Ex-Presidents, Johnson Widow Call for JFK Film Probe

AP via TBO ^ | February 2,2004 | Lynn Elber

[John W]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two former presidents and the widow of Lyndon B. Johnson are calling on the History Channel to investigate a documentary it aired alleging President Johnson was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Lady Bird Johnson said the film "falsely and irresponsibly" accuses her husband of conspiring to kill President Kennedy.

No accusation made against Johnson "has hurt as painfully," the 91-year-old former first lady said in a Jan. 29 letter. Her husband died in 1973.

Copies of her letter were sent to the chief executives of three companies that own A&E Networks, which includes the History Channel. The letters went to Bob Wright of NBC, Victor Ganzi of Hearst Corp. and Michael Eisner of The Walt Disney Co.

Former Presidents Ford and Carter also sent letters citing the documentary, "The Guilty Men," which aired last November as part of a series of History Channel specials on the Nov. 22, 1963 assassination.

Ford, noting he was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission that determined Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, called the History Channel documentary "reprehensible."

Alleging that Johnson, as Kennedy's vice president, was part of a conspiracy to murder him is "the greatest, most damaging accusation ever made against a former vice president and president in American History," Ford, 90, wrote in his Jan. 23 letter.

The letters were released Monday to The Associated Press by Tom Johnson, chairman of the LBJ Foundation and a representative of the Johnson family.

Calls to NBC and Disney were not immediately returned.

"We don't comment on correspondence with our chief executive officer," said Hearst spokesman Paul Luthringer.

Tom Johnson said he and three other former Johnson aides planned to meet Wednesday with executives of the History Channel and A&E Television Networks to press for an investigation and for its findings to be made public.

Nickolas Davatzes, president of A&E Television Networks, was expected to take part, History Channel spokeswoman Lynn Gardner said Tuesday.

Other Johnson aides scheduled to participate are Jack Valenti, now head of the Motion Picture Association of America; journalist Bill Moyers; and attorney Larry Temple.

"I'm puzzled, bewildered, that a distinguished enterprise like the History Channel would put on the air such garbage, such ugliness," Valenti said in November. "It makes one sick."

When the Kennedy series aired, the History Channel said in a statement that the point of view in "The Guilty Men" was "meticulously researched."

"By presenting different viewpoints we enable our viewers to decide to agree or disagree with them and to arrive at their own conclusions," the channel said.

[tpaine]

OK, fine, - the second shot went far above the limo to strike the curb near the underpass. -- Which makes the third even more rushed for our marksman.

Nice try, but it's the first shot that missed,

A first shot missing and hitting the underpass curb is ludicrous, as the limo was nowhere near that line.. Only at the end of the sequence could an overshot missing the limo line up with that curb..

and the total elapsed time for the three shots (from first to last) was 8.3 seconds, plenty of time.

Belied by the Z film and the report itself.
________________________________________________

And more impossible for the rational rifleman to swallow.. - No wonder no one has ever duplicated such a scenario..

A wise man once said, "never argue with a fool, bet him money". So how much would you like to bet on your claim that "no one has ever duplicated such a scenario"?

Name your stakes, method of payment & show me your proof.
An even thousand be enough?

[tpaine]

Put your money where your mouth is..

Back up icky on his re-creation of Spectors scenario.

[Taliesan]

Been done. Thanks.

[tpaine]

Yep, its shut up many a big mouth.. Yer welcome.

[Tares]

Kennedy assassination links for all to consider (in no particular order):

Kennedy Assassination Home Page
Lee Harvey Oswald's Paper Bag
Guinn’s neutron-activation Analysis
Warren Report: Table of Contents
One Hundred Errors of Fact and Judgment in Oliver Stone's JFK
The Academic JFK Assassination Web Site
HSCA (House Select Committee on Assassinations) Final Assassinations Report
A Critique of The Warren Report
Attempted assassination of General Walker
Oswald interviews, Acoustic studies and other information relating to the assassination of JFK
Queen of Diamonds
Zapruder 313
Head Wound
Photos and Illustrations of the JFK Assassination
Zapruder Head Shot
A Conspiracy Too Big? Intellectual Dishonesty in the JFK Assassination
The Single Bullet Strikes John Connally
Changed Motorcade Route in Dallas?
Zapruder frames 312-314 animated
Frame by Frame breakdown of the Zapruder Film
The Zapruder Film is Authentic
New Orleans, and the Garrison Investigation
Close up of crack in limo windshield
The Bullet Fragments In Governor Connally: Were There Too Many To Have Come From CE 399?
Body Snatchers at Love Field?
The Case for a Bunched Jacket
The Case of the Bunched Jacket (Not the same as the link above)
X-ray Wound Comparison
Zapruder Film in its entirety
Dallas Motorcycle Police Eyewitness Accounts

Free Republic threads on the Kennedy Assassination:

Running down a footnote to assassination
The man who solved the Kennedy assassination
Case Closed: a letter to Gerald Posner (re: Kennedy assassination)
Warren (Commission) Was Right - The JFK case should be closed
Kennedy assassination solved!
Peter Jennings "JFK" Report: Oswald acted alone, go back to sleep...
Some Relevant Facts About the JFK Assassination
Who Killed JFK?
New Evidence in Kennedy Killing (Dallas not Mass)
Nellie Connally Disputes Warren Commission
JFK's fatal head wound: The truth for those who want to know (very graphic)
The Mystery of Marina Oswald
LBJ was behind JFK's assassination, upcoming book contends (I like this one best)
Thirty-nine years after JFK's assassination...
***New study of JFK assassination backs theory of "grassy knoll" Thread 2***
New study of JFK assassination backs....... Thread 3
New study of JFK assassination backs....... Thread 4
New study of JFK assassination ---- Thread 5
New study of JFK assassination ---- Thread 6
Echo correlation analysis and acoustic evidence in the Kennedy assassination
Running down a footnote to assassination

Let me know of any others not on the list.

[BigBobber]

The Warren Commission explanation of the events of the assissination is the best one put forth so far. Not one of the Warren Commision critics, not one, after forty years, has come up with a better explanation. You're a sharp guy. You've read up on the subject. Tell me how all the wounds were made, where the gunmen were standing, and the sequence of shots.

If there was a government coverup, they would have destroyed evidence, not faked it. The Zapruder film would have disappeared. The autopsy records would have disappeared. The magic bullet would have disappeared.

[tpaine]

A rational theory can't be formed from the fouled evidence presented from the governments investigations.. -- We can only laugh at Spectors theory.

Face it, you're on the same team as a bunch of Castro-loving Hollyweidos and other assorted lefties. Their goal is to cover up for their little commie hitman - Oswald - and pin the blame on Republicans. And you believe them?

No I don't believe 'them'. Nor do I believe Spectors BS, as you do.. Calm yourself.

The Warren Commission explanation of the events of the assissination is the best one put forth so far.

Spectors lone assassin, single bullet theory is a joke. Always was.

Not one of the Warren Commision critics, not one, after forty years, has come up with a better explanation.

How can we? The investigation was botched.. Even members of the commission later admitted that fact.

< You're a sharp guy. You've read up on the subject. Tell me how all the wounds were made, where the gunmen were standing, and the sequence of shots.

Read much? -- I can't explain it. The burden of proof was on the US gov, and they failed to convince most everyone.

If there was a government coverup, they would have destroyed evidence, not faked it. The Zapruder film would have disappeared. The autopsy records would have disappeared. The magic bullet would have disappeared.

Get a grip on reality. There are limits. Even members of the commission at the time were uncomfortable about how blatantly some of the evidence was being manipulated. -- And it hit the fan when the report came out..

-- I, and thousands like me, -- were writing letters to the editor in late '64, laughing at Spectors silly theory, long before any books or gollywood films hit the street..

[MAWG]

What happened in Dealy Plaza that day can never fully explain the why nor the how of John Kennedys' murder. As in any homicide case, you have to look into events leading up to it to determine the why. You cant discount Oswalds activities in New Orleans which clearly show his very close involvement with U.S. intelligence and Carlos Marcello. You must consider the evidence showing that a plan to murder Kennedy was in motion long before he came to Dallas. The Milteer tape proves that he was first to be killed in Miami. The importance of that location should be clear to anyone familiar with the Kennedy administration.

By anyones estimation, Oswald was a fool and easily manipulated. The K.G.B. thought he was an idiot and wanted nothing to do with him. He was a loser who wanted to be more than what he was. Clearly, he brought the rifle into the building that day. And clearly, he was set up to take the blame. Who gave his name to the police? I doubt that he wrote it on the butt of the rifle.

A nurse and a doctor at Parkland both stated that they observed an entrance wound to Kennedy's head just above the right temple. They also described the throat wound as a wound of entry. And they described the back of his head as being blown out.

And then there's Ruby. He should get a medal for saving the gene pool that day. But, his explanation for why he killed Oswald is certainly not believable. His long standing involvement with organized crime is irrefutable and cant be discounted.

So, who killed J.F.K.? To say that it was a lone nut ( Oswald ) acting all by himself is to say that he was like Charles Whitman in the U.T. tower and ignore all of Oswalds history.I dont buy it. I say it was Joe Dimaggio firing away from the picket fence.

[douglas1]

WAS the weapon automatic or did it need to be reloaded each time, I seem to remember seeing the rifle and could not tell the dif.

[MAWG]

It was a bolt action. Assuming the first round was chambered, the shooter would have to work the bolt twice to fire the weapon three times.

[VaBthang4]

black helicopters

[VaBthang4]

It is most definitely an expert shot at a moving target.

The aimpoint alone tells me he didnt pull the trigger. He barely quals on timed stationary targets and someone [anyone] wants me to think he could lead a timed target [straight line or not], correct for trigger pull and the obvious lack of breathing discipline involved in using a bolt action rifle in an assasination attempt.

This guy is simply not a "shooter".

I dont quite understand how anyone competent with shooting a rifle could even debate the point. There are no pros in putting forward that Oswald was the operator. He simply cannot shoot. You cant take a guy off the street [basically what he was shooting wise] stick him in a tower and tell him to drop a moving target with three shots and no spotter...he will not be able to do it.

This guy has zero combat shooting experience on top of a Marksman badge but I am to believe that he can properly walk through BRASS F three times while using a bolt action rifle? His whole life is a monument to ADD & zero discipline.

Not passing the "smell elephant dung test".

[hoosierpearl]

"Was the Henry Marshall "suicide" really a suicide? Explain how a guy commits suicide with a bolt-action rifle and shoots himself 5 times in the head with it."

Thank you for mentioning this. The reason they went to the grand jury about Marshall's death, is that he was a good man and his family was upset at the ruling of suicide. That is why the prosecutor accepted the testimony of Billy Sol Estes. They didn't want Marshall's family to go on forever with the hurt of the "suicide" ruling. It wasn't to get back at Johnson or anyone else. It was not possible for Marshall to have committed suicide, but yet the suicide ruling stood on the public record for almost 20 years.

[MAWG]

Shooting paper targets is one thing, killing a human being, the President of the United States, blowing his brains all over his wife, not hitting either of the women or the driver for that matter, requires experience and skill that Oswald did not possess.

[Lucy Lake]

why the "Elites," .... come out of the woodwork when theories are presented to the masses on film or tape. You don't seem to hear from them when the same theories are published in book form.

The masses don't read books, nor do they come in contact on a regular basis with people who do read.

However, while sitting in front of the boob tube eight or ten hours a day, a few might click on the History channel and absorb a new idea. Why, they may even start to think for themselves.

[Ichneumon]

The magic bullet theory is nonsense.

The only thing "nonsense" is the conspiracy-nut contention that the bullet had to be "magic". It did not, it was a straight-line shot through JFK and Connally, and the bullet came out far from "pristine", contrary to another false CN assertion.

[#3Fan]

And the exit wound from the bullet that went through the windshield and entered Kennedy's throat is...where?

Not every bullet has to have an exit wound. When you look at the evidence, the bullet in the back didn't exit, the "bullet" in the throat didn't exit. The only bullet that went through was the bullet to the temple and the bullet that hit Connally.

[Ichneumon]

Shooting paper targets is one thing, killing a human being, the President of the United States, blowing his brains all over his wife, not hitting either of the women or the driver for that matter, requires experience and skill that Oswald did not possess.

Note the conspiracy-theorist "sleight of hand" going on here...

MAWG tries to make a case that the shots were done with "experience and skill" because the shooter managed to hit JFK while being "good" enough to miss "either of the women or the driver for that matter". Man, what skill, what finesse, what precision shooting -- he hit his target without touching a hair on anyone else's head.

Well, EXCEPT FOR GOVERNOR CONNALLY, WHO WAS SHOT THROUGH THE CHEST AND CAME CLOSE TO DYING, that is.

Funny how he sort of "forgets" to mention that little detail in his tale of heroic precision shooting, which spared everyone (oops, make that *almost* everyone) else in the car...

The only question is whether MAWG thinks we're stupid enough to not notice that little flaw in his description, or whether he's so enamored of his conspiracy "proof" that he didn't even realize it himself.

[#3Fan]

Feel free to use the figure in Post 4 for your explanation. I'm dying to find out how the entrance wound to the throat came in from high in the sky.

Take a look at what the CIA was purchasing from the Army in the few years leading up to 1963. They made 3 orders for these things if I'm not mistaken to use against guard dogs.

[spodefly]

The way the road angles down to go under the railway overpass meant that the direction of travel was straight away from the shooters position, so there was no leading involved, nor elevation changes relative to the shooters position at the time of the head shot. And the distance was maybe 150 meters at that point with a scoped rifle. Not a tough shot, as far as I can see.

Tale a look at these graphics for details:
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/plazao.jpg
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/tague4.gif

BTW, I have no real interest in the conspiracy aspects of this subject. The marksmanship aspects don't seem to make it an impossible shot, not even too difficult really. Though, as you say, Oswald was a cretin, and people like that tend to flake at critical times.