Dallas, Texas --
November 18, 1994 Hearing
MR. MARWELL: Mr.
Steve Osborn.
CHAIRMAN
TUNHEIM: Good afternoon, Mr. Osborn.
MR.
OSBORN: Good afternoon.
I,
too, appreciate the opportunity to address the Board today and
appreciate the time you are spending going to the public for
information. One of the theories of the assassination revolves around
the possibility that there may have been some involvement by persons
with experience in the U.S. intelligence community.
In
my study and research of the assassination I have discovered and
investigated supporting information of the presence of an
intelligence unit of the U.S. Army having been present and on
assignment in Dealey Plaza just before, during and immediately after
the assassination. To the best of my knowledge, information on this
unit has not been released publicly.
In
1992, as the fury of the public resulted in the proposed legislation
which created your Board, I came across an individual who claimed to
have been very near Dealey Plaza during the assassination. Now, as a
researcher, you can understand that this immediately caught my
attention, and I began to question this gentleman about the
experience.
Now
before I tell you the entire story, I want you to know that I had a
difficult time believing his story the more and more I thought about
it. Even though I had personal experience with some of the devices
and the techniques that this group used, I was still very skeptical,
as you may be also. But with further investigation I convinced myself
that it technically could have been accomplished, and I think you
will be similarly so impressed about the possibility when we are
finished.
The
gentleman I spoke with proceeded to tell me he was in the Army
Station in Fort Hood, in Clean, Texas. On the day of the
assassination his group, a communications group, was assigned the
task of observing and videotaping the presidential motorcade as it
moved through the Plaza. This unit had no similar assignment in any
other Texas city during the President's visit, and they were only to
tape that portion of the motorcade as it proceeded through Dealey
Plaza.
Now
if this event actually occurred, if it actually happened, it makes
their activity highly suspicious and adds new questions to the
assassination, particularly with reference to the possible
foreknowledge of the assassination of intelligence personnel.
In
my conversations with this gentleman, I asked questions of a
technical nature trying to discovery how their assignment was
accomplished. After discovering that the camera signals were
transported by wireless means back to the control studio, which was
actually a semi-tractor-trailer, I found myself doubting that this
type of equipment was available in 1963.
I
knew that ham radio operators have been sending television signals
easily for a number of years, and I had also participated in that
hobby. I also knew that videotaping was still in its infant years in
1963. I started to research available equipment to see if this story
had any possibility of being true.
I
have another handout that I would like to give you. Now that we know
that equipment existed in 1963, and I can tell you a little bit about
the equipment, if you would like, in the question and answer, I can
relate his entire story, the following information was obtained over
approximately three separate conversations with this individual. I
had extracted a verbal consent to get his story on videotape, like
any good researcher would, but when the time came for doing so, his
attitude on the matter had completely reversed and I am only left
today with the recollection, you know, the notes that I had taken
from the conversation and the subsequent information by my
independent investigation.
This
military communications group had several cameras stationed around
the Plaza. The signals from the cameras were sent back to a
semi-tractor-trailer acting as a mobile studio parked a short
distance from the Plaza. Each camera had a preview monitor and
videotape machine associated with it inside the trailer recording the
view of each camera. There was no sound recorded in this assignment.
Each
videotape position had a single person responsible for its proper
operation. Each position these men occupied was shielded from the
others so that they could only see the preview for their individual
camera. Each man saw the assassination occur from a different
perspective of their monitors.
About
15 minutes after the assassination, a group of men appeared who
identified themselves as FBI agents. These agents seized all the
equipment used to videotape the motorcade. Each man was put on a bus
which had been summoned to the scene and they were all driven back to
their base. Upon their arrival, they were simply told to forget it.
Finding
that there was equipment available in 1963 that would do this made it
easier for me to accept the story I have just related to you. Several
things have made me believe that this group was an intelligence unit.
First,
the gentleman would not give me the name of his unit.
Secondly,
this individual advised me that his 201 file was inaccessible.
Thirdly,
he offered his opinion as pertaining to the reason his group was sent
there, which would probably have been in line with the responsibility
of an intelligence unit.
Fourth,
having reflected on his story and what I have what I have
additionally discovered, I am impressed that he realizes that he
probably said more things to me than he should have revealed. At one
point, he mentioned to me that he was allowed by a letter from the
military to discuss some things in relation to his duties on the day
of the assassination, but I believe he probably went further than he
was allowed.
All
these things collectively make me believe that this unit in Dealey
Plaza was an intelligence unit. Still, one important step in my
investigation was to find some additional evidence that the event
occurred. You should know that there is some possible photographic
evidence of this communication group being in Dealey Plaza that day,
and I would be happy to provide you with further information on that
if time allows at the end of my presentation.
Some
requested things I would like to see the Board do, obviously what was
recorded on this videotapes would be of invaluable aid to a serious
study of the assassination, as well as cast more suspicion on the
intelligence community. An attempt should be made by the Board to
locate the tapes and request that another government agency attempt
to get the exact electrical format determined and a video machine
constructed to bring their images to view. Duplication to modern day
formats would then make the tapes available publicly.
So
far as locating the videotapes are concerned, the Dallas Field Office
of the FBI and the Bureau Headquarters may have information or be in
possession of the tapes. If there remains an estate of the late J.
Edgar Hoover, they may have some information or be in possession of
the tapes themselves.
If
the men who seized the tapes were not real FBI agents, then CIA,
military intelligence and other splinter groups of the intelligence
community should be checked. Also, I would inquire of Mr. E. Howard
Hunt, if he is still alive, as to his knowledge of the tapes and
their subsequent disposition. There exists a possibility that he may
even have them in his possession.
Regarding
locations where you might find documents supporting this activity, I
would suggest beginning with the records at Fort Hood. I would not be
familiar with other depositories of documents, and you will probably
have to use some of your existing source to hopefully lead you in the
correct directions.
There
seems to be a problem of gag orders that I would like to address
also, and the fact that this individual I had interviewed had
received notification that he did not have to continue to keep
certain things confidential is further indication that there continue
to be individuals who continue are under an obligation of
confidentiality.
I
believe this brings up an interesting problem for the Board. There
appear to have been several instances of this happening to
individuals required by military order or other Executive Branch
order not to discuss any details of what they know of the
assassination or its subsequent investigations, perhaps even the
Board members itself have been required to sign promises of
confidentiality.
Since
these individuals do not have the permission of disclosure, many have
not written of their experiences or granted interviews to members of
the media or the research community to record their recollection.
This will give history an incomplete record of this tragic event as
well as making this information unavailable to the Board for review
and release.
Therefore,
I believe and propose that the Board consider asking the President of
the United States as Commander and Chief to rescind any and all
standing orders issued from any Department or part of the U.S.
Government requiring the confidentiality of the information retained
by these individuals, whether that knowledge is in written or memory
form. If our government is really serious about full disclosure of
all facts surrounding the assassination, he will rescind these
orders, prevent them from being renewed and allow a complete
compilation of personal records and recollections. This will allow
the Review Board to further fulfill and properly perform its
congressionally mandated task.
Additionally,
as distasteful and wild as the thought is that the American
intelligence community could be involved in such an event, I hope the
Board will keep an open mind as you sift through the records. Your
work may be the last official attempt to bring to the light of day
this dark deed, so it is vital for you to question everything you
find.
Remember,
if any intelligence personnel were involved, it is their profession
and they are very adept at covering up any evidence of their
involvement in any activity. I mean, would we as citizens expect
anything else of them? In any operation that U.S. intelligence
personnel are involved in, we the citizens would expect them to be
able to complete their missions with expert precision. We would
expect that they would be able to cover up their involvement as an
agency and our involvement as a nation if the nature of the task so
dictated. We would expect them to have thought of every possible snag
in an operation and work to make their mission completely successful.
I
have spoken with individuals involved in intelligence work or who
have known persons who were, and they have indicated that the
intelligence community could basically do anything they wanted, and
we have had some recent indications of that, of this, in the form of
millions of dollars spent on building projects unknown to Congress.
Be
this right or wrong, we as citizens should have a great amount of
respect for and suspicion of the power that these individuals and
agencies wield in our world. Please keep this in mind as you ponder
the information brought to your attention in whatever form it is
presented.
Finally,
I would like to make a comment in relation to the Board's mandate.
One of the problems that certain individuals in our government have
had with the idea of releasing all the assassination records is that
to do so may compromise methods employed by the various intelligence
agencies in their covert activities. At first glance, we may take
this to mean that it may make it difficult for them to use these
techniques in the future if they are made known to the general
public, but I would encourage the Board to consider that it may be
that many of these covert methods were used to carry out the
assassination of President Kennedy, whether by Americans or some
other government.
I
have found considerable circumstantial evidence of more than a few
intelligence techniques used in the assassination that may not be
generally known. But if this assassination was accomplished by
Americans from the intelligence community, they have not only
betrayed the citizenry of this country by taking from them their
President, but they have betrayed their agencies and the U.S. public
by making it necessary to uncover and publicly expose their methods
in order to bring satisfaction to the American people in this matter.
This betrayal of their agencies alone makes them no better than Mr.
Ames of recent history.
I
again thank you for your time.
CHAIRMAN
TUNHEIM: Thank you very much.
Questions?
Go
ahead, Dr. Joyce.
MR.
JOYCE: Mr. Osborn, in your testimony you indicated that information
you had gathered from a subsequent independent investigation helped
you in forming your conclusion that there was an intelligence unit in
Dealey Plaza. Is there any documentary information that you have been
able to acquire as part of your subsequent investigation?
MR.
OSBORN: I have not made any attempts at that because I believe the
story so thoroughly. I felt that if I were to make any attempts to
confirm any of this or search for the tapes that those things might
be destroyed, because these tapes -- if you would like to
discuss the photographic evidence, there is one that would probably
show a shooter behind the stockade fence, so I did not want these
materials because of something that I did to end up disappearing.
However, your mandate and your sources are much better than anything
that I could ever do.
DR.
HALL: Mr. Chairman, with that in mind, I would like to pose to you a
set of questions, if I may, and you can cut me off if I get too
long-winded here, as I am sure you will. Who are you?
MR.
OSBORN: I am a citizen of the United States. I have not had any type
of military experience, so I probably approach this a little bit
differently as a citizen that would like to know what my government
has been up to or persons within my government have been up to, why I
can't know, why it has been hushed up so much.
I
have been researching for approximately the last 15 years, not quite,
and have mostly focused my investigation on identifying the man who
fired the fatal head shot. These other things have just come about
because of various digging and this is one of the things that I hope
to use to be able to further identify that individual.
DR.
HALL: I am wondering, Mr. Chairman, for the record, we could ask Mr.
Osborn to provide us with a biographical statement, if that would be
acceptable to you.
Can
you provide us with the name of the individual with whom you spoke?
MR.
OSBORN: Because I feel that he may have violated military orders, I
believe that he thought that he had originally been saying things he
could, and then the way that he froze up -- in fact, I have had
several individuals that have done that, I feel that he may be guilty
of some sort of violation. If the President were to rescind all those
orders, I would be happy to provide his name. At this point, because
of the way that he did not really want to be involved any more in the
discussions, I feel incumbent upon myself for his personal privacy
not to reveal that.
DR.
HALL: Did he ever provide to you any written information or did you
take any notes arising out of your conversations with this
individual?
MR.
OSBORN: The only thing that I really did was, from the conversations
that we had, I prepared a list of questions, because I do have a
technical background, I have been in electronics since I was 14, ham
radio, and television, and most recently personal communications, and
so I was very interested in the technical aspects of this because I
doubted in my senses that this could be done in 1963.
If
you would look at the cameras, this is a fully transistorized camera.
It comes with a backpack transmitter so that you don't have to have a
cable going back to a videotape recorder, and this device was
available in 1962 by a company that regularly supplied the military
with all kinds of camera equipment and, as I also indicated, there is
some photographic evidence that exists that may possibly show one of
these individuals. If you would like a summation of that, I am
prepared to do that.
DR.
HALL: If you will document it, that would be helpful.
You
also indicate on page 5 that he had mentioned to you that he was
allowed by a letter from the military to discuss some things in
relation to his duties on the day of the assassination. Now it would
obviously be in the interest of the Board, since you purport that a
connection exists between this individual, the military
establishment, and the assassination, to be able to know the name of
that individual so that it would be possible to try to secure
whatever copy of a letter may have existed that would have been
written to him by the military.
MR.
OSBORN: I will -- what I will do, sir, is, I will probably seek some
counsel on that to ensure that I, myself, do not get into a situation
here that may make me liable for something, and I will be glad to
consider that for you.
I
was going to, let me go on record saying, I was going to ask that
individual for that document in the videotaped session, but because
he cut everything off, I was not able to actually view that document.
So I had to just go from my recollection as I made my notes as to
what the individual had.
DR.
HALL: One final question for you, if I may, Mr. Osborn, would your
view be that this Commission or this Board, rather, excuse me, should
undertake to disclose the names, identities of both living as well as
deceased informants, agents, and intelligence operatives of the
United States Government?
MR.
OSBORN: That certainly is a gray area, and the problem with
dealing -- if we are dealing with the intelligence community
here in this time, they certainly have at their disposal, shall we
say, executive privilege, and the rules are a little bit different
when dealing with these type of people because they can claim
national security.
I
think national security a lot of times can mean more than one thing.
It can mean security of our nation from its people being held in arms
over something that the government or people within the government
have done, so I think they really use the term national security
quite widely, and I would fully expect that if there were individuals
from the intelligence community involved that they would do
everything in their power, like I had mentioned before, they are very
adept at covering up. So that is a gray area because we don't know if
these persons were really involved, and they may be saying that these
are operatives that we can't afford to let their names go. So we have
to -- it is going to have to be analyzed.
I
used to think that it would be nice to have been a member of this
Board, after hearing what is going on today, I think I am kind of
glad it is you.
DR.
HALL: Would it be fair to say that any effort to pursue the line of
inquiry that you have set out would turn directly on an evidentiary
and documentary basis on being able to know the name of the
individual, and inasmuch as you have indicated that that person is
known to you by name, there is some responsibility here, I would
think, to be able to assist the Board in this matter in a significant
way.
DR.
GRAFF: I would like to ask this question with respect to the letter
that this young man received saying what he could say about his
activities. Was this a cover that he was being given, was this a
story that was being laid upon him so that he would have an answer
when people asked what are you doing?
MR.
OSBORN: I don't believe so. I believe this had been received by him a
number of years later.
No comments:
Post a Comment