Friday, February 17, 2023

Are There CIA Connections To Oswald?

 Are there CIA connections to Lee Oswald? – Part 1

JEFF MEEK

Voice correspondent

https://www.swtimes.com/story/news/crime/2020/05/25/are-there-cia-connections-to-lee-oswald-part-1/113744782/

Rolf Mowatt–Larssen spent 25 years working for the CIA as an intelligence officer, going undercover and serving in various domestic and international posts, like chief of station in Moscow. His awards include the CIA’s Director’s Award and Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, to name a few.

He hunted moles and hired spies during his career and spoke about his thoughts on the JFK assassination at a Citizens Against Political Assassinations (CAPA) meeting in Dallas. Drawing on years of experience and access to files, he laid out a possible explanation of how Lee Harvey Oswald could have been set up as the assassin of President Kennedy.

Mowatt-Larssen began his presentation, titled “Marked for Assassination: Who Killed JFK?” by asking a question. How could the CIA keep a secret for 56 years? Answering that question he said it’s because as an organization the CIA was not the killer of Kennedy.

However, he said a small group of rogue CIA personnel could have done it and there would be no records of their actions, adding that was the case with several operations he was involved with, no records, not a hint of his actions.

In his scenario, only top CIA people could have been involved due to their experience and competency. A rogue operation would be indistinguishable from a lone gunman to the extent the operation was planned and carried out flawlessly by experts (operations officers) in the craft of intelligence.

Mowatt-Larssen said it all starts with James Angleton, chief of counterintelligence at the time, and the man who would have had the reports coming in on Oswald starting back in 1959 when Oswald defected to Russia.

Solving the mystery involves 4 considerations: motive, access to recruiting Oswald, opportunity to misappropriate CIA sources and the ability to sell the lone gunman cover story. And there is a wild card to consider, as well, he said, that being coincidence.

The motive: the huge failure at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, when Kennedy refused air cover to support the U.S. - driven invading anti-Castro Cubans who were quickly defeated, killed and imprisoned. And the Oct. 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when hawks would again have seen Kennedy as a weak sister, not standing up to the global Communist threat.

Access: the recruiting of Oswald in Dallas (without CIA knowledge). Someone would have had to make a “pitch” to Oswald. Mowatt-Larssen said Oswald was on CIA radar for years because of his 1959 defection to Russia, but it wasn’t until the April 10, 1963, attempt on the life of General Edwin Walker that would have spurred CIA planners into action, because it could have been the beginning of actions used to demonstrate Oswald as a killer.

Oswald’s ctions included coming up with a detailed plan to kill Walker, such things as taking photos of the area and looking into escape routes and a hiding place for his rifle.

Who would have made that pitch, that access agent? There are a couple of possibilities: George DeMohrenschildt who knew Oswald had a rifle, who asked Oswald if he shot at Walker, which shocked Oswald, and who had contacts with CIA for many years.  Or DeMohrenschild’s handler, J. Walton Moore, the CIA chief in Dallas for domestic contacts. (Note: On March 29, 1977, hours after the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) highly regarded investigator Gaeton Fonzi tried to contact DeMohrenschildt, he committed suicide.  Local P.D. called DeMohrenschildt’s death very strange. 

Earlier that day author/researcher, Edward J. Epstein interviewed DeMohrenschildt and has said DeMohrenschildt told him CIA had asked him to keep tabs on Oswald. And in Fonzi’s book, “The Last Investigation,” Fonzi says the HSCA never truly delved into most of the evidence dealing with CIA-Oswald connections).

Oswald, Mowatt-Larssen said, had an ego, was vulnerable and could be blackmailed to the extent that a CIA asset could have told him they knew he shot at Walker, but would keep quiet about it if Oswald would work with him. Mowatt-Larssen noted that like many of his own operations, there would be no record of any of this in CIA documentation.

Shortly after the Walker shooting they would have wanted Oswald out of town, so they sent him to New Orleans. Interestingly, at about this time, DeMohrenschild and Moore also left Dallas. Oswald went to New Orleans with orders to establish anti-Castro connections, which he did with people like Carlos Bringuier, Guy Banister, and David Ferrie who were also CIA connected.

Mowatt-Larssen says at this point, Oswald is not sure of what’s going on, what he’s actually involved with and who’s behind these associations he’s making. He’s distressed and begins to look for a way out. He begins using an alias (A.J. Hidell) and, like DeMohrenschild and Moore, wants out of the country. So he goes to Mexico City to get a visa to travel to Russia via Cuba, but his efforts are thwarted. He’s turned down at both the Russian and Cuban embassies, which are under heavy CIA surveillance with cameras and bugging devices.

So Oswald returns to Dallas, again meets with the CIA access agent (perhaps Maurice Bishop who many, including Fonzi, think is CIA officer David Atlee Phillips) and is re-recruited. It’s explained to him that an escape route is in place for him, a car perhaps just a few blocks away, then a flight out of the country, piloted by Ferrie, a former commercial airline pilot and associate of New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello. Trust us, he’s told. We’ll get you out of Dallas. You’re the gunman at the rear.

As soon as you shoot, leave the rifle and leave the depository with nothing incriminating.

Mowatt-Larssen said there could be a need to eliminate Oswald and here again is where the Mafia comes in. CIA had been working with the Mob for years trying to assassinate Castro and the Mafia would also have knowledge and access to a local nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, to do their bidding.

Killing Kennedy would benefit both the CIA and the Mafia.  

The former CIA officer said when Oswald blurted out at Dallas Police Headquarters that ‘I’m just a patsy,” it shows that he knew he’d been set up and abandoned. Evidence of this is Oswald’s actions after leaving the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD), where just by coincidence, Mowatt-Larssen said, he happened to get a job.

Oswald, who had meticulously planned the Walker shooting, had no exfiltration plan, because he had been told by his handler that a plan was in place for him, but there was no plan in place as Oswald found out after leaving the TSBD.

Mowatt-Larssen sees Oswald as panic-stricken at this point. Here’s a guy who had a meticulous plan to escape the shooting of General Walker, but obviously has no plan after shooting the President. The getaway car is nowhere to be found, so he’s on his own. He first gets on a bus that begins to take him right back to the scene of the crime. So he gets off the bus, gets a taxi and has the driver drop him off blocks from where he lives at 1026 N. Beckley. Arriving a little before 1 p.m., he grabs a jacket and his revolver.

Minutes later he is stopped by DPD officer J.D. Tippit, who he shoots and then runs away, discarding his jacket to again change his appearance. He hides in a darkened theater, wondering what to do next. But his suspicious actions on Jefferson St. were noticed by shoe store worker Johnny Brewer who saw Oswald duck into the alcove of the store when police cars came by and then sees Oswald go into the Texas Theater without buying a ticket, thus police are called to the scene. He’s arrested, pulls a gun on Officer M.N. McDonald and slugs him, in a useless attempt to free himself.

Mowatt-Larssen ends with this note: even if the CIA, as an organization, got wind of all this there is no way they would come forward because it would mean the end of the CIA.

As for clues to learn more, Rolf suggested looking at 3 CIA employees – Jake Esterline - Station Chief of the JMWAVE station in Miami that headed up anti-Castro operations, Charles D. Ford - also involved with anti-Castro Cuban operations) and J. Walton Moore - CIA head in Dallas. “Start with motive, combined with the ability to pull it off,” he said.

“I still believe in the agency and I still believe in our government,” the long time agent said.

Readers may wonder, as I have many times, why would an organization use someone like Oswald for an assassination plot? Oswald, we are told, was a malcontent, a loser, a loner, angry at the U.S. and later the Soviet system of government. Why would a person like that be recruited?

According to author James H. Johnston, in his excellent book, “Murder Inc.; The CIA Under John F. Kennedy,” he was told, while serving as a lawyer for the 1975 Senate Intelligence Committee, by a briefer, that this is “precisely” the kind of person the Soviets used during World War II.

Noting John Barron’s 1974 book, “KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents,” the Soviets searched for people who “were hurt by fate….those suffering from an inferiority complex, craving power and influence….defeated by unfavorable circumstances…..the sense of belonging to an influential powerful organization will give them a feeling of superiority…..for the first time in their lives they will experience a sense of importance.”  

As Johnston points out, the Warren Commission noted that Oswald “was moved by an overriding hostility to his environment. He does not appear to have been able to establish meaningful relationships with other people. He was perpetually discontented with the world around him. He sought for himself a place in history – a role as a ‘great man’.”  To me that sounds like a close match for whom intelligence agencies look for in terms of recruits.

I was impressed with Mowatt-Larssen’s presentation. I disagree on some of his points, but wanted an expert opinion, so I contacted Jefferson Morley, author of 2 highly regarded books that relate to the JFK assassination: “Our Man in Mexico,” and “The Ghost: The Secret Life of Spymaster James Jesus Angleton.” Morley, along with John Newman, author of “Oswald and the CIA,” have worked tirelessly for years to pry information from the CIA by taking the agency to court as well as finding related documents. I attempted to contact Newman without success.

So what about the presentation Mr. Morley? Morley’s thoughts, first noted in “Counterpunch,” January 2020 issue and the Mary Ferrell Foundation website, are that the presentation was compelling. “What he brings to the historical record of JFK’s murder is not new facts, but an original frame of analysis. He sees Dealey Plaza through the eyes of a covert operator.”

Morley spent time with Mowatt-Laurssen after the presentation and has more thoughts to share. “I learned Mowatt-Laurssen embraces the theory that the JFK assassination was the work of rogue CIA officers. Is he advancing some hidden institutional agenda to shape perception of the JFK assassination story?  Maybe, but after spending time with him I have no reason not to take at face value his sincere interest in the JFK story. Certainly no retired CIA officer has ever publically offered an interpretation of Nov. 22, 1963 that is so grounded in tradecraft and the documentary record, and so incriminating of agency personnel.”

Others are not so sure saying Mowatt-Larssen is just the latest CIA attempt at covering up what really took place.

Part 2 .   

https://www.swtimes.com/story/news/crime/2020/06/03/are-there-cia-connections-to-lee-oswald-part-2/113354066/

Within the CIA was James Angleton’s Special Investigations Group (SIG), part of CIA’s Counterintelligence (CI) department. SIG/CI had what’s called a “201” file on Lee Oswald as of Dec. 9, 1960, 3 years before the assassination. That 201 file was opened by Angleton staffer Ann Egerter.  

On May 17, 1978, she was questioned by the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA).  During the questioning she explained what a 201 file was, and why such a file would be opened. A 201 was opened on those people who SIG/CI saw as being of an intelligence interest or for some reason under suspicion of being a security risk. And it’s clear in the testimony that SIG/CI gets involved with matters relating to “agency personnel.” Does that include Oswald? Egerter had previously said in a March 31, 1978, interview with the HSCA that the SIG office “spied on spies.”

Was Oswald 1 of those spies?

Why the date of Dec. 9, 1960, for opening a 201 on Oswald?  As far as we know, nothing of significance occurred on that date (he was in Russia at the time). Why wouldn’t a 201 file have been opened on Oswald when he told the American Embassy in Moscow, on Oct. 31, 1959, that he was defecting and was a U.S. Marine with radar secrets he could share? Could it be that CIA knew about Oswald in 1959, but didn’t want other agencies aware of him until Dec. 1960?

The CIA has said the 201 file opening date is as a result of Oswald’s name appearing on a list of defectors that was sent to them by the State Department. But other records show that list was sent to CIA on Oct. 25, 1960.

Therefore it seems possible that SIG, run by Angleton, probably was aware of Oswald before opening the 201 file. CIA saw him as being of intelligence interest. This is confirmed by CIA document 104-10067-10212, dated Nov. 25, 1963, which concludes by saying “…..that we showed operational intelligence interest in the Harvey story.”

On Nov. 3, 1994, authors/researchers Jefferson Morley and John Newman interviewed CIA employee Jane Roman, who worked in the liaison staff of Angleton’s CI staff as a releasing officer. She handled many Oswald-related documents. She told them that she had signed off on a document - an FBI report on Oswald’s Fair Play for Cuba Committee (FPCC) activities in New Orleans - which she knew to be untrue. She also distanced herself from the matter saying she was not in on any “hanky-panky as far as the Cuban situation.” And she made an incredible statement when asked about the issue of an untrue report saying, “Well, to me, it’s indicative of a keen interest in Oswald, held very closely on a need-to-know basis.”

And there is this: a May 23, 1963, report made by Angleton to CIA Deputy Director of Plans (DDP), Richard Helms, and disseminated throughout the intelligence community, the Dept. of State, FBI, U.S. Coast Guard, USIA, Department of Defense and elsewhere (but not the White House). It was about Cuban control and action capabilities covering training of subversive, sabotage and espionage agents in Cuba and the development of Cuban Communism. It describes the types and extent of Cuban government controls of the population in Cuba and summarizes the means by which the Cubans can place its personnel and use those of other countries for pro-Cuban activities. Under a section called “Suppression of travel information,” Angleton talks about travelers who wish to conceal the fact that they have visited Cuba.

The document states, “For such persons the Cuban government issues visas to Cuba on separate paper, so that no mark of entry to Cuba appears in the regular passport. An American citizen, for example, can enter Mexico with a tourist card, not even a passport, and obtain a separate visa to Cuba from the Cuban consulate in Mexico City. He can go to Cuba and return, supplied with a new tourist card obtained in Cuba, without any indication that he has ever been there.” Sound familiar?

Four months later, this is exactly what Lee Harvey Oswald was up to. How would he know how to go about this? When Oswald showed up in Mexico City, stopping at Cuban and Soviet embassies, Mexico City CIA Deputy Chief of Station Allan White told the HSCA that Oswald “became someone of considerable operational interest.”

And the CIA tried to hide things by not allowing the HSCA the opportunity to interview other relevant Mexico City CIA staffers, adding that no such interview is to be arranged and HSCA “should not speak to them even if they were locatable by other means.”

Even before the HSCA’s existence, Angleton testified on Sept. 24, 1975, before the Church Committee on intelligence agencies, saying, “It is inconceivable that a secret intelligence arm of the government has to comply with all overt orders of the government,” thus basically saying CIA withholds information.

Additionally, back in March 1964, DDP Helms told Angleton subordinate Ray Rocca, that Angleton “would prefer to wait out the (Warren) Commission” in terms of supplying documents and interviews. The same was true during the HSCA investigation, as noted in Gaeton Fonzi’s “The Last Investigation,” which gives an example of a staffer’s attempt to get files from the CIA and the run around that followed.

In 1993, Soviet Col. Oleg Nechiporenko, stationed in Mexico City at the time of Oswald’s visit, published a book, “Passport to Assassination.” In that book he talks about Oswald in Mexico City and that Oswald hinted that he was on a secret mission while in Russia back in 1959 to 1962. And, as Oswald left the Russian Embassy, he “raised the collar of his jacket to conceal his face and thus attempt to avoid being clearly photographed.” This strongly suggests Oswald knew of the CIA’s surveillance of the Embassy.

CIA, in 1967, likely because of the Garrison investigation of Clay Shaw in New Orleans, also made plans to counter criticism of the Warren Report, noting that public opinion and critics are increasingly showing a belief that Oswald did not act alone. “This trend of opinion is a matter of concern to the U.S. government, including our organization,” says an April, 1967 CIA document which has a note in the lower right corner saying, “Destroy when no longer needed.”

And there is a document that shows that Warren Commissioner Allen Dulles, former director of CIA and fired by JFK after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, advised the agency on how to respond to Warren Commission requests.

Dulles also, during a Jan. 27, 1964, Commission executive session discussion about agents and handlers, said that records “might not be on paper,” and added that whoever recruited an agent wouldn’t tell, not even under oath.

And there is a letter from HSCA chairman Louis Stokes to the CIA dated Oct. 13, 1978, that complains about CIA not handing over requested documents.

One reason the committee did not receive documents is because the CIA’s liaison to HSCA was the same man, George Joannides, that handled aspects of anti-Castro Cuban operations back in 1963. Thus a conflict of interest, for sure.

This is significant for several reasons. First, because of Joannides firsthand knowledge of 1963 events he would know what not to send the committee. Secondly, he had a strong reason not to assist the committee because it would have opened up a huge can of worms regarding Oswald and those Cuban ops. Thirdly it would show continued CIA deception because Joannides name could have been on the related documents.

Taking all this into account I think it’s clear that a CIA – Oswald connection, at some level, existed from 1959 until Nov. 22, 1963.  If that’s not the case then why are there many documents on Oswald at several government agencies? Why are some documents still being withheld? Why have agency personnel admitted an operational or intelligence interest in Oswald if there was no interest? And why all the obfuscation by the CIA during governmental investigations of Oswald?

A few other tantalizing tidbits: Dallas Mayor Earle Cabell was a CIA contact since 1956. His brother, Gen. Charles Cabell was a CIA deputy director. Among Oswald’s possessions was a small Minox spy camera. Dallas police detective Gus Rose has stated that it was found in Oswald’s sea bag in Ruth Paine’s garage and that the FBI tried to get him to change the record to say it was a Minox light meter.

Right after the shooting in Dallas, Robert Kennedy called CIA and asked if they were involved in his brother’s murder. He also asked CIA Director John McCone and McCone denied it, which one would expect. Robert Kennedy also checked into anti-Castro involvement.

The point being that on Nov. 22, 1963, JFK’s brother/U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy suspected others were involved. Why? In my opinion because RFK was well aware of CIA/Mafia/anti-Castro Cuban operations, he knew their capabilities and their hatred of his brother.

Space does not allow for even more documentation of CIA hindrance of investigations and interest in Oswald, so I end with this: an example of interest in Oswald can be seen in CIA document 104-10051-10167. It’s a 16-page document listing various reports, files and documents about Oswald. In other words, it took 16 pages just to list them all.

If readers have questions or want the documentation for this story contact me at jmlunker@suddenlink.net.

No comments:

Post a Comment