Paul Bleau Chokes, Part 9

John Sherman Cooper (second from the left)

Paul Bleau's first chokehold is that "the official record impeaches the Warren Commission." He believes that: (page 38 in the Kindle edition of his book Chokeholds)

U.S. investigations into the assassination, statements made by investigation insiders and foreign government conclusions about the assassination prove that there is a strong consensus by the independent investigative authorities that there was a conspiracy in the murder of President John F. Kennedy.

Bleau's chapter then lists out a variety of statements that seemingly prove conspiracy. Of course, Bleau doesn't tell readers the full truth about these viewpoints.

John Sherman Cooper

Bleau Assertion: (page 54)

Senator John Cooper is also on the record for having written about the Single Bullet theory: “It seems to me that Governor Connally’s statement negates such a conclusion.” He later confirmed his stance in an interview for the BBC documentary.

What Bleau Doesn't Tell You

Senator Cooper testified before the HSCA, and here is a short excerpt:

I just have talked too long, but I congratulate you on the efforts you are making. I am very proud to come back, to speak on the disinterested effort we have made and I believe that, with all due respect, that the decisions we made, when we turned our final report over to President Johnson, will stand in history.

In addition here is a link to his oral history project.

Here is an excerpt from his interview: (19:56)

John Sherman Cooper: I'd like to add one more sentence on the Warren Commission.

Interviewer: Sure..

John Sherman Cooper: The Commission went to Dallas several times and talked to everybody we could talk to down there, all the officials, people in jail where Oswald was shot, which was really negligent, and Dick Russell and I examined Mrs. Oswald. Of course, she had lawyers. But we examined her and he did most of the examination, and then - I've never talked to anyone who served on that Commission who've all said, that if someone can find something that we didn't, we want it to be found, Because the truth is what we want. But I think all of us believe, and I still believe, even after the last investigation of the House that our decision will stand. There are some places in it which are hard to explain but every evidence pointed to Oswald as the sole assassin, and no conspiracy.

Cooper says "there are some places in it which are hard to explain." He was clearly referring to the singe-bullet theory. Despite this, he was convinced there was no conspiracy, and he signed the Warren Report. But this points to one of the weaknesses of the Report -- the failure to adequately explain the single-bullet theory. Had the Commission included proper trajectory diagrams showing the positioning of Kennedy and Connally, Cooper, Russell and Boggs might have been convinced. Had they noticed Connally's lapel flip, they might have been even more comfortable.

Here is a letter that Cooper sent in 1978:

You can see that a large part of Cooper's reticence to accept the single-bullet theory is because of the testimony of Governor John Connally. Had he been aware that John Connally would later say that it was quite possible that the second bullet hit both him and Kennedy, he might have accepted the single-bullet theory.

Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Paul Bleau

Paul Bleau Chokes, Part 8

Bleau claims that J. Lee Rankin questioned the findings of the Warren Report. This is just true.

Paul Bleau Chokes, Part 7

Bleau tries to make it appear that Dallas policeman James Leavelle had doubts that Oswald could be found guilty at a trial.

Paul Bleau Chokes, Part 6

Bleau gets it all wrong on the FBI Summary Report.

Paul Bleau Chokes, Part 5

Bleau discusses the conclusions of the HSCA, but leaves out it most important finding.

Paul Bleau Chokes, Part 4

Bleau leaves out some important details about a Warren Commission staffer.

Paul Bleau Chokes, Part 3