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REPORTER: The President
of the United States is dead.
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Tonight, the assassination
that shook our country
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to its core.
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It was just a shock
that caused everybody to stop
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and think for a moment about
how the world had changed.
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Police quickly catch
the culprit,
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but many believe
there’s more to the story.
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EVY POUMPOURAS: The first
question any good theorist asks
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is, "Who wants Kennedy dead?"
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Now, we’ll explore
the top theories
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surrounding one of America’s
most shocking events.
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JEFFERSON MORLEY:
So, he was convinced
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that Kennedy was killed
by enemies
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high in his own government.
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BEN COWAN: He believed
that Fidel Castro
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orchestrated the assassination
of John F. Kennedy.
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Is there a conspiracy behind
John F. Kennedy’s assassination?
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And if so, who is really
responsible for his death?
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[music]
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Dallas, Texas,
November 22nd, 1963.
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At 11:25 a.m.
President John F. Kennedy
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arrives on Air Force One.
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PHILIP SHENON: President Kennedy
goes to Dallas
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to give a lunchtime speech
at a convention center
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known as the Trade Mart.
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Between his arrival
at Love Field and his speech,
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he’s to lead a motorcade
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through the center
of downtown Dallas.
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PATRICK HINDS: The motorcade
has over 12 cars.
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Kennedy is riding
in a three-rowed
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Lincoln Continental
convertible limousine
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with the top down.
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PHILIP: President Kennedy
and Mrs. Kennedy
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are in the back seat,
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President Kennedy
on the right side,
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Mrs. Kennedy on the left.
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Ahead of them are Texas Governor
John Connally
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and his wife Nellie,
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and ahead of them are two
Secret Service agents,
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one of them is driving.
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BEN: It’s a very sort of warm
reception for Kennedy,
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and there’s something
like 200,000 people
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lining the route,
so it is no small turnout.
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PHILIP: And at one point,
Mrs. Connally in the car
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says, "You can’t say Dallas
doesn’t love you, can you?"
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And President Kennedy replies,
"No, you certainly can’t."
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LAURENCE:
Those are his last words.
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JEFFERSON: The motorcade
comes down Main Street
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to the end of Main Street,
where it hits Dealey Plaza,
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takes a sharp right turn
on Commerce Street,
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and then a sharp left turn
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in front of the Texas
School Book Depository.
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And it’s at that moment that
the first gunshots are heard.
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[gunshot]
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REPORTER: Something,
I repeat, has happened
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in the motorcade route.
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A gunshot rings out,
and then two more.
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Both President Kennedy
and Governor Connally are hit.
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Two shots hit Kennedy.
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The first enters
his upper back
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and comes out
through his throat.
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And then the second
enters the back of his skull.
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PHILIP: He is rushed
to Parkland Memorial Hospital.
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That’s where he would soon
be declared dead
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at the age of 46.
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LAURENCE: Connally is also
gravely injured, but survives.
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One hour after the shooting,
Kennedy’s death
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is officially announced
to the media.
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As word spreads of this,
everybody stops where they are.
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People are crying.
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BEN: There’s a lot of screaming,
there’s chaos,
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and just a lot
of fear and confusion.
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PHILIP: It was just a shock
that caused everybody
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to stop and think for a moment
about how the world had changed.
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EVY: Any divisiveness
or any fractions
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within the country,
everybody just comes together
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in this moment to grieve.
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LAURENCE: As the world
stops to mourn,
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a manhunt begins.
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PHILIP: As soon as it’s clear
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that President Kennedy’s
been hit
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and the motorcade
rushes out of Dealey Plaza,
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the police go interview
eyewitnesses.
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And perhaps
the most important witness
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of that day was a steamfitter,
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a Dallas man named
Howard Brennan,
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who says that he saw
a man with a rifle
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on the sixth floor of the Texas
School Book Depository.
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LAURENCE: Deputy Constable
Seymour Weitzman
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and Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone
rush inside the book depository.
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And there they find
quite literally the smoking gun.
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PHILIP: They find
a Mannlicher Carcano rifle,
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an Italian-made rifle,
and they also find
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three spent cartridges,
suggesting that somebody
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had just fired three bullets
from the sixth floor.
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They find the books
have been moved around
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to create sort of
a sniper’s perch.
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They also find
a 38-inch brown paper bag.
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LAURENCE: The shooter escapes,
but building staff
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identify a prime suspect.
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An employee at the Texas
School Book Depository,
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Buell Wesley Frazier,
offers a colleague
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a trip into downtown Dallas
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on the morning
of the assassination,
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and the colleague is carrying
a long brown paper bag
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in which he says
he has curtain rods.
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EVY: A manager in the building,
Roy Truly, looks around,
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and he sees that
one of his employees
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is actually missing.
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It’s the same man
who brought in
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that suspicious
brown paper bag that morning.
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LAURENCE:
It’s Lee Harvey Oswald.
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Police radio his description
to all city units.
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EVY: So, it’s been
less than an hour
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since President Kennedy
was shot,
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and thanks to the quick work
of the Dallas P.D.,
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they actually have
a promising lead.
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Three shots fired,
three spent shell casings
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found next to a rifle
that they believe
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was brought in
by Lee Harvey Oswald,
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who is the only person who has
fled that book depository.
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Every other employee is there
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still actually talking
to investigators.
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It appears that Oswald
is the man responsible
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for the assassination.
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PHILIP: The Dallas
Police Department
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sends out a message
to be on the lookout
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for somebody who looks like
Lee Harvey Oswald.
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And Officer J.D. Tippit
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is in a patrol car
about three miles away.
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He sees a man
on the side of the road
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who appears to fit
the description of the man
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who’s been identified
in Dealey Plaza
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as the president’s assassin.
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The police officer
tries to stop this man
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and is gunned down by him,
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and this man,
according to many witnesses,
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is Lee Harvey Oswald.
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EVY: If police had any doubt
that Lee Harvey Oswald
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assassinated President Kennedy,
that doubt is gone
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the moment he killed
Officer Tippit.
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PHILIP: A local merchant
named Johnny Brewer
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has seen this man duck
into the local movie theater.
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A little bit before 2:00 p.m.,
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police officers find Oswald
seated there.
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He’s armed.
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He puts up a struggle
before he’s arrested.
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PATRICK:
One of the arresting officers,
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Nick McDonald, testifies that
as they reach him,
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Oswald raises his pistol
and pulls the trigger.
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But McDonald grabs the gun
just as the hammer falls,
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hitting the webbing between
his thumb and index finger,
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probably saving his life.
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LAURENCE: Oswald is brought
to the police
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and court’s building
in downtown Dallas
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and charged for both murders.
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Subsequent investigation
uncovers a lot more evidence
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that actually implicates Oswald.
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They find a photo of Oswald
that was taken by his wife
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where he’s holding a rifle
that matches the murder weapon.
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Oswald had made a fake ID
in the name of Alek Hidell.
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The rifle that was found
in the school book depository
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had been ordered in the name
of Alek Hidell
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and sent to a post office box
in that name.
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PHILIP: Virtually all
of the ballistics evidence
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points to Oswald as the gunman
in Dealey Plaza.
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His palm prints
are found on the weapons,
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and the bullets fired
in Dealey Plaza
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almost certainly
came out of the rifle
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that’s found on the sixth floor.
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LAURENCE:
But none of this evidence
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is ever presented in court.
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PHILIP: So, Oswald is held
in custody downtown.
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He’s interrogated by the FBI,
the Secret Service,
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the Dallas Police Department,
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the Dallas
District Attorney’s Office.
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He goes through rounds
of questioning.
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What we know
from those interrogations,
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that he lies again
and again and again,
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and he insists he had nothing to
do with the president’s murder.
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Then something
absolutely crazy happens.
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Sunday morning, November 24th,
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police are actually ready
to transfer Oswald
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to the county jail.
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They have an armored car ready
in the basement of the building.
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JEFFERSON: And as he’s being
brought out
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in front of the TV cameras,
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Jack Ruby,
owner of a local nightclub,
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steps out of the crowd
with a .45
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and shoots Oswald
once in the stomach
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on national TV.
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[gunshot]
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LAURENCE: Ruby is arrested
and Oswald is taken
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to the same hospital as Kennedy,
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where less than 48 hours
after the president,
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he’s declared dead as well.
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PHILIP: Oswald’s death
on November 24th
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means that there will
never be a trial,
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never an opportunity to resolve
an awful lot of the evidence
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that points to Oswald
as the gunman in Dealey Plaza.
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LAURENCE: New president
Lyndon Johnson
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establishes a commission to
investigate the assassination.
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It becomes known
as the Warren Commission.
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PHILIP: It’s sort of the
ultimate blue-ribbon commission.
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Among the other members
are the former director
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of the Central Intelligence
Agency, Allen Dulles,
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as well as a young congressman
from Michigan
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by the name of Gerald Ford.
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The Warren Commission
works for nearly a year
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compiling evidence,
gathering information.
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And on September 24th, 1964,
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they present
an 888-page report
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to President Johnson.
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LAURENCE: The Warren Commission
expresses no doubt.
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They state
that Lee Harvey Oswald
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is the only man responsible
for JFK’s death.
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EVY: They also find
that Jack Ruby acted alone
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in killing Oswald.
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But over the years,
a lot of people
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have questioned these findings,
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saying that they might appear
to be a little too neat.
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LAURENCE: Making this report
far from the last word on JFK.
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LAURENCE: When the Warren
Commission releases
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its findings in 1964,
it marks the end
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of the official investigation
into the JFK assassination.
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They find that
Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone
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in killing
President John F. Kennedy.
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LAURENCE: But that answer
doesn’t satisfy
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the public for long.
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BEN: Skeptics write books.
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First, a trickle of books,
and then a flood of books
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questioning the findings
of the report
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and leading to a larger distrust
both in the commission itself
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and in the sort of firmament
of American government.
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LAURENCE: After 12 years
of scrutiny,
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the U.S. government
takes action.
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JEFFERSON: The House Select
Committee on Assassinations
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was created in 1976.
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LAURENCE: The committee
takes a closer look
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at the Warren Commission Report.
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They agree with most of what
the Warren Commission says,
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particularly regarding
the evidence against Oswald.
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They’re confident that Oswald
did shoot Kennedy
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from the sixth floor
of the book depository.
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LAURENCE: But they uncover
a new piece of evidence.
246
00:10:52,569 --> 00:10:56,199
Assassination researchers
in Dallas came to the committee
247
00:10:56,281 --> 00:11:00,201
and said it may be that
the sound of the gunshots
248
00:11:00,285 --> 00:11:04,375
was captured on this
policeman’s radio recording.
249
00:11:04,497 --> 00:11:06,997
BEN: So, the committee has
multiple acoustic experts
250
00:11:07,083 --> 00:11:09,543
go over this recording,
and upon first listen,
251
00:11:09,627 --> 00:11:12,587
they think, actually,
there weren’t three shots
252
00:11:12,714 --> 00:11:14,804
as previously thought,
but four.
253
00:11:14,883 --> 00:11:16,723
Three shots
did in fact come from
254
00:11:16,843 --> 00:11:18,643
the Texas School Book
Depository,
255
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:21,890
but that one shot came from
a grassy knoll
256
00:11:22,015 --> 00:11:24,145
in front of the motorcade.
257
00:11:26,227 --> 00:11:28,557
In other words,
Oswald didn’t act alone.
258
00:11:28,688 --> 00:11:30,058
And if he didn’t act alone,
259
00:11:30,148 --> 00:11:32,228
someone planned
this killing with him.
260
00:11:32,317 --> 00:11:33,897
And if so, who was it?
261
00:11:33,985 --> 00:11:36,495
The House Committee uses a word
that will become connected
262
00:11:36,571 --> 00:11:39,201
to the Kennedy assassination
from then on.
263
00:11:39,282 --> 00:11:42,912
The word they use
is "conspiracy."
264
00:11:42,994 --> 00:11:47,044
So, the audio evidence that
seems to point to a conspiracy
265
00:11:47,123 --> 00:11:50,173
is later disputed,
and in many minds,
266
00:11:50,251 --> 00:11:52,801
it is found to be
completely in error.
267
00:11:52,921 --> 00:11:55,761
But it’s almost too late to put
the toothpaste back in the tube,
268
00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,840
that the idea of conspiracy
is now even further cemented
269
00:11:59,928 --> 00:12:01,758
in the minds of millions
of Americans.
270
00:12:01,846 --> 00:12:04,926
LAURENCE: If the JFK
assassination is a conspiracy,
271
00:12:05,058 --> 00:12:06,558
who’s behind it?
272
00:12:06,643 --> 00:12:08,563
EVY: Almost immediately
after the shooting,
273
00:12:08,645 --> 00:12:11,065
one conspiracy theory
rises to the top.
274
00:12:11,147 --> 00:12:13,687
So, while there’s only
circumstantial evidence
275
00:12:13,775 --> 00:12:17,115
to prove it, there’s a lot
of circumstantial evidence.
276
00:12:17,195 --> 00:12:19,415
Even Lyndon Johnson
did at some point
277
00:12:19,489 --> 00:12:21,489
make an aside
to an ABC news reporter
278
00:12:21,616 --> 00:12:23,826
that he believed
that Fidel Castro
279
00:12:23,952 --> 00:12:26,292
orchestrated the assassination
of John F. Kennedy.
280
00:12:27,622 --> 00:12:29,542
Why is Fidel Castro a suspect?
281
00:12:29,624 --> 00:12:30,964
Let’s start with motive.
282
00:12:31,084 --> 00:12:32,794
At the time
of the assassination,
283
00:12:32,919 --> 00:12:35,299
there is no foreign power
with a bigger grudge
284
00:12:35,421 --> 00:12:37,631
against Kennedy than Castro.
285
00:12:37,715 --> 00:12:39,795
PHILIP: President Kennedy
is so determined
286
00:12:39,926 --> 00:12:43,256
to get rid of Castro,
that he tells the CIA
287
00:12:43,346 --> 00:12:45,216
to go forward
with an invasion of Cuba
288
00:12:45,306 --> 00:12:48,096
that becomes known as
the Bay of Pigs Operation.
289
00:12:48,184 --> 00:12:51,314
They send Cuban exiles into Cuba
290
00:12:51,396 --> 00:12:53,646
with the CIA support
to oust Castro.
291
00:12:53,731 --> 00:12:56,731
It’s a debacle,
and afterwards,
292
00:12:56,818 --> 00:12:59,608
certainly Castro knows
that President Kennedy
293
00:12:59,696 --> 00:13:02,156
is so determined
to remove him from power
294
00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,410
that he had actually ordered
an invasion of his country.
295
00:13:05,493 --> 00:13:07,753
LAURENCE: Documents that
are later declassified
296
00:13:07,829 --> 00:13:09,789
reveal more evidence.
297
00:13:09,872 --> 00:13:12,372
After the Bay of Pigs Invasion
fails,
298
00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:15,420
the Kennedy administration,
through the CIA,
299
00:13:15,503 --> 00:13:18,633
tried to kill Castro
in the most exotic of ways.
300
00:13:18,715 --> 00:13:21,135
Everything from poison cigars,
301
00:13:21,217 --> 00:13:23,797
to poisoned skin-diving suits,
302
00:13:23,886 --> 00:13:26,636
to exploding seashells,
but yes.
303
00:13:26,723 --> 00:13:29,183
Certainly, Castro knew
the presidency
304
00:13:29,309 --> 00:13:30,849
was plotting against him.
305
00:13:30,935 --> 00:13:33,435
PHILIP: So, we know
that Fidel Castro
306
00:13:33,521 --> 00:13:37,321
has reason to want to see
President Kennedy dead.
307
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:38,900
And the questions
in all of the years since
308
00:13:39,027 --> 00:13:40,857
is what role did
Lee Harvey Oswald
309
00:13:40,945 --> 00:13:43,315
play in whatever plot
was developed
310
00:13:43,406 --> 00:13:45,026
to try to kill the president?
311
00:13:46,034 --> 00:13:47,704
LAURENCE: During their
investigation,
312
00:13:47,785 --> 00:13:50,155
the Warren Commission conducts
a thorough background check
313
00:13:50,246 --> 00:13:51,786
on Oswald.
314
00:13:51,873 --> 00:13:53,923
Even when he’s serving
in the Marine Corps
315
00:13:54,042 --> 00:13:56,672
for three years,
Lee Harvey Oswald is not shy
316
00:13:56,753 --> 00:13:58,383
about the fact that
he’s a Marxist,
317
00:13:58,463 --> 00:14:00,213
so much so, his colleagues
in the Marine Corps
318
00:14:00,298 --> 00:14:03,338
used to refer to him
as "Oswaldovich."
319
00:14:03,426 --> 00:14:06,386
In 1959 he defects
to the Soviet Union
320
00:14:06,471 --> 00:14:08,391
and marries 19-year-old
Soviet citizen
321
00:14:08,473 --> 00:14:11,563
Marina Prusakova,
and they have a child.
322
00:14:11,642 --> 00:14:14,352
They live there until 1962
in an apartment
323
00:14:14,437 --> 00:14:16,477
just a few blocks away
from where the Soviets
324
00:14:16,564 --> 00:14:19,284
are training Cuban spies
and soldiers.
325
00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,070
Back in the U.S.
in April of 1963,
326
00:14:22,153 --> 00:14:24,993
Oswald goes down to New Orleans.
327
00:14:25,073 --> 00:14:28,493
There, he tries to start up
a pro-Castro activist group.
328
00:14:28,576 --> 00:14:31,156
BEN: It’s clear that Oswald
likes communism.
329
00:14:31,245 --> 00:14:33,655
But the biggest revelation
for investigators
330
00:14:33,748 --> 00:14:37,078
is that it turns out
that Oswald went to Mexico City
331
00:14:37,168 --> 00:14:38,918
in September of 1963--
332
00:14:39,045 --> 00:14:40,345
which of course is just
two months
333
00:14:40,421 --> 00:14:42,511
before JFK’s assassination--
334
00:14:42,590 --> 00:14:44,840
and while there
had contact with officials
335
00:14:44,926 --> 00:14:46,716
at the Cuban embassy.
336
00:14:46,803 --> 00:14:49,183
LAURENCE: According
to author Gus Russo,
337
00:14:49,263 --> 00:14:52,733
during these meetings
Oswald makes a chilling offer.
338
00:14:52,809 --> 00:14:55,269
Russo talks to various sources,
339
00:14:55,353 --> 00:14:58,193
including an FBI case officer
340
00:14:58,272 --> 00:15:00,362
who has two high-level
informants
341
00:15:00,441 --> 00:15:01,861
within the Communist Party.
342
00:15:01,943 --> 00:15:03,613
And these two informants
are two brothers
343
00:15:03,694 --> 00:15:06,204
by the names
of Morris and Jack Childs.
344
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,120
The Childs brothers
meet with Fidel Castro
345
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,450
after the Kennedy assassination
and learn just how much
346
00:15:12,537 --> 00:15:15,577
Fidel Castro knew
about Lee Harvey Oswald
347
00:15:15,665 --> 00:15:17,545
in the weeks before
the assassination.
348
00:15:17,625 --> 00:15:19,535
EVY: According
to Russo’s research,
349
00:15:19,627 --> 00:15:22,377
Oswald tells embassy officials,
350
00:15:22,463 --> 00:15:25,473
"I’ll kill that bastard Kennedy
when he goes to Dallas."
351
00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:29,265
Castro is immediately informed
about this.
352
00:15:29,345 --> 00:15:30,845
The embassy staff calls him up
353
00:15:30,972 --> 00:15:32,642
and they ask him,
"What do we do?"
354
00:15:32,765 --> 00:15:36,225
Castro denies taking Oswald up
on his offer.
355
00:15:36,310 --> 00:15:37,980
I don’t think
there’s any credible evidence
356
00:15:38,062 --> 00:15:39,772
that Fidel Castro
played any role
357
00:15:39,856 --> 00:15:42,396
in ordering President Kennedy’s
assassination.
358
00:15:42,483 --> 00:15:45,443
But I think it’s clear
that he was well aware
359
00:15:45,528 --> 00:15:47,988
before the assassination
that Lee Harvey Oswald
360
00:15:48,114 --> 00:15:51,584
had marched into a Cuban embassy
in Mexico City
361
00:15:51,659 --> 00:15:54,119
and made the statement that
he was going to kill Kennedy.
362
00:15:54,203 --> 00:15:57,043
LAURENCE: Russo keeps digging.
363
00:15:57,165 --> 00:15:59,585
EVY: Russo speaks to some
former Cuban spies
364
00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:02,087
that tell him that when Oswald
makes this offer,
365
00:16:02,170 --> 00:16:04,000
they actually encourage him.
366
00:16:04,130 --> 00:16:07,970
One officer tells Russo
that they offer Oswald money,
367
00:16:08,050 --> 00:16:10,470
and then tell him that
they’ll help him evacuate
368
00:16:10,553 --> 00:16:11,973
if he’s successful doing this.
369
00:16:12,054 --> 00:16:14,394
BEN: Oswald’s end goal
is to get a visa
370
00:16:14,515 --> 00:16:18,185
to get either to Cuba,
or to the Soviet Union, or both.
371
00:16:18,269 --> 00:16:21,649
And eventually, the Cubans
do give him some form
372
00:16:21,731 --> 00:16:25,191
of temporary visa
in October of 1963.
373
00:16:25,276 --> 00:16:27,356
EVY: But according
to Russo’s findings,
374
00:16:27,445 --> 00:16:30,205
they don’t actually intend
to bring Oswald to Cuba.
375
00:16:30,281 --> 00:16:31,951
They plan to pick him up
and kill him,
376
00:16:32,033 --> 00:16:35,043
and then dump his body
in the Gulf of Mexico.
377
00:16:35,161 --> 00:16:37,001
LAURENCE: According
to Gus Russo,
378
00:16:37,079 --> 00:16:39,749
there’s more evidence
to support this claim.
379
00:16:39,874 --> 00:16:42,134
EVY: Russo finds reports
of a private plane
380
00:16:42,210 --> 00:16:46,010
sitting on an airfield in Dallas
on November 22nd.
381
00:16:46,088 --> 00:16:48,048
And that plane
takes off for Havana
382
00:16:48,132 --> 00:16:49,552
after the assassination.
383
00:16:49,675 --> 00:16:52,135
As we know,
Oswald is not on that plane.
384
00:16:52,220 --> 00:16:53,970
But that might be
where he’s headed
385
00:16:54,055 --> 00:16:55,855
when he encounters
Officer Tippit,
386
00:16:55,932 --> 00:16:59,062
and the entire Cuban plan
changes after that.
387
00:16:59,185 --> 00:17:01,945
BEN: So, that’s the theory.
The Warren Commission
388
00:17:02,063 --> 00:17:05,273
and also the later House
Committee on Assassinations
389
00:17:05,399 --> 00:17:08,989
dismiss the idea that Castro
or the Cuban government
390
00:17:09,070 --> 00:17:12,820
could have been responsible
for the killing of JFK.
391
00:17:12,907 --> 00:17:16,787
And today, Oswald, Castro,
Johnson-- they’re all dead.
392
00:17:16,911 --> 00:17:25,091
So, I’d say any hopes
of proving this theory are gone.
393
00:17:25,211 --> 00:17:27,801
LAURENCE: When Lee Harvey Oswald
visits Mexico City
394
00:17:27,922 --> 00:17:30,132
in the fall of 1963,
395
00:17:30,258 --> 00:17:33,468
investigators are desperate
to know what he’s up to.
396
00:17:33,594 --> 00:17:36,354
PATRICK: He makes several visits
to the Cuban embassy.
397
00:17:36,430 --> 00:17:38,560
What happens there?
Are the Cubans involved?
398
00:17:38,641 --> 00:17:40,391
You have to ask, right?
399
00:17:40,476 --> 00:17:43,096
LAURENCE: But the Cuban embassy
isn’t the only place
400
00:17:43,187 --> 00:17:45,107
Oswald visits in Mexico.
401
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:47,780
BEN: While in Mexico City,
402
00:17:47,858 --> 00:17:49,608
he also goes
to the Soviet embassy
403
00:17:49,694 --> 00:17:51,614
in his quest for a visa,
and he ends up
404
00:17:51,737 --> 00:17:53,487
kind of bouncing back and forth
405
00:17:53,614 --> 00:17:56,084
between the Cuban embassy
and the Soviet embassy.
406
00:17:56,158 --> 00:17:59,498
PHILIP: So Oswald,
in visiting the Soviet embassy,
407
00:17:59,620 --> 00:18:02,750
is taken to meet
with a Valery Kostikov.
408
00:18:02,832 --> 00:18:06,672
Oswald has one meeting
on September 28th with Kostikov,
409
00:18:06,794 --> 00:18:09,214
and they have a subsequent
telephone conversation
410
00:18:09,297 --> 00:18:10,917
on October 1st.
411
00:18:11,007 --> 00:18:13,837
LAURENCE: Authorities dig
into Kostikov’s background,
412
00:18:13,968 --> 00:18:16,798
and they make a chilling
discovery.
413
00:18:16,887 --> 00:18:20,517
PHILIP: Valery Kostikov
is actually a KGB agent
414
00:18:20,641 --> 00:18:23,271
and a KGB assassinations expert.
415
00:18:23,352 --> 00:18:25,602
Doesn’t that suggest that
this man, Lee Harvey Oswald,
416
00:18:25,688 --> 00:18:27,308
is up to no good?
417
00:18:27,398 --> 00:18:28,978
BEN: So, that leads us
to the next big question,
418
00:18:29,108 --> 00:18:31,398
which is, is the Soviet Union,
419
00:18:31,485 --> 00:18:33,195
led be Premier
Nikita Khrushchev,
420
00:18:33,321 --> 00:18:35,411
involved in JFK’s assassination?
421
00:18:37,742 --> 00:18:39,872
Khrushchev may have a motive
to kill Kennedy
422
00:18:39,994 --> 00:18:42,544
that’s just as strong
as Fidel Castro’s.
423
00:18:42,663 --> 00:18:45,833
As we know, Kennedy is on
a crusade against communism,
424
00:18:45,958 --> 00:18:48,248
and communism is represented
on the world stage
425
00:18:48,336 --> 00:18:51,336
by its biggest superpower,
the USSR.
426
00:18:51,422 --> 00:18:54,172
BEN: Premier Khrushchev
is trying to promote revolution
427
00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:56,010
and communism around the world,
428
00:18:56,093 --> 00:18:59,013
and JFK is trying to do
the exact opposite.
429
00:18:59,096 --> 00:19:01,176
So, these two
are pitted against each other
430
00:19:01,265 --> 00:19:02,515
at a geopolitical level.
431
00:19:03,768 --> 00:19:06,018
And unfortunately for JFK,
432
00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:08,555
90 miles from
the Florida coastline
433
00:19:08,689 --> 00:19:11,189
the Soviets have a communist
nation in the form of Cuba.
434
00:19:11,275 --> 00:19:13,065
EVY: Communist Cuba
would not have happened
435
00:19:13,194 --> 00:19:14,534
without the Soviets.
436
00:19:14,654 --> 00:19:16,034
They give the Cubans training,
437
00:19:16,155 --> 00:19:18,525
financial and military support.
438
00:19:18,658 --> 00:19:22,868
Castro’s victory is also
a victory for Khrushchev.
439
00:19:22,995 --> 00:19:25,995
LAURENCE: Then in 1962,
Khrushchev experiences
440
00:19:26,082 --> 00:19:29,542
a very public defeat,
thanks to President Kennedy.
441
00:19:29,669 --> 00:19:31,549
PHILIP: A year
before Kennedy’s death,
442
00:19:31,671 --> 00:19:33,551
the United States
and the Soviet Union
443
00:19:33,631 --> 00:19:36,221
had almost gone to war
when the Soviet Union
444
00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:39,720
attempts to set up
missile launch pads in Cuba
445
00:19:39,804 --> 00:19:41,394
that can be used
for nuclear weapons.
446
00:19:41,514 --> 00:19:44,934
PATRICK: Kennedy isn’t okay
with Soviet nukes 90 miles away,
447
00:19:45,059 --> 00:19:48,059
and this begins what’s known
as the Cuban Missile Crisis,
448
00:19:48,187 --> 00:19:49,897
which ultimately, after a lot
449
00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:51,690
of back-and-forth
political posturing,
450
00:19:51,774 --> 00:19:53,364
Kennedy wins.
451
00:19:53,442 --> 00:19:56,402
LAURENCE: Two years later
in 1964,
452
00:19:56,487 --> 00:19:59,447
Khrushchev is removed
from office.
453
00:19:59,573 --> 00:20:02,243
But before he’s removed,
in 1963,
454
00:20:02,326 --> 00:20:04,076
Khrushchev is still
clinging to power,
455
00:20:04,161 --> 00:20:06,251
looking for a way
to redeem himself
456
00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:07,920
among the communists.
457
00:20:07,998 --> 00:20:10,288
PHILIP: That would certainly
add some logic to the idea
458
00:20:10,418 --> 00:20:13,668
that maybe Khrushchev
wanted to see Kennedy dead.
459
00:20:15,673 --> 00:20:17,303
PATRICK: If Oswald walks
right into the embassy
460
00:20:17,425 --> 00:20:19,435
and offers to kill
Kennedy in Dallas,
461
00:20:19,510 --> 00:20:21,090
maybe the Soviets go for it.
462
00:20:21,178 --> 00:20:22,888
Otherwise, why is he meeting
463
00:20:22,972 --> 00:20:25,642
with a KGB
assassinations expert?
464
00:20:25,766 --> 00:20:28,186
BEN: There is an
even-further-out theory,
465
00:20:28,269 --> 00:20:32,019
which is that Khrushchev
started plotting to kill Kennedy
466
00:20:32,106 --> 00:20:35,276
even before the Mexico City
machinations.
467
00:20:35,401 --> 00:20:38,111
LAURENCE: Author and attorney
Michael Eddowes
468
00:20:38,195 --> 00:20:40,565
shares details
of his investigation
469
00:20:40,656 --> 00:20:44,786
in the 1977 book
"The Oswald File."
470
00:20:44,869 --> 00:20:46,659
BEN: Michael Eddowes
comes up with this theory
471
00:20:46,787 --> 00:20:50,497
that Khrushchev conceives
of this plot to kill Kennedy
472
00:20:50,624 --> 00:20:53,464
when Oswald is still living
in the Soviet Union
473
00:20:53,586 --> 00:20:55,626
beginning in 1959.
474
00:20:55,755 --> 00:20:58,385
PATRICK: Khrushchev realizes
he’s got a golden opportunity
475
00:20:58,466 --> 00:20:59,796
on his hands.
476
00:20:59,925 --> 00:21:01,795
Here, he’s got
an American citizen,
477
00:21:01,886 --> 00:21:04,136
a former Marine,
and a vowed communist
478
00:21:04,263 --> 00:21:06,143
who speaks Russian.
479
00:21:06,223 --> 00:21:08,773
And everybody knows
he’s there in the USSR.
480
00:21:08,851 --> 00:21:11,061
The Associated Press
had reported on his defection.
481
00:21:14,023 --> 00:21:17,653
Eddowes believes that Khrushchev
detains and kills Oswald
482
00:21:17,777 --> 00:21:20,357
while in the USSR,
then replaces him
483
00:21:20,488 --> 00:21:23,658
with a KGB agent,
someone who looks very similar.
484
00:21:23,783 --> 00:21:25,333
PATRICK: So, it’s not
Lee Harvey Oswald
485
00:21:25,409 --> 00:21:28,329
who lands back
in the United States in 1962.
486
00:21:28,412 --> 00:21:30,502
It’s an impostor
whose mission it is
487
00:21:30,581 --> 00:21:32,211
to kill John F. Kennedy.
488
00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:35,173
LAURENCE: Eddowes believes
he has definitive proof
489
00:21:35,294 --> 00:21:37,504
that Oswald was replaced.
490
00:21:37,630 --> 00:21:42,380
BEN: On his Marine records,
Oswald is listed as being 5’11",
491
00:21:42,510 --> 00:21:45,140
but that the person
who killed Kennedy
492
00:21:45,221 --> 00:21:47,141
is actually 5’9".
493
00:21:47,223 --> 00:21:50,853
The original Oswald also had
a cranial operation as a child,
494
00:21:50,976 --> 00:21:53,016
leaving him with an indentation
behind his ear
495
00:21:53,145 --> 00:21:55,605
and a dime-sized hole
in his skull.
496
00:21:55,689 --> 00:21:57,189
PATRICK: But according
to Eddowes,
497
00:21:57,316 --> 00:21:58,856
the autopsy
on the Kennedy assassin
498
00:21:58,984 --> 00:22:00,744
shows no such features.
499
00:22:00,861 --> 00:22:02,821
It does, however,
show that the assassin
500
00:22:02,905 --> 00:22:05,705
has a large scar on his wrist,
which Eddowes notes
501
00:22:05,783 --> 00:22:08,083
the original Oswald
did not have.
502
00:22:09,203 --> 00:22:11,753
LAURENCE: His argument
persuades the Texas courts
503
00:22:11,872 --> 00:22:16,292
and Oswald’s widow Marina
to have his body exhumed.
504
00:22:16,377 --> 00:22:17,997
BEN: So, this is huge news.
505
00:22:18,087 --> 00:22:21,047
Eddowes has managed to convince,
you know, authorities
506
00:22:21,173 --> 00:22:23,223
and Lee Harvey Oswald’s widow
507
00:22:23,342 --> 00:22:25,392
that there’s something
to this theory.
508
00:22:25,511 --> 00:22:28,721
EVY: So, in 1981
they dig up the body,
509
00:22:28,806 --> 00:22:31,556
and it’s in an advanced state
of decomposition.
510
00:22:31,684 --> 00:22:34,104
Eddowes and widow Marina Oswald
511
00:22:34,228 --> 00:22:37,768
agree to have the Dallas County
Medical Examiner Linda Norton
512
00:22:37,898 --> 00:22:39,568
do the examination.
513
00:22:39,650 --> 00:22:42,740
BEN: Dr. Norton is able
to match dental records
514
00:22:42,820 --> 00:22:45,110
and also identify the evidence
515
00:22:45,239 --> 00:22:47,659
of the childhood
cranial surgery,
516
00:22:47,741 --> 00:22:50,741
which together show that
actually the body in the grave
517
00:22:50,870 --> 00:22:53,410
really is that
of Lee Harvey Oswald.
518
00:22:53,497 --> 00:22:55,787
PATRICK: So, Khrushchev didn’t
replace Lee Harvey Oswald
519
00:22:55,916 --> 00:22:58,536
with another killer,
that much we know.
520
00:22:58,627 --> 00:23:01,917
But the Soviet conspiracy theory
is still alive and well,
521
00:23:02,006 --> 00:23:04,256
because it doesn’t prove
that Oswald himself
522
00:23:04,341 --> 00:23:07,091
didn’t work with the USSR
to plan and execute
523
00:23:07,177 --> 00:23:09,097
the assassination
of John F. Kennedy.
524
00:23:09,179 --> 00:23:11,259
EVY: But that’s not what
the House Committee says.
525
00:23:11,390 --> 00:23:13,810
In their 1976 report,
526
00:23:13,934 --> 00:23:17,104
they find that neither
the Cubans nor the Soviets
527
00:23:17,187 --> 00:23:19,147
are behind the assassination.
528
00:23:19,273 --> 00:23:22,113
But they do think that
somebody else could be involved.
529
00:23:26,864 --> 00:23:30,284
For almost 60 years, one detail
in the JFK investigation
530
00:23:30,367 --> 00:23:32,617
remains undisputed--
531
00:23:32,745 --> 00:23:35,585
Lee Harvey Oswald’s
communist ties.
532
00:23:35,664 --> 00:23:40,464
But in 2017, thanks to
newly declassified documents,
533
00:23:40,544 --> 00:23:43,424
fresh evidence comes to light
that could change
534
00:23:43,505 --> 00:23:46,795
everything we think
we know about Oswald.
535
00:23:47,968 --> 00:23:49,848
PATRICK: Recently declassified
intelligence reports
536
00:23:49,970 --> 00:23:52,350
reveal that the KGB
does their own investigation
537
00:23:52,473 --> 00:23:53,813
into Oswald.
538
00:23:53,891 --> 00:23:55,981
They have him under
very tight surveillance
539
00:23:56,101 --> 00:23:58,311
from the moment
he enters the USSR,
540
00:23:58,395 --> 00:24:00,435
so they have a lot
of intelligence on him.
541
00:24:00,522 --> 00:24:02,982
And according
to the KGB report,
542
00:24:03,108 --> 00:24:05,358
contrary to what we’ve all
been led to believe,
543
00:24:05,486 --> 00:24:08,356
Oswald stops being
a communist sympathizer.
544
00:24:08,489 --> 00:24:10,369
EVY: The KGB reports
that over his time
545
00:24:10,491 --> 00:24:12,241
in the Soviet Union,
546
00:24:12,326 --> 00:24:15,656
Oswald actually becomes
disillusioned with the cause,
547
00:24:15,746 --> 00:24:18,496
and by the time
he leaves in 1962,
548
00:24:18,624 --> 00:24:20,884
he is not a communist anymore.
549
00:24:21,001 --> 00:24:23,501
PATRICK: This goes against
decades of conventional thinking
550
00:24:23,587 --> 00:24:25,297
about Oswald
and the assassination.
551
00:24:25,381 --> 00:24:28,721
If he’s not a communist,
then who killed JFK?
552
00:24:28,842 --> 00:24:32,682
BEN: So, the KGB does believe
that Oswald killed Kennedy.
553
00:24:32,805 --> 00:24:35,685
They do say that they think
he’s part of a conspiracy.
554
00:24:35,766 --> 00:24:37,766
It’s just not the conspiracy
you think.
555
00:24:37,851 --> 00:24:41,351
So instead, the KGB theory
is that Oswald
556
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,980
is part of a militant
anti-communist conspiracy group
557
00:24:45,067 --> 00:24:47,187
whose intent is to poison
relations
558
00:24:47,277 --> 00:24:49,777
between the Soviet Union
and the United States
559
00:24:49,863 --> 00:24:52,993
by killing Kennedy and framing
the communists for it.
560
00:24:54,201 --> 00:24:56,541
DAVID DENTON: Khrushchev will
say in an interview in 1964
561
00:24:56,662 --> 00:24:58,872
that in fact Oswald was working
562
00:24:58,998 --> 00:25:01,038
with extremist
anti-communist forces
563
00:25:01,125 --> 00:25:02,715
in the United States.
564
00:25:02,835 --> 00:25:04,385
LAURENCE: Many wonder
if this theory
565
00:25:04,461 --> 00:25:06,211
is simply Soviet propaganda.
566
00:25:06,338 --> 00:25:08,168
PATRICK: Of course, Khrushchev
wants to take suspicion
567
00:25:08,257 --> 00:25:09,257
off of himself.
568
00:25:09,383 --> 00:25:11,433
But independently of the KGB,
569
00:25:11,552 --> 00:25:14,052
a U.S. investigator
also looks into this theory.
570
00:25:14,179 --> 00:25:16,219
BEN: Jim Garrison,
the district attorney
571
00:25:16,348 --> 00:25:18,928
of New Orleans, comes to believe
572
00:25:19,059 --> 00:25:22,399
that a murky conspiracy
involving business leaders
573
00:25:22,521 --> 00:25:24,651
and Lee Harvey Oswald
have brought together
574
00:25:24,732 --> 00:25:26,902
all these right wing
anti-communist elements
575
00:25:27,026 --> 00:25:28,566
to kill JFK.
576
00:25:28,652 --> 00:25:32,202
LAURENCE: To prove his theory,
Garrison spends six years
577
00:25:32,281 --> 00:25:34,491
interviewing witnesses.
578
00:25:34,575 --> 00:25:37,625
DAVID: Through the 1960s,
Jim Garrison’s investigation
579
00:25:37,745 --> 00:25:41,255
leads to a man by the name
of David Ferrie.
580
00:25:41,331 --> 00:25:45,841
Back in the 1950s, David Ferrie
serves in the Civil Air Patrol,
581
00:25:45,919 --> 00:25:49,089
which also has as a member
Lee Harvey Oswald.
582
00:25:50,507 --> 00:25:52,797
Dave Ferrie was rabidly
anti-communist
583
00:25:52,926 --> 00:25:54,966
and heavily involved
in the anti-Castro movement
584
00:25:55,095 --> 00:25:57,095
in New Orleans.
585
00:25:57,181 --> 00:25:58,931
BEN: So, you might be thinking,
"Now, wait a minute,
586
00:25:59,058 --> 00:26:02,348
someone who’s anti-Castro
should like Kennedy."
587
00:26:02,436 --> 00:26:05,936
But David Ferrie
was disappointed in Kennedy
588
00:26:06,023 --> 00:26:10,323
for not being staunch enough
in their opposition to Castro.
589
00:26:10,444 --> 00:26:11,954
PATRICK: He thinks that
Kennedy’s attempts
590
00:26:12,029 --> 00:26:14,109
at a peaceful outcome are weak,
591
00:26:14,198 --> 00:26:16,988
that he’s essentially handed
Cuba to the communists.
592
00:26:17,117 --> 00:26:20,577
In fact, he gives a fiery speech
in 1961
593
00:26:20,662 --> 00:26:23,332
where he says
that Kennedy should be shot.
594
00:26:23,457 --> 00:26:24,787
LAURENCE: According
to Garrison,
595
00:26:24,917 --> 00:26:27,457
Ferrie follows through
with that threat.
596
00:26:27,544 --> 00:26:29,464
DAVID: In September of 1963,
597
00:26:29,546 --> 00:26:32,126
a few weeks before
the assassination of JFK,
598
00:26:32,257 --> 00:26:34,877
an insurance agent
named Perry Russo
599
00:26:34,968 --> 00:26:38,508
would state that he was at
a party with a businessman
600
00:26:38,639 --> 00:26:40,809
from New Orleans
named Clay Shaw,
601
00:26:40,891 --> 00:26:43,771
Lee Harvey Oswald,
and David Ferrie,
602
00:26:43,852 --> 00:26:47,192
where the assassination of JFK
would be discussed.
603
00:26:47,314 --> 00:26:49,944
BEN: Russo testifies
that he remembers them
604
00:26:50,025 --> 00:26:52,025
saying that they were gonna
kill Kennedy,
605
00:26:52,152 --> 00:26:53,652
and that they were
gonna use something
606
00:26:53,737 --> 00:26:55,277
called a triangulation
of shooters.
607
00:26:55,364 --> 00:26:57,324
They also discussed alibis
608
00:26:57,449 --> 00:26:59,329
for the people involved
in this conspiracy.
609
00:26:59,451 --> 00:27:02,001
LAURENCE: By February of 1967,
610
00:27:02,121 --> 00:27:04,581
Garrison is ready
to reveal his finding.
611
00:27:05,874 --> 00:27:07,134
PATRICK:
Newspapers in New Orleans
612
00:27:07,209 --> 00:27:09,039
break Garrison’s story.
613
00:27:10,254 --> 00:27:12,674
He’s convinced that David Ferrie
and Lee Harvey Oswald
614
00:27:12,798 --> 00:27:15,008
are long-time friends
since their days together
615
00:27:15,092 --> 00:27:16,892
in the Civil Air Patrol.
616
00:27:17,010 --> 00:27:18,970
He believes they wanna
take out Kennedy
617
00:27:19,054 --> 00:27:20,224
and frame the communists.
618
00:27:21,765 --> 00:27:23,515
David Ferrie
and Lee Harvey Oswald
619
00:27:23,642 --> 00:27:25,602
work together to plan
the assassination
620
00:27:25,686 --> 00:27:27,766
with the support of Clay Shaw
and the help
621
00:27:27,855 --> 00:27:31,025
of another man behind the scenes
named Guy Banister.
622
00:27:31,108 --> 00:27:33,688
Ferrie and Banister were both
adamant supporters
623
00:27:33,819 --> 00:27:36,699
of the anti-Castro movement,
which included arming people
624
00:27:36,780 --> 00:27:39,370
to go stage attacks in Cuba.
625
00:27:39,491 --> 00:27:42,701
And Ferrie as a pilot
was moving the weapons,
626
00:27:42,786 --> 00:27:44,866
and Banister
was supplying them.
627
00:27:44,997 --> 00:27:47,867
So, these men did have
a hard right background
628
00:27:47,958 --> 00:27:49,328
that involved guns.
629
00:27:49,418 --> 00:27:51,708
Garrison was certainly
correct about that.
630
00:27:52,796 --> 00:27:55,876
BEN: Garrison’s theory
has Banister and Ferrie
631
00:27:56,008 --> 00:27:57,928
as the brains behind
this operation.
632
00:27:58,051 --> 00:28:01,681
Clay Shaw would be handling
logistics and financial backing.
633
00:28:01,763 --> 00:28:04,143
And then, in this scenario,
there are two shooters
634
00:28:04,224 --> 00:28:05,814
involved in a crossfire--
635
00:28:05,893 --> 00:28:08,313
Oswald, as we know,
in the book depository,
636
00:28:08,395 --> 00:28:11,855
and then another unnamed shooter
on the grassy knoll.
637
00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:13,730
LAURENCE:
Armed with the evidence,
638
00:28:13,859 --> 00:28:16,069
Garrison’s ready
for his day in court.
639
00:28:16,195 --> 00:28:18,785
DAVID: Oswald is already dead.
640
00:28:18,906 --> 00:28:22,826
And then Banister’s died
of a heart attack by 1964,
641
00:28:22,910 --> 00:28:25,950
so there are already
two alleged conspirators gone.
642
00:28:26,079 --> 00:28:28,789
Then, something
more unusual happens.
643
00:28:28,916 --> 00:28:32,246
Less than a week after
the Garrison investigation
644
00:28:32,377 --> 00:28:35,757
goes public, Dave Ferrie
is found dead.
645
00:28:36,757 --> 00:28:38,587
BEN: David Ferrie
is found in his apartment
646
00:28:38,675 --> 00:28:41,255
with two typed-up suicide notes,
647
00:28:41,345 --> 00:28:43,765
but the autopsy
finds no evidence
648
00:28:43,847 --> 00:28:46,427
either of suicide or of murder,
649
00:28:46,516 --> 00:28:49,476
and that David Ferrie
has died of a brain hemorrhage.
650
00:28:49,603 --> 00:28:51,273
PATRICK: Garrison is flummoxed.
651
00:28:51,355 --> 00:28:53,945
He says, "I suppose it could be
just a weird coincidence
652
00:28:54,024 --> 00:28:56,444
"that the night Ferrie
pens two suicide notes,
653
00:28:56,526 --> 00:28:58,776
he dies of natural causes."
654
00:28:58,904 --> 00:29:01,784
LAURENCE: On March 1st, 1967,
655
00:29:01,865 --> 00:29:04,325
the last alleged
co-conspirator alive
656
00:29:04,451 --> 00:29:05,661
is arrested.
657
00:29:05,786 --> 00:29:08,536
Clay Shaw is finally tried
in 1969,
658
00:29:08,622 --> 00:29:11,712
and it remains the only trial
in American history
659
00:29:11,792 --> 00:29:14,542
associated with
the assassination of JFK.
660
00:29:14,628 --> 00:29:16,458
But Garrison is unsuccessful
661
00:29:16,546 --> 00:29:18,966
with few witnesses
remaining alive
662
00:29:19,049 --> 00:29:21,259
and others deemed unreliable.
663
00:29:21,343 --> 00:29:24,013
Shaw is acquitted
in 45 minutes.
664
00:29:24,137 --> 00:29:26,767
LAURENCE: Ten years later
in 1979,
665
00:29:26,848 --> 00:29:28,978
the House Select Committee
wonders publicly
666
00:29:29,059 --> 00:29:31,019
if justice was served.
667
00:29:31,144 --> 00:29:33,314
PATRICK: The House Committee’s
final report states
668
00:29:33,438 --> 00:29:35,478
that they believe
the Louisiana witnesses
669
00:29:35,607 --> 00:29:38,317
were both, quote,
"credible and significant,"
670
00:29:38,402 --> 00:29:40,202
and that they were telling
the truth
671
00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,660
about Ferrie
and Oswald’s meetings in 1963.
672
00:29:43,740 --> 00:29:46,030
So, Garrison’s theory’s cause
673
00:29:46,159 --> 00:29:48,199
for a lot of sensational
reporting
674
00:29:48,328 --> 00:29:50,038
and a lot of excitement
on the part of the public,
675
00:29:50,163 --> 00:29:51,713
and you know, maybe swayed
some people
676
00:29:51,832 --> 00:29:53,582
in the court of public opinion.
677
00:29:53,667 --> 00:29:56,497
In actual court,
where evidence is required,
678
00:29:56,628 --> 00:30:02,128
they were found to fall apart
pretty quickly.
679
00:30:02,217 --> 00:30:03,337
LAURENCE: After decades
of pressure
680
00:30:03,468 --> 00:30:04,758
from the American public,
681
00:30:04,845 --> 00:30:09,025
Congress passes
the JFK Records Act in 1992.
682
00:30:09,099 --> 00:30:11,849
The act mandates the release
of all files
683
00:30:11,935 --> 00:30:13,475
relating to the case.
684
00:30:13,562 --> 00:30:14,982
BEN: So, even all
these decades later,
685
00:30:15,063 --> 00:30:17,653
people still want answers,
and are now hopeful
686
00:30:17,733 --> 00:30:19,233
that maybe we’ll start
to get them.
687
00:30:19,359 --> 00:30:21,819
PHILIP: These documents
aren’t released all at once,
688
00:30:21,903 --> 00:30:23,663
but during the 1990s,
689
00:30:23,739 --> 00:30:26,569
millions and millions of pages
of documents are made public.
690
00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:28,870
The law had a deadline.
691
00:30:28,952 --> 00:30:31,452
It said that everything
in the government’s files
692
00:30:31,538 --> 00:30:33,998
had to be made public in 2017.
693
00:30:34,082 --> 00:30:37,542
EVY: Well, guess what?
That does not happen.
694
00:30:37,669 --> 00:30:40,209
But by 2017,
tens of thousands of records
695
00:30:40,297 --> 00:30:41,707
have been released.
696
00:30:41,798 --> 00:30:44,298
And one of them
gets a lot of attention,
697
00:30:44,384 --> 00:30:47,474
because it appears to confirm
a longstanding theory
698
00:30:47,554 --> 00:30:49,564
that the Mafia was involved
699
00:30:49,681 --> 00:30:52,231
in the assassination of JFK.
700
00:30:52,351 --> 00:30:54,101
BEN: From the moment
Kennedy dies,
701
00:30:54,227 --> 00:30:56,897
conspiracy theorists
are asking the right question,
702
00:30:56,980 --> 00:30:59,070
which is, "Who wants him dead?"
703
00:30:59,191 --> 00:31:00,651
The communists,
in a lot of minds,
704
00:31:00,734 --> 00:31:02,284
feature really high
on that list.
705
00:31:02,402 --> 00:31:04,742
But there’s another group
who might want Kennedy dead
706
00:31:04,821 --> 00:31:07,321
even more, and that
is the Cosa Nostra--
707
00:31:07,407 --> 00:31:09,027
the American Mafia.
708
00:31:09,117 --> 00:31:12,907
LAURENCE: In 1962,
JFK, along with his brother,
709
00:31:13,038 --> 00:31:16,578
Attorney General Robert Kennedy,
are on a crusade
710
00:31:16,708 --> 00:31:19,248
to wipe out
organized crime in America.
711
00:31:19,378 --> 00:31:21,918
DAVID: One of the biggest
revenue streams the mob had,
712
00:31:22,005 --> 00:31:24,585
obviously were the casinos
in Cuba.
713
00:31:24,716 --> 00:31:27,256
The mob was kicked out of Cuba
by Castro.
714
00:31:27,386 --> 00:31:29,426
PHILIP: So, they were angry
with President Kennedy
715
00:31:29,554 --> 00:31:31,224
for not having done more,
716
00:31:31,306 --> 00:31:33,096
so they wanted to see
Castro overthrown
717
00:31:33,225 --> 00:31:35,185
so they could
get back into Cuba,
718
00:31:35,268 --> 00:31:37,558
reopen their casinos
and their liquor operations,
719
00:31:37,646 --> 00:31:39,146
and get going again.
720
00:31:39,272 --> 00:31:40,902
And one way of doing that
might be
721
00:31:40,982 --> 00:31:43,032
by killing President Kennedy.
722
00:31:43,110 --> 00:31:44,780
In the minds of some mobsters,
723
00:31:44,861 --> 00:31:47,571
Kennedy took billions of dollars
out of their pockets,
724
00:31:47,656 --> 00:31:50,446
and they have killed
for a lot less.
725
00:31:50,534 --> 00:31:51,784
And wouldn’t you know it,
726
00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:53,370
right in the middle
of the Kennedy case,
727
00:31:53,453 --> 00:31:56,463
there’s a man who could be
the key to a Mafia connection.
728
00:31:56,540 --> 00:31:59,540
LAURENCE: That man
is Lee Harvey Oswald’s killer,
729
00:31:59,626 --> 00:32:01,286
Jack Ruby.
730
00:32:01,378 --> 00:32:03,708
Jack Ruby was a tough guy
from Chicago,
731
00:32:03,797 --> 00:32:05,467
Jack Rubenstein originally.
732
00:32:05,549 --> 00:32:07,629
A thug, a pimp.
733
00:32:07,759 --> 00:32:12,099
Moves to Dallas,
opens up his nightclub there,
734
00:32:12,180 --> 00:32:14,220
and quickly becomes
a kind of fixture
735
00:32:14,307 --> 00:32:16,097
among organized crime figures.
736
00:32:16,184 --> 00:32:18,774
He was what you would call
a wannabe.
737
00:32:18,854 --> 00:32:20,444
He gets these nightclubs
up and running,
738
00:32:20,522 --> 00:32:21,862
and they become a conduit
739
00:32:21,982 --> 00:32:23,652
for all the things
we know the Mafia for--
740
00:32:23,733 --> 00:32:27,283
gambling, running narcotics,
and eventually sex work.
741
00:32:27,362 --> 00:32:30,282
EVY: Theorists long speculated
that Jack Ruby and the Mafia
742
00:32:30,365 --> 00:32:32,825
worked together to kill Kennedy.
743
00:32:32,909 --> 00:32:34,579
They say by 1963,
744
00:32:34,661 --> 00:32:37,251
Jack Ruby is heavily indebted
to the Mafia,
745
00:32:37,330 --> 00:32:39,250
and they force him
to find a patsy
746
00:32:39,332 --> 00:32:41,002
to assassinate the president.
747
00:32:41,084 --> 00:32:43,594
And afterwards, they make him
kill that fall guy
748
00:32:43,670 --> 00:32:45,670
so that he can’t talk.
749
00:32:45,755 --> 00:32:47,965
JEFFERSON: A lot more evidence
came out in the 1970s
750
00:32:48,049 --> 00:32:50,259
with the House Select Committee
investigation,
751
00:32:50,343 --> 00:32:52,263
and that strengthened the notion
752
00:32:52,345 --> 00:32:53,965
that there was
an organized crime connection
753
00:32:54,055 --> 00:32:55,845
to the assassination.
754
00:32:55,974 --> 00:32:59,354
LAURENCE: Did Ruby hire Oswald
on behalf of the Mafia?
755
00:32:59,436 --> 00:33:01,346
Dallas police have two witnesses
756
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,480
report that
on October 4th, 1963,
757
00:33:04,566 --> 00:33:06,356
seven weeks before
the assassination,
758
00:33:06,485 --> 00:33:09,785
they see Ruby and Oswald meet
in Ruby’s Carousel Club
759
00:33:09,863 --> 00:33:11,993
on Commerce Street in Dallas.
760
00:33:12,073 --> 00:33:15,123
There, they argue
over a large sum of money
761
00:33:15,202 --> 00:33:18,542
for an undisclosed job that
Oswald will be doing for Ruby.
762
00:33:18,622 --> 00:33:20,582
LAURENCE:
But the Warren Commission
763
00:33:20,707 --> 00:33:22,997
fails to interview
these witnesses.
764
00:33:23,084 --> 00:33:27,014
After he’s arrested, Ruby denies
ever having known Oswald,
765
00:33:27,088 --> 00:33:28,718
and that he didn’t know
beforehand
766
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:30,880
that the assassination
was going to happen.
767
00:33:31,009 --> 00:33:33,139
Ruby says that he was
several blocks away
768
00:33:33,220 --> 00:33:35,390
busy placing
some newspaper ads,
769
00:33:35,472 --> 00:33:37,522
and killed Oswald
because of grief,
770
00:33:37,599 --> 00:33:39,179
because of patriotism,
771
00:33:39,267 --> 00:33:40,887
and because he felt
for the First Lady,
772
00:33:41,019 --> 00:33:42,439
and wanted to keep her
from having to suffer
773
00:33:42,562 --> 00:33:44,022
through a prolonged trial.
774
00:33:45,232 --> 00:33:49,242
LAURENCE: For over 50 years,
no one can prove otherwise.
775
00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:51,199
EVY: But then in 2017,
776
00:33:51,279 --> 00:33:54,569
as part of another large dump
of declassified Kennedy files,
777
00:33:54,658 --> 00:33:59,748
we see Document 32149267.
778
00:33:59,829 --> 00:34:01,909
It’s a report from the FBI’s
Intelligence division
779
00:34:01,998 --> 00:34:03,458
about Jack Ruby.
780
00:34:03,583 --> 00:34:06,713
In it, an informant
named Bob Vanderslice
781
00:34:06,795 --> 00:34:10,095
says that Ruby calls him up
on the day of the assassination.
782
00:34:10,173 --> 00:34:11,763
He asks if he, quote,
783
00:34:11,841 --> 00:34:13,591
"would like to watch
the fireworks."
784
00:34:13,677 --> 00:34:16,757
PATRICK: Vanderslice goes
with Ruby to a location
785
00:34:16,846 --> 00:34:19,676
right across from the Texas
School Book Depository,
786
00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:22,346
and together they watch
the president get shot.
787
00:34:22,435 --> 00:34:24,725
When it happens,
Ruby says nothing.
788
00:34:24,813 --> 00:34:26,813
He just turns calmly
and walks south
789
00:34:26,940 --> 00:34:29,860
towards the newspaper office
where he places the ads,
790
00:34:29,943 --> 00:34:31,573
and thereby creates an alibi.
791
00:34:31,653 --> 00:34:35,113
BEN: If this is true,
then Jack Ruby
792
00:34:35,198 --> 00:34:37,328
knew there were going
to be quote, "fireworks,"
793
00:34:37,450 --> 00:34:39,950
and he knew exactly where
and when the assassination
794
00:34:40,078 --> 00:34:41,368
was gonna happen.
795
00:34:41,454 --> 00:34:43,124
In other words, Ruby lied,
796
00:34:43,248 --> 00:34:45,038
and he knew
about the whole thing.
797
00:34:45,125 --> 00:34:47,095
LAURENCE: After months
in custody,
798
00:34:47,168 --> 00:34:50,798
Ruby himself claims
there’s more to his story.
799
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,090
EVY: At first, Ruby sticks
to his alibi.
800
00:34:53,174 --> 00:34:55,134
But then, he changes his tune.
801
00:34:55,218 --> 00:34:57,638
He writes letters,
he makes statements to police,
802
00:34:57,721 --> 00:35:00,471
and then even testifies
to the Warren Commission
803
00:35:00,557 --> 00:35:02,807
that he knows some things
he’s not saying,
804
00:35:02,934 --> 00:35:05,234
but he believes
that his life is in danger.
805
00:35:05,312 --> 00:35:06,982
He wants to tell
the whole truth,
806
00:35:07,063 --> 00:35:09,153
but he can’t unless he can get
some protection
807
00:35:09,232 --> 00:35:10,732
from the government.
808
00:35:10,817 --> 00:35:12,487
PATRICK: But he never
gets that protection,
809
00:35:12,569 --> 00:35:15,949
and he dies in 1967,
taking with him to the grave
810
00:35:16,031 --> 00:35:19,121
any potential secrets about
a Mafia assassination plot.
811
00:35:20,201 --> 00:35:21,791
LAURENCE: Some believe that
members of the Mafia
812
00:35:21,870 --> 00:35:23,410
work quickly
to cover their tracks
813
00:35:23,496 --> 00:35:25,576
after JFK’s death.
814
00:35:25,665 --> 00:35:28,325
Over a dozen witnesses
and participants
815
00:35:28,418 --> 00:35:31,168
die mysteriously in
the aftermath of the shooting--
816
00:35:31,254 --> 00:35:33,014
Oswald, Ruby.
817
00:35:33,089 --> 00:35:35,799
Dorothy Kilgallen,
she’s the only reporter
818
00:35:35,884 --> 00:35:37,974
to interview Jack Ruby
at his trial.
819
00:35:38,053 --> 00:35:40,183
She then openly questions
the Warren Commission,
820
00:35:40,263 --> 00:35:44,103
and then dies of a mysterious
overdose in 1965.
821
00:35:44,184 --> 00:35:46,444
BEN: So, following this trail
of murders,
822
00:35:46,519 --> 00:35:48,979
it reaches its apex in 1968
823
00:35:49,064 --> 00:35:51,614
when Robert F. Kennedy,
who also could be seen
824
00:35:51,691 --> 00:35:54,781
as an enemy of the Mafia,
is killed in Los Angeles.
825
00:35:54,861 --> 00:35:57,161
EVY: What kind of organization
would be willing
826
00:35:57,238 --> 00:35:59,618
to leave behind
such a long string of bodies
827
00:35:59,699 --> 00:36:03,329
to keep hold of their power
and their secrets?
828
00:36:03,411 --> 00:36:04,701
The Mafia, that’s who.
829
00:36:04,788 --> 00:36:06,578
And if they did,
then it worked,
830
00:36:06,706 --> 00:36:09,036
because there is no one left
to confirm this theory.
831
00:36:14,381 --> 00:36:16,721
LAURENCE: On December 20th,
1991,
832
00:36:16,841 --> 00:36:19,511
Oliver Stone’s film
about the Kennedy assassination,
833
00:36:19,594 --> 00:36:22,764
"JFK," is released in theaters.
834
00:36:22,889 --> 00:36:26,769
Almost immediately,
it causes an uproar.
835
00:36:26,893 --> 00:36:29,563
The film combines a number
of conspiracy theories,
836
00:36:29,646 --> 00:36:31,606
including the alleged
New Orleans plot
837
00:36:31,731 --> 00:36:33,731
and the second shooter
on the grassy knoll.
838
00:36:33,817 --> 00:36:36,027
But more important
than the film’s plot
839
00:36:36,111 --> 00:36:38,321
is the impact it has
on this country.
840
00:36:38,405 --> 00:36:41,075
After the film is released,
we see a tidal wave
841
00:36:41,157 --> 00:36:44,537
of other publications associated
with the JFK assassination.
842
00:36:44,619 --> 00:36:46,949
LAURENCE: Including one
from a man who says
843
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:49,580
he was directly involved.
844
00:36:49,666 --> 00:36:53,416
Robert Morrow claimed to be
a former CIA operative
845
00:36:53,503 --> 00:36:57,263
active in the anti-Castro
movement in the 1960s.
846
00:36:57,340 --> 00:37:00,430
And he alleged in a book
that he was asked
847
00:37:00,510 --> 00:37:03,260
by Tracy Barnes,
a senior CIA official,
848
00:37:03,346 --> 00:37:06,056
to buy guns that he said
were later used
849
00:37:06,141 --> 00:37:07,271
in the assassination.
850
00:37:09,644 --> 00:37:11,274
LAURENCE:
Morrow’s cast of characters
851
00:37:11,354 --> 00:37:14,524
in the alleged CIA plot
might sound familiar.
852
00:37:14,607 --> 00:37:16,567
DAVID: Morrow actually names
853
00:37:16,651 --> 00:37:18,441
the same co-conspirators
854
00:37:18,528 --> 00:37:21,908
that are in the movie "JFK,"
and also those that were pursued
855
00:37:21,990 --> 00:37:24,530
by Jim Garrison
in his New Orleans case.
856
00:37:24,617 --> 00:37:28,957
He claims that Clay Shaw,
Guy Banister, and Dave Ferrie
857
00:37:29,038 --> 00:37:33,248
were helping in the operations
against Castro in Cuba
858
00:37:33,334 --> 00:37:34,714
before the assassination.
859
00:37:34,794 --> 00:37:37,304
PATRICK: Morrow says they also
enlisted the help
860
00:37:37,380 --> 00:37:39,550
of the Mafia through Jack Ruby.
861
00:37:39,632 --> 00:37:43,052
On November 22nd in Dallas,
they placed four shooters--
862
00:37:43,136 --> 00:37:46,256
Oswald in the book depository,
another on the grassy knoll,
863
00:37:46,347 --> 00:37:49,427
and two more,
all with Morrow’s rifles.
864
00:37:49,517 --> 00:37:51,137
The month prior,
they laid some groundwork.
865
00:37:51,227 --> 00:37:54,807
They sent Oswald to Mexico
to meet with the Cubans.
866
00:37:54,939 --> 00:37:58,069
DAVID: Their goal is to frame
Castro for the crime,
867
00:37:58,151 --> 00:38:01,571
and therefore bring about
a full-scale invasion of Cuba.
868
00:38:01,654 --> 00:38:04,994
According to Morrow,
the CIA wants redemption
869
00:38:05,074 --> 00:38:07,334
from their failed
Bay of Pigs Operation,
870
00:38:07,410 --> 00:38:10,120
and the Mafia has hopes
of being able to return
871
00:38:10,205 --> 00:38:12,755
to reopen their casinos in Cuba.
872
00:38:12,832 --> 00:38:15,582
It’s quite a story--
a complicated CIA plot
873
00:38:15,668 --> 00:38:17,458
with dozens of participants.
874
00:38:17,545 --> 00:38:20,505
And yet, with all those people,
including government agents
875
00:38:20,590 --> 00:38:22,800
and known criminals
that are under surveillance,
876
00:38:22,884 --> 00:38:25,684
the Warren Commission
finds no evidence
877
00:38:25,762 --> 00:38:27,852
that any of this
actually happened.
878
00:38:28,973 --> 00:38:30,853
LAURENCE: Morrow offers
a potential explanation
879
00:38:30,934 --> 00:38:32,484
for that as well.
880
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:34,690
Many have speculated
that the Warren Commission
881
00:38:34,771 --> 00:38:36,771
never adequately looked
into the Cuban connection
882
00:38:36,856 --> 00:38:38,266
or the CIA.
883
00:38:38,358 --> 00:38:40,278
Morrow believes that
that’s due to the presence
884
00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:42,700
on the commission
of the former CIA director,
885
00:38:42,779 --> 00:38:44,029
Allan Dulles.
886
00:38:44,113 --> 00:38:45,453
When the commission is formed,
887
00:38:45,532 --> 00:38:48,032
they don’t put the current
CIA director on it
888
00:38:48,159 --> 00:38:49,789
or anyone from the FBI.
889
00:38:49,869 --> 00:38:51,869
The only one on the commission
890
00:38:51,996 --> 00:38:54,616
with intelligence experience
is Allen Dulles,
891
00:38:54,707 --> 00:38:56,127
who just happens to be the man
892
00:38:56,209 --> 00:38:58,209
that Kennedy fired
from his position
893
00:38:58,294 --> 00:39:00,174
after the Bay of Pigs failed.
894
00:39:00,255 --> 00:39:02,805
LAURENCE: At the time
of the Warren Commission,
895
00:39:02,882 --> 00:39:06,392
CIA involvement in
the Bay of Pigs is classified.
896
00:39:06,469 --> 00:39:08,889
The government didn’t want
that getting out.
897
00:39:08,972 --> 00:39:10,972
They also didn’t want
any information getting out
898
00:39:11,057 --> 00:39:12,977
related to Operation Mongoose,
899
00:39:13,059 --> 00:39:15,189
which at the time
was top-secret, but we now know
900
00:39:15,270 --> 00:39:17,900
was a Kennedy-sanctioned
CIA operation
901
00:39:18,022 --> 00:39:21,362
to assassination Castro
led by Allen Dulles.
902
00:39:22,443 --> 00:39:24,823
EVY: As more documents
have been declassified,
903
00:39:24,904 --> 00:39:28,124
more information has been
revealed about the CIA.
904
00:39:28,241 --> 00:39:30,161
It is clear that they were
withholding information
905
00:39:30,243 --> 00:39:31,663
from the Warren Commission--
906
00:39:31,744 --> 00:39:35,374
information that Allen Dulles
knew and kept hidden.
907
00:39:35,456 --> 00:39:38,076
LAURENCE: Some theorists
believe that information
908
00:39:38,167 --> 00:39:40,417
could have even saved
Kennedy’s life.
909
00:39:40,545 --> 00:39:44,515
In 2013 and 2014,
some very damaging records
910
00:39:44,591 --> 00:39:48,681
are released about the CIA
as per the JFK Records Act.
911
00:39:48,761 --> 00:39:51,351
They reveal that the CIA
actually knew
912
00:39:51,431 --> 00:39:53,771
about Oswald’s trip
to Mexico City
913
00:39:53,892 --> 00:39:55,942
before the assassination.
914
00:39:56,060 --> 00:39:57,690
The agency claimed
to the Warren Commission
915
00:39:57,770 --> 00:39:59,730
that they only found out
afterwards,
916
00:39:59,814 --> 00:40:00,984
but that was a lie.
917
00:40:01,107 --> 00:40:02,777
PATRICK:
They had an eye on Oswald
918
00:40:02,859 --> 00:40:04,819
since his defection
to the USSR.
919
00:40:04,944 --> 00:40:07,704
They were reading his mail,
tracking his movements.
920
00:40:07,780 --> 00:40:10,160
The CIA field office
in Mexico City
921
00:40:10,283 --> 00:40:13,123
reported Oswald’s meeting with
the Cubans almost immediately.
922
00:40:13,244 --> 00:40:16,544
And the CIA had Soviet agent
Valery Kostikov
923
00:40:16,623 --> 00:40:18,043
under surveillance
during the time
924
00:40:18,124 --> 00:40:19,634
he was meeting with Oswald.
925
00:40:20,668 --> 00:40:22,798
EVY: Does that mean
the CIA killed Kennedy?
926
00:40:22,879 --> 00:40:25,209
No, absolutely not.
927
00:40:25,298 --> 00:40:28,298
But should the CIA have known
that Oswald was a threat?
928
00:40:28,384 --> 00:40:30,304
Yes, they probably should have.
929
00:40:30,428 --> 00:40:32,178
And could an earlier
intervention
930
00:40:32,305 --> 00:40:34,975
have prevented Oswald
from killing the president?
931
00:40:35,058 --> 00:40:37,888
Again, I would say
the answer is yes.
932
00:40:37,977 --> 00:40:41,017
In a now-declassified
2013 report,
933
00:40:41,147 --> 00:40:44,397
CIA historian David Robarge
finds that the agency
934
00:40:44,484 --> 00:40:46,904
is complicit in keeping
incendiary information
935
00:40:46,986 --> 00:40:48,486
from the Warren Commission.
936
00:40:48,613 --> 00:40:50,913
He says they intended to keep
the commission
937
00:40:50,990 --> 00:40:53,780
focused on, quote,
"what the Agency
938
00:40:53,868 --> 00:40:56,158
believed was the best truth,"
939
00:40:56,245 --> 00:40:58,155
that Lee Harvey Oswald
had acted alone
940
00:40:58,247 --> 00:41:00,497
in killing John Kennedy.
941
00:41:00,583 --> 00:41:03,173
PHILIP: I think all of the most
credible evidence
942
00:41:03,252 --> 00:41:06,592
suggests that Lee Harvey Oswald
fired the bullets
943
00:41:06,673 --> 00:41:08,423
that killed President Kennedy,
944
00:41:08,508 --> 00:41:11,638
that he probably
is the only gunman.
945
00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:13,759
But whether or not
other people knew,
946
00:41:13,846 --> 00:41:16,176
whether or not
other people helped him,
947
00:41:16,265 --> 00:41:18,975
those are mysteries that
will probably linger forever.
948
00:41:21,688 --> 00:41:24,018
The National Archives
recently released
949
00:41:24,107 --> 00:41:26,817
thousands of newly
declassified documents.
950
00:41:26,901 --> 00:41:29,951
Now, almost all of these
nearly five million pages
951
00:41:30,029 --> 00:41:32,319
are available to the public.
952
00:41:32,407 --> 00:41:35,367
Perhaps they will provide
some closure
953
00:41:35,451 --> 00:41:37,041
to this enduring mystery.
954
00:41:37,161 --> 00:41:39,291
I’m Laurence Fishburne.
955
00:41:39,372 --> 00:41:43,502
Thank you for watching
"History’s Greatest Mysteries."