sign in sign up
<<
Home , Hugh Aynesworth, Nellie Connally

COVERUPS! Number 14 Gary Mack, Editor & Publisher January, 1984

THE TAPES AND OTHER NEW EVIDENCE by Gary Mack It wasn't as good as I'd hoped, but then the anniversary morning. Except for the commercial breaks, which were wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. New evidence few, and occasional on-camera commentary by news an- did turn up, evidence that confirmed what we've long chor Tracy Rowlett, it was 1963 all over again. suspected but could never prove. The station had been lucky—it had just received a ship- The Cecil Stoughton photo above, printed in the mostly ment of videotape and had nearly 40 hours available (at a useless November issue of Life, is rare confirmation that cost of about $10,000). The ABC network, at that time, was evidence was removed from the car and either destroyed or a distant third with both people and equipment, so WFAA made to disappear. Stoughton, a White House still was forced to originate far more local cut-ins than the other photographer, took the picture moments after the bub- network affiliates; in fact, ABC taped none of its coverage! bletop was replaced. But Life didn't include the arrow, So the over-30 hours kept by WFAA is all that remains of which points to a stainless steel bucket. The caption reads that weekend (newsfilm shot by ABC photographers is still "Outside Parkland, agents clean the bloody limousine." available). Were skull fragments or bullets placed in the bucket? For this presentation titled "The Kennedy Tapes," We don't know, because the official record makes no WFAA did a straight chronology with narration to bridge reference to a pail with the contents of a crime scene. And the periods not recorded. Fortunately, the station had a as expected, Life ran the picture with no comment. complete index, cross-referenced, that it had prepared for Other magazines and newspapers had special reports and the . Despite the fact that the original supplements for the twentieth anniversary, some of which reels and index had never been marked for proper se- included new or first-time interviews with significant quence, I noted only two minor errors. witnesses and principals. This and subsequent issues will Locally, WFAA was not the news leader it is today. But include many of those stories. from the perspective of 20 years, its coverage was excellent But the most fascinating anniversary special was provid- and, in some cases, unique. By using two video recorders I ed by WFAA-TV, the local ABC affiliate. After numerous was able to tape every minute of interest and then prepare requests over the years for access to their videotapes, a transcript. WFAA aired nearly 16 hours of it's original news coverage. was seen on camera many times, but They ran the weekend prior to the anniversary in the late only twice was his voice recorded. On Saturday, as he was night hours between midnight and 7 early Saturday and led down the hallway away from the camera he's heard Sunday mornings with a two hour wrapup early Monday saying "....the basic fundamental hygienic rights, I mean, 2 like a shower and, uh, clothing." The reporter, Paul times, in Newman's presence, that they had heard 3 shots. Goode, explained that Oswald was saying he was being Watson implied the first two were closer together than the denied those rights. last two, but neither speculated on a source. He later said Some time later, as Oswald was being led back to the two shots could sound like one if they were fired close room he had come from, he said "I don't know what together. Watson and Haynes were on the west side of dispatches you people have been given, but I emphatically between the reflecting pool and the monument. deny these charges. I have not killed anybody, I have not They had turned to walk south back to the station when the committed any acts of violence." The last sentence was shots were fired. Neither saw JFK during the shooting. literally shouted from inside the room and ended only They both ran across Elm and up the hill with everyone when the door slammed shut. Oswald was furious. else and, when no one was found, spotted the Newman's WFAA's first bulletin came at 12:45 (the ABC network and asked them to come to the studio. Haynes added: didn't even begin until early afternoon). Program Director JH: ....and then they rounded the corner and just a few Jay Watson appeared from behind a curtain and read the seconds later we heard the shots....and the lady had a UPI teletype information. He then walked over to an inter- camera, I remember, was taking personal films of it, and view set in the studio where William and Gayle Newman she, I think, was an eyewitness, and she had come running were already seated with their two children. Joining this over and crossed the street screaming. group was Jerry Haynes, then and now the popular The only known female photographer who crossed Elm children's show character Mr. Peppermint. All six people right after the shooting was the , Beverly had witnessed the assassination! McGann. Her film conveniently "disappeared. " Bill Newman (BN) was interviewed first by Watson (JW): Moments after Bill Newman was interviewed for the last BN: ....The President's car was some 50 feet still, yet, in time, his wife Gayle was questioned: front of us, comin' towards us when we heard the first GN: ....And the car was just up a piece from us and this shot, and the President, I don't know who was hit first, but shot fired out and I thought it was a firecracker. And the the President jumped up in his seat, and I thought it scared President kinda raised up in his seat and....all of a sudden him, thought it was a firecracker cause he looked, you this next one popped and Governor Connally. grabbed his know, fear. And then as the car got directly in front of us, stomach and kinda laid over to the side. And then another well, a gunshot apparently from behind us hit the President one, it was just all so fast, and President Kennedy reached in the side, side of the temple. (This sequence is seen in the up and grabbed, looked like his, grabbed his ear and blood movie Rush To Judgement as a mirror image. Newman ac- just started gushing out.... tually pointed to his left temple, but Rush's source, a UPI JW: ....You didn't see anybody, or you didn't see anything? film of this live broadcast, is reversed.) GN: No, it happened so fast that you didn't have a chance JW: Do you think the first gunshot came from behind you, to, to see anything.... too? After this interview, Newman always claimed he heard BN: I think it come from the same location, uh, apparently three shots, not two. Confronted with a television per- back up on the noll (phonetic, knoll or mall?), I don't know sonality and executive who were also witnesses, plus his what you call it. wife who heard three distinct shots and saw three specific JW: ....Do you think the shot came from up on top of the reactions, is it any wonder he changed his story? viaduct, toward the President ' The Newmans, who today live in Indiana, were inter- BN: ....No, not on the viaduct itself, but up on top of the viewed in 1980 for the Taft documentary The President hill, a little mound of ground there, the garaien.t..we didn't Must Die. Both now say there could have been a fourth realize what happened until we seen the side of his head, shot—a classic example of how memories change. uh, whenever the bullet hit him in the head. The next eyewitness appeared just after .2pm, as the Watson then left Newman, but returned a few minutes President's body was being taken to Love Field. Abraham later: Zapruder (AZ) was soon told where the shots came from: JW: Did you say that one of the shots came from one direc- AZ: ....as the President was coming down from Houston tion and one from another, it seemed like? Street making his turn, it was about a halfway down there, BN: No sir. Actually I felt they both come from directly I heard a shot, and he slumped to the side like this. Then I behind where we were standing. The President, it looked heard another shot or two, I couldn't say whether it was like he was looking in that direction. I don't know whether one or two, and I saw his head practically open up.... he was hit first, apparently he was and it looked like he JW: ....You have the film in your camera? We'll try to jumped up in his seat, and when he jumped up, well, he AZ: Yes I brought it to the studio. was shot directly in the head. And, I don't know what you JW: We'll try to get that processed and have it as soon as call the noll behind us, but apparently that's where possible....Now we have a picture of the building....there is JW: He was. the window where the gun was allegedly fired from that BN: Right. killed President Kennedy. Newman could not have been more explicit. The shots AZ: ....I must have been in the line of fire where I see in came from behind him while he was looking at JFK. And that picture where it was, I was right on that concrete Kennedy was looking at that same location, a fact verified block.... in Zapruder frames beginning around Z-170. Despite his Watson was given new information while Zapruder was accent and not knowing the best word for the loca- talking, information that came from a wire service or one tion , Newman made it clear that he was not talking about of WFAA's own news people. At any rate, Zapruder seem- the area to his left front, the TSBD. ed confused and surprised to learn that the shots had come Again the interview was interrupted, but Newman ap- from the TSBD to his left. No wonder his later statements peared on camera once more just a few moments later: and interviews seemed vague and rambling. Was his initial JW: And the shots were almost simultaneously, weren't opinion significantly different? they? WFAA was, indeed, the first stop in the attempt to get the BN: Yes sir, they were probably 10 seconds apart. film developed. But stations in 1963 only handled 16mm JW: Do you know who fired the third shot? black & white film, not 8mm color. Imagine, though, what BN: I didn't hear a third, I don't recall a third shot, there could have happened. WFAA might have shown the film may have been....I don't recall a third shot. I just couldn't, that afternoon, not suppressed it as Life magazine did a few I'm not certain of that. I do know that I heard two shots. days later. History would have been very different. JW: Yeah I heard three, I know that. Coming in future issues, more eyewitness interviews BN: You heard three? Well... from The Kennedy Tapes, including the only different John Actually, Watson and Haynes had repeated several Connally description of the assassination. 3 Only in The Enquirer — Bombshell Book by the Coroner to the Stars Who Really Fired the Shot That Killed Bobby Kennedy? At least 70 people saw Sirhan Sirhan fatal shot. In this astonishing exclusive shoot and kill Sen. Bobby Kennedy in Los ENQUIRER installment from his block- Angeles in 1968 — but former Los An- buster new book, "Coroner," Noguchi geles Coroner Thomas Noguchi, who reveals how he painstakingly recreated performed the autopsy on RFK, says the. Kennedy shooting — and the star- there's evidence Saban did not fire the tling conclusion he reached. By THOMAS NOGUCHI, M.D. I was awakened by the jangle of the telephone. Even before I placed the receiver to my ear, I could hear the excited voice of one of my deputies: "Dr. Noguchi, something's happened. Bobby Kennedy has been shot!" I immediately turned on the television set and saw the dreadful film re- play of the shooting — people screaming, the close-up of the Senator's face as he lay on the floor of a Los Angeles hotel kitchen. I heard a paramedic say the Senator had been shot in the head. Twenty-four hours later he was dead. CLUTCHING ROSARY: Sen. Robert Kennedy lies on At least 70 people saw Sen. Kennedy floor dying after he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. shot — but my autopsy would appear to con- tradict what every single witness had seen ed: only three inches behind may have been a second gun- with his own eyes in that crowded kitchen. the head. =B. At the autopsy, Sen. Kennedy's body But I also- realized that Moreover, even the most lay on a table covered with a sheet I re- this evidence seemed to ex- sophisticated forensic tech- moved the bandages on his head. onerate Sirhan Sirhan. niques were unable to prove My emotions at that moment led me to Not a single witness had that the fatal bullet was make an extraordinary request, surprising seen him fire behind Ken- fired from Sirhan's gun. my fellow pathologists, who knew it was not nedy's ear at point-blank And yet ... my own pro- normal procedure. range. fessional instinct instructs It would be the only instance in the What was the truth? First, me that Sirhan somehow thousands of autopsies I have performed what did the eyes of the on- killed Sen. Kennedy alone. that I asked that the deceased's face be cov- lookers see? Almost all of Re has always insisted he ered with a towel. Only then could I per- the witnesses observed Sir- acted alone, and he kept a form my work professionally, unshaken by ban shoot and kill Kennedy diary in which he wrote my feelings for Kennedy. And I observed a openly and brazenly from in "RFK MUST DIE." moment of silence, head bowed, a Japanese front I believe the Kennedy as- custom showing respect for the deceased. But forensic evidence sug- sassination must go down in The day after the autopsy, a criminolo- gested that the shooting oc- forensic science as a classic gist from the Los Angeles Police Depart- curred in a different way. phenomenon of "crowd psy- ment appeared at my office door. "Dr. COPS SEIZE Sirhan after at least 70 An instant after Kennedy chology," where none of the Noguchi, we've found something. Gun pow- witnesses saw him shoot Bobby from entered the kitchen, a gun eyewitnesses saw what actu- der residue and soot in some hair shavings front. But did he fire the fatal shot? appeared three inches from ally happened. taken from around Kenne- the back of his head, fired, I have always believed it dy's head wound." moving back to a quarter- I discovered we had a per- then- disappeared. is perfectly possible that Sir- "Soot?" I sat straight up. inch, half-inch, two, three fect match of the pattern of Sirhan's conviction was ban lunged toward Kennedy Only that morning, the po- and four inches. unburned gunpowder grains upheld. and fired, a move unseen by lice had informed me that all Crack! Crack! Crack! The I had found on Kennedy's But scientific evidence of everyone, and then, as Ken- the witnesses to the assassi- marksman moved down the right ear. soot and a host of witnesses nedy spun around, lunged nation had reported that Sir- line, carefully, until he had I now knew the precise who did not actually see Sir- back to fire from farther han Sirhan had been at least completed seven shots. At location of the murder weap- han fire the fatal shot — all away, a second move also in- a yard away when he fired at three inches from the skull. on at the moment it was fir- seemed to indicate there visible to all. Kennedy. But if there was Or a second gunman trig- soot in the scalp hair, that gered the first shot up close. meant a gun had been trig- ducked away, and then Sir- gered within inches of his han fired the other bullets head. from three feet away as I decided a ballistics test Kennedy turned. would be necessary to deter- Thus I have never said mine the precise distance. that Sirhan Sirhan killed That afternoon, a lab techni- Robert Kennedy. cian was startled by my re- Perhaps the whole truth quest for "seven pigs' ears." will never be known. I then asked him to affix the pigs' ears to padded mus- lin configurations, each sim- Next Week: The ulating a skull. We would then take the "skulls" to the Truth Behind police academy's shooting range for a unique ballistics William Holdens test which I would supervise. I asked an officer to fire at Strange Death each "skull." beginning with nem CORONER by Thomas Noweat. M.D . a firm contact shot, then yeah Joseph DIM a. Covyrtibt O 1963 by Thomas Nnertn. M.D. tad Joseph Dill0M. NATIONAL' Repnnted by per:memo of Sumo k Nev. 29. 1983 ENQUIRER I MINUTES BEFORE SHOOTING: Bobby's last hurrah in Presidential campaign. Schuster. the

Dl' l2-21-81 Elsewhere (Brennan, who was farsighted and wasn't wearing his glasses, was the only witness who claimed to have seen a gunman; but BRENNAN, Howard L, 64, of Kemp, Kant. man County, author of Eyewitness To he told conflicting stories because he was afraid there was The Kennedy Assassination and re- a conspiracy. He and were seen in The Kennedy tired Katy Railroad steamfitter. Serv. ices 11 a.m. Saturday, Anderson.Clay- Tapes being led over to the Sheriff 's office. Does anyone ton Bros. Funeral Chapel. Kemp. have a copy of Brennan 's manuscript?) 4 983 FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM le SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1983 MIAMI HERALD 8-2-81 LBJ said Robert Fear of Mafia and future led Aleman to fatal finale

lyI waHaEsLtaGllAwSnleeLy A

Kennedy blocked Penniless, depressed and convinced the Mafia was out to kill him, Jose Brau- n() Aleman, heir to a Cuban fortune, committed suicide In a final rampage that left a trail of death and blood Oval Office among those he loved most. The story Monday from the few friends Aleman confided In was of a Associated Press ready for his use by midmorning man who had lost his money, his land LOS ANGELES — In the days af- Nov. 23, Loewenheim said. holdings and his mental health. ter President John Kennedy's as- The only son of the late Jose Manuel F. Johnson said he thought Kenne- Aassination, pa...brother, Robert, Ateman, a pre-Batista Cuban minister of dy "seriously considered whether refused to let Lyndon Jepson use education — whose career and fortune he would let me be president; the Oval Office, a historian reported were clouded by charges of graft and whether he should really take the Friday. corruption — was afraid of being killed position the vice president didn't by the Mafia. He believed his 1978 Con- Johnson, who discussed the mat- automatically move in. I thought gressional testimony against under- ter in a 1969 interview, believed that that was on his mind every time 1 world figure Santo Trafficante had it was a plan to keep him from acting saw him the first few days, after 1 marked him for life. as chief executive, said Francis lied already taken the oath." "lie Vusted very few people. Ile was Loewenheim, a historian and pro- convinOd the Mafia was after him," "I think," Johnson went On, "he fessor of history at Rice University said Fugenio Martinez, recently par- was seriously calculating what steps writing in the Los Angeles Herald doned Watergate burglar, a close friend. nations Aleman said Ti :ticante to take. For several days he really Examiner. !In the lest four or five years he had had told him that President John kept me out of the president's off- become almost a recluse because he was Kennedy would not be reelected. The article does not say how Rob- ice. I operated from (the vice presi- convinced the Mafia was going to retail- that he was going to get hit. ert Kennedy, then attorney general, dent's office in) the Executive Off- ate against him because of his testimo- Trafficante. testifying the follow- could have kept Johnson from act- ice Building because it (the ny," said Martinez. who had gotten Ale- ing day. denied the charge. ing as president dr offer evidence president's office) was not made man his last job: car salesman at Antho- From that day on. Aleman be- . that that was his plan. Nor did it say available to me. It was quite a prob- ny Abraham Chevrolet. Aleman lasted lieved he was on a Mafia hit list. what actions Kennedy took to keep lem." three weeks. "He was studious by nature and his brother's successor out of the In early 1964. Kennedy told an Aleman had seen his share of the fam- liked solitude," said Martinez. "His Oval Office. interviewer, "Four or five matters ily fortune — once estimated between fear pushed him Into withdrawal ... arose during the period of Nov. $29 million and $200 million — dwindle from social life." The fear became obsessive . In an oral history interview now 22 to Nov. 27 which made me bitter- away In efforts to fight former Cuban Friends said Aleman turned down available at the Lyndon IL Johnson er ... with Lyndon Johnson." Ken- dictator Fulgenclo Batista and later Fidel as a traveling salesman be- nedy did not elaborate, Loewen- Castro. Unable to meet mortgage pay- a job Library at the University of Texas at cause he believed the Mafia would Austin, Johnson also said Kennedy heim said, ments, property taxes and upkeep, he had sold, one by one, land holdings that take the opportunity to set him up later tried to persuade him to fire In the same interview, Johnson under the guise of business deal. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and said Kennedy suggested several at one time included the Miami stadium, hotels and what Is now Cape Florida In living became unbearable. replace him with Johnson aide Bill times in 1963 and 1984 that Johnson Sunday. the neighborhood where dismiss Rusk, John Kennedy's ap- Key Biscayne. Moyers, now a commentator with. . Three months ago, unable to pay the ..ellegum.„0,4 with his mother pointee, and replace him with CB& rent on his apartment, he moved In with -Immo To'Cries'iad Ms. Police ar- The newly discovered interview Moyers. Kennedy said his brother his mother, into the one-story bungalow rived at 7:18 a.m., and were met by with Johnson was conducted at the had planned to replace him. the family had lived in for 17 years In a the three wounded relatives who LBJ Ranch, eight months after he Johnson rejected Kennedy's ad- predominantly Latin neighborhood in had bolted from the house. left office, by former New York vice, and Rusk continued .as secre- central Miami. Aleman fired twice during the Times reporter and State Depart- tary of state until the end of the Sunday morning, what was left of two hours he held the Miami SWAT team at bay. When a pair of officers ment official William J. Jorden. Johnson administration in January Jose Braulio Aleman's real world ex- finally stormed the house, believing 1969. ploded Into an uncontrollable rage di- Loewenheim wrote that for Rob- rected against his family. In two hours Aleman's aunt was still alive, they ert Kennedy, Johnson's succession Johnson said Kennedy's "whole Aleman took his own life and that of an found her dead to office was another nightmare life was dedicated to removing elderly relative, and wounded .three Moments later, they found Ale- added to the horror of losing his Rusk, and electing himself presi- other relatives, including his six-year- Man and shot him. Hours later they brother in the Nov. 22, 1963, assassi- dent." old cousin. learned their Mullets did not kill nation. Robert Kennedy was assassinated Ironically, Monday he was to have set him. up yet another appointment with a psy- Kennedy, who reportedly dis- in June 1988 while campaigning in Dr Charles Wetli, acting Dade chiatrist. Aleman had cancelled four medical examiner, said Altman shot liked Johnson, was further angered California for the Democratic nomi- previous appointments. when he learned that Johnson told nation for president. Johnson died himself In the right temple on in- Instead. Aleman's body lay at Caballe- po- secretaries to have the Oval Office in January 1973. stant before he was hit by the ro Funeral Home in Coral Gables Mon- lice bullets. Aleman died from his day. own 9mm slug, Well said. Laid next to him was his 69-year-old Until the autopsy results were aunt. Marla Candarez. He shot her at disclosed. it was believed Aleman FWST 11-4.-83 close range twice —. once In the neck, had been killed by the SWAT offi- the other In the head. She died instantly. cer's shots to his stomach, Both will be buried today at Miami 'lAlemanj had fired shots at. po- Idea of US spy museum Memorial Park. 1881 SW 37 Ave. Funer- lice, they fired back and missed the al services are scheduled at 3 p.m. first time. He ran to a bedroom and Aleman killed her with the same shot himself in the right temple ... is coming in from cold semi-automatic 9mm handgun he turned ." Wetli said. "He died almost iti- WASHINGTON (API— What was once marked on himself before Miami police SWAT suntly." "Top Secret" might someday be on display for officers got to him, according to the au- Miami Police Sgt. Jack Sullivan the world to see in an intelligence museum. topsy released Monday by the Dade said police fired because they saw America's intelligence alumni are pushing for Medical Examiner, the hand holding the gun moving. a corner of a floor in a Smithsonian institution "He Just went crazy," said Juan Her- There were no traces of alcohol building or another museum where visitors rero Camp, a former bodyguard of the in Aleman's blood, Weill said. Wounded were Sofia Ampudia, would learn there's more to intelligence gather- dead man's father and a neighbor of the family. "Ile tore up the house in a rage." Aleman's 74-year old aunt who was ing than hidden microphones and dirty tricks. said Herrero Cameio, who helped clean shot in the hands: cousin Maria The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence up the house. Monday. Gonzalez, 36, shot in the neck: and heard testimony Thursday which clarified what "There was so much blood on the her daughter Carina. 6, shot In the sorts of secrets are old enough or sufficiently face. floor ... everything was In shambles." well-known to display. Ampudia and Gonzalez were list- he said. Herrero Camelia had seen Ale- Documents, books, photos of and by spies and ed in fair condition Monday at Jack- man grow from boyhood to adulthood counterfeit postage stamps used to get messages son Memorial Hospital. Carina was and witnessed his final deterioration past enemy lines all were suggested as exhibits. listed in good condition. It is conceived that a visitor could see gadgets "There Is no doubt In my mind he lost Aleman's mother, Silvia Canda- of all kinds, an enlarged microdot, secret inks, his mind . It was too much for him rez. was taken to Jackson Memorial concealment devices, codes and ciphers. — :wing himself with no means, no fu- Hospital's crisis intervention center The ideas are in place. The place isn't. Support- ture, no friends and alone with his Sunday night. The next day, she ers of the idea admitted they had neither the tears," said Herrero Camejo, one of the asked neighbors to bring her money nor the space for their exhibits. lee: people A leman seemed to trust mourning clothes so she could to at- slernmed from his Sept tend the wake for her son and sis- tO, I 978, testimony before the US ter. 'louse Select Committee on Assassi-

5

FWST 12-16-83

FWST 12-5-81

CO V ER- U P: "Late last year, !saw Few sign Reagan censorship plan part of an interview on an Austin cable chanriel with Gary Shaw, au- New York Times News Service agreement themselves before Congress gy departments said they knew of no thor of a book called Coverup. It was acted. high-ranking official and only a few of about the assassination of Kennedy. WASHINGTON — In March, express- ing "grave concern" about disclosure of A senior official hinted strongly that lower rank who had signed the expanded I have not been able to find this book the administration might be willing to censorship agreement. anywhere and only one bookstore government secrets, President Reagan signed an order requiring more than narrow the category of information that manager had even heard about it. I would have to be submitted by former On March 11 Reagan ordered that thought maybe the book itself be- mow government employees to agree more than 120,000 government employ- to lifelong censorship. officials to government censors or other- came part of the 'cover-up' since it wise alter the censorship program, in ees who handle certain materials involv- didn't show up now during the 20th But administration officials acknowl- ing intelligence sources and methods be edge that not one top Reagan official. and order to reach a compromise. His state- anniversary period. Can you tell me ment came in response to a question from required to sign agreements providing what has happened to this book?"- only a handful of people in lower ranks. for "prepublication review" of their writ- have yet signed the agreement. which a reporter about how the administration P.L.S. planned to respond to the strong congres- ing by official censors to be sure govern- BRICE: Shaw reports that he was issued in August. ment secrets are deleted. The order also The officials said the process was sional opposition to the censorship pro- could find no publisher for his gram. provided vastly expanded tests by poly- book so he bore the costs of publi- slowed not only by ordinary bureaucrat. graph, or lie detector, in investigating cation in 1976. You can order a ic delays but also by a need to move Not one White House. Defense or such disclosures. copy of the book directly from him cautiously in light of criticism of the Treasury official has signecithe adminis- at P.O. Box 722, Cleburne 76031. agreement, which prompted Congress to tration's sweeping new censorship agree- Reagan has said such steps are urgent- The cost is $12, which includes pOs- put a moratorium on its use effective ment, official spokesmen said. Reagan ly needed to deal with a serious problem tage and handling charges. Nov. 22. himself, as an elected official, is perma- of unauthorized disclosures of national Other officials, however, said that the nently exempted from signing, along security secrets. While virtually all mod- censorship program was widely resisted with Vice Vresident George Bush, and ern presidents have complained about inside the government and noted that top Reagan has not volunteered to sign. "leaks," this administration's remedies officials had not hastened to sign the Officials of the State. Justice and Ener- were the most stringent yet proposed. (Reporter , who acted as an FBI informant before and during the Garrison investigation (see Coverups (Warren Commission members search 44 for his written admission), was never questioned by the for Texas School Book Depository) Warren Commission or investigators about what he saw that day - this is his only narrative of what he did)

ssassbiation IN

WASHINGTON POST 11-20-83

A POLL ON THE JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION A veteran journalist looks back on the day the president died O. Do you happen to know who Lee Harvey Oswald wus?

ASSASSINATED PRESIDENT KENNEDY/ACCUSED OF IT 8190 ALL OTHER ANSWERS 7 . DON'T KNOW 1 2 Hugh Aynesworth is the only reporter to witness not only the Kennedy assassina- O. Do you feel that Lee Harvey Oswald was or was not the nue, who shut tion. but also Oswald's capture and murder. Aynesworth covered all aspects of the Ken- Kennedy? nedy assassination for The Dallas Morning Netts and Newsweek and has written about WAS MAN WHO SHOT KENNEDY 619,, the subject for newspapers from all over the world. He also has been a consultant to the WAS NOT MAN WHO SHOT KENNEDY 17 DON'T KNOW , NO OPINION 22 three major TV networks and has appeared on more than 75 talk shows and documen- taries about the case. He now lives in Dallas and is a free-lance investigative reporter. 0. From what you know about the Kennedy assassination. do you think the by important facts about the .assussinotion have been reported or do you think there are still Important unonsweted 'guest.", about the assassination? Hugh Aynesworth November 22, 1965, Fort llorth Texas. IMPORTANT FACTS ARE KNOWN Ifil.n STILL UNANSWERED QUESTIONS 76 John F. Kennedy awakens in suite 850 of the Texas Hotel, DON'T KNOW. NO OPINION 6 summons aide Kenny O'Donnell and asks him to order break- O. Do you teel the Kennedy assassination wcn the work of one man or was it part of a broader plot? fast while he showers and shaves. Two eggs. boiled exactly ONE MAN IP e D Magegme MORE THAN ONE MAN 80 five minutes. orange juice. toast. marmalade and a large pot DON'T KNOW NO OPINION 7 November NU of coffee. 0. Do you think the U S. 90,/efOloilt should do U large ,case IfOre1O9U11011 of the Kennedy 0O01,111011011 or (10111 you think that is net.essoly", Jackie Kennedy is still asleep in an adjoining room when SHOULD DO IT 290., NOT NECESSARY 69 O'Donnell makes a quick newspaper run, bringing back DON'T KNOW. NO OPINION 2 papers from Houston. San Antonio. Dallas and Fort Worth. ,,,..,....., 0.0,, ,,,,, 1.■.Prd .... 1 lo ,I..v / 1,11 The president is clearly pleased at the papers' coverage of the 6

previous day's stops in Houston and San An- seems to be madly involved in the preparations show up anyway, that they had a right to pro- It happened so fast. People pointed at the tonio. Warm. responsive crowds had buoyed and how he and I don't have much to do but test. Emotions were running so high that I Texas School Book Depository building and the spirits of the entire Kennedy party, par- relax and watch. thought the group might stir up something. I the Tex-Mart building across Houston Street. I ticularly Jack and Jackie. who had been an- I tell Gooding that I hope there won't be any suggested to City Editor John King that I write couldn't see much of the president's car. It had ticipating this foray into Texas. embarrassment. I had spent the previous day a story about their plans, explaining what they dipped down and was headed southwest on Then Kennedy sees a full-page ad in The trying to find out who had circulated the wanted to prove. King snapped. "Hell, no. To Elm Street, The rest of the caravan sped up a Dallas Morning ,Vews. It has a black mourn- "Wanted for Treason" leaflets. I mention an do that would bring out another 50 crazies. bit. People were crying and screaming. ing border and the headline "Welcome Mr. ugly scene that had occurred a month earlier Let's just Ignore 'em." "The president's been hit," one man cried. Kennedy to Dallas"; it's signed by The Amer- in which U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson When I dropped by the photo department to "Oh my God, the president's been hit." "I ican Fact-Finding Committee. The ad poses 12 was harassed. I'm afraid that current feelings see who would be going to SMU with me to think Lyndon Johnson was hit, too." another questions to the president. each tinged with an in Dallas have escalated to a pitch at which shoot a picture of the person I was to interview. said. archconservative slant. radicals may try to prove a point before the na- I saw staff photographers Jack Beers and Joe It's hard to recall the next few minutes. I Jackie hears the waiter bring in breakfast and tional media. Laird heading out to photograph the crowd. I remember running over to the front of the walks, yawning, into the president's room: Jack Several reporters and photographers stop by decided to walk up to the police station to visit Depository building and listening to people folds the paper with the troublesome ad on top our table. It's about 11:30 a.m., an hour before longtime police reporter Jim Ewell. I wanted there tell how they had seen the president shot. and tosses it to her. "We're really in nut coun- Kennedy will drive through downtown. I'm to know whether the police were onto anything I looked at the triple overpass and saw three or try now!" He shakes his head. "How can peo- beginning to feel left out. For the previous three else with the extremist groups. I had this fun- four people running along the tracks. That's ple write such things?" years, I had been fortunate enough to have one ny feeling .. where the shots must have come from, I Kennedy hasn't even seen the leaflets that of the hottest beats on the newspaper: science, Ewell wasn't in the police press room, so I thought. About that time, several policemen were distributed around town the previous few aviation and aerospace. I had covered several wandered back down the streets. The crowd ran into the Depository building. I tried to days—fliers similar to FBI "Wanted" posters, U.S. manned space flights: I had been to Cuba, was growing. Many people were carrying tran- follow but was stopped by a menacing cop with complete with frontal and site photos of Ken- Europe, Mexico and elsewhere: I'd flown sistor radios, listening to coverage of Kennedy's hands like hams. As he blocked me, a WFAA nedy with the caption "Wanted For Treason" many of the current military and commercial arrival. The throngs along Main Street were newsman ran inside. written at the top. The newspaper ad pales in aircraft and had tested weaponry. At this point, already two- and three-deep. Somebody said that a Secret Service man comparison to the leaflets: They accuse the the Morning News is one of oni, a few U.S. Kennedy's motorcade wasn't due to arrive had been hit off to the west side of the building. president of betraying the Constitution, turn- newspapers that covers such a.. iv ities. But to- for a few minutes. As I headed west, I stopped Five or six of us ran in that direction. We didn't ing the government over to the Communists day, I feel left out. The more I talk with the several times to sjeak with people I recog- find a thing. and lying to the American people. other reporters. the more I wish I had been nized. I guess it is 't every day that you get to I didn't have a notebook with me, but I had Kennedy's day will begin shortly with a given an assignment downtown. It's hard to see the president, but the crowd's excitement some envelopes and started making notes on speech in the large parking area adjacent to the stay out of the action. I'm 1. minded that I have seemed more intense than I had expected. them. Jim Underwood, a KRLD newsznan, hotel. From there, he'll move on to a Fort a 2 p.m. interview with a scientist at SMU. I There were more buildings along the route was interviewing a man who kept pointing up Worth Chamber of Commerce breakfast and have to think hard to even recall the man's back then. and in almost every window, two or to the top of the Depository building. I quick- to Dallas, where he'll ride in a lengthy name. three people watched the scene below. ly nosed in. The guy said his name was Howard motorcade through downtown, up Stemmons Shortly after 11:30, I spot a familiar face at As I approached Houston Street, I saw sev- Brennan and that he had seen the assassin. Freeway to the Trade Mart for a luncheon. the cashier's station, a chubby little man eral fellow News employees and some county Brennan said that he had seen the man before Here he'll deliver a major address—a speech dressed in black with an atrocious red-and- employees I knew. The Kennedy entourage had the motorcade arrived. Brennan had scoured designed to mollify critics of the New Frontier white tie. He's carrying an overcoat over one left Love Field, the radios blared. I decided to the windows of the TSBD from directly across policies and help heal the political rifts between arm and is carrying a tray with eggs. toast and swing around Houston Street and head for the the street. At that time, he said, he hadn't seen the right and left in Texas, which is a "must" coffee. An advertising salesman nearby shouts intersection at Elm. The motorcade would have a gun. Later, when he heard what he thought if Kennedy expects to be re-elected in 1964. "Good morning" to him. to make a rigid left turn there, and I knew the was a firecracker exploding, he looked back up It's raining, softly but steadily, and has been I turn to Gooding and say, "There's that cars and buses would have to slow down. I to the sixth-floor window and saw the man aim, for much of the morning. In Dallas, the smart-ass. . I guess he's up here try- wanted to get a close look at the Connallys and fire, then hesitate a few seconds—as if to see weather has cleared somewhat. But there's at ing to get Tony Zoppi to put his name in the Kennedys and my buddies on the press bus. whether his shot had hit its mark. least a chance that the motorcade will have to paper again." There seemed to be plenty of police around, A cop asked Brennan a few questions, then proceed in the rain. I can't think of five people I have ever dis- barking orders to each other. Near the intersec- took him away to a car parked near the Depos- Secret Service Agent tells liked intensely, but Jack Ruby is one. I have tion of Houston and Elm, I chatted with an itory building. Brennan described the assailant Kennedy and O'Donnell that agents in Dallas seen him beat up drunks in his clubs: I've seen assistant district attorney I had known for as being about 5-foot-10, in his late 20s or ear- want to know if they should install the bubble- him try to impress young, naive women with several years. He was always interested in hear- ly 30s, thin with a khaki-colored shirt, about top on the president's limousine. Both Kennedy a roll of SI bills, covered by one $100 bill. I've ing about the manned space program and the 160 to 165 pounds. (Later, I found out that and his aide snap, "No." The entourage steps even reported him to the police for cutting a astronauts; I told him how chaotic the cover- Brennan's description was the first to go out out into the hall, en route to the burgeoning wino's head open on Commerce Street, just ing of the launches at Cape Canaveral had over the police radio. I also learned that dur- crowd downstairs. across from the Adolphus Hotel. The wino had been. I didn't really know what chaotic meant ing the procession of Kennedy's motorcade, tried to bum a quarter. yet. News employee Sally Holt had focused her Ruby has come to the News to see Zoppi, but I could hear the clapping and cheering on camera at the back of the limousine, directly the entertainment columnist has gone to New Main Street before the motorcade turned onto toward the TSBD at just about the time the car Orleans for a few days. Houston. It was 12:29. Here they came— slowed to make the turn onto Elm. After it was 1 decide to watch the president drive by. 1 can gliding along, maybe 10 to 12 mph. Two teen- determined that the shots had originated from still make it to SMU by 2 o'clock. I turn and agers jumped in front of me, jostling each other the TSBD, she ran back to the News, where in tale ##### 11111111`i`. look at Ruby one more time, who feigns in their excitement. I moved a few feet closer her haste to unload the film, she exposed the reading the paper as he tries to gaze up the to the intersection to get a better view. roll. This might have been the only photograph switchboard operator's dress at the next table. To my left stood a large woman holding a taken that would have shown the assassin in the WITHIN HOURS of that moment, Ken- small child in her arms. A woman standing window; no other such photograph has ever wweYntai nedy, Oswald, Ruby and I became victims of beside her squealed, "Hey, look! She's got your surfaced.) fate. Although the three of them are long since dress on," referring to the pink suit that Jackie I interviewed at least 10—maybe 12—people dead. I have been unable to extricate myself Kennedy was wearing. It was the same color, until my envelopes were covered with notes. from their presence in Dallas that day. Within but it was at least 10 sizes smaller. Oddly enough, all but Brennan said that there the hour, I saw Kennedy shot. I was in the As the presidential car drove by, Gov. Con- were definitely three shots. Brennan, the sole Texas Theater when Oswald was captured, nally and his wife, Nellie, radiated pride. They eyewitness, recalled only two. and, two days later, I saw him gunned down by too had been anxious about Kennedy's visit, A few minutes later, I strayed back to the Ruby. but it appeared that, so far, everything was go- front of the TSBD building, where I saw Although I wasn't on the scene when Ruby ing beautifully. Both Connally and Kennedy, several Times Herald reporters huddled in a died 38 months later, I did ride to the funeral seemed to notice the huge woman waving fran- tight circle..I don't recall all of them, but John home with his family. tically with one arm, the small child dangling Schoellkopf and Paul Rosenfield were there I That's a strange sequence of events for a from the other. ( later testified tried to inch in to see what they knew. reporter who wasn't supposed to be there... that she had just said. "Well, Mr. President. Schoellkopf pushed me aside and told me to go you can't say there aren't some people in Dallas away. They were planning their coverage and November 22.1963; Irving, Teuar. THERE WAS an air of anticipation in Dallas who love you!") didn't want the competition listening in. I got that day. I don't recall anyone expressing any The rest of the motorcade passed by. I could angry at Schoellkopf and was about to push Lee Harvey Oswald, a lean, rather uncom- serious concerns about Kennedy's safety, but see Sen. Ralph Yarborough sitting to the left of him back. Rosenfield calmed the situation. I municative man, rises early at a small bunga- some expected embarrassment from the lunatic Vice President Johnson and Lady Bird. He had left. I saw four women from the News' low at 2515 Fifth Street. He fixes himself a cup fringe, which seemed to have found a home a frozen smile on his face, but he didn't really women's department las it was called then) and of instant coffee and dresses hurriedly before here. look like he was having much fun. talked to them briefly. They agreed that the slipping into the garage, where he pulls a cheap The previous day, I had received a call from Then it hit. shots had come from their left—the direction Italian rifle from the folds of an old blanket. a Grand Prairie group that protested being A pop, like the backfire of a police motor- of the TSBD. Later. one of them would incor- then conceals it in plain wrapping paper. questioned by Dallas police after publicly cycle. A nearby cop was tensed. A few seconds rectly state that she had heard shots from over Back in the bedroom, he quietly pulls off his stating that it planned to picket the president's later, there was a second pop, then a third. her right shoulder—a remark she quickly cor- wedding ring and places it in a Russian cup. He entourage at the Trade Mart. The Dallas police Gunfire! "Hey! Hey!" a big man in a cowboy rected. (Conspiracy theorist used stuffs 5170 into a black wallet that his wife had visited several well-known far-right groups. hat shouted, as though he could stop whatever that misstatement to "prove" his "grassy knoll" keeps in a drawer. during the days before the presidential visit. was happening by being assertive. Two or three theory years after she explained to him that she Oswald lets himself out of the tiny house and They were told that freedom of speech was one cops stopped short, then ran in different direc- had erred in the chaos of the moment. trudges half a block to Wesley Frazier's house thing, but that any embarrassing display similar tions. A motorcycle policeman veered to his Jim Ewell. a News reporter, had arrived at to hop a ride to Dallas. to the one that Adlai Stevenson had endured in right. People started yelling and running. The the TSBD: we talked about what we should do I'm sitting in late October would be met with firm force. The woman in the pink dress turned, clutched her from there. Rumors were circulating that the cafeteria, sipping coffee and talking about the message was clear: Better stay home and watch stomach and threw up on the street. A man president was dead and that Lai had been bad- presidential visit. Bob Gooding. a Channel 8 the procession on TV. holding a small boy threw him down on the ly injured anchorman, and James Hood of the News are The members of the Grand Prairie group with me. sidewalk, shielding the child with his body. One woman swore to me that she had seen We talk about how everybody else (six or eight die-hards) insisted that they would Some people clung to each other. Some ran. Johnson slump over in the car. Later. we 7

It seemed as if there were so many wrestling learned that Secret Service Agent Rufus storage house had gotten my Adrenalin pump- I headed for the address. Trouble street that there was no mom for the gunman on the Youngblood had tossed the vice president on- ing, but it also had caused me to exercise some was, Oswald's wallet had held two g:ound. He held his arm high—the gun still in to the floorboard and had covered him with his caution—if you can imagine a reporter chasing numbers in Oak Cliff. I picked one on Neely it—as the mass struggled to get him under con- body. LIU suffered a sore shoulder, but no an assassin being cautious. Street. I was amazed that no police or other trol. It was a full five minutes before I found out serious injury. I decided not to go upstairs. I figured that if reporters were there. I could hear people talk- tEat Ruby was the killer. Vic Robertson and another WFAA-TV 1 were running from police, I would probably ing inside. God, I thought, could I be lucky Some officers pulled Oswald to a nearby newsman arrived shortly, and we all milled head for the balcony. I was also afraid to barge enough to find some people who knew the holding area. An ambulance arrived. It must around—talking, interviewing, sticking close into the downstairs area. man? very close by. Thrown onto a stretch- to radios. We wanted to watch the search in the I didn't know who was in there or if he was I knocked. A radio was quickly shut off. I hw.e been er Oswald was hoisted into the ambulance, as TSBD and hear what was going on at Parkland armed, but I was so wired that I had to see. I knocked again. No one opened the door. I kept stared at each other in disbelief. Then Hospital at the same time. Soon the radio on a stinker' rather cowardly over to the right aisle tapping. Finally, a huge, scowling man clad in rt:Otte=. al most as one, they bolted to telephones. I tried parked police cycle blared that a police officer doors and peered in. Two cops almost ran over nothing but shorts two sizes too small opened tic. :eat inside to see where the gunman had been had been shot in Oak Cliff. Then a policeman me. I plastered myself up against the wall. the door. He spoke Spanish. Behind him, I saw ta,:en, but the door had been shut off by cops. told Ewell that they thought they had the gun- The house lights had been turned up—not all a busty, nude woman on a rollaway couch Kansas City reporter staying across the man trapped on the top floor or the roof of the the way, but they were considerably brighter struggling to cover herself. TSBD. than usual. The movie was still running. Four "Do you know Lee Harvey Oswald?" I asked street at the Statler Hilton Hotel offered me a The call about the shooting in Oak Cliff or five men were walking matter- of-factly up several times, backing up a step or two as the phone—after he finished. I told him that I spelled conspiracy to me. It has to be con- the aisle—two directly in front of me and two man continued to glare at me. needed to check on my wife, who was some- nected, I told Robertson and Ewell. I suggested in the left aisle. There seemed to be additional I had seen enough violence that day so I where outside. that Ewell stay at the TSBD (he knew the cops movement as though another person or two turned and said, "Sorry," and got out of there. I found Paula out in front, and we drove well after 10 years of police reporting; they were converging from the left. (Later, I found The second address, on Beckley, was more home to drop her off. I had to get back to the weren't likely to tell me anything) and I would out that two men sitting close to the front had fruitful. I encountered an elderly woman, News to report what had happened. I was ex- high-tail it to Oak Cliff where the policeman been shaken down.) Then, a man walking Earlene Roberts, who said, "They've just left. cited about seeing the picture that News had been shot. Robertson and the other Chan- toward me (later identified as Officer N.M. I told them everything." She obviously thought photographer Jack Beers had taken. Beers, an nel 8 reporter said they had a WFAA news unit. McDonald) suddenly stopped, turned toward I was a cop. "I just want to make sure I know old pro, had been standing to Oswald's left as We all left together. a man sitting five seats off the aisle and said everything," I said. he was escorted through the basement doors. Robertson and I hung out the windows, wav- "Get up" or "Get out." "Ibu warms see his room?" she asked, as she I knew that Beers must have taken a great pic- ing and shouting as the driver of the WFAA McDonald moved quickly for a large man. Stepped back insifle. "It's right there—not ture at just about the time the gunmen shot. (As unit raced toward the scene of the officer's kill- So did the smaller guy, who jumped up and much to it," Right off the living room was an it turned out, Beers' photo ran a full front page ing. We ran red lights and hit 90 mph; a cou- said something I couldn't hear and then threw 8-by-II-foot mom, with crummy curtains, a bed the next morning. The News thought it would ple of times we almost crashed at intersections. his hands up in the air. Officer McDonald and a small dresser. A banana peel lay in an be a sure-fire Pulitzer Prize winner, until Bob Five minutes later, we were on 10th Street. reached toward his waist to check, I assumed, otherwise empty wastebasket. Jackson developed his film over at the Times watching a distraught woman named Helen for a gun. Seconds later, the suspect threw the She told me that the man had registered Herald. Jackson's photo showed Oswald being Markham describe how Officer J.D. Tuck had officer a glancing blow with his left hand, then under the name "O.H. Lee" and that he had hit by the bullet; Beers' photo was taken about been gunned down. The ambulance had just a solid hit with his right. only been there for a few days. Mrs. Roberts a second before that. Jackson wan the Pulitzer.) removed Tipples body. Several police cars, FBI Everything after that happened so quickly said she had been watching TV coverage of the agents and newsmen began to arrive. Two girls that I couldn't tell what was going on. First, president's assassination when her tenant had WITHIN HOURS, Eva Grant, Jack Ruby's said they had seen the assailant run from the McDonald and the suspect went sprawling into come running in. She said that he wasn't too sister, had hired 'lbw Howard as Ruby's lawyer. scene. A man said the gunman ran into an old the seats. A second later, at least three other friendly and that he had run back out a few She came down to visit Ruby in jail and went house on Jefferson. Several of us ran to the officers—two from the row behind—jumped moments later without answering her. "He was across the street to Howard's law office. She house. It was a furniture storage facility; some on McDonald and the suspect. a weird one, a real weird one," she said. talked briefly with me and a couple of other rooms were stacked high with old furniture. "He's got a gun," someone shouted. Two or She tried to tear out the page to give me the reporters, but she offered nothing substantive. Bill Alexander, an assistant district attorney, three others yelled something else. One yelled, receipt on which be had signed "O.H. Lee." I Accompanying Mrs. Grant was Tony Zoppi, ran into the house with some cops. I ran after "We've got him." and another ran to join the figured that police would eventually want that the News' entertainment writer, who was as them. We could hear somebody running fray. A policeman's hat was knocked off. handwriting, so I declined, thanked her and close as any newsman to being a friend of upstairs. Someone landed in one tithe seats with a thud. left. Ruby's. Zoppi, now the public relations direc- Nobody stopped me, so I inched my way into It was over as fast as it had begun. Three of- I headed back to the office, where I wrote a so- at the Dallas Fairmont, was of no help. I the old, cluttered house. A few seconds later, ficers dragged the suspect out into the lobby. kw more inserts for the main story, then called followed them into Howard's office, anyway. whoever was running upstairs gave an agonized Other members of the press were there, in- h enc. My wife, Paula, was about those months Howard, Zoppi and Grant were soon shout as the floor gave way and he fell partial- cluding photographers. One of my more vivid pregnant, and I wanted to assure her that I was ensconced in a front office, making phone ly through the ceiling. I gave a terrified scream memories is of a cop holding his hat in front of calls. They called Ruby's brothers and sisters myself; I was standing right below. About that the suspect's face, apparently so that photog- I finally left the newsroom at about 10:30. in St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit; they tied to time, I realized that everybody in that building raphers couldn't get a shot pf his face. The Although I had lucked into some incredible get in touch with superlawyers Percy Foreman had a gun except me. I hurried outside to watch suspect was screaming, "I protest this police leads that day, I wasn't assigned a story to work in Houston and Jack Erlich in Los Angeles. I from a more sensible vantage point. brutality," as they shoved him through the front 0.1 over the weekend. The News had fine, slipped into a back office and gingerly lifted up It soon became apparent that no one other door toward a wailing police car. One man r:tablished police reporters, court reporters the phone to eavesdrop as they dialed each call. than police were inside the house, so we drifted rreceded him into the back. Four others got in a ad general-assignment reporters to handle As they searched for Foreman, I began sneez- back out into the street. We heard a report on the car as it sped away. eery aspect of the story now. ing and had to hang up. I never learned the con- the police band that someone had sighted the At least 200 people had arrived by then, and Again, I felt left aut. On Saturday, I stationed tents of that conversation. gunman in the public library. Moments later, many were chanting, "Kill the son of a bitch!" r yself in from of the TV and watched the na- It was almost midnight when I finally got word came that it was a false alarm. -Let us have him ...We'll kill hind" One cop v. :in launch its "Hate Dallas" stance. I had an home. If Friday's events at the News had been Meanwhile, police had scoured the TSBD wiped tears from his face and ran around the odd. premonition about the plans to move traumatic, the scene on Sunday night was even and had found the assassin's rifle but no corner award the back of the theater. I felt like Gswald from the Dallas City Jail to the Dallas more bizarre. The unthinkable had hap- suspect. Many police were reassigned to search crying myself. C aunty pened ...and then happened again. for Tipples killer. I called the city desk and told an editor that I called Johnny King and volunteered my I still wasn't ready to go back to science I have no idea who was with me at that point. I had seen the capture and that a suspect was services. "Ibu're the science editor," he said writing on Monday morning. My best buddy, As I moved westward on Jefferson, a man ran en route to the jail. Somehow, they already cajolingly, adding, "but if I need you. I'll call News columnist Larry Grove, and I decided out of a used car lot and shouted, "I saw him. knew. I was told to interview-whoever was left yoU:. over coffee that since no one knew how Oswald I saw him. He went that way. I tried to stop and then get back to the office. I don't remem- had gotten from the sixth floor of the TSBD to him, but he moved too fast for me." He pointed bar how I got there—probably with another November 24, 1963; Dallas, Texas. the Texas Theater in Oak Cliff, somebody to an alley. Police stopped to get more informa- newsman—but I renamed about 2:30 to begin I awoke very early. TV commentators an- needed to dig up information on that. King was tion as I moved on. typing may notes. The suspect. we were told, nounced that the move still hadn't been made. kind enough to let Grove and me loose to work A block or no up Jefferson, I saw an old was a one-time Russian defector, Lee Harvey Oswald would be moved at 10 a.m. Live together on that story. Five days later. before woman, probably 75 or 80, sitting on a curb Oswald. coverage was promised. the Warren Commission was even named, we and sobbing quietly. She looked up at me, The newspaper was a madhouse. Some peo- "I'm going down to the police station to had an exclusive story on Oswald's comings alarmed. "Do you live near here?" I ventured. ple reacted to the day's stress with dignity and watch," I told my wife. "Not unless I go with and goings. the time sequence of events and a "Do you know where I could use a telephone?" professionalism; some didn't. Some openly you," she said. of the people Oswald had encountered Before she could, answer, two police can wept as they exchanged views or talked to loved We sped downtown. parked a block away alone the way. sped around the corner with an obvious ones on the phones. Several members of the from the City Building and ran toward it on the ; guess I forced myself into the fore. No destination in mind: the Texas Theater, which visiting press had returned from Parkland Commerce Street side. I tried to enter the base- loi,eer was I shut out of the big story. I later I could see up ahead. Eight or 10 people were Hospital and were typing frantically. The ment near an armored car parked half-in and co• :red the Ruby murder trial, wrote exclus- milling around in front. Another dozen or so News' reference department was already a half-out of the building. Paula was stopped. My :yr sy about Oswald's Russian diary. was the had arrived before I could get there. shambles, with out-of-towners scooping up press credentials were checked three times, but print journalist to interview Marina ■ "They're both inside," shouted a wiry man, files on all the leading participants. finally I eased down the ramp. Some 75 peo- 0 ,ald and was the only reporter inside at pointing to the theater. "Both of 'em. I saw 'em City Editor Johnny King personified grace ple were jammed in a semicircle around the Run!. 's funeral. as I was drivin' by." under pressure An old pro. King had become doors that led to the police department. F. .1' years I was called upon to respond to the A woman in her early 30s talked to several somewhat disenchanted with the routine of his I hadn't been there two minutes before I nn : ;ad conspiracy theorists who dropped their policemen. "He's inside. I don't think he job. But now he was superb, barking orders, heard somebody shout. "Here they come!" Otte;rags on an uninformed (or misinformed) bought a ticket. I don't remember what he sending his troops into battle, running back and Tne strobe lights went off. and a couple of pui.;c. When New Orleans Dist. Atty. Jim looked like." The woman, later identified as forth to assist Managing Editor Jack Krueger dozen mponers inched toward the doors. Capt. Get son revved up his conspiracy Julia Postal, sold tickets at the Texas Theater. and his assistants, Bill Russ and Tom Simmons. 'VIII Fritz and two of his homicide detectives Ca, I spent nearly two years covering every She said she had sold 23 tickets, but later we in planning the day's presentation. alited out with a handcuffed Oswald. Two tap,. t of it for Newsweek. found no more than 15 or 16 persons inside. By midafternoon, we had learned that police seconds after they were outside the doors. a The entire experience entailed a lot of work. As I ran inside the theater, my immediate and FBI agents had confiscated the suspect's ur leapt in front of the group. A shot rang out. intrigue and pressure. For a newsman—and for thought was to run up to the balcony to get a belongings from two different places: a house ":Mr my God." Ithought. "nor again!" a lot of citizens—the weekend of November 22 better view of what was happening. But, frank- in Irving and a rooming house in Oak Cliff. We Several cops immediately jumped on the through 24. 1963. was unforgettable. Believe ly, I was afraid. The scare at the old furniture got the addresses. Someone sped off to Irving: a: an holding the gun and wrestled him down. me. at times I've tried. • 8 CHICAGO DAILY NEWS DMN 1-17-84 FWST 11-18-83 11-25-63 Oswald's daughters receive UT acquires R. Kennedy JFK collection Loses Clout, Associated Press AUSTIN—The Bark- Says Hof f a $34,000 in Enquirer suit er History Center at the University of Texas NASHVILLE, Tenn: (API-- said Thursday that it The assassination of President has acquired a 1,704 By Robin Stringfellow John Oswald's Daughters." woman quoted in the story as a piece collection of F. Kenneds made U.S. Writer of The News Staff The story, based on statements close friend. items connected with Ails. (Jen. Robert Kennedy The daughters of Lee Harvey by a woman described as a close The girls' mother, Marina the Nov.22,1963, assassi- "lust another lawyer." James Oswald have reached a $34.000 family friend, said the daughters Oswald Porter of Rockwall, and nation of President H. Hofta says. John F. Kennedy. out-of-court settlement with the were haunted by the memory of attorneys for both sides declined The Teamsters Union presi- National Enquirer Don Carleton, direc- in a suit they their father's role in the assassi- to comment on the case Monday, dent. one of Robert Kennedy's filed in 1982 that claimed the ta- tor of the center, said nation of President John F. Ken- citing a confidentiality clause in the collection came bitterest foes, declared: bloid portrayed theta as "social nedy and were shunned by class- the settlement. from Earl C. Kubicek, a outcasts," sources close to the "He's not gousg. to be able mates while growing up in Attorneys for the National En- private collector from ..,,,tc(guarantee patronage, case said Monday. or ad- Rockwall, 25 miles east of Dallas. quirer contended in court papers Santa Fe, N.M., who be- vancement to the Court of The daughters — June, a 22. The story also said that the ".at Oswald's daughters were gan the collection on Appeals,: or Supreme Court year-old creative writing student girls' dogs had been poisoned. ,nade public figures by the assas- the day of the Dallas because the passing ol our at Harvard University. and Ru. In court papers, the daughters sination. shooting: eside n;t 'by assassination Carleton said the col- chef, a 20-year-old fashion mer• charged that the story was false They said June Oswald's deci- makes hiplust lection contains books, another.lawyer. chandising student at the Univer- and that they felt "stigmatized' sion to write a first-persoh ac- He.ss •ncit going to • be able to sity of Texas at Austin —Tiled the magazines, newspapers • when it appeared on grocery count of her life for People last and pamphlets tracing promise, as be has so many suit after the tabloid published a store checkstands. They also November was evidence that the aspects of the assassina- times. prpniOiions if he could story titled "Nightmare Life of maintained that they never met daughters were "not inclined to tion from the initial secure 'convictions ." Terror Stalks Lee Harvey Joy Smith of Mansfield, the shun publicity," news coverage to its im- Hotta, here to address a pact on society. It con- union rally, has repeatedly tains numerous foreign blamed his legal troubles on publications. a "personal vendetta" against BRIEFS....Dr. Linda Norton's report on the ex- him by Robert Kennedy. humation of LHO is in the January issue of .the Journal of Forensic Sciences; Norton, who says LHO was shot in the "Dallas County Jail," also mentions the craniotomy cut, but the published ably publicity for his new magazine, The Rebel, Photos do not show it - more next issue, which which is devoted to conspiracies and all the will be out in mid-March or April....A bizarre stuff in Mae Brussell's newsletters; at a cost 20th anniversary performance was turned in by of $2.95 per week, The Rebel should be a good Larry Flynt: he arranged for some firecrackers tax shelter....The Mel McIntire photos in the to be set off in as he was driven last newsletter may soon be available to re- down.Elm, but nothing happened; on a later try, searchers - watch this space....The CIA missed Flynt smeared ketchup on his face and shouted several deadlines in responding to FOI suits "Take me to Parkland, I want an autopsy"; in from Gary Shaw and Bud Fenaterwald, and had planning for a news conference, which never the gall to ask for extensions - many FOI happened, he even offered $1000 for a copy of actions have been slowed while the Raygunites the Canfield -Weberman book: It was all prob- try to circumvent the Constitution.

COVER UPS! is published bimonthly with occasional extri...i Subscription price in North America is $1.00 (US) per issue—others should write for foreign rates. Back issues.afe • yourar subscription price. Your subscription ex- pires with the issue number on your address label. nd dings a appreciated—Coverups! is dedicated primarily to the responsible study of the 1 COVERUPS! 4620 Brandingshire Place Fort Worth, TX 76133

0—

CJ //19"2-0 1-4/5,Mx6-