
(
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
)
Investigations
The HSCA commissioned a number of expert scientific studies to re-investigate the physical evidence of the JFK assassination. In comparison to witness testimony and government documents, the committee felt that such investigations would particularly benefit from the scientific advances of the fifteen years since the
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
.
Several lines of inquiry were followed to both reaffirm the single shooter/
single-bullet theory
The single-bullet theory, often derided and discredited by referring to it as the magic-bullet theory, was introduced by the Warren Commission in its investigation of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, assassination of U.S. President John F. ...
as well as to disprove specific
conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
allegations. The HSCA concluded that these scientific studies of assassination-related evidence do "not preclude the possibility of two gunmen firing at the President."
Ballistic analysis
Forensic analysis confirmed that the mostly-intact stretcher bullet, bullet fragments from the presidential limo and the three cartridge casings from the sniper's nest were all fired from Oswald's rifle to the exclusion of all others.
A technique using
neutron activation analysis
Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is the nuclear process used for determining the concentrations of elements in many materials. NAA allows discrete sampling of elements as it disregards the chemical form of a sample, and focuses solely on atomic ...
(NAA), a form of what has become known as
comparative bullet-lead analysis
Comparative bullet-lead analysis (CBLA), also known as compositional bullet-lead analysis, is a now discredited and abandoned forensic technique which used chemistry to link crime scene bullets to ones possessed by suspects on the theory that each ...
(CBLA), was used to analyse the bullet lead from the JFK assassination. It revealed that it was highly likely that only two lead bullets were the source of all the following pieces of evidence: the mostly-intact stretcher bullet, fragments found in the
presidential limousine's front seat and rug, fragments recovered from JFK's brain autopsy and fragments recovered from Governor
Connally's wrist.
Whether CBLA data can be used to actually exclude the possibility that there were fragments from more than two bullets in the wounds and the car has been the subject of controversy. (See
single bullet theory
The single-bullet theory, often derided and discredited by referring to it as the magic-bullet theory, was introduced by the Warren Commission in its investigation of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy to explain what happen ...
)
[Review of Randich and Grant's article on NAA]
Additionally, the location of the shooter (at the 6th floor
Texas School Book Depository
The Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point during the assassination of United Sta ...
window) was determined using trajectory analysis. The origin of the rifle bullets was calculated using the location of the presidential limousine and its occupants combined with the bullet wounds found on the president and governor.
Photographic analysis
A team of photographic experts were used to answer several questions related to the photographic evidence of the case.
Forensic anthropologists
Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification o ...
as well as photographic and radiographic experts, based on unique anatomical details, verified that JFK's autopsy photos and x-rays were only of the late president.
Forensic anthropologists were also used to verify that all relevant photographs of
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
were of only one person.
They verified that the backyard photos (showing Oswald holding the rifle used to kill the president) depicted the same rifle found in the Texas school book depository building after the crime.
The panel of photographic experts were also used to verify the authenticity of the assassination-related photos and to analyze for any tampering or fakery; none was detected.
Forensic Pathology Panel
The HSCA's Forensic Pathology Panel included
Michael Baden
Michael M. Baden (born July 27, 1934) is an American physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as the host of HBO's ''Autopsy''. Baden was the chief medical examiner of the C ...
, John I. Coe, Joseph H. Davis, George S. Loquvam, Charles S. Petty,
Earl Rose,
Werner Spitz
Werner Uri Spitz (born August 22, 1926) is a German-American forensic pathologist who has worked on a number of high-profile cases, including the investigations of the assassinations of president John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. He als ...
,
Cyril Wecht
Cyril Harrison Wecht (born March 20, 1931) is an American forensic pathologist. He has been the president of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American College of Legal Medicine, and headed the board of trustees of the Amer ...
, and James T. Weston.
With the benefit of authenticated photographs, x-rays and notes from the
Kennedy autopsy, a nine-doctor panel of expert pathologists reviewed and corroborated the Warren Commission's medical findings. Although the HSCA medical panel was critical of the thoroughness and methodology of the original autopsy,
Vincent Bugliosi
Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. (; August 18, 1934 – June 6, 2015) was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972.
He became best known for s ...
, " Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," W. W. Norton & Company, 2007 they concurred, although Cyril Wecht dissented, with the Warren Commission's conclusion that two, and only two bullet wounds entered from above and behind (the direction of Oswald in the Book Depository). Their conclusion that the President was struck by a bullet that entered in the right rear of the head near the cowlick area and exited from the right front side of the head differed from a diagram in the Warren Commission's report showing this entrance wound low in the back of the head.
Fingerprint and handwriting analysis
The authenticity of several
fingerprints
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surf ...
and a palm print found on assassination-related materials was reaffirmed by a fingerprint expert. Lee Harvey Oswald's prints were found on the trigger guard and underside of the
Mannlicher–Carcano rifle used to shoot the president, the brown paper container used to transport the rifle, several cardboard boxes in the sniper's nest and on the magazine order form to purchase the rifle.
In addition, dozens of documents were analyzed by a panel of three
handwriting experts who verified that "the signatures and handwriting purported to be by Oswald are consistently that of one person."
These include such incriminating items as the envelope and order form used to purchase the rifle, the application forms to rent the PO Box that the rifle was delivered to, and the notated backyard photo depicting Oswald holding the rifle.
Dictabelt audio recording
Although the HSCA had prepared a draft report confirming the
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
's single shooter theory and finding no evidence of conspiracy, at the eleventh hour, the committee was swayed by a since-disputed acoustic analysis of a dictabelt police channel recording.
This acoustic analysis of the dictabelt recording by the firm
Bolt, Beranek and Newman Inc. concluded that four shots were fired at the president, thus causing the HSCA to reverse its earlier position and report "that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy."
In terms of scientific evidence, the HSCA acknowledged that the existence of a second shooter was only supported by this acoustic analysis.
As recommended by the HSCA, the Justice Department reviewed those findings through the
FBI's Technical Services Division and by contracting the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, which specially appointed the Committee on Ballistic Acoustics (CBA). Both the FBI and CBA analyzed the acoustic data and BBN's scientific methodology and concluded that their findings were mistaken.
Although there has been some recent back-and-forth between different researchers, the HSCA's acoustic analysis is widely considered to be discredited.
Conclusions
General conclusions
In particular, the various investigations performed by the U.S. government were faulted for insufficient consideration of the possibility of a conspiracy in each case. The Committee in its report also made recommendations for legislative and administrative improvements, including making some assassinations Federal crimes.
Conclusions regarding the King assassination
On the King assassination, the Committee concluded in its report that while King was killed by one rifle shot from
James Earl Ray
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive convicted for assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After this Ray was on the run and was capt ...
, "there is a likelihood" that it was the result of a conspiracy, and that no U.S. government agency was part of this conspiracy; on the contrary, it was more likely to be between Ray and his brothers.
Conclusions regarding the Kennedy assassination
On the Kennedy assassination, the HSCA concluded in its 1979 report that:
#
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
fired three shots at Kennedy. The second and third shots Oswald fired struck the President. The third shot he fired killed the President.
#Scientific acoustical evidence establishes a high probability that at least two gunmen fired at the President. Other scientific evidence does not preclude the possibility of two gunmen firing at the President. Scientific evidence negates some specific conspiracy allegations.
#The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
. The committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the extent of the conspiracy.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that the Soviet Government was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that the Cuban Government was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that anti-Castro Cuban groups, as groups, were not involved in the assassination of Kennedy, but that the available evidence does not preclude the possibility that individual members may have been involved.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that the national syndicate of organized crime, as a group, was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy, but that the available evidence does not preclude the possibility that individual members may have been involved.
#* The Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Central Intelligence Agency were not involved in the assassination of Kennedy.
#Agencies and departments of the U.S. Government performed with varying degrees of competency in the fulfillment of their duties. President Kennedy did not receive adequate protection. A thorough and reliable investigation into the responsibility of Lee Harvey Oswald for the assassination was conducted. The investigation into the possibility of conspiracy in the assassination was inadequate. The conclusions of the investigations were arrived at in good faith, but presented in a fashion that was too definitive.
The Committee further concluded that it was probable that:
*four shots were fired
*the fourth shot came from a second assassin located on the
grassy knoll
Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963; 30 minutes after the shooting ...
, but missed. The HSCA concluded the existence and location of this alleged fourth shot based on the later discredited
Dallas Police Department
The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas.
Organization
The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hir ...
Dictabelt recording analysis.
The HSCA agreed with the
single bullet theory
The single-bullet theory, often derided and discredited by referring to it as the magic-bullet theory, was introduced by the Warren Commission in its investigation of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy to explain what happen ...
,
but concluded that it occurred at a time point during the assassination that differed from any of the several time points the
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
theorized it occurred.
The
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
, FBI, CIA, and the Warren Commission were all criticized for not revealing to the Warren Commission information available in 1964, and the
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
was deemed deficient in their protection of the President.
The HSCA made several accusations of deficiency against the FBI and CIA.
The accusations encompassed organizational failures, miscommunication, and a desire to keep certain parts of their operations secret. Furthermore, the Warren Commission expected these agencies to be forthcoming with any information that would aid their investigation. But the FBI and CIA only saw it as their duty to respond to specific requests for information from the commission. However, the HSCA found the FBI and CIA were deficient in performing even that limited role.
Criticisms
Although the HSCA publicly released its findings in 12 volumes and a single-volume summary report, the majority of primary documents were sealed for 50 years under congressional rules. In 1992, Congress passed legislation to collect and open up all the evidence relating to Kennedy's death, and created the
Assassination Records Review Board
The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, or the JFK Records Act, is a public law passed by the United States Congress, effective October 26, 1992. It directed the National Archives and Records Administration (NAR ...
to further that goal. No materials have been uncovered which significantly change the conclusions or opinion of the HSCA.
The ARRB reported: "Because the HSCA investigation was marked by internal squabbling and disillusioned staffers, the Committee's records were the subject of ongoing controversy. Some ex-staffers claimed the HSCA report did not reflect their investigative work, and that information that did not conform with the Committee leadership's preconceived conclusions was ignored or left out of the report and supporting volumes."
In 1992, author
Bonar Menninger dismissed the committee report as ''Blakey's $5 Million Folly''.
Robert Blakey, the Chief Counsel of the committee, later changed his views that the CIA was being cooperative and forthcoming with the investigation when he learned that the CIA's special liaison to the Committee researchers,
George Joannides
George Efythron Joannides (July 5, 1922 – March 9, 1990) was a Central Intelligence Agency officer who in 1963 was the chief of the Psychological Warfare branch of the agency's JMWAVE station in Miami, and in 1978 was the agency's liaison t ...
, was actually involved with some of the organizations that
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
was allegedly involved with in the months leading up to the assassination. Among these organizations was an anti-Castro group, the
Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil
Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil ( abbreviation: DRE; English: Student Revolutionary Directorate) was a Cuban student activist group which in opposition to Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista from 1954 to 1957 played a role in the Cuban Revolu ...
, which was linked to the CIA (Joannides was in fact working for the CIA in 1963). Chief Counsel Blakey later stated that Joannides should have in fact been interviewed by the HCSA, rather than serving as a gatekeeper to the CIA's evidence and files regarding the assassination. He further disregarded and suspected all the CIA's statements and representations to the Committee, accusing it of
obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...
.
In the same 2003 interview, Blakey issued a statement on the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
:
...I no longer believe that we were able to conduct an appropriate investigation of the entral IntelligenceAgency and its relationship to Oswald.... We now know that the Agency withheld from the Warren Commission the CIA–Mafia plots to kill Castro. Had the commission known of the plots, it would have followed a different path in its investigation. The Agency unilaterally deprived the commission of a chance to obtain the full truth, which will now never be known. Significantly, the Warren Commission's conclusion that the agencies of the government co-operated with it is, in retrospect, not the truth. We also now know that the Agency set up a process that could only have been designed to frustrate the ability of the committee in 1976–79 to obtain any information that might adversely affect the Agency. Many have told me that the culture of the Agency is one of prevarication and dissimulation and that you cannot trust it or its people. Period. End of story. I am now in that camp.
According to a 2015 ''
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' report, newly declassified documents show that CIA director
John A. McCone
John Alexander McCone (January 4, 1902 – February 14, 1991) was an American businessman and politician who served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1961 to 1965, during the height of the Cold War.
Background
John A. McCone was born in ...
hid evidence from the Warren Commission. According to a once-secret report
[http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB493/docs/intell_ebb_026.PDF ] written in 2013 by the CIA's top in-house historian, David Robarge, the CIA admits McCone and other senior CIA officials withheld 'incendiary' information from the Warren Commission.
References
External links
Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives(March 29, 1979). Stokes, Louis Chairman, House Select Committee on Assassinations.
*
Appendix Volumes to the Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives (March 29, 1979). Stokes, Louis Chairman, House Select Committee on Assassinations.
{{Martin Luther King, Jr., expanded=Assassination
Assassinations
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Official enquiries concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy