Post by Rob Caprio on Jan 24, 2022 21:26:57 GMT -5
All portions ©️ Robert Caprio 2006-2024
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The Warren Commission (WC) claimed that Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) assassinated President John F. Kennedy (JFK), shot and killed Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit (JDT), wounded Texas Governor John B. Connally (JBC) and attempted to kill retired General Edwin Walker. The evidence supporting these claims is absent from the WC’s twenty-six volumes of exhibits and testimony however, therefore, this has left many questions for us today. I have asked so many questions in this series already, and now it is time for more.
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Why was LHO assured that he would not be prosecuted if he returned to the U.S. after his defection to the Soviet Union?
In FBI Agent John Fain's August 30, 1962, report we see the following comment regarding this issue.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/pages/WH_Vol17_0382a.gif
OSWALD advised in about May 19, 1961, he became fearful some reprisals might be taken against him for having made the trip to the Soviet Union. He stated he then inquired of the American Embassy in Moscow, Russia, as to the possible legal complications. He stated the Embassy assured him they were aware of no evidence which would warrant prosecution against him, should he choose to return to the United States. (CE 824, p. 737; p. 5 in original)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0382a.htm
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Why would the American Embassy tell LHO this? Didn’t he defect to the Soviet Union which was our arch enemy at the time? Didn’t he attempt to renounce his U.S. citizenship? Didn’t he offer top secret information regarding the U-2 spy plane program in order to stay when his visa was expiring? I think so. So why was the American Embassy telling him that there was “no evidence” that could lead to prosecution when he returned to the U.S.? Were they the correct ones to be making this statement?
How could they tell him this without checking with the Department of Justice and the FBI first? They couldn’t since those were the ones that would decide on this issue and not the American Embassy in Moscow. If we look at FBI Director Hoover’s WC testimony we see this interesting comment.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, in light of what happened. Mr. Hoover, I think the Commission would desire to have your comments or whatever you care to tell them, concerning the reasons why you did not furnish the information you had concerning Lee Harvey Oswald to the Secret Service prior to the time of the President's assassination.
Mr. HOOVER. Well, I have gone into that very thoroughly because that was obviously one of the questions that I had in my mind when the tragedy occurred in Dallas.
In going back over the record, and I have read each one of the reports dealing with that and the reports of Mr. Hosty who had dealt with the Oswald situation largely in Dallas, we had the matter that I have previously referred to, the report of the State Department that indicated this man was a thoroughly safe risk, he had changed his views, he was a loyal man now and had seen the light of day, so to speak.
How intensive or how extensive that interview in Moscow was, I don't know. But, nevertheless, it was in a State Department document that was furnished to us.
So let me get this straight, LHO supposedly defects to our arch enemy at the height of the Cold War, attempts to renounce his U.S. citizenship, and then offers the Russians top secret information that cost the U.S. Government a bunch of money to alter so his act wouldn’t hurt us, and a simple epiphany by LHO made him a “thoroughly safe risk”?
This information provided by Lieutenant John Donovan, who had been LHO’s superior and supervisor for seven months, illustrates the issues and work LHO’s defection caused.
Quote on
When Oswald allegedly defected to the Soviet Union, in October 1959, 'that compromised all our secret radio frequencies, call signs and authentication codes,' Mr. Donovan said. 'He knew the location of every unit on the West Coast and the radar capability of every installation. We had to spend several thousand man-hours, changing everything and verifying the destruction of the codes.' (New York Times, December 5, 1963, edition)
Quote off
How much money do you think the “several thousand man-hours” cost the U.S. Government? This information alone shows that there was evidence to prosecute LHO with, but of course his other alleged actions would have provided further evidence. It is very significant to me that the WC Report (WCR) made no mention of this information in the New York Times despite them calling John Donovan as a witness and him mentioning exactly what he told the newspaper.
Mr. ELY. Do you recall the circumstances under which Oswald left the Marine Corps?
Mr. DONOVAN. Yes; I do.
Mr. ELY. Could you relate them to us, please?
Mr. DONOVAN. I recall that he got a hardship discharge. We offered to get him a flight---that is a hop from El Toro to some place in Texas, his home. He refused. We considered that normal in that if you take a hop you sacrifice your transportation pay. We offered to take him to a bus or train station. He refused. But that is not particularly unusual, either.
I recall that he was gone for some period of time, and shortly before I got out of the Marine Corps, which was mid-December 1959, we received word that he had showed up in Moscow. This necessitated a lot of change of aircraft call signs, codes, radio frequencies, radar frequencies.
He had the access to the location of all bases in the west coast area, all radio frequencies for all squadrons, all tactical call signs, and the relative strength of all squadrons, number and type of aircraft in a squadron, who was the commanding officer, the authentication code of entering and exiting the ADIZ, which stands for Air Defense Identification Zone. He knew the range of our radar. He knew the range of our radio. And he knew the range of the surrounding units' radio and radar.
Mr. ELY. You recall that various codes were changed. Now, at what level were these changed? Was this an action of your specific unit, or a fairly widespread action?
Mr. DONOVAN. Well, I did not witness the changing in any other squadrons, but it would have to be, because the code is obviously between two or more units. Therefore, the other units had to change it. These codes are a grid, and two lines correspond.
And he gives the grid that you want, and he reads back "AB," or whatever the reply is supposed to be, the authentication is supposed to be.
Mr. ELY. Are they changed even if there is no specific incident which elicits the change?
Mr. DONOVAN. They are methodically changed anyway. There are some things which he knew on which he received instruction that there is no way of changing, such as the MPS 16 height-finder radar gear. That had recently been integrated into the Marine Corps system. It had a height-finding range far in excess of our previous equipment, and it has certain limitations. He had been schooled on those limitations.
It cannot operate above a given altitude in setting--in other words, you cannot place the thing above a given terrain height.
He had also been schooled on a piece of machinery called a TPX-1, which is used to transfer radio---radar and radio signals over a great distance. Radar is very susceptible to homing missiles, and this piece of equipment is used to put your radar antenna several miles away, and relay the information back to your site which you hope is relatively safe. He had been schooled on this. And that kind of stuff you cannot change.
Mr. ELY. Did Oswald have any kind of clearance?
Mr. DONOVAN. He must have had secret clearance to work in the radar center, because that was a minimum requirement for all of us.
Why? Probably because it would have highlighted what a joke it was that LHO was never arrested upon his return if this information is accurate or it would have highlighted that the whole LHO defection was a joke if it was inaccurate. The only viable option for the WC was to ignore it totally. Luckily for them they were quite good at ignoring things.
Could this clean bill of health have been the reason LHO was approached about becoming an FBI informant? Could it also explain why he said in his radio interview in New Orleans that he was under the protection of the U.S. Government?
Quote on
Hal Verb, a West Coast writer and researcher, has obtained a literal transcription of this tape. In his testimony Stuckey (11H, p. 169) seems to identify the Commission's version as having been distributed by the Associated Press. Verb's copy, which I have, came from the electronic media. One paragraph is of particular interest. As printed by the Commission (21H, p. 639), it has but a single "er." In the original there are eight. But the Commission version has something added to replace these missing seven "er's," something that changes the sense entirely. Here is the Commission version:
Oswald: Well, as I er, well -- I will answer that question directly then as you will not rest until you get your answer. I worked in Russia I was not under the protection of the -- that is to say I was not under protection of the American (sic) government. But as I was, at all times considered an American citizen I did not lose my American citizenship. (Stuckey Exhibit 3, p. 7; WC XXI, p. 639)
Hal Verb's transcript, which is confirmed by an actual tape I had, is as follows:
“Oswald: Er, well, as I er, well, I will answer that question directly then as you will not rest until you get your answer er, I worked in Russia er, I was er under the protection er, of the er, that is to say I was not under protection of the American government but as I was at all times er, considered an American citizen. I did not lose any American citizenship.”
That's quite a swap -- seven "er's" for one "not." This swap is exactly what Stuckey called it, "very unfair" -- not because of a disparity in the weight or values of "er's" as compared with "not's" but because of the 180-degree change in the meaning of Oswald's statement. He actually slipped and said, "I was, er, under the protection of the American government", then corrected himself. The Commission's editing here has him saying, "I was not under the protection of the American government." (Harold Weisberg, Oswald in New Orleans, pp. 106-107, 1967)
Quote off
This shows that LHO was under the protection of the American government. It also shows that the WC willfully either accepted an altered transcript or altered it themselves. Neither is a good outcome for those seeking the truth.
Can any WC defender explain why LHO was never detained and prosecuted for his alleged actions in the Soviet Union if he wasn’t working for the American government?
www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/lee-harvey-oswald-4.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) claimed that Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) assassinated President John F. Kennedy (JFK), shot and killed Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit (JDT), wounded Texas Governor John B. Connally (JBC) and attempted to kill retired General Edwin Walker. The evidence supporting these claims is absent from the WC’s twenty-six volumes of exhibits and testimony however, therefore, this has left many questions for us today. I have asked so many questions in this series already, and now it is time for more.
****************************************
Why was LHO assured that he would not be prosecuted if he returned to the U.S. after his defection to the Soviet Union?
In FBI Agent John Fain's August 30, 1962, report we see the following comment regarding this issue.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/pages/WH_Vol17_0382a.gif
OSWALD advised in about May 19, 1961, he became fearful some reprisals might be taken against him for having made the trip to the Soviet Union. He stated he then inquired of the American Embassy in Moscow, Russia, as to the possible legal complications. He stated the Embassy assured him they were aware of no evidence which would warrant prosecution against him, should he choose to return to the United States. (CE 824, p. 737; p. 5 in original)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0382a.htm
Quote off
Why would the American Embassy tell LHO this? Didn’t he defect to the Soviet Union which was our arch enemy at the time? Didn’t he attempt to renounce his U.S. citizenship? Didn’t he offer top secret information regarding the U-2 spy plane program in order to stay when his visa was expiring? I think so. So why was the American Embassy telling him that there was “no evidence” that could lead to prosecution when he returned to the U.S.? Were they the correct ones to be making this statement?
How could they tell him this without checking with the Department of Justice and the FBI first? They couldn’t since those were the ones that would decide on this issue and not the American Embassy in Moscow. If we look at FBI Director Hoover’s WC testimony we see this interesting comment.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, in light of what happened. Mr. Hoover, I think the Commission would desire to have your comments or whatever you care to tell them, concerning the reasons why you did not furnish the information you had concerning Lee Harvey Oswald to the Secret Service prior to the time of the President's assassination.
Mr. HOOVER. Well, I have gone into that very thoroughly because that was obviously one of the questions that I had in my mind when the tragedy occurred in Dallas.
In going back over the record, and I have read each one of the reports dealing with that and the reports of Mr. Hosty who had dealt with the Oswald situation largely in Dallas, we had the matter that I have previously referred to, the report of the State Department that indicated this man was a thoroughly safe risk, he had changed his views, he was a loyal man now and had seen the light of day, so to speak.
How intensive or how extensive that interview in Moscow was, I don't know. But, nevertheless, it was in a State Department document that was furnished to us.
So let me get this straight, LHO supposedly defects to our arch enemy at the height of the Cold War, attempts to renounce his U.S. citizenship, and then offers the Russians top secret information that cost the U.S. Government a bunch of money to alter so his act wouldn’t hurt us, and a simple epiphany by LHO made him a “thoroughly safe risk”?
This information provided by Lieutenant John Donovan, who had been LHO’s superior and supervisor for seven months, illustrates the issues and work LHO’s defection caused.
Quote on
When Oswald allegedly defected to the Soviet Union, in October 1959, 'that compromised all our secret radio frequencies, call signs and authentication codes,' Mr. Donovan said. 'He knew the location of every unit on the West Coast and the radar capability of every installation. We had to spend several thousand man-hours, changing everything and verifying the destruction of the codes.' (New York Times, December 5, 1963, edition)
Quote off
How much money do you think the “several thousand man-hours” cost the U.S. Government? This information alone shows that there was evidence to prosecute LHO with, but of course his other alleged actions would have provided further evidence. It is very significant to me that the WC Report (WCR) made no mention of this information in the New York Times despite them calling John Donovan as a witness and him mentioning exactly what he told the newspaper.
Mr. ELY. Do you recall the circumstances under which Oswald left the Marine Corps?
Mr. DONOVAN. Yes; I do.
Mr. ELY. Could you relate them to us, please?
Mr. DONOVAN. I recall that he got a hardship discharge. We offered to get him a flight---that is a hop from El Toro to some place in Texas, his home. He refused. We considered that normal in that if you take a hop you sacrifice your transportation pay. We offered to take him to a bus or train station. He refused. But that is not particularly unusual, either.
I recall that he was gone for some period of time, and shortly before I got out of the Marine Corps, which was mid-December 1959, we received word that he had showed up in Moscow. This necessitated a lot of change of aircraft call signs, codes, radio frequencies, radar frequencies.
He had the access to the location of all bases in the west coast area, all radio frequencies for all squadrons, all tactical call signs, and the relative strength of all squadrons, number and type of aircraft in a squadron, who was the commanding officer, the authentication code of entering and exiting the ADIZ, which stands for Air Defense Identification Zone. He knew the range of our radar. He knew the range of our radio. And he knew the range of the surrounding units' radio and radar.
Mr. ELY. You recall that various codes were changed. Now, at what level were these changed? Was this an action of your specific unit, or a fairly widespread action?
Mr. DONOVAN. Well, I did not witness the changing in any other squadrons, but it would have to be, because the code is obviously between two or more units. Therefore, the other units had to change it. These codes are a grid, and two lines correspond.
And he gives the grid that you want, and he reads back "AB," or whatever the reply is supposed to be, the authentication is supposed to be.
Mr. ELY. Are they changed even if there is no specific incident which elicits the change?
Mr. DONOVAN. They are methodically changed anyway. There are some things which he knew on which he received instruction that there is no way of changing, such as the MPS 16 height-finder radar gear. That had recently been integrated into the Marine Corps system. It had a height-finding range far in excess of our previous equipment, and it has certain limitations. He had been schooled on those limitations.
It cannot operate above a given altitude in setting--in other words, you cannot place the thing above a given terrain height.
He had also been schooled on a piece of machinery called a TPX-1, which is used to transfer radio---radar and radio signals over a great distance. Radar is very susceptible to homing missiles, and this piece of equipment is used to put your radar antenna several miles away, and relay the information back to your site which you hope is relatively safe. He had been schooled on this. And that kind of stuff you cannot change.
Mr. ELY. Did Oswald have any kind of clearance?
Mr. DONOVAN. He must have had secret clearance to work in the radar center, because that was a minimum requirement for all of us.
Why? Probably because it would have highlighted what a joke it was that LHO was never arrested upon his return if this information is accurate or it would have highlighted that the whole LHO defection was a joke if it was inaccurate. The only viable option for the WC was to ignore it totally. Luckily for them they were quite good at ignoring things.
Could this clean bill of health have been the reason LHO was approached about becoming an FBI informant? Could it also explain why he said in his radio interview in New Orleans that he was under the protection of the U.S. Government?
Quote on
Hal Verb, a West Coast writer and researcher, has obtained a literal transcription of this tape. In his testimony Stuckey (11H, p. 169) seems to identify the Commission's version as having been distributed by the Associated Press. Verb's copy, which I have, came from the electronic media. One paragraph is of particular interest. As printed by the Commission (21H, p. 639), it has but a single "er." In the original there are eight. But the Commission version has something added to replace these missing seven "er's," something that changes the sense entirely. Here is the Commission version:
Oswald: Well, as I er, well -- I will answer that question directly then as you will not rest until you get your answer. I worked in Russia I was not under the protection of the -- that is to say I was not under protection of the American (sic) government. But as I was, at all times considered an American citizen I did not lose my American citizenship. (Stuckey Exhibit 3, p. 7; WC XXI, p. 639)
Hal Verb's transcript, which is confirmed by an actual tape I had, is as follows:
“Oswald: Er, well, as I er, well, I will answer that question directly then as you will not rest until you get your answer er, I worked in Russia er, I was er under the protection er, of the er, that is to say I was not under protection of the American government but as I was at all times er, considered an American citizen. I did not lose any American citizenship.”
That's quite a swap -- seven "er's" for one "not." This swap is exactly what Stuckey called it, "very unfair" -- not because of a disparity in the weight or values of "er's" as compared with "not's" but because of the 180-degree change in the meaning of Oswald's statement. He actually slipped and said, "I was, er, under the protection of the American government", then corrected himself. The Commission's editing here has him saying, "I was not under the protection of the American government." (Harold Weisberg, Oswald in New Orleans, pp. 106-107, 1967)
Quote off
This shows that LHO was under the protection of the American government. It also shows that the WC willfully either accepted an altered transcript or altered it themselves. Neither is a good outcome for those seeking the truth.
Can any WC defender explain why LHO was never detained and prosecuted for his alleged actions in the Soviet Union if he wasn’t working for the American government?