I finally got around to listening to the entire Rob Reiner podcast series on the JFK assassination. I had previously listened to the last episode to hear his conclusions. It took a while because of the large number of notes I had to take - over 15 pages worth.
Conspiracy theorist Dick Russell provided much of the research for the series and a lot of material has been taken from his two books, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and On the Trail of the JFK Assassins.
Unfortunately, there are no research notes associated with the podcast, so one has to search Russell's two books and the web to find the source material for a variety of its allegations.
Rob Reiner's narrative has a very flimsy foundation. Here is one example that gives you a very good idea of how he examines evidence.
Here is a short excerpt from a transcript of Episode 4, The Patsy: (14:40)
Dick Russell: He [Oswald] goes home, shortly before Christmas, around 1958 and he spends a month leave with his mother. And then he reports to Marine Air Control squadron number nine in Santa Ana, California. The Marines who served with him there said that they often called him Comrade Oswaldkovitch because, he would. you know, start talking about the wonders of Karl Marx. Another Marine who was stationed with him, a guy named David Bucknell, said that Oswald told him he was going to be discharged. And he's going to Russia to go to work on an assignment for American intelligence.
I had never heard this allegation before. I looked up David Bucknell on the Mary Foundation website and found that this name does not appear in any documents. However, Bucknell is mentioned in a October 1978 article by Mark Lane in Hustler magazine.
Bucknell tells two stories about Oswald, with the first about his service at Atsugi:
Did Bucknell actually serve with Oswald? He's not listed in any FBI or Warren Commission documents. Edward Jay Epstein didn't list him in his book, Legend. The Lane article claims that James Botelho confirmed that "they had been there together with Oswald."
Perhaps he was. But does the story sound reasonable? There is no documentation to support it. And would Oswald tell Bucknell but no one else?
The next story is even more remarkable:
Was this before or after Oswald was recruited to feed false information in the bar?
This story is even more ridiculous. So, in Japan they were recruiting young Marines for an intelligence operation against Cuba? No one else who served with Oswald said anything about such a program. And Oswald supposedly told Bucknell he was going to "surface" in the Soviet Union, and return in 1961?
We're supposed to believe this.
After Oswald joined the Marines in 1956, one of his first assignments was at Marine Air Corps Squadron 9 at El Toro base in Santa Ana, California. One of his bunk mates, David Bucknell, told author Mark Lane that he and Oswald and others were ordered to report to the counterintelligence division, where a civilian was recruiting those present for an operation in Cuba.
According to Bucknell, Oswald later told him that his civilian contact during his assignment at the Atsugi airbase in Japan had taken over a similar role in Santa Ana. Still later Oswald told Bucknell he was being discharged very soon and would resurface in the USSR — that he was being sent by American intelligence and would return as a hero.
Morley's source is Lane's article in Hustler magazine.
As for Bucknell and Botelho, here is an excerpt from Adam Gorightly's book, The Prankster & the Conspiracy: The story of Kerry Thornley and How He Met Oswald:
Here we have Bucknell "refreshing" Thornley's memory about the supposed intelligence recruitment. Perhaps Bucknell also refreshed Botelho's memory.
This is an example of the standard of proof Rob Reiner has used in these podcasts.
Why would anybody find it convincing?
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Rob Reiner
Yes, Reiner believes in John Armstrong's theory of two Oswalds.
This post on Jefferson Morley also goes over the conclusions of Rob Reiner's podcast series.
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Jefferson Morley
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Kilgallen had nothing to tell.
An underwhelming interview of Marina Oswald.
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Morley's claims about Efron are all wrong.
Morley responded to my article "The Truth about Operation Northwoods." Here is my reply.
W. Tracy Parnell is one of the best JFK assassination researchers out there. Here is his look at Jefferson Morley with several important articles.
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And a response from me.
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An examination of redactions in the JFK collection of documents.