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HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS.
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1977-78 investigation into murder of President Kennedy. Background, objectives, conspiracy findings, bias, evidence.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
1977-78 investigation into murder of President Kennedy. Background, objectives, conspiracy findings, bias, evidence.
Paper Introduction:
The House Select Committee on Assassinations was created on February 2, 1977, with the mandate to conduct a "full and complete investigation and study of the circumstances surrounding the assassination and death of President John F. Kennedy and the assassination and death of Martin Luther King, Jr. The House Resolution 1540, by the 94th Congress, second session, authorized the 12-member select committee.
Despite the passage of many years since final conclusions were reached regarding the death of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the American people did not believe that the truth concerning these assassinations had been disclosed, and they continued to question the adequacy and integrity of the original investigations. The Select Committee on Assassinations, in its report to the 94th Congress stated that the passage of
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Inaddition, the Warren Commission present the conclusions in its report in afashion that was too definitive.[11] The committee's findings that President Kennedy was probablyassassinated as a result of a conspiracy was premised on four factors.First, since the Warren Commission's and the FBI's investigation into thepossibility of a conspiracy was seriously flawed, their failure to developevidence of a conspiracy could not be given independent weight.[12]Second, the Warren Commission, in fact, was incorrect in concluding thatOswald and Ruby had no significant associations, and therefore its findingof no conspiracy was not reliable. Thehistory of these assassinations has demonstrated that the passage of moretime would only increase that concern. Anti-Castro Cuban groups were not involved either, but thatdid not preclude the possibility that individual members may have beeninvolved. The House Select Committee's report, according to some, reflected aneven more serious bias--in conformity with the now widespread conspiracyconsensus. BibliographyArtwohl, Robert R. Res. Thereafter, on March 8,1977, Congressman Louis Stokes was appointed Chairman by the Speaker of theHouse of Representatives and the committee was reorganized, and continuedto pursue the investigations as required by the House of Representatives inthe new Resolution. Many believed that its findings thatPresident Kennedy was killed as a result of a conspiracy rested oncircumstantial evidence.[14] Like the Warren Commission before it, the committee's investigationconfirmed an underlying bias. [18]Ibid. [5]Ibid., 1 . The committee's report to the 95th Congress stated that the committeedid not immediately proceed as planned, and action was not taken until theadoption of H. [13]Ibid., 96. [2]"Summary of Findings and Recommendations, Report of the SelectCommittee on Assassinations, U.S. Prior to the end of the 94th Congress, the committee hadobtained the services of experienced professionals and support staff whichhad already embarked on the investigations. Artwohl, "JFK's Assassination: Conspiracy, ForensicScience, and Common Sense," Journal of the American Medical Association, 24March 1993, 154 -1543. [16]Ibid. The committee attempted to undertake a painstaking, methodicalinvestigation into the assassinations to resolve these doubts. On the evidence available,the committee also held that the Cuban government was not involved in theassassination. Fauntroy was designated Chairman of the King subcommittee andCongressman Richard Preyer was designated Chairman of the Kennedy Unit.[3]Thereafter, the committee immediately addressed itself to the task ofassembling staff, planning the course of the investigations, and assigningadministrative functions. The committee established a program that consisted of three primaryactivities--the investigation, public presentation of evidence, andpreparation of the final report.[5] Under the Chairmanship ofRepresentative Louis Stokes, the delays that the first committee hadexperienced were resolved and the investigation continued. In addition, it was reaffirmed that the committee would be dividedinto two subcommittees, as before. [3]Ibid., 3. The House Select Committee on Assassinations, created by HouseResolution 154 , expired as the 94th Congress ended its term on January 3,1977. [19]C. Moreover, the mandate by the House to investigate theassassinations not truly for a legislative purpose but proscriptively--todetermine the innocence or guilt of individuals--demonstrates an ease withwhich Congressional power can, when the politics are favorable, be divertedto questionable uses. House ofRepresentatives, 95th Congress," House Reports, Vol. 222. Krauss, "House Request Set on Kennedy Files," New York Times, 22January 1992, A1. On March 7, 1977, the committee adopted its rules of procedures whichestablished the framework in which the investigation would proceed. 95-1828, Part 2 (Washington, D.C.: U.S.Government Printing Office, 1979), 95. Others believed that the basis for the conspiracy finding in theKennedy case was the highly dubious acoustical evidence of gunfire by asecond gunman. The conclusions of the investigations werearrived at in good faith, but presented in a fashion that was toodefinitive. According to Sawyer, noacoustical expert testified that even his trained ear had detected gunfire. 3-1, SpecialReports, I. For example, the Committee did not haveaccess to certain files on the assassination for approximately two months,telephone service was disconnected for the same period, preventing thestaff from maintaining contact with witnesses and potential witnesses; andother problems which severely restricted the committee in its investigativeefforts. [8]"Select Committee," 1979, 1. [2 ]P. "Who Shot JFK?" Newsweek, 6 September 1993, 14- 17.Krauss, C. All of the acoustical expert opinions were based on the tape or print-outof a computer showing three groupings of oscilloscope-like stylus amplitudemarkings which remain after the filtering out of the motorcycle noise fromthe dictabelt. "House Request Set on Kennedy Files." New York Times, 22January 1992, A1.Kuntz, P. Upon adoption of this resolution, Henry B.Gonzales was appointed Chairman of the committee. Access to FBI materials on bothassassinations was resumed.[6] Numerous subpoenas were authorized and issued in both cases andinvestigators were dispatched to various areas of the United States tocollect evidence and interview potential witnesses. Congressman WalterE. [9]Ibid., 2. Most likely, the truthwill never be known. The second and third shots he fired struck the President.The third shot killed him. However, it failed to investigate adequately thepossibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the President. Furthermore, Dr. James E. It adequately investigated Oswald prior to theassassination and properly evaluated the evidence it possessed to assesshis potential danger to public safety in a national emergency. The witness refused to testify, citing privileges under thefirst, fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendments to the U.S. It may havebeen a conspiracy of a small group of people who misguidedly believedkilling Kennedy would somehow help their cause. The committee reported that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots atthe President. The Federal Bureau of Investigation performed its duties with varyingdegrees of competency. The committee divided itself into twosubcommittees dealing with each of the investigations. In the draft report of December 13, 1978, the committee concludedthat there was insufficient evidence to find that there was a conspiracy toassassinate President Kennedy.[7] However, by December 29, the committee,after hearing new evidence, had changed its conclusions. In the ensuing years, old doubts had remained and newdisturbing questions had been raised as additional evidence had beendiscovered. The report stated that the President was struckby two rifle shots fired from behind him. Fortechnical and administrative reasons the committee had some difficulties inthe course of the investigation. "Congress Moving to Open Files on Kennedy Assassination."Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 25 January 1992, 155."Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, U.S. The committee evaluated the Warren Commission, stating that itperformed with varying degrees of competency. [17]Bethell, 13. It was decided that to conduct the type of full and thoroughinvestigations required by the House, it was necessary to employ anoutstanding professional staff of criminal investigators, which should beindependent and objective and, therefore, not allied with any of theexecutive agencies previously involved in the investigation of theassassinations. These were fired from the sixthfloor window of the southeast corner of the Texas School Book Depositorybuilding. Itconducted a thorough and professional investigation into the responsibilityof Oswald for the assassination, but it failed to investigate adequatelythe possibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the President.[1 ] Thecommittee concluded that the bureau was deficient in its sharing ofinformation with other agencies and departments. "Conspiracies Unlimited." Nation, 22 December 1979,1, 654-658, 66 .Evan, Thomas. The committee also reported that it did not believe organizedcrime as a group was involved in the assassination, but that did notpreclude the possibility that individual members may have been involved. Given thepast associations of Lee Harvey Oswald, the other gunman may have had Cuban-Soviet sympathies, but also given the relative unimportance of Lee HarveyOswald in political circles, it is likely that if there was a conspiracy itdid not reach the higher levels of any foreign government. Lee Harvey Oswald owned the rifle that was used to fire theshots from the sixth floor, and shortly before the assassination, he hadaccess to and was present on the sixth floor of the building. Nowhere on it is there any noiseor series of noises even suggesting gunfire. [7]Tom Bethell, "Conspiracies' End," New Republic, 22 September 1979,13. This deficiencywas attributable in part to the failure of the commission to receive allthe relevant information that was in the possession of other agencies anddepartments of the government. On March 16, 1977, awitness was called who allegedly could have given new evidence on thepossible involvement of organized crime and Cuban forces in the Kennedyassassination. Of the original investigation conducted afterthe assassination, the committee believed it was thorough and reliable,however, the investigation into the possibility of conspiracy in theassassination was inadequate. On March 8, 1977, Representative Louis Stokes of Ohio was namedchairman of the committee to replace the previous chairman who hadresigned. With respect to Jack Ruby, the committee found, unlike the WarrenCommission, that he had significant dealing with Oswald. This bias was reflected not, as in the case of the WarrenCommission, in its investigative procedures but in the strained inferencesand conclusions which it drew from the facts.[15] According to thisviewpoint, the report and the conspiracy movement from which it has emergedilluminate a larger pattern of escapism and frustration which increasinglydominate Congress. The House Select Committee on Assassinations was created on February2, 1977, with the mandate to conduct a "full and complete investigation andstudy of the circumstances surrounding the assassination and death ofPresident John F. "Conspiracies' End." New Republic, 22 September 1979,12-14.Donner, Frank. "JFK's Assassination: Conspiracy, ForensicScience, and Common Sense." Journal of the American Medical Association,24 March 1993, 154 -1543.Bethell, Tom. Downing(who would later resign). Third, while it cannot be inferred fromthe significant associations of Oswald and Ruby that any of the majorgroups examined by the committee were involved in the assassination, a morelimited conspiracy could not be ruled out. [15]Ibid., 654. 3-1, Special Reports,I (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1977), 1. The commission arrived at its conclusions,based on the evidence available to it, in good faith, however. Constitution.Throughout the month of March, formal sessions dealing with theinvestigations were held in closed executive session. Other scientific evidence did not preclude the possibilityof two gunmen firing at the President.[8] The committee believed, on the basis of the evidence available, thatPresident Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.The committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the extent of theconspiracy. Therules, along with the enabling Resolution, adopted by the House ofRepresentatives on September 17, 1976, provided the committee with thenecessary tools to conduct an effective inquiry and insured that theinvestigations would be conducted in a credible manner, with due regard forthe constitutional rights of the prospective witnesses. Kennedy and the assassination and death of Martin LutherKing, Jr.[1] The House Resolution 154 , by the 94th Congress, secondsession, authorized the 12-member select committee.[2] Despite the passage of many years since final conclusions werereached regarding the death of John F. In 1992, in an effort to dispel public suspicions that the governmentwas involved in a conspiracy to kill the president, Louis Stokes askedCongress to order the release of all government documents on the Kennedyassassination.[19] Many people, including Oliver Stone, whose film "JFK"postulates such a conspiracy, believed that opening up the secret fileswould reveal this to be true.[2 ] Even a medical journal published anarticle stating that many physicians are still sympathetic to a key pro-conspiracy tenet that the autopsy physicians conspired with the militaryand several government agencies to disguise and suppress medical evidencethat would show Kennedy was publicly executed in Dallas by multiplegunmen.[21] Still others believe that releasing the Kennedy assassinationfiles will show only that the Federal Bureau of Investigations and theCentral Intelligence Agency engaged in a cover-up of their mishandling ofthe case.[22] In view of the evidence presented it does seem likely that Kennedywas killed by more than one gunman, or at least it was possible. House of Representatives, 95th Congress,Second Session," House Report No. The SelectCommittee on Assassinations, in its report to the 94th Congress stated thatthe passage of time had not healed the national trauma caused by theseassassinations. 95-1828, Part 2. Under the mandate contained in the enabling Resolution, the committeecommenced its activities under the leadership of Chairman Thomas N. Barger, the committee's initialacoustical expert, was unable to say with either certainty, or any degreeof conviction, that the bursts of amplitude shown on the computer tape werein fact either gunshots or even sounds similar to gunshots.[18] The committee concluded, following the testimony of two moreacoustics experts, that these bursts of amplitude were gunshots, and thatone of them was 95 percent certain to have come from the grassy knoll.Others believe that there was considerable evidence that the motorcyclefrom whose microphone the dictabelt was recorded was not even in DealeyPlaza at the time. The committee found that the Secret Service, the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, and the Central Intelligence Agency were not involved in theassassination of the President.[9] Agencies and departments of the U.S.government performed with varying degrees of competency in the fulfillmentof their duties. Scientificacoustical evidence established a high probability that two gunmen fired atthe President. House ofRepresentatives, 95th Congress, Second Session." House Report No. After the committee adopted its rules and procedures, it appointed atask force to consider budgetary and staff requirements for the ensuingyear. [12]Ibid., 97. [4]"Select Committee," 1977, 9. A meeting was immediately arranged withAttorney General Griffin Bell, who assured the cooperation and assistanceof the Department of Justice. [1 ]Ibid. Furthermore,the Department of Justice failed to exercise initiative in supervising anddirecting the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of theassassination. The required supporting evidence--eyewitnesses, spentbullets, flight--altogether lacking, as was the evidence of groupinvolvement.[16] In the final two weeks between their report of December 13, 1978 andthe last report of December 29, 1978, the committee heard testimony about adictabelt which had been found in a Dallas Police Department closet.[17]It contained a recording made on the day of the assassination from a policemotorcycle whose microphone was stuck on the transmit position.Congressman Harold Sawyer stated that the dictabelt appeared to containonly the noise of a motorcycle, at one point the faint noise of sirens, andat another, the faint ringing of chimes. These afforded thestaff the opportunity to acquaint the committee with the exact status ofeach of the investigations. President Kennedy, the committee reported, did notreceive adequate protection. Washington, D.C.: United States Government PrintingOffice, 1979.----------------------- [1]"Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, U.S. House ofRepresentatives, 95th Congress." House Report, Vol. The commission conducted athorough and professional investigation into the responsibility of LeeHarvey Oswald. [6]Ibid., 4. On January 4, 1977, a unanimous consent request was introduced toconsider House Resolution 9, as amended, and was favorably reported by theRules Committee as House Resolution 222 on February 1, 1977.[4] The creation of a congressional committee to investigateassassinations, as well as issues concerning the nature and cost of theproposed investigations, created considerable controversy in the country.House Resolution 222 proposed to constitute the committee for only anadditional two months, to the end of March 1977, so that these issues couldbe more closely examined. As a result, there was a growing sense of national concernabout the adequacy and integrity of the original investigation. [14]Frank Donner, "Conspiracies Unlimited," Nation, 22 December 1979,1. In addition,the committee found that Oswald's other actions tended to support theconclusion that he assassinated the President. The Secret Service was deficient in the performance of its duties:it possessed information that was not properly analyzed, investigated, orused by the Secret Service in connection with the President's trip toDallas; in addition, Secret Service agents in the motorcade wereinadequately prepared to protect the President from a sniper. The committee did not believe that the Soviet government wasinvolved in the assassination of the President. And last, there was a highprobability that a second gunman, in fact, fired at the President. The dictabelt evidence may dissolve entirely if it isfurther scrutinized by the National Academy of Sciences, as the committeerecommended. [11]Ibid., 3. However, sincethe committee did not find evidence of a conspiratorial association, it didnot investigate this association further.[13] The American public viewed the two-and-a-half-year investigation,which cost $5.4 million--the most expensive such investigation ever--withinterest and with suspicion. With respect to theCentral Intelligence Agency, the committee concluded that it was deficientin its collection and sharing of information both prior to and subsequentto the assassination. [22]Evan Thomas, "Who Shot JFK?" Newsweek, 6 September 1993, 14-17.----------------------- 1 Kuntz, "Congress Moving to Open Files on Kennedy Assassination,"Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report,25 January 1992, 155. From the start, the Warren Commission tiltedtoward a lone-assassin conclusion for a variety of reasons: its more orless explicit mandate to eliminate the unsettling impact of conspiracyspeculations on political stability; its need to counteract the nativistCommunist conspiracy mania which flourished in the 196 s, and a politicalconcern to eliminate embarrassment in foreign relations. On March 3 , 1977, the House approved House Resolution 433 whichconstituted the committee until January 3, 1979--giving the committee moretime than originally planned--for the duration of the 95th Congress. While thecommittee pursued new information it also undertook to initiate anexhaustive investigation of the assassinations, including a thorough reviewof prior investigative efforts. Washington, D.C.: United States Government PrintingOffice, 1977."Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, U.S. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.,the American people did not believe that the truth concerning theseassassinations had been disclosed, and they continued to question theadequacy and integrity of the original investigations. [21]Robert R. On February 2, 1977, House Resolution 222 wasconsidered by the House as the Committee of the Whole, so that amendmentscould be offered from the floor and members given an opportunity to expressobjections.
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