Post by Rob Caprio on Apr 10, 2019 20:52:59 GMT -5
All portions are ©️ Robert Caprio 2006-2024
2.bp.blogspot.com/_px-5XH9V1ZY/TUny_4k3hXI/AAAAAAAAEqg/9HdCfSfAITs/s400/winston-lawson-324x205.jpg
Why was the man chosen to be in charge of the Dallas Secret Service (SS) protective detail have ties to Army Intelligence?
This is a very important question and point, and yet, I have rarely heard it discussed by researchers. It gets mentioned once in awhile, but NOT discussed in any depth. Here is what Winston Lawson testified to before the WC.
Mr. STERN. Briefly, what was your employment experience from 1949 to 1959.
Mr. LAWSON. From the time of my graduation after a couple of months working for a firm that my father worked for, I became a wholesale carpet salesman until December 1951, and then I joined the Carnation Co., manufacturers of milk products nationally, and was a representative in various capacities for them in New York State. In 1953, March, I went in the Army and I had been a reservist and was called up as a CIC agent. I had 16 weeks of basic infantry, basic training, went to the CIC Counterintelligence School in Holabird, Md.--Fort Holabird, Md.--outside of Baltimore, and then was assigned eventually to the Lexington field office where I did general counterintelligence work for the Army, background investigations, and some interviews of the prisoners, POW's from the Korean war…
Mr. STERN. Will you tell us of your experience in the Secret Service, describing briefly each assignment of work?
Mr. McCLOY. When you say CIC agent you mean----
Mr. LAWSON. Counterintelligence agent; yes, sir, in the Army…
This is amazing as we have evidence of other Army Intelligence connections in this case. Anyone who is familiar with this case will of course know about the 112th Intelligence Group of Fort Sam Houston, TX, as they were supposed to have provided security for John F. Kennedy (JFK), but were told to “stand down” on 11/22/63. As you will see they did NOT totally stand down and they were NOT normally asked to provide this kind of "security." Also, if you are familiar with this case you will recognize the name James Powell as he was in Dealey Plaza (DP) on 11/22/63 and even took some photos for us. He was mentioned in Max Holland’s (WC apologist) article that appeared in The Washington Spectator on May 15, 1997, as follows:
Quote on
James Powell, an Army Intelligence agent then involved in the surveillance of domestic dissidents, was present, and dressed in civilian clothes, in the Texas School Book Depository building in Dallas, 10 minutes after the shooting. And his unit, 112th Intelligence Group, did indeed have a file on a self-styled, and seemingly non-violent, Marxist named Lee Harvey Oswald....Like thousands of Dallasites that bright November day, Powell had taken the day off to watch the President and First Lady....After hearing the shots, Powell, who was a block away from Dealey Plaza, immediately ran to the vicinity. His first reaction was to take a picture of the TSBD because several people were pointing to it as the source of the rifle fire. He then raced over to check out the commotion around the "grassy knoll," identifying himself as "Special Agent Powell," and thereby creating rumors of a mysterious federal agent at the scene. (The Washington Spectator, May 15, 1997)
Quote off
This of course does NOT explain what kind of ID eyewitness were shown that led them to believe they were facing SS agents, and NOT a person with Army Intelligence. We have covered this topic, SS in Dealey Plaza, in several other posts in the "Statements That Sink The WC’s Conclusions" series so I won’t go into it again here, but suffice it to say—the ID the witnesses were shown was SS ID, NOT Army Intelligence ID.
According to the 112th’s Commanding officer, Col. Robert Jones, some of his personnel may have ID’d themselves as SS agents, but that would mean they had to use SS ID’s! Where did they get them from? This is from the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) report.
Quote on
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/report/pages/HSCA_Report_0107b.gif
Significantly, most of the witnesses who made identifications of Secret Service personnel stated that they had surmised that any plainclothed individual in the company of uniformed police officers must have been a Secret Service agent. Because the Dallas Police Department had numerous plainclothes detectives on duty in the Dealey Plaza area, the committee considered it possible that they were mistaken for Secret Service agents.
The committee did obtain evidence that military intelligence personnel MAY HAVE IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS Secret Service agents or that they might have been misidentified as such. (Emphasis mine) (HSCA Report, p. 214; p. 184 in original)
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/report/html/HSCA_Report_0107b.htm
Quote off
The reason given by Col. Jones was that he had 8-12 plain clothes military intelligence personnel in the area providing “supplemental security” for the President’s visit. He said they would most likely say they were with the SS if questioned. In his testimony before the HSCA (don’t look for it on McAdams’ website) Col. Jones said this.
Mr. G.: I have several other names I would like to ask you about. Was James W. Powell one of these liaison personnel?
Mr. J.: Yes, he was a Captain and also wore civilian clothes and was assigned to Region 2 of the 112 MI Group.
Mr. G.: Was he, in fact, on duty the day of the assassination?
...
Mr. J: Yes he was.
So why did Max Holland say he was OFF duty on 11/22/63 in his article? Because this is what Powell had told the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) too. So who was right here, Powell or Col. Jones? Col. Jones also made it clear his personnel (between 8-12) would NOT have been carrying SS credentials.
Mr. G.: Would any of these Military Intelligence personnel have been carrying Secret Service credentials as a part of their liaison work with the Secret Service?
Mr. J.: They would have not have been carrying Secret Service credentials. They would have been identified with some type of sign, or something on their lapels, or some code or communication that could be identified in the crowd.
This was handled by the Secret Servicemen and they would always advise our people on the type of signal or sign to wear, but they did not have Secret Service credentials.(Executive session testimony of Col. Robert E. Jones, April 20, 1978, House Select Committee on Assassinations)
So why would witnesses just assume any one dressed in plain clothes was a SS agent again? How many of us ever meet a SS agent in our lives? Wouldn’t it be more normal to assume they were plain clothes detectives for the Dallas Police Department (DPD) instead? Maybe even the FBI?
It should be noted too that Col. Jones was the helpful source for the FBI offices in San Antonio and Dallas in terms of giving them information regarding LHO’s alleged use of the alias “A.J. Hidell.” This would lead to the tie-in with the alleged murder weapon allegedly ordered from Klein’s Sporting Goods in Chicago on 11/23/63.
This knowledge of LHO’s supposed activities lead the HSCA to conclude, “…this information suggested the existence of a military intelligence file on Oswald and raised the possibility that he had intelligence associations of some kind. Jones was directly responsible for counterintelligence operations, background investigations, domestic intelligence, and any special operations in a five-state area." (HSCA Report, pg. 221-222)
This file of course was said to have been “destroyed as part of a general program aimed at eliminating all of its files pertaining to nonmilitary personnel." (HSCA Report, pg. 223; Letter from Department of Defense to House Select Committee on Assassinations, June 22, 1978, pg. 6 ) when requested by the HSCA.
Why did Col. Jones say Powell was ON duty on 11/22/63 when he kept saying he requested the day OFF to see the motorcade? Here is what Powell told the ARRB.
Wray: Let me turn now to the events around the 22nd of November, 1963. Do you recall when or how you learned that the President was going to visit Dallas? Did you learn the day before, two days before, a week before, a month before? Do you have any impression of how long you learned about this?
Powell: To be very honest with you, no. I'm sure like everyone else I read it in the paper and heard about it. It was interesting enough that I asked for time off, a leave of absence from my regular duties so I could see the motorcade, so I could go out to the airport and see the president. And I was hoping to get a few pictures. But I don't remember specifically how long before. I'd say in the neighborhood of a week, probably.
He again clearly says he was NOT on duty. He would also deny that the 112th usually provided security for the president or other dignataries.
Wray: Do you recall any discussion, or activities the 112th was going to do related to providing security for the President?
Powell: No. Not at all.
Wray: Do you recall any occasion previous to that, or for that matter subsequent to that, when the 112th did provide any kind of security if not for the President, for any other kind of activity?
Powell: We did not.
So why were “8-12” of them providing “supplemental security” on 11/22/63 then? Here is more interesting testimony before the ARRB.
Wray: Okay. Let me ask you this question. Were you carrying your special agent ID?
Powell: Yes, yes.
Wray: Do you recall whether you showed that to anyone at the time you were walking around behind the School Book Depository in the vicinity of the railroad yard? I mean, to stop and ask people anything, did you show them that identification?
Powell: I recall that I, I basically recall that I did. Because the officers were curious as to why I was joining them and I just flashed my credentials to show them and that was sufficient at the time and I put them back. I had my camera and so forth. We all sort of walked together back to that area behind the building. But then I left them in place.
When did any of the witnesses who said they saw a SS agent mention that the agent had a CAMERA with them? I don’t recall this happening. Wouldn’t a camera have been noticed by these witnesses to the point of them remembering it? Also, the SS sightings did NOT mention the alleged agent being in the company of deputies and police officers. This clearly was NOT Powell on the Grassy Knoll (GK).
Wray: When you show somebody the credential, how would you identify yourself verbally? You'd say
Powell: Well, I'm Jim Powell and I'm with the, with the military intelligence corps.
Despite Wray’s attempts at trying to lead Powell to say what his boss had said or what was written in the report, he did NOT.
Wray: So you might have said, I mean, something like, "I'm James Powell, I'm a special agent"
Powell: I'm a special agent with military intelligence. And show my credentials. It seemed like the logical thing to do at the time. [Laughs] It worked that time. It didn't work the second time, but anyway when I was coming out of the building, but that's something else altogether.
It seems the HSCA’s claims were as shoddy as the WC’s in many cases. Given all of this, why was NO one on the WC interested or piqued by Lawson’s comments about having connections with Army Intelligence?
2.bp.blogspot.com/_px-5XH9V1ZY/TUny_4k3hXI/AAAAAAAAEqg/9HdCfSfAITs/s400/winston-lawson-324x205.jpg
Why was the man chosen to be in charge of the Dallas Secret Service (SS) protective detail have ties to Army Intelligence?
This is a very important question and point, and yet, I have rarely heard it discussed by researchers. It gets mentioned once in awhile, but NOT discussed in any depth. Here is what Winston Lawson testified to before the WC.
Mr. STERN. Briefly, what was your employment experience from 1949 to 1959.
Mr. LAWSON. From the time of my graduation after a couple of months working for a firm that my father worked for, I became a wholesale carpet salesman until December 1951, and then I joined the Carnation Co., manufacturers of milk products nationally, and was a representative in various capacities for them in New York State. In 1953, March, I went in the Army and I had been a reservist and was called up as a CIC agent. I had 16 weeks of basic infantry, basic training, went to the CIC Counterintelligence School in Holabird, Md.--Fort Holabird, Md.--outside of Baltimore, and then was assigned eventually to the Lexington field office where I did general counterintelligence work for the Army, background investigations, and some interviews of the prisoners, POW's from the Korean war…
Mr. STERN. Will you tell us of your experience in the Secret Service, describing briefly each assignment of work?
Mr. McCLOY. When you say CIC agent you mean----
Mr. LAWSON. Counterintelligence agent; yes, sir, in the Army…
This is amazing as we have evidence of other Army Intelligence connections in this case. Anyone who is familiar with this case will of course know about the 112th Intelligence Group of Fort Sam Houston, TX, as they were supposed to have provided security for John F. Kennedy (JFK), but were told to “stand down” on 11/22/63. As you will see they did NOT totally stand down and they were NOT normally asked to provide this kind of "security." Also, if you are familiar with this case you will recognize the name James Powell as he was in Dealey Plaza (DP) on 11/22/63 and even took some photos for us. He was mentioned in Max Holland’s (WC apologist) article that appeared in The Washington Spectator on May 15, 1997, as follows:
Quote on
James Powell, an Army Intelligence agent then involved in the surveillance of domestic dissidents, was present, and dressed in civilian clothes, in the Texas School Book Depository building in Dallas, 10 minutes after the shooting. And his unit, 112th Intelligence Group, did indeed have a file on a self-styled, and seemingly non-violent, Marxist named Lee Harvey Oswald....Like thousands of Dallasites that bright November day, Powell had taken the day off to watch the President and First Lady....After hearing the shots, Powell, who was a block away from Dealey Plaza, immediately ran to the vicinity. His first reaction was to take a picture of the TSBD because several people were pointing to it as the source of the rifle fire. He then raced over to check out the commotion around the "grassy knoll," identifying himself as "Special Agent Powell," and thereby creating rumors of a mysterious federal agent at the scene. (The Washington Spectator, May 15, 1997)
Quote off
This of course does NOT explain what kind of ID eyewitness were shown that led them to believe they were facing SS agents, and NOT a person with Army Intelligence. We have covered this topic, SS in Dealey Plaza, in several other posts in the "Statements That Sink The WC’s Conclusions" series so I won’t go into it again here, but suffice it to say—the ID the witnesses were shown was SS ID, NOT Army Intelligence ID.
According to the 112th’s Commanding officer, Col. Robert Jones, some of his personnel may have ID’d themselves as SS agents, but that would mean they had to use SS ID’s! Where did they get them from? This is from the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) report.
Quote on
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/report/pages/HSCA_Report_0107b.gif
Significantly, most of the witnesses who made identifications of Secret Service personnel stated that they had surmised that any plainclothed individual in the company of uniformed police officers must have been a Secret Service agent. Because the Dallas Police Department had numerous plainclothes detectives on duty in the Dealey Plaza area, the committee considered it possible that they were mistaken for Secret Service agents.
The committee did obtain evidence that military intelligence personnel MAY HAVE IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS Secret Service agents or that they might have been misidentified as such. (Emphasis mine) (HSCA Report, p. 214; p. 184 in original)
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/report/html/HSCA_Report_0107b.htm
Quote off
The reason given by Col. Jones was that he had 8-12 plain clothes military intelligence personnel in the area providing “supplemental security” for the President’s visit. He said they would most likely say they were with the SS if questioned. In his testimony before the HSCA (don’t look for it on McAdams’ website) Col. Jones said this.
Mr. G.: I have several other names I would like to ask you about. Was James W. Powell one of these liaison personnel?
Mr. J.: Yes, he was a Captain and also wore civilian clothes and was assigned to Region 2 of the 112 MI Group.
Mr. G.: Was he, in fact, on duty the day of the assassination?
...
Mr. J: Yes he was.
So why did Max Holland say he was OFF duty on 11/22/63 in his article? Because this is what Powell had told the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) too. So who was right here, Powell or Col. Jones? Col. Jones also made it clear his personnel (between 8-12) would NOT have been carrying SS credentials.
Mr. G.: Would any of these Military Intelligence personnel have been carrying Secret Service credentials as a part of their liaison work with the Secret Service?
Mr. J.: They would have not have been carrying Secret Service credentials. They would have been identified with some type of sign, or something on their lapels, or some code or communication that could be identified in the crowd.
This was handled by the Secret Servicemen and they would always advise our people on the type of signal or sign to wear, but they did not have Secret Service credentials.(Executive session testimony of Col. Robert E. Jones, April 20, 1978, House Select Committee on Assassinations)
So why would witnesses just assume any one dressed in plain clothes was a SS agent again? How many of us ever meet a SS agent in our lives? Wouldn’t it be more normal to assume they were plain clothes detectives for the Dallas Police Department (DPD) instead? Maybe even the FBI?
It should be noted too that Col. Jones was the helpful source for the FBI offices in San Antonio and Dallas in terms of giving them information regarding LHO’s alleged use of the alias “A.J. Hidell.” This would lead to the tie-in with the alleged murder weapon allegedly ordered from Klein’s Sporting Goods in Chicago on 11/23/63.
This knowledge of LHO’s supposed activities lead the HSCA to conclude, “…this information suggested the existence of a military intelligence file on Oswald and raised the possibility that he had intelligence associations of some kind. Jones was directly responsible for counterintelligence operations, background investigations, domestic intelligence, and any special operations in a five-state area." (HSCA Report, pg. 221-222)
This file of course was said to have been “destroyed as part of a general program aimed at eliminating all of its files pertaining to nonmilitary personnel." (HSCA Report, pg. 223; Letter from Department of Defense to House Select Committee on Assassinations, June 22, 1978, pg. 6 ) when requested by the HSCA.
Why did Col. Jones say Powell was ON duty on 11/22/63 when he kept saying he requested the day OFF to see the motorcade? Here is what Powell told the ARRB.
Wray: Let me turn now to the events around the 22nd of November, 1963. Do you recall when or how you learned that the President was going to visit Dallas? Did you learn the day before, two days before, a week before, a month before? Do you have any impression of how long you learned about this?
Powell: To be very honest with you, no. I'm sure like everyone else I read it in the paper and heard about it. It was interesting enough that I asked for time off, a leave of absence from my regular duties so I could see the motorcade, so I could go out to the airport and see the president. And I was hoping to get a few pictures. But I don't remember specifically how long before. I'd say in the neighborhood of a week, probably.
He again clearly says he was NOT on duty. He would also deny that the 112th usually provided security for the president or other dignataries.
Wray: Do you recall any discussion, or activities the 112th was going to do related to providing security for the President?
Powell: No. Not at all.
Wray: Do you recall any occasion previous to that, or for that matter subsequent to that, when the 112th did provide any kind of security if not for the President, for any other kind of activity?
Powell: We did not.
So why were “8-12” of them providing “supplemental security” on 11/22/63 then? Here is more interesting testimony before the ARRB.
Wray: Okay. Let me ask you this question. Were you carrying your special agent ID?
Powell: Yes, yes.
Wray: Do you recall whether you showed that to anyone at the time you were walking around behind the School Book Depository in the vicinity of the railroad yard? I mean, to stop and ask people anything, did you show them that identification?
Powell: I recall that I, I basically recall that I did. Because the officers were curious as to why I was joining them and I just flashed my credentials to show them and that was sufficient at the time and I put them back. I had my camera and so forth. We all sort of walked together back to that area behind the building. But then I left them in place.
When did any of the witnesses who said they saw a SS agent mention that the agent had a CAMERA with them? I don’t recall this happening. Wouldn’t a camera have been noticed by these witnesses to the point of them remembering it? Also, the SS sightings did NOT mention the alleged agent being in the company of deputies and police officers. This clearly was NOT Powell on the Grassy Knoll (GK).
Wray: When you show somebody the credential, how would you identify yourself verbally? You'd say
Powell: Well, I'm Jim Powell and I'm with the, with the military intelligence corps.
Despite Wray’s attempts at trying to lead Powell to say what his boss had said or what was written in the report, he did NOT.
Wray: So you might have said, I mean, something like, "I'm James Powell, I'm a special agent"
Powell: I'm a special agent with military intelligence. And show my credentials. It seemed like the logical thing to do at the time. [Laughs] It worked that time. It didn't work the second time, but anyway when I was coming out of the building, but that's something else altogether.
It seems the HSCA’s claims were as shoddy as the WC’s in many cases. Given all of this, why was NO one on the WC interested or piqued by Lawson’s comments about having connections with Army Intelligence?