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Congressman Cohen Asks President Biden to Release Remaining Documents Relating to the Assassination of President Kennedy

March 29, 2022
Press Release
Doing so would restore public trust by promoting transparency

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today led a letter to President Biden asking him to release the remaining records related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The letter was signed by Representatives Anna Eshoo (CA-18) and James McGovern (MA-03).

The letter reads in part:

“We write to express and reiterate our concern regarding the delayed release of the more than 10,000 remaining partially redacted or entirely withheld documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. We urge you to release all remaining documents related to President Kennedy’s assassination pursuant to and in accordance with the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, also known as the ‘JFK Act.’

“The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was among the greatest tragedies in our nation’s history, however, nearly 60 years after that horrific day, the American people are still waiting for the government to fulfill its promise to release the remaining relevant documents. Congress unanimously enacted the JFK Act in 1992 to establish a presumption for immediate disclosure of documents related to the assassination. The purpose of such a law was to restore the public’s trust in government and prevent the spread of conspiracy theories bolstered by secrecy. Fostering transparency and facilitating public scrutiny of the remaining records relating to President Kennedy’s assassination is crucial…

“Although we commend the Biden Administration for the release of a select number of the remaining documents related to President Kennedy’s assassination, we believe it is imperative that the remaining documents be released as soon as possible. We have previously requested a briefing with the appropriate Executive Branch official with knowledge and relevant information of the decision to postpone the release of the remaining records. We write to reiterate that request, and again urge you to reconsider your decision to delay the release of the remaining documents.

“It is our hope that you take this opportunity to exercise the authority vested in you to restore public trust in our government by promoting transparency. We have waited for well over 50 years for the release of these documents, and time is of the essence.”

See the entire letter here.

Filed Under: News and Views Tagged With: ARRB, Assassination records, HSCA, JFK, Kennedy assassination, President Biden, Warren Commission

JFK Assassination: What’s in the Newest Batch of Declassified Documents?

Posted by Enrico Trigoso | Jan 7, 2022 | Epoch Times

JFK Assassination: What’s in the Newest Batch of Declassified Documents?

Cadet Tom Fryer shakes hands with President John F. Kennedy at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation in 1963. (Courtesy of Wes Fryer)

Last month, the Biden administration released a batch of classified documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The National Archives and Records Administration published the new 1,491 documents, of which 958 are from the CIA.

That means 9 out of 10 of the total number of documents are still being withheld from declassification.

“It’s very little and very late,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president’s nephew, told The Epoch Times.

“There’s only 10 percent of the documents that legally have to be released in that data dump. But even those documents are clearly showing that the CIA lied outright to the Warren Commission about its relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald.”

The 1992 JFK Records Act, signed by Congress into law, mandated that all the documents be released by Oct. 26, 2017.

However, one person had the power to stop it—the incumbent president.

When the time for total declassification finally came, President Donald Trump put a six-month delay on the final declassification. Then he put a three-year delay on it.

Some documents were declassified, however, and by the time President Joe Biden took office, about 15,000 documents were either being withheld or redacted in part.

Jim DiEugenio is a JFK assassination expert and the scriptwriter for the 2021 film “JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass,” an intense film that highlights information that had not previously been made known widely to the public in a clear manner.

“So you get this situation where 58 years after Kennedy was killed, you still have something like 14,300 pages of classified documents, which I believe is really a kind of defiance of the law,” DiEugenio told The Epoch Times.

“For a couple of different reasons—one of them being that in the JFK Records Collection Act, it said that if the president chose to keep a document classified, he had to have a written reason.

“To my knowledge that has not happened yet, either under Biden, or under Trump. And they’ve also made the National Archives a part of this process, which I don’t understand at all because the National Archives is only a repository. In the law, it doesn’t say anything about them being part of the declassification process. It’s between the President and the agencies of government, whether that be the FBI, the CIA, State Department, or whatever.

“So this is very, very disappointing. In other words, if Biden follows through and declassifies everything next year, that means we’ll have waited 59 years. 59 years—when in fact the Warren Commission says that there is no question that Oswald acted alone.”

Did Oswald Leave Mexico City by Automobile or by Bus?

The Warren Commission, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to report on the assassination of JFK, concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted entirely alone in the assassination, then went to Mexico and returned to the United States by bus.

The newly declassified documents show that the Nov. 26, 1963 CIA summary, which documents Oswald’s activities, was made about seven weeks after he had left Mexico City.

“They have Oswald leaving Mexico City by automobile,” DiEugenio said (pdf).

“Which is very, very interesting for a lot of different reasons. Number one, Oswald did not have a driver’s license. Secondly, Oswald did not have a car. And third, the Warren Commission, which is going to be issued about 10 months later, they’re going to say that Oswald went down by bus, and that he returned by bus.”

“It denotes that either he went down with somebody else, or there was an impersonator of Oswald down there. So, that changed over time.”

‘Was There More Than One Stretcher With a Bullet On It?’

In the very early days of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Assassinations, there was a meeting between then chief counsel Richard Sprague and some of the representatives on the commission.

“Sprague said that he had a witness from Parkland Hospital, which is where Kennedy and Connally were taken to after the assassination, who was a nurse,” DiEugenio said.

“And she said, that as she came out of one of the trauma rooms, there was a stretcher up against the wall near the elevator, and she saw a bullet on it.”

During this meeting, Sprague wouldn’t tell the others what her name was, or where she was.

“The Warren Commission would say that there were two stretchers there, not just one, and that the bullet was underneath the mat of the stretcher, and it only emerged after the custodian Darrell Tomlinson pushed it up against the wall.

“So I thought that was utterly fascinating because it leaves one with the impression that: ‘was there more than one stretcher with a bullet on it?’ And there have been reports that such was the case.”

Also during the meeting, Sprague told the congressmen that he’s having problems with the credibility of former CIA officer David Phillips.

“[Sprague] suspects that Phillips is not being completely candid with them about Oswald’s alleged activities in Mexico City,” said DiEugenio.

“Especially about his calls to the Russian embassy from the Cuban embassy, that he’s found certain discrepancies in the adduced record that the CIA has given him, and in fact, he wants to go down and interview the translators down there. Because he is under the suspicion that there might have been some kind of alteration of the transcripts of Oswald’s alleged conversations with the Russian embassy, because he cannot find the information that Phillips talked about at their first interview in the transcripts that were given to him by the CIA.”

Edgar Stern Had a CIA Clearance

The new document dump also reveals that Edgar Stern, the husband of the heiress (Edith Stern) to the Sears Roebuck fortune who was a big backer of Clay Shaw against Jim Garrison, had a CIA clearance (pdf) that was not publically known about before.

New Orleans DA Jim Garrison had accused Clay Shaw of being part of a conspiracy to assassinate JFK.

“The Sterns would bring reporters to their mansion. They would wine them and dine them, [and] they would push certain angles to attack Garrison. Well, turns out Edgar Stern had a CIA clearance in the 1950s for about three years,” said DiEugenio.

Clay Shaw’s Former Boss Was Recruiting Lawyers for the CIA

According to DiEugenio, it is now determined that Clay Shaw’s former boss at the New Orleans International Trade Mart, Lloyd Cobb, was recruiting lawyers for the CIA to place them on a panel of attorneys that possessed special clearance.

“We knew that Cobb was on the CIA’s cleared attorneys panel in New Orleans. Which was [composed] of certain people that the CIA would choose, and if somebody was in trouble—and there were several people in trouble during the Garrison investigation—they would pick an attorney from this chosen panel to defend this person, and of course the CIA would pay for it,” DiEugenio said.

“It turns out that Cobb was actually one of the people who was contacting other lawyers and evaluating them for the CIA to put on this panel. He wasn’t just a member of it. He was sort of like their agent on this scene in New Orleans conducting these clearance evaluations for who to hire to put on this panel.

“In other words, here you have Clay Shaw’s former boss at the International Trade Mart, running a panel of lawyers to block and impede Jim Garrison’s investigation. Very, very, interesting if you ask me.”

CIA Knew That Boxley Was a Staffer for Them

An alleged investigator who ended up working for Jim Garrison and was apparently unloyal to him turned out to be a former CIA staffer.

His name was William Wood, his alias—Bill Boxley.

“In this newest batch of documents, it reveals that the CIA knew that Boxley actually was a staffer for the CIA in the 1950s before he went to work for Jim Garrison,” DiEugenio noted.

“And if you take a look at Jim Garrison’s book ‘On The Trail the Assassins,’ it turns out that Mr. Wood—alias Bill Boxley—did end up betraying Mr. Garrison. It’s in one of the chapters of his book.”

CIA Reveals Names of Two Assassins

In the newest batch of documents, the CIA reveals the real names of the assassins that they had hired under the code names WI Rogue and QJ Win.

“This had been an assignment that was given to CIA officer William Harvey. He was supposed to go around the world and hire people of disrepute to engage in felonious activities for the Central Intelligence Agency; things like safecracking, breaking and entering,” DiEugenio explained.

“And it turned out that these guys were actually sent to Congo to assassinate Patrice Lumumba.”

Qj Win was Jose Mankel.

WI Rogue was David Dato. His real last name was Tzitzichvilli.

DiEugenio finally noted that most of these documents are not ones that have been previously classified in full, most of these new documents have been redacted before.

“Now we can more cleanly see what is in them,” he said.

Full disclosure of the rest of the documents is expected next year.

“At the end of next year, it’s going to be very, very interesting.”

Enrico Trigoso is an Epoch Times reporter focusing on the NYC area.

READ MORE AT CLARION NEWS

Filed Under: News and Views

Ghislaine Maxwell convicted

Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of trafficking girls for Jeffrey Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell, right, sits with her mask off during a break in her sex-trafficking trial on Dec. 27. (Elizabeth Williams/AP)

By Shayna Jacobs
Yesterday at 7:27 p.m. EST

NEW YORK — Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime paramour of financier Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on sex-trafficking charges after a trial that centered on what types of enabling conduct — including befriending young girls and teaching and scheduling them to massage an older man — should be considered criminal.

Maxwell, 60, was accused of recruiting teenage girls to massage Epstein at his homes in Palm Beach, Fla., New York, New Mexico and elsewhere between 1994 and 2004.

Epstein allegedly paid the girls hundreds of dollars in cash for the massages, which involved sexual touching and which he expected three times a day. He died by suicide 28 months ago, while awaiting his own trial.

The jury found Maxwell guilty on five of six counts, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of an individual under 18. She was found not guilty of enticement of one individual under 17 with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.

“A unanimous jury has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable, facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children,” said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “The road to justice has been far too long, but today justice has been done.”

There was no visible reaction from Maxwell as the verdict was announced. She also did not make eye contact with her three siblings, who were seated at the front of the courtroom, as she was taken back to the holding cells.

Maxwell faces up to 65 years in prison. No sentencing date has been set.

“Today’s verdict is a towering victory, not just for the brave women who testified in this trial, but for the women around the world whose young and tender lives were diminished and damaged by the abhorrent actions of Ghislaine Maxwell,” said Sigrid McCawley, who along with David Boies represented one of the accusers who testified, Annie Farmer. “For too long their voices were ignored and discounted and their characters impugned and disgraced, but no more. I am in awe of their sacrifice, their courage and the strength they have shown in pursuit of justice.”

Farmer, in a statement, said she is “relieved and grateful that the jury recognized the pattern of predatory behavior that Maxwell engaged in for years,” adding the convicted abuser harmed “many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom.”

Bobbi Sternheim, one of Maxwell’s lawyers, said, “We firmly believe in Ghislaine’s innocence. Obviously, we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have started the appeal tonight and believe Ghislaine will ultimately be vindicated.”

Epstein and Maxwell were a jet-setting power couple who hobnobbed years ago with, among others, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Great Britain’s Prince Andrew.

Allegations about orgies and sex parties with young girls, including on Epstein’s private Caribbean island, caused many prominent politicians, business leaders and celebrities to distance themselves, especially after a 2008 plea deal that resulted in a relatively light one-year jail sentence for Epstein.

A renewed investigation led to more serious federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019. And his suicide, weeks after his arrest on those charges, left accusers demanding that individuals who enabled their alleged abuse be held accountable.

Maxwell’s trial was viewed by both Epstein’s victims and outside experts as an opportunity for prosecutors to do so.

Jurors began deliberating late on Dec. 20, with a four-day halt over Christmas weekend, and reconvened Monday.

Final evasion: Jeffrey Epstein managed to avoid another legal reckoning

At trial, prosecutors argued that the teenagers, who were as young as 14 during their encounters with Epstein, expected Maxwell to be a buffer and chaperone between them and the much older multimillionaire.

Instead, Maxwell facilitated massage appointments and gave instructions on what Epstein liked, the now-grown women said. She also sometimes arranged their flights and other travel details when they visited his homes.

CONTINUE READING at THE WASHINGTON POST

Filed Under: News and Views

Pinochet’s widow dies at age 98 after years in seclusion

FILE - Lucia Hiriart de Pinochet, center, and her daughter Lucia are welcomed by a relative as they arrive to attend a mass during the funeral of her late husband, former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet at the Military Academy in Santiago, Dec. 12, 2006. Hiriart has died on Dec. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)

FILE – Lucia Hiriart de Pinochet, center, and her daughter Lucia are welcomed by a relative as they arrive to attend a mass during the funeral of her late husband, former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet at the Military Academy in Santiago, Dec. 12, 2006. Hiriart has died on Dec. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)

By Eva Vergara | AP
December 16, 2021 at 8:30 p.m. EST

SANTIAGO, Chile — The widow of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet died Thursday in the apartment where she led a secluded life in her final years, away from the luxuries and power she held during the military regime of 1973-1990, her family said. She was 98.

Lucia Hiriart died at her home in Santiago’s affluent La Dehesa neighborhood surrounded by close relatives, six days after her birthday, her son Marco Antonio said. She had been admitted on several occasions this year to Chile’s military hospital, mainly affected by respiratory problems.

Pinochet died in 2006, on Dec. 10, his 91st birthday.

Known for her strong character, Hiriart on many occasions influenced her husband’s decisions on whom to appoint to public office. She was also known for expensive tastes in clothes and in furnishing of her family’s homes.

Hiriart never had words of regret for the bloody legacy of her husband’s dictatorship, which resulted in more than 3,000 opponents killed, thousands of political prisoners tortured and tens of thousands forced into exile.

She was rarely seen in public in recent years. One of those occasions was in November 2015 when she attended a Mass in memory of her late husband, with whom she had three daughters and two sons.

Hiriart faced two judicial investigations related to a fortune that Pinochet was discovered to have in more than 100 bank accounts at Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C.

In 2005, she was accused along with her son Marco Antonio of complicity in an $8.7 million tax fraud. In 2007, Hiriart, her five children and 17 other people from the dictator’s entourage were charged with embezzlement of public funds.

In both cases, Chile’s courts overturned the prosecutions of Hiriart and her family. Charges against Pinochet himself were dismissed after his death. The Chilean high court confiscated about 20 pieces of real estate from the family and seized $1.6 million from Pinochet’s bank accounts.

Pinochet’s accounts at Riggs Bank had been discovered by chance in 2004 during a U.S. congressional investigation into an unrelated matter.

An accounting audit valued Pinochet’s accounts at about $21 million, with the origin of $17.8 million undetermined. The former dictator claimed at the time that his funds abroad were “life savings.”

After news of Hiriat’s death surfaced Thursday, about 200 people, most of them young people born after democracy was resorted in Chile, gathered in a central square to celebrate. They waved flags and held up improvised posters against Hiriart.

“Lucía Hiriart dies in impunity despite the deep pain and division she caused our country,” said Gabriel Boric, the leftist candidate in Chile’s presidential runoff election Sunday.

His opponent, far-right politician José Antonio Kast, said that “the death of Mrs. Lucia will not move the election for either side.”

READ MORE at The Washington Post

Filed Under: News and Views

cv 21-1237 AARC v. CIA

Delivered to the door of the AARC today, 17 December, 2021:

CIA referred 25 documents to FBI for direct response to us.  The documents
relate to the FBI’s handling of the Doolittle Commission in 1954.

 

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, D.C. 20535

December 16, 2021

MR. DANIEL S. ALCORN, ESQUIRE
1335 XXXX XXXXXXXXX XXX
MCLEAN, VA 22101

FOIPA Request No.: 1510847-000
CIA Tracking No.: F-2021-01692
Civil Action No. 21-cv-001237
Subject: Records related to David Harold Byrd,
Werner von Alvensleben Jr., and Doolittle Report

Dear Mr. Alcorn:
While processing your Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts (FOIPA) request, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) located FBI information in their records. This material was referred to the FBI for direct response to you. The enclosed documents were reviewed under the Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts (FOIPA), Title 5, United States Code, Section 552/552a.

Below you will find checked boxes under applicable statutes for the exemptions asserted to protect information exempt from disclosure. The appropriate exemptions are noted on the processed pages next to redacted information. An Explanation of Exemptions is enclosed to further explain justification for withheld information.

Section 552 Section 552a
(b)(1) (b)(7)(A) (d)(5)
(b)(2) (b)(7)(B)
(j)(2)
(b)(3) (b)(7)(C)
(k)(1)
Section 6 of the Central Intelligence
Agency Act of 1949, 50 U.S.C.
3507
(b)(7)(D)
(k)(2)
Section 102A(i)(1) of the National
Security Act of 1947, 50 U.S.C.
3024(i)(1)
(b)(7)(E)
(k)(3)
(b)(7)(F)
(k)(4)
(b)(4)
(b)(8)
(k)(5)
(b)(5) (b)(9)
(k)(6)
(b)(6)
(k)(7)

25 pages were reviewed and 25 pages are being released.

[Click on each page to enlarge.]

 

RELATED:

NEWS: AARC Seeking Documents relating to D.H. Byrd, Werner von Alvensleben, Jr. and the Doolittle Report.

Filed Under: News and Views

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