"LBJ TO APPOINT MEMBERS OF PANEL"

'BLUE RIBBON' PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE DEATH OF JFK

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 29, 1963, one week after the death of President John F. Kennedy, Representative Hale Boggs* (D-Louisiana) "disclosed...that a presidential commission will make the formal investigation of the facts surrounding the assassination**."

The Congressman says President Lyndon B. Johnson will name the members of this "blue ribbon panel" next week and they will include members of Congress.

*Thomas Hale Boggs (1914-1973) was born in Long Beach, Mississippi & was educated at Tulane University, law degree 1937.  THB served in the US House of Representatives 1947-1973 & as House Majority Whip 1962-1971.  LBJ appointed him to serve on the Warren Commission which investigated JFK's death.  THB's plane disappeared in Alaska in 1973, the wreckage nor remains were never found.

**The Warren Commission, a.k.a. Presidential Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1963-1964) was, according to Will Fox, "designed to alleviate fears of the American people & provide answers to how & why the assassination occurred."

After 10 months the WC found that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin and that there was no evidence of conspiracy "foreign or domestic."

Accepted initially as gospel by the press & public, the Warren Report came under increasing scrutiny & criticism as time passed.  A 2013 CBS poll showed 61% believed LHO did NOT act alone & 62% believed there was a government 'cover-up.'  

JFK+50 COMMENT

I have been a student of the JFK assassination for 60 years & taught the topic in my history classes for 40 years.  It is clear that the Warren Commission's conclusions were based on a pre-conceived belief that Oswald was the lone assassin & there was no conspiracy.  They called selective witnesses to testify & those who presented evidence that they did not want were simply ignored.  It is my belief that while Oswald was involved in a conspiracy, he most probably did not kill JFK & may in fact not even been one of the shooters.  If you are interested in my research on this topic you might check out my JFK ASSASSINATION blog at www.jfk50d.blogspot.com 

SOURCES

"Assassination to Be Probed By Presidential Commission," by Miriam Ottenberg, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., November 29, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

"Doubt and Deception:  Public Opinion of the Warren Report," by Will Fox, Office of the Vice President for Research, University of South Carolina, www.sc.edu/

 

 

Hale Boggs & LBJ

May 10 1968

White House Photo

"IT CONCLUDED OSWALD ACTED ALONE"

LBJ ESTABLISHES COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE MURDER OF JFK

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the Warren Commission to investigate the murder of President John F. Kennedy.

According to Larry J. Sabato of the Center For Politics at the University of Virginia...

"the investigation...was inadequate, rushed and manipulated."

Arlen Specter, counsel for the Commission, had a different perspective.  He said...

"I have never seen the resources of the United States...devoted to the determination of truth as the resources...devoted to this case."

The Warren Report itself, presented to LBJ on September 24, 1964, stated...

"on the basis of the evidence before the Commission, it is concluded that (Lee Harvey) Oswald acted alone." 

SOURCES

"Is there more to JFK's assassination," by Larry J. Sabato, November 21, 2013, CNN Opinion, www.cnn.com/

"Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," by Vincent Bugliosi, W.W. Norton and Company, New York. 

   

 

The Warren Report

U.S. Government Printing Office

1964

"THE PUBLIC SMELLED A RAT"

DECLINE IN FAITH IN GOVERNMENT CAN BE TRACED TO JFK ASSASSINATION

Dallas, Texas (JFK+50) On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot at 12:30 a.m. CST as he rode in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas.  The President suffered wounds to the throat, back and head.

JFK was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:00 a.m.  Malcolm Kilduff* broke the news to the press in a hospital classroom.  He said...

"The President died of a gunshot wound to the head."

Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was also riding in the motorcade but was unharmed, was taken to Love Field where he boarded Air Force One and was sworn in as POTUS at 2:38 p.m.

Governor of Texas John B. Connally, riding in the same car as JFK, was also wounded in the shooting.  Although his wounds were severe, the Governor recovered.  Jacqueline Kennedy and Nellie Connally, both sitting beside their husbands, escaped injury.

To say that the assassination of JFK has been the subject of great controversy over the past 57 years is clearly an understatement, but as stated on the Mary Ferrell website...

"Perhaps...what is more important than 'who killed JFK' is the effect the murder had on our society.  While the major institutions...quickly lined up behind the Warren Commission**...the public smelled a rat.  The decline of faith in government can be traced to the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam War which followed it."

 

*Malcolm Kilduff was assistant press secretary filling in on the Texas trip for Pierre Salinger who was on a flight to Japan with some of JFK's cabinet officers.  He remained as APS until 1965 when he started a public relations firm.  MK was riding in a press car in the Dallas motorcade at the time of the shooting.

**Warren Commission (1963-1964) concluded Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman who killed JFK & that there was no evidence of conspiracy foreign or domestic.  Other investigations which followed included the Jim Garrison investigation, Rockefeller Commission, Church Committee, House Select Committee on Assassinations and the Assassinations Records Review Board. 

 

SOURCES

"Malcolm Kilduff," by Adam Bernstein, March 5, 2003, The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/

"The JFK Assassination, Faith and Transparency," Mary Ferrell Foundation, www.maryferrell.org/ 

 

 

 

 The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Nov 22 1963 Extra Edition

Photo by John White

 

THE RIGHT TIME CAME LONG AGO FOR COMPLETE DISCLOSURE

PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON JFK ASSASSINATION ESTABLISHED

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 29, 1963, The President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, best known as the Warren Commission (named after its chairman, Earl Warren*), was established.

The final report. including 469 pages with 410 pages of appendices, would be presented to President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 24, 1964 and made public three days later.  The Warren Report included 26 volumes of supplementary documents.

94 witnesses testified before the Commission and  all were given the opportunity to be interviewed in open session but only one chose to do so.

A total of 395 witnesses were questioned under oath by the legal staff while 63 others gave affidavits or statements.

The Commission's conclusion that the shots which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor John Connally of Texas were fired only by Lee Harvey Oswald remain controversial to this day.**

The Warren Report states...

"On the basis of the evidence before the Commission, it is concluded  that Oswald acted alone."

While a majority of American's surveyed do not agree with the basic conclusion of the Commission, Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center For Politics at the University of Virginia, says..."Despite everything, a large part of the Commission's basic conclusion turns out to be true."

Sabato, however, does believe that the investigation was.." inadequate, rushed and manipulated..."   Warren Commission assistant counsel Arlen Specter, on the other hand, said..."I have never seen the resources devoted to the determination of the truth as were the resources of the United States of America devoted in this case..."

Larry Sabato writes...

"The right time came long ago for complete disclosure.  Transparency cannot bring President Kennedy back but at long last it can help bring America to terms fully with November 22, 1963."

*Earl Warren (1891-1974) was born in Los Angeles & received his BA & JD at the University of California Berkeley.  EW served in WWI & as governor of California & Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1953-1969.

**One of the key questions of the case involves the fatal head wound.  Evidence shows that JFK had a massive blow out in the right rear of the skull.  The WC says LHO was shooting from the 6th floor of the TSBD above & behind the president.  A bullet entering the rear of the skull (JFK was facing forward with his back to the TSBD) would logically exit the front but there was no exit wound in that location.

SOURCES

"Is there more to JFK's assassination?," by Larry J. Sabato, November 21, 2013, CNN Opinion, www.cnn.com/

"Reclaiming History:  The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," by Vincent Bugliosi, W.W. Norton and Company, New York 

The Warren Report in Book Form

United States Government Printing Office

September 27, 1964

JFK AUTOPSY X-RAYS & PHOTOS AVAILABLE ON A LIMITED BASIS

99% OF WARREN COMMISSION RECORDS OPEN FOR RESEARCH

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-four years ago, November 29, 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11130 establishing the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  Because the body was headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, it became known as the Warren Commission.

The Commission was soon authorized to subpoena witnesses and gather evidence.  J. Lee Rankin* was appointed General Counsel and worked with 14 assistant counsels.

94 witnesses testified before the Commission and  all were given the opportunity to be interviewed in open session but only one chose to do so.
395 witnesses were questioned under oath by legal staff of the Commission while 61 gave affidavits and 2 gave statements.

In the National Archives today the records of the Warren Commission, comprising 363 cubic feet of space, are open and available for research.
Autopsy x-rays and photographs, however, by agreement with the Kennedy family are available on a "limited access" basis.

*James Lee Rankin (1907-1996) was born in Hartington, Nebraska.  JLR graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln & served as 31st U.S. Solicitor General 1956-1961.  He was appointed by President Eisenhower.
After serving as General Counsel to the Warren Commission, he practiced law in New York City.

SOURCE

"Warren Commission-Introduction", JFK Assassination Records, National Archives, www.archives.gov/

J. Lee Rankin
Department of Justice Photo

THE WARREN COMMISSION

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1781

LBJ SET UP WARREN COMMISSION 52 YEARS AGO

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy was established 52 years ago today, November 29, 1963, just one week after the death of the 35th President of the United States.

The final report included 469 pages with 410 pages of appendices.  It was presented to President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 24, 1964 and made public three days later.The Warren Report included 26 volumes of supplementary documents.

94 witnesses testified before the Commission and  all were given the opportunity to be interviewed in open session but only one chose to do so.
395 witnesses were questioned under oath by legal staff of the Commission while 61 gave affidavits and 2 gave statements.

The Warren Commission concluded that the shots which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired by Lee Harvey Oswald and added...

"On the basis of the evidence before the Commission, it is concluded  that Oswald acted alone."

While more than 60% of American's surveyed do not agree with the basic conclusion of the Commission, Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center For Politics at the University of Virginia, says...

"Despite everything, a large part of the Commission's basic conclusion turns out to be true."

Sabato, however, does agree that...

"The investigation...was inadequate, rushed and manipulated..."

Warren Commission assistant counsel Arlen Specter, however, was quoted by Vincent Bugliosi in his book, "Reclaiming History," as saying...

"I have never seen the resources devoted to the determination of the truth as were the resources of the United States of America devoted in this case..."

Mr. Bugliosi's view after extensive research is...

"After being exposed to the evidence, I have become satisfied beyond ALL doubt that Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy, and beyond ALL reasonable doubt that he acted alone."

The commission, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, included...

Chief Justice Earl Warren 
Richard Russell
John Sherman Cooper 
Hale Boggs 
Gerald R. Ford 
Allen Dulles
John J. McCloy 

More than 98% of the Commission's records have been released and on October 26, 2017 the remainder will be made public. 

As Larry Sabato writes...

"The right time came long ago for complete disclosure.  Transparency cannot bring President Kennedy back but at long last it can help bring America to terms fully with November 22, 1963."

So 52 years later, we still haven't come "to terms with November 22, 1963."

The reason, according to Bugliosi, is not because of the Warren Commission's failure to convince us, it is because we want something to "balance the scale."   

With the murder of the most powerful man in the free world on one side, and, in Jackie Kennedy's words, "a silly little Communist" on the other, "it just doesn't balance."

Bugliosi argues that we need something besides Oswald on that side of the scale to "make it balance," and "a conspiracy would do that beautifully."


SOURCES

"Is there more to JFK's assassination?," by Larry J. Sabato, November 21, 2013, CNN Opinion, www.cnn.com/

"Reclaiming History:  The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," by Vincent Bugliosi, W.W. Norton and Company, New York 

The Warren Report in Book Form

United States Government Printing Office

September 27, 1964

WARREN COMMISSION ESTABLISHED

WARREN COMMISSION ESTABLISHED 51 YEARS AGO TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, better known as the Warren Commission, was established fifty-one years ago today, November 29, 1963, just one week after the death of the thirty-fifth President of the United States.

The commission, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, included
Earl Warren, Richard Russell, Jr., John Sherman Cooper. Hale Boggs, 
Gerald R. Ford, Allen Dulles, John J. McCloy

The final report included 469 pages with 410 pages of appendices.  It was presented to President Johnson on September 24, 1964 and made public three days later.

Earl Warren Gives Report to LBJ
September 24, 1964

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

LBJ Library Image

The Warren Report was also accompanied by 26 volumes of supplementary documents.

552 witnesses were called to testify before the Commission.  All were given the opportunity to be interviewed in open session but only one chose to do so.

Witnesses were free to share their testimony with anyone outside the Commission hearings.

The Warren Commission determined that the shots which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired by Lee Harvey Oswald and added...

"On the basis of the evidence before the Commission, it is concluded  that Oswald acted alone."

More than 98% of the Commission's records have been released and on October 26, 2017 the remainder will be made public. 

Larry Sabato writes...

"The right time came long ago for complete disclosure.  Transparency cannot bring President Kennedy back but at long last it can help bring America to terms fully with November 22, 1963."


SOURCE

"Is there more to JFK's assassination?," by Larry J. Sabato, November 21, 2013, CNN Opinion, www.cnn.com/

THE WARREN COMMISSION

November 29, 2013

PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON JFK ASSASSINATION SET UP 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy was established 50 years ago today, November 29, 1963 just one week after the death of the 35th president.

The commission, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, included the following members...

Chief Justice Earl Warren
Richard Russell, Jr. 
John Sherman Cooper 
Hale Boggs 
Gerald R. Ford
Allen Dulles 
John J. McCloy

The final report included 469 pages with 410 pages of appendices.  It was presented to LBJ on September 24, 1964 and made public 3 days later.

Earl Warren Gives Report to LBJ
                September 24, 1964
       Photo by Cecil Stoughton
             LBJ Library Image

The Warren Report was also accompanied by 26 volumes of supplementary documents.

552 witnesses were called to testify before the Commission.  All were given the opportunity to be interviewed in open session but only one chose to do so.

Witnesses were free to share their testimony with anyone outside the Commission hearings.

The Warren Commission determined that the shots which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired by Lee Harvey Oswald and added...

"On the basis of the evidence before the Commission, it is concluded  that Oswald acted alone."

While more than 60% of American's surveyed do not agree with the basic conclusion of the Commission, Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center For Politics at the University of Virginia, says...

"Despite everything, a large part of the Commission's basic conclusion turns out to be true."

Sabato, however, does agree that...

"The investigation...was inadequate, rushed and manipulated..."

More than 98% of the Commission's records have been released and on October 26, 2017 the remainder will be made public. 

As Larry Sabato writes...

"The right time came long ago for complete disclosure.  Transparency cannot bring President Kennedy back but at long last it can help bring America to terms fully with November 22, 1963."


SOURCE

"Is there more to JFK's assassination?," by Larry J. Sabato, November 21, 2013, CNN Opinion, www.cnn.com/

150TH ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE OF FORT SANDERS

Knoxville (JFK+50) 150 years ago today, November 29, 1863, the Battle of Fort Sanders was fought between Confederate and Union forces here in Knoxville, Tennessee.

This East Tennessee city, a part of the Confederacy, had come into Union control on the 1st day of September.  General Ambrose Burnside had made his headquarters downtown on Gay Street.

In November, CSA General Braxton Bragg had dispatched a force under General James Longstreet to march to north to Knoxville from Chattanooga and attempt to recapture the city.

The main Union defense would be Fort Sanders, namesake of General William Sanders who was killed in the early fighting.

November 29th would actually be the 12th day of the Rebel siege.  Longstreet made the decision that he would launch an assault on the Yankee fort.

Yanks, which included the 79th New York Highlanders and the 36th Massachusetts Volunteers, held their fire until they sighted Rebs at 50 yards.

As the Confederates who survived the gunfire and shelling approached the sides of the fort, they found themselves going down into a ditch 7 feet wide and 7 feet deep "lined with mud, ice and standing water."

To add to their misery, they were at the bottom of a steep wall of dirt that rose as high as 20 feet.

Longstreet, who misjudged the depth of the ditch, had no choice but to call retreat.  After only about 20 minutes of fighting, the Battle of Fort Sanders was over as was the Confederate hope of retaking the city of Knoxville.

SOURCE

"The Battle of Fort Sanders," by Matt Lakin, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, November 24, 2013.

WARREN COMMISSION

On November 29, 1963, LBJ established the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.


The chairman of the commission was Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. 


LBJ was concerned about the possibility that several different investigations would be conducted and believed a federal commission would solve this problem. 

Earl Warren, who had sworn in President Kennedy in 1961 and had been appointed by President Eisenhower in 1953, did not want the position.


It has been written that LBJ basically laid a "guilt trip" on Warren by telling him that his country needed him in this position.  

It would take the "Warren Commission" 10 months & 26 volumes to conclude that JFK was the victim of a "lone assassin", Lee Harvey Oswald, & that there was "no credible evidence" to suggest a conspiracy either "foreign or domestic". 

The Commission presented their report to LBJ in the White House.  


Most Americans accepted the conclusions at the time but over the years the report has been discredited due to release of many documents through the Freedom of Information Act & by research of so called "conspiracy buffs".