Here is a very good case study in the duplicity of Jim Garrison's investigation. Somehow, a witness statement from 1967 is turned on its head in 1971. In 1971, Jim Garrison filed papers to dismiss Clay Shaw's attempt to stop his prosecution for perjury. His filing listed his prospective witnesses, and one witness was James Louviere, who worked for David Ferrie and Al Beauboeuf (they had gone into business together with a service station that was open for about ten months in 1964). Here is the paragraph from the court filing: Excerpt from Garrison's motion to dismiss Clay Shaw's complaint (court case 71-135) regarding perjury charges. The above document was filed sometime in 1971. Here is a Garrison document from March 1967 about an interview with James Louviere: Note that Louviere even gets the date of his employment with Ferrie wrong. When shown a picture of Clay Shaw, "Louviere said he didn't recall of seeing this man in the service station." They then note that the picture they had shown Louviere was three years old, and they show hm a new photograph of Shaw. He still demurs: "Louviere said that he wouldn't want to say that this was the man." The discussion then turned to a white T-Bird which used to come into the station. Clay Shaw used to own a T-Bird. But Louviere "said that this is not the man from this picture that was driving the car." The court filing claims that Louviere saw Shaw in a big black car at the station and at David Ferrie's house. The car was similar to the one used in Clinton. But Louviere never identified Clay Shaw, never said anything about a black car, and never said anything about meeting Shaw at Ferrie's house. So, did Garrison convince Louviere to change his testimony? If the court filing accurately represents Louviere's thinking in 1971, then something happened. Of course, had Clay Shaw gone to trial he would not have access to the 1967 interview because there was no discovery in Louisiana Courts. Louviere's testimony could have been damaging. Interestingly, Jim Garrison sent the James Louviere lead to the HSCA (Item C). There is no credible evidence that Clay Shaw knew David Ferrie. Did Clay Shaw Know David Ferrie? Did Clay Shaw know David Ferrie? Part One James DiEugenio claims that David Logan was introduced to Clay Shaw by David Ferrie. This is totally untrue. After the party, someone pointed out to Logan that Ferrie was at the party. Did Clay Shaw Know David Ferrie? Part Two   A look at Nicholas and Mathilda Tadin's claim that they saw David Ferrie with Clay Shaw. Did Clay Shaw and David Ferrie Fly to Montreal?   When Kimble first talked to Garrison's investigators, he said nothing about Clay Shaw. Reverend Raymond Broshears Reveals the Shaw-Ferrie Link!   Raymond Broshears was a fabulist, and DiEugenio falls for his nonsense. Did Clay Shaw's Secretary See David Ferrie in Shaw's Office?   James DiEugenio claims that Clay Shaw's former secretary, Aura Lee, saw Ferrie in Shaw's office. Only problem - her name was not Aura Lee; and she was not Shaw's former secretary; and there are no direct statements from Aurelie Alost. Did Herbert Wagner See Shaw and Ferrie Together?   James DiEugenio claims that Herbert Wagner saw Shaw and Ferrie together, and that Ferrie admitted to Wagner that he was part of Operation Mongoose. This is totally untrue. Did Sandra Anderson Have a Photograph of Clay Shaw with David Ferrie?   This is James DiEugenio's favorite type of evidence -- non-existent. Did David Ferrie Fly Clay Shaw to Canada and to Cuba?   DiEugenio's allegations about Freeport Sulphur only suffer from lack of evidence. Did David Ferrie Speak to Clay Shaw on the Telephone from Guy Banister's Office?   Joseph Newbrough never said a word about this allegation until he spoke to a conspiracy theorist. Was he weaving a story? Did Woodrow Hardy see Shaw, Ferrie, and Oswald together?   A ridiculous anonymous letter is good enough for James DiEugenio. Did David Ferrie Go Fishing with Clay Shaw?   The witness did not get a good view of either man he took fishing. Did Charles Krop Have a Recording mentioning Shaw & Ferrie?   More evidence that never turned up. Niles "Lefty" Peterson - Another Forgotten Witness   James DiEugenio claims that Lefty Peterson remembered a "Leon Oswald" at David Ferrie's house. This is totally not true.

Here is a book review of Edward Jay Epstein's 1969 book, Counterplot : (you can read his book here ) New York Magazine, February 10, 1969 Money quote: After reading Mr. Epstein's fascinating Counterplot (a chunk of it ran in the New Yorker ), I have evolved my own theory, to which I refuse to swear under oath. It is this: the "second Oswald" is really Jim Garrison. Both wanted a piece of the attention action in America. Both suffered from the strange new disease of media penis envy. Both sought a means of making names for themselves beyond the confines of small-time lives and dreams. One did it by squeezing a trigger, the other by shooting from the lip. Both succeeded, but while one was a loser the other is still the District Attorney of an American city. You can read Playboy's interview with Garrison here. Here is one of the internal memos from Playboy : Murray Fisher was a Senior Editor at Playboy Magazine . Previous Related Blog Posts Garrison's Playboy Interview - What Couldn't Be Printed Eric Norden, the journalist who conducted the Playboy interview with Garrison, sent a memo of secret information to the editors. Garrison's Playboy Interview - More Secret Information Garrison also sent a memo to Playboy with information not for print. Perry Russo's First Lie Detector Test...   Garrison lied in his Playboy interview about lie detector tests given Perry Russo and Vernon Bundy. Jim Garrison (and others) on Rose Cherami   Garrison mangles the story of Rose Cherami in Playboy .

Here is a very good Edward Jay Epstein article on Oliver Stone from The Atlantic in 1 993 : Money quote: Where Jim Garrison failed to build a plausible conspiracy case against Clay Shaw, how did Oliver Stone succeed? The answer is whereas Garrison attempted only to coax, intimidate, and hypnotize witnesses into providing him with incriminating evidence, Oliver Stone fabricated for his film the crucial evidence and witnesses that were missing in real life -- even when this license required deliberately falsifying reality and depicting events that never happened. Previous Relevant Blog Posts regarding Edward Jay Epstein Edward Jay Epstein, R.I.P. Edward Jay Epstein was a towering figure in the JFK assassination research community. Garrison, White-Collar Demagogue A good review of Counterplot. The Death of David Ferrie You can see that Ferrie was reading Inquest  when he died. Garrison's Approach to the Handling of Evidence This post has an excerpt from Epstein's Counterplo t. Garrison's Playboy Interview - What Couldn't Be Printed Eric Norden, the journalist who conducted the Playboy  interview with Garrison, sent a memo of secret information to the editors. Garrison's Playboy Interview - More Secret Information Garrison also sent a memo to Playboy  with information not for print. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Oliver Stone's JFK David Wrone on Oliver Stone's "JFK" Wrone was a friend of Harold Weisberg's and was also very critical of JFK . Oliver Stone says his "battles continue with the truth" More inane comments on the JFK assassination. Oliver Stone Claims He is Not a Conspiracy Theorist An excerpt from an interview with Chris Wallace. Oliver Stone's Hijacking of History   A good opinion piece from the Boston Globe . Harold Weisberg writes Oliver Stone   Two letters from Weisberg to Stone. Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In Reviews "JFK"   A good review of Stone's JFK . Paul Hoch and Josiah Thompson on Oliver Stone's "JFK"   Two JFK researchers watch Stone's JFK . Washington Post on the 30th Anniversary of Oliver Stone's "JFK"   An interesting look back. Harold Weisberg and Tom Wicker   Wicker reviews JFK  for the New York Times  and Weisberg responds. Boston Phoenix  said Oliver Stone's JFK was "sadly homophobic"   Even this counterculture newspaper knew the truth about JFK. David Lifton Writes to Oliver Stone   David Lifton gave me permission to post this letter. Gary Cornwell on Jim Garrison and Oliver Stone   The Deputy Chief Counsel of the HSCA offers up some opinions. When Tommy Lee Jones met Jim Garrison...   Garrison instructed Tommy Lee Jones on how to play Clay Shaw. Is Oliver Stone's film, JFK , Homophobic?   The Advocate  writes about Oliver Stone and Jim Garrison. I've Been Blocked by Oliver Stone!   This post has a large Robert Sam Anson article on the film JFK  from Esquire  magazine. A New Orleans Look at Oliver Stone's JFK   Pershing Gervais, Garrison's first chief investigator, and reporter Rosemary James report back on the film JFK . George Lardner's internal Washington Post  Memo about Oliver Stone   Lardner writes a memo to his editors about Oliver Stone. Don't miss the Viewer's Guide to JFK: Destiny Betrayed  and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass.   Over the past several months, I have shown in multiple blog posts how Oliver Stone's documentary series, JFK Revisited  and JFK: Destiny Betrayed , misleads viewers. In fact, despite months of work, there are still many more misleading segments that need to be addressed. It's no wonder that the fact checkers of Netflix nixed the airing of the films. There is a choice between four hours of tendentious nonsense ( JFK: Destiny Betrayed ) and two hours ( JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass ). As a handy guide for viewers, here are all those posts in order of their appearance in JFK: Destiny Betrayed  and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, preceded by some general critiques. The Viewer's Guide has now been updated to include the sources from my new book, Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza .

Sylvia Meagher put together these excerpts from Turner's article on Jim Garrison in the January 1968 issue of Ramparts : You can read Turner's article in Ramparts here . Previous Relevant Blog Posts regarding Sylvia Meagher and Jim Garrison The Salandria-Meagher Phone Calls The issue of Jim Garrison ruptured their frienship. Sylvia Meagher writes Bud Fensterwald Meagher turns down membership in Fensterwald's JFK group because of the presence of Jim Garrison. Sylvia Meagher's Review of "The Kennedy Conspiracy" by Paris Flammonde   A scathing review of Flammonde's book about the Garrison investigation. Mary Ferrell and Sylvia Meagher Discuss Jim Garrison   An exchange of letters about Jim Garrison. Jim Garrison's Code and Sylvia Meagher   Garrison comes up with a crazy code and Sylvia Meagher calls him out. Sylvia Meagher's Ode to the District Attorney of New Orleans   Meagher also wrote poetry. Sylvia Meagher Writes Clay Shaw with an Idea   Meagher's very good idea shows that Garrison didn't care to learn the truth. Kerry Thornley Writes Sylvia Meagher in 1970   Thornley tells Meagher about an article illustrating Garrison's pre-occupation with the JFK assassination. Tom Bethell Writes Sylvia Meagher about the Shaw Trial   Bethell wrote Meagher about Charles Spiesel and his ridiculous testimony at the Clay Shaw trial. Sylvia Meagher's Letter to Look Magazine   Sylvia Meagher's terrific letter to Look Magazine in response to their article "The Persecution of Clay Shaw." Sylvia Meagher Congratulates Clay Shaw On His Acquittal   She was very pleased with his acquittal. Sylvia Meagher and Jim Garrison, Part One   Meagher writes Clay Shaw a letter and his response is just terrific. Sylvia Meagher and Dr. Cyril Wecht Discuss Jim Garrison   Dr. Wecht didn't think too much of Garrison, either. Mike Farrell, of M*A*S*H fame, and Sylvia Meagher   Meagher educates Farrell on Jim Garrison. When will Oliver Stone Admit he was Wrong about Clay Shaw?   A plea to Oliver Stone with a compilation of Meagher's writings about Jim Garrison. Sylvia Meagher on the Clay Shaw Case   Howard Roffman writes a letter to Harold Weisberg about Sylvia Meagher. Penn Jones' Phone Call with Sylvia Meagher This phone call broke their relationship. Sylvia Meagher and Jim Garrison, Part Two   An unpublished Meagher memo on the trial of Clay Shaw. Sylvia Meagher and Jim Garrison, Part Three - a never before published article by Meagher   Another unpublished Meagher memo on the Garrison investigation and Warren Report critics. Garrison's Playboy Interview - What Couldn't Be Printed   Sylvia Meagher's letter to the Editor regarding Garrison's interview in Playboy  Magazine. Sylvia Meagher's Reaction to the Verdict in the Shaw Trial   Meagher writes Harold Weisberg with her comments on the verdict. Two Letters to Jim Garrison about "A Heritage of Stone"   James Phelan and Sylvia Meagher write Garrison letters about his book. Kerry Thornley writes Sylvia Meagher   An exchange of letters between Thornley and Meagher. Did RFK Tell Garrison that there were guns between him and the White House?   Meagher writes Thornley about Lane's comment on RFK. Was Jim Garrison Napoleon or Rasputin?   Meagher writes Thornley with an opinion. M. S. Arnoni and Sylvia Meagher Take On Jim Garrison...   Exchange of letters between Meagher, Arnoni and Garrison. Jim Garrison Blows His Top   Meagher writes Weisberg about the damage Garrison is doing to critics of the Warren Report. James Phelan Writes to Richard Popkin   Meagher replies to the New York Review of Books  regarding Popkin's article on Garrison. Sylvia Meagher Replies to Richard Popkin   An exchange of letters between Popkin and Meagher.

A short clip of Garrison's appearance on the Tonight Show. The above clip was just uploaded to YouTube -- in fact, the video of the entire episode is still not available. This clip illustrates how Jim Garrison lied in his book, On the Trail of the Assassins. The relevant portion starts at about 1:28. Let's start with an excerpt from my book, On the Trail of Delusion -- Jim Garrison: The Great Accuser : (pages 27 -31) A staple of conspiracy theorists are pictures showing three tramps (vagrants) being marched away by Dallas police after the assassination. Their arrest records were not in the Warren Commission’s twenty-six volumes of evidence, so who were they, and why were they arrested? Dallas Police Sargent D.V. Harkness testified before the Warren Commission that they pulled the tramps and hoboes off a freight train that was about to leave the railway yard. They were taken to the police station, questioned, and then presumably released. Conspiracy theorist Richard Sprague believed the pictures of the tramps “might help unlock some mysteries about the assassination. If either the ‘tramps’ or the officers escorting them could be identified, new avenues for investigation would be opened.” In January 1968, Garrison was scheduled to go on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Sprague sent him the tramp pictures, and he studied them on the flight to New York. He was immediately suspicious. The tramps had short hair and were clean-shaven; Garrison expected their hair to be “shaggy and overgrown.” The soles of their shoes were not thin enough. He wondered why they weren’t handcuffed, and he felt the police officers were not carrying their rifles properly. But what was really strange to him was that the officer who appeared to be in charge was “wearing a miniature radio receiver ear clip—a plastic device less than half an inch by a quarter of an inch in size.” To Garrison, these weren’t tramps, and the men in uniform were not Dallas police officers. He “was not sure if the Dallas police force had been penetrated, or impersonated, or both.” Garrison noted that “As I put the prints of the shotgun arrests in my briefcase, I resolved that anyone watching the Johnny Carson show the following night was going to get to see them.” Carson challenged Garrison at every turn and put him on the defensive. Toward the end, Carson asked him why the government was concealing evidence. Here’s the exchange: Garrison : Let me show you some pictures, and if you want to reject these, go ahead. In the 26 volumes, there is no reference to any serious sort of arrest. There are a couple of references to short dialogues. And then the indication is that the man wasn't of any value, or of any importance at all. Actually, at Dealey Plaza, there were ten men arrested, and this has been kept secret for more than four years. Here are the pictures of five of them being arrested, [hands photo to Carson] and they've never been shown before. Carson : No, I don't know any of those men [shows the audience one picture of the tramps]. Garrison : Several of these men arrested have been connected by our office with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States government. The probability is that this is why Officer Tippit4 was killed. Is this speculation? Positively, and I want to identify it as that. But the probability appears to be that the killing of Tippit was a diversion which allowed them to turn loose these ten men. Here’s some more. [hands photo to Carson]] And here's another … Carson : No, really, it won't show Jim [Carson looks at two of the pictures and puts them down]. Garrison : But why aren't they mentioned? Why aren't they mentioned? Carson : No, but you say speculation and a probability. Who's suppressing all this information, on whose order? Garrison : I'll tell you who's suppressing it. The federal government is suppressing it. Carson : Who in the federal government? Garrison : The administration. The administration of your government is suppressing it because they know that the Central Intelligence Agency … Carson : On whose order? Garrison : On the order of the President of the United States. Who do you think issued—let me finish now—before the advertisement—the executive order, which forbids every person in this audience and every person listening to this program, which forbids him to look at this evidence until September in the year 2039, was issued by the President of the United States. Does that answer your question? He's suppressing it. Garrison fictionalized this part of the interview in his book On the Trail of the Assassins : (pages 259 -260 in the Kindle edition) Very gradually, I shifted the emphasis of our colloquy to where I was asking the questions. Naturally he was not prepared to handle a subject as complex as this one. When in frustation he asked me why the government still was concealing evidence, as I had contended, I knew that my moment to show the photographs had arrived. “Don’t ask me, John,” I said opening my briefcase. “Ask Lyndon Johnson. You know he has to have the answer.” He stared at me blankly, without responding . “Maybe I’d better show you pictures,” I said, reaching into the briefcase. Before anyone could stop me, I was holding in front of the camera one of the big photographs showing the three men being marched off by the Dallas police with their shotguns. It took Carson a moment to recognize the scene, but when he realized what it was, he lunged at my arm like a cobra , pulling it down violently so that the pictures were out of the camera’s view. “Photographs like this don’t show up on television,” he said sharply. I held the picture up again for display in front of the camera. “Sure they do,” I replied. “The camera can pick this up.” This time he yanked my arm down even harder. “No, it can’t,” he snapped. Nevertheless, I swung the picture up for the third time. This time, however, I saw the red light blink off and realized that the director of the show had cut the camera off. Another camera—probably panning the audience—was now beaming its more comforting picture out across America. Then, before anyone could change the subject, I said loudly, “Those arrested men you just saw were never seen again. They all got away.” At that moment, I knew I had communicated what I wanted. Of course, I had an angry host on my hands the rest of the show. But that was his problem, not mine. You can see from the actual video that Garrison fictionalized the account in his book. Previous Blog Posts on the Three Tramps Jim Garrison Discusses The Three Tramps   Some incredible beliefs. The Three Tramps   Introduction to the three tramps. Was Edgar Eugene Bradley One of the Three Tramps? Garrison's photo experts told him that Bradley was one of the tramps. Did Leander D'avy see Oswald with the Three Tramps?   Some conspiracy theorists think D'avy is a good witness but he said he saw the tramps with Oswald in New Orleans. Was General Edward Lansdale in one of the pictures of the three tramps?   Fletcher Prouty believed that Lansdale is one of the pictures of the tramps. Was Fred Crisman Behind the JFK Assassination?   For a while, Garrison believed Crisman was a tramp. Was Fred Crisman one of JFK's Assassins? Crisman wasn't just a tramp, he was an assassin.

Dr. Robert McClelland with his bloody shirt from November 22, 1963 which he donated to the Sixth Floor Museum. Here is a memo written by Harold Weisberg after meeting Dr. McClelland : Weisberg writes that "He [McClelland] volunteered at some length about Garrison's men, describing Garrison as a psychopath, and seem proud that he talked them out of calling him as a witness." Towards the end of the memo, Weisberg writes that "McC was quite bitter about Garrison and Lane, but he was without complaint about Specter and the Warren Commission ... " McClelland also spoke about Garrison to the ARRB : (page 71 in the transcript) Dr. McClelland : Dr. Jenkins, when I came in the room, told me as I walked by to come up to the head of the table and he said, Bob, there's a wound in the left temple there. And so I went to the table and I thought, you know, knowing nothing else about any of the circumstances, that's like that (indicating), Mr. Gunn : Just for the record, you're pointing with you -- Dr. McClelland : Yeah, the left temple -- Mr. Gunn : -- finger at the left temple and now the back of the head. Dr. McClelland : -- came out the back. And there was a lot of blood on the left temple. There was blood everywhere, but there was a lot of blood on the left temple, so I didn't question that. And, in fact, in something else -- Pepper testified somewhere else, he denied that he said that to me in the Warren Commission. And I told him -- I said, Pepper, don't you remember? No, I never said that, Bob, and I never said the cerebellum fell out. Well, yes, you did, too, but I didn't argue with him. But the upshot of it is what that led to was Mr. Garrison's case in New Orleans, and he put together a scenario where he thought someone -- because of what I had said about the left temple bullet -- was in the storm sewer on the left side of the car and fired this bullet that killed the President, another gunman. Dr. McClelland written report from November 22, 1963, states that JFK had a wound in his left temple, which clearly shows he was either confused or did not get a good look at the wound: He wrote that "cause of death was due to massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the left temple" Previous Relevant Blog Posts on the Medical Evidence "JFK Revisited" Misleads on JFK's Throat Wound    The preponderance of the evidence indicates JFK's throat wound was one of exit. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Dr. Charles Crenshaw   Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed , features Dr. Charles Crenshaw to bolster its claim that President Kennedy was shot from the front. Viewers are not informed of Dr. Crenshaw's credibility problems. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on JFK's Head Wound, Part One   Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series JFK: Destiny Betrayed uses a variety of supposed witnesses to allege that the wound in the back of Kennedy's head was one of exit. Audrey Bell is one such witness and she doesn't have much credibility. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on JFK's Head Wound, Part Two   Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed , tries to make the case that because Parkland Hospital doctors saw cerebellum extruding from Kennedy's head wound, that it indicated an exit wound. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Weight of JFK's Brain    JFK Revisited makes a big deal about the weight of JFK's brain and ignores a non-conspiratorial explanation. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on JFK's Brain, Again...    Dr. Robert Kirschner's consultation with the ARRB explains a mystery in the documentary. JFK Revisited Distorts John Stringer's Testimony    Oliver Stone's so-called documentary makes it sound like the autopsy photographer said that he did not take the photos of JFK's brain that are in the current inventory, "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Autopsy Photographs of JFK   Oliver Stone's so-called documentary tries to make the case that a White House photographer took photos at the autopsy. The only problem is that there is no evidence he was actually there. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Autopsy Photographs of JFK, Part Two    Did Saundra Spencer really develop a completely different set of autopsy photographs? "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on JFK's Autopsy Photographs, Part Three   Oliver Stone's so-called documentary, JFK: Destiny Betrayed , misleads viewers into believing there are missing autopsy photographs. In the process, the autopsy photographer is appallingly quoted out of context. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Kennedy's Back Wound    While Gerald Ford edited some language in the Warren Report, he did not change the location of the back wound. Autopsy photographs show exactly the location of the back wound. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on JFK's Autopsy   Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series,  JFK: Destiny Betrayed , alleges that autopsy pathologists were told to fit the wounds to a presupposed conclusion. Sylvia Meagher and Dr. Cyril Wecht Discuss the Head Shot   A letter from Dr. Wecht to Sylvia Meagher on the head shot. Dr. Cyril Wecht Rules Out a Head Shot From the Front A letter from Dr. Wecht to Thomas Stamm about the head shot.

An article from the Los Angeles Times of September, 26, 1969: Unfortunately, Garrison did win re-election. Money Quote : "It's depressing to see big men -- stockbrokers and bankers -- tell you privately that nothing is more important than getting rid of Jim Garrison," said one widely respected news commentator. "Yet not a single one will come out publicly against him. They're plain frightened. A politically active businessman who declined to be identified said, "Garrison could walk into my office and accuse me of what-all and it's possible I would have to take months of time and spend lots of money defending myself. He's proved that he is capable of attacking anybody on any ground." Previous Relevant Blog Posts Jim Garrison's Homosexual Shakedown Operation Was Garrison going after homosexuals? Why was Elmer Renfroe Scared of Jim Garrison? A gay man is scared of Garrison Jim Garrison's Grand Juries... People were scared of going before Garrison's grand juries.

San Francisco Examiner, August 11, 1969 Other Previous Relevant Blog Posts What Garrison Proved A good article from the New Republic after the acquittal of Clay Shaw Trial by District Attorney A good opinion piece on Garrison Jim Garrison's Wild Conspiracy Tale An editorial from the Sam Francisco Chronicle. Garrison's Investigation - "a smalltime circus sideshow" A matching cartoon and editorial

Here is a transcript from Jim Garrison's first media interview after the acquittal of Clay Shaw . The highlight of the interview is Garrison inability to explain how he first suspected Clay Shaw conspired to kill JFK: (page 7 of the interview). Money Quote : We were disappointed because such hard work had failed to communicate a point to an awful lot of people. On the other hand, I, as a prosecutor, one of my short-comings, I suppose, is I tend to put myself in the position of the defendant perhaps too often, and I was conscious of being able to put myself in Shaw's place and feeling how relieved I would be were I Clay Shaw. What point had he failed to communicate? I love how Garrison plays the martyr and just how much he cares for defendants like Clay Shaw. This interview was just about ten days after Garrison had indicted Shaw for perjury. Money Quote : Well, my answer is that if Mr. Shaw's attorneys are honest, it seems to me that they would have to admit that this was an eminently fair prosecution from the outset. For two years I refused to mention his name except to say that he has to be presumed innocent until he is proven guilty, and I say the same thing about the perjury charge. He has to be presumed innocent. I have said it again and again. We leaned over backwards to have the fairest trial possible. The fairest trial possible? Read Judge Herbert Christenberry's view of the Clay Shaw trial. And there is no credible evidence that Clay Shaw ever knew Lee Harvey Oswald. When Garrison listed the "new" witnesses he would present at Clay Shaw's perjury trial, the only witnesses who connected Shaw to Oswald were the people from Clinton, Louisiana . Did Clay Shaw Know Lee Harvey Oswald? Did Clay Shaw Take Lee Harvey Oswald to the Gay Baths? The Fred Leemans Story, Part One.   Fred Leemans came up with an unbelievable story but then his conscience hit him. Did Clay Shaw Take Lee Harvey Oswald to the Gay Baths? The Fred Leemans Story, Part Two.   James DiEugenio not only believes Fred Leemans, he also believes that the CIA assisted in the provision of legal services to various witnesses in the case. The evidence does not back him up. Vernon Bundy's Lie Detector Test   Vernon Bundy claimed to see Clay Shaw with Lee Harvey Oswald on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. One problem - his lie detector test showed he was lying. Despite problems with his testimony, Garrison insisted he testify against Clay Shaw. James DiEugenio does not mention Bundy's polygraph. Money Quote : Well, we lost the case for two reasons -- should have been one. We lost it because of some bad, in retrospect, some bad technical decisions which I made, and we lost it because of the tremendous difficulty of presenting what was essentially a domestic espionage operation in an Anglo-Saxon courtroom. A domestic espionage operation? The problem with an Anglo-Saxon courtroom is that evidence is required. At the end of page four, Garrison brings up his supposed decision that " ... none of our witnesses who had ever been in trouble before would be used. In retrospect, I would say that this was unfortunate decision because some of these witnesses connected up the plans for the assassination in a rather substantial way and what I did was cut off a piece of our case ..." This was a theme that Garrison continued with one of his memos to the HSCA. Here is an excerpt from my book, On the Trail of Delusion: (page 279 in the Kindle edition) Garrison wrote to the HSCA and said he regretted that he had “aristocratically” dismissed a number of credible sources of information because they were too “raffish,” because they were drifters, or because they had criminal records. Now, he felt, they were “giving us the best damned leads we had.” An intelligence agent might well “employ as his extension for leg work someone who, while reasonably competent, has accumulated a ‘record’ suggesting that he is an outright bum.” And so, “a record of arrests—bad checks, vagrancy, theft, et cetera—is made particularly attractive by a short spell at a mental institution.” Garrison’s view was that the agency “taught its operatives how to select competent characters with incompetence written in their records.” His advice for the HSCA: “Don’t let the bad records here and there stampede you.” Amongst the many leads that Garrison submitted to the HSCA were several people still in prison . Things did not change immediately after the assassination. Johnson released NSAM 273 on November 26, 1963 and it was only slightly changed from what Kennedy had agreed to. Here is an excerpt from my book, Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza : (pages 592 - 593 of the Kindle edition) JFK: Destiny Betrayed [Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series] makes the claim that NSAM 273, drafted two days before Kennedy was killed but released after the assassination, made a big change in American foreign policy. However, it was virtually identical to NSAM 263 and had the same commitment to the one-thousand-troop withdrawal. The only change was in article 7 pertaining to military action against North Vietnam. Fredrick Logevall called the differences “insignificant” as the United States was already directing covert military action against the North. Stanley Karnow, one of the foremost historians of the Vietnam war, said that NSAM 273 “perpetuated the Kennedy policy.” Even Robert McNamara agreed and wrote in his book In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam that NSAM 273 “made clear that Johnson’s policy remained the same as Kennedy’s: ‘To assist the people and Government of South Vietnam to win their contest against the externally directed and supported Communist conspiracy’ through training support and without the application of overt U.S. military force.” This is the most important part of the interview. Gifford asks Garrison "what started you after Clay Shaw in the first place?" And Garrison just goes off tangent discussing David Ferrie. Paul Hoch asked a similar question back in 1986, and Garrison had an equally bad answer. And, of course, Ferrie's trip to Houston and Galveston was not really suspicious at all. David Ferrie's "Strange" Ice-Skating Trip, Part One! David Ferrie, Al Beauboeuf, and Mel Coffey went to Texas to go ice-skating and for Ferrie to conduct some business. David Ferrie's "Strange" Ice-Skating Trip, Part Two! Garrison connects their trip with Breck Wall, a Las Vegas entertainer. Dave Ferrie's "Strange" Ice-Skating Trip, Part Three! Garrison gets it all wrong about their trip. Al Beauboeuf was an avid hunter and he had previously gone duck hunting with David Ferrie. They didn't take guns with them on this trip because they thought they could borrow some from Beauboeuf's family who they were going to visit. In the end, they didn't visit his family and they didn't go duck hunting. Aaron Kohn, managing director of the Metropolitan Crime Commission of New Orleans, offered his own commentary on this interview: Money Quote : It is also noteworthy that although Alec Gifford repeatedly tried to pin him down to identifying Clay Shaw with his claim of an assassination conspiracy, that even at this late date Garrison reached out to blame the CIA and ex-President Lyndon B. Johnson. Garrison seemed to have no ability to realize that his absorption in the concept of Federal conspiracy was not in any way being connected with the man whom he criminally charged.

On March 3, 1969, just two days after Clay Shaw was acquitted of conspiring to kill JFK, Garrison indicted him on two counts of perjury -- for his statements that he had never met Lee Harvey Oswald or David Ferrie. New Orleans Times-Picayune, March 4, 1969 Jim Garrison had his work cut our for him. He now had to find new witnesses for an upcoming trial. His staff redoubled their efforts, and memos started flying in on some new, but mostly old leads, or more accurately rumors. Ultimately, he found very little, and he listed the witnesses he would call at Clay Shaw's trial for perjury. Here are the relevant pages from Garrison's response to Clay Shaw's motion to dismiss in court case #71-135: Here is Clay Shaw's response to this list, dated March 25, 1971: Here is my analysis of each of these witnesses: Betty Rubio : There are no contemporaneous Garrison memos on Betty Rubio, and as such, there are no statements on record from her. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Tadin : I covered the Tadin's in this blog post . They only came forward at the end of the Shaw trial, and Nicholas Tadin had a grudge against Shaw's trial lawyer, Irvin Dymond. After the trial, James Kirkwood talked to Judge Haggerty who told him, when speaking about the Tadins, that "But the jury, I asked one of them, they said they couldn't buy that because he waited too long." (page 635) Herbert Wagner : I covered Herbert Wagner in this blog post . Wagner said in 1967 that he could not identify Clay Shaw. Jim Louviere Here is a blog post on Louviere , which shows that in March 1967, Louviere did not identify Shaw with Ferrie at the service station. Of course, Garrison knew that Shaw's defense team would not get a copy of this memo because there was no discovery in Louisiana courts at the time. The Clinton Witnesses (Andrew Haden Dunn, John Manchester, Henry Earl Palmer, Corey Collins) : Let's start with Andrew Dunn. Here is a Garrison memo on Dunn: While Dunn did identify Clay Shaw, he also identified the other passengers in the car as Guy Banister and Jack Ruby. I don't think he would have been of great value in a perjury trial. The other problem for Garrison is that Andrew Dunn died in 1968: Death certificate for Andrew Dunn Garrison's men were mixed up. They probably wanted to call William Dunn, who was very much still alive. I am not sure if William Dunn would have been much better. Here is a Garrison memo on Dunn: Dunn picked out Thomas Beckham as a passenger, or driver, in the front seat of the car. When William Dunn testified at the Clay Shaw trial, Shaw's lawyers did not know that he had previously identified Beckham. John Manchester was also a problematic witness. His memory was not very good. He also had trouble identifying David Ferrie as one of the people in Clinton. Here is an excerpt from an Anne Dischler's note from May 25, 1967: The note reads: "Manchester was unable to positively  identify either photograph shown him. He does state that he seems to remember going to this car and questioning the occupants (this was regular routine because of Civil Rts. demonstrations at that time -- however two white people in a line of negroes did attract attention as unusual.) Photographs of Shaw and Ferrie do  look highly familiar  to Manchester." At the trial of Clay Shaw, John Manchester could not identify Ferrie as an occupant of the car :   Mr. Sciambra : Can you describe the individual on the passenger side? Mr. Manchester : No, sir, I can't, Mister, I didn't talk to him. Somehow, Manchester's story changed during his HSCA deposition: Mr. Blackmer : During the course of the trial, were you able to identify the other occupant of the automobile? Mr. Manchester : Yes, sir. I recognized David Ferrie, the other man in the car with Clay Shaw. I don't know if I identified him at the trial or not. I don't remember. I don't remember if I identified a picture of him at the trial. Of course, I understand that Ferrie was deceased at the time of the trial. Who knows how Manchester would have testified in a perjury trial. Henry Earl Palmer , the registrar of Clinton, did identify David Ferrie, but have a look at his testimony : Mr. Sciambra : Did you notice any individuals in the car? Mr. Palmer : Yes, I did. I saw two in the front seat. Mr. Sciambra : Can you describe the individual on the passenger side? Mr. Palmer : Well, the man on the passenger side, all I can tell you about him, he appeared -- his eyebrows were heavy and his hair needed combing. He had messed-up hair, I noticed that. That is all I could see of him. Mr. Sciambra : I would like to have this marked "S-3," for purpose of identification. (Whereupon, the document referred to by Counsel was duly marked for identification as "Exhibit S-3.") Mr. Sciambra : (Exhibiting photograph to witness) I show you what the State has marked "S-3" for purposes of identification, and I ask you if you recognize the individual in this picture? Mr. Palmer : I can't recognize the individual, but the hair and eyebrows are similar. Mr. Sciambra : In other words, you would say the hair and the eyebrows are similar? Mr. Palmer : Yes, sir. Mr. Sciambr a: Do you know who this person is? Mr. Palmer : From the picture I know, now. Mr. Sciambra : What is it? Mr. Palmer : That is Mr. Ferrie. This is not exactly a firm identification. During his first interview with Anne Dischler on May 25, 1967, Palmer was unable to identify David Ferrie: ' The note reads: Mr. Palmer was shown pictures of Clay Shaw and David Ferrie on May 25, 1967. He positively identified Clay Shaw as the driver of this Cadillac before mentioned. He was unable to identify Ferrie as the passenger with Shaw. While Palmer did identify Lee Harvey Oswald as one of the men wanting to register to vote, he did not identify Oswald as being with Shaw. Corrie Collins was also a problematic witness . There was no mention of Lee Harvey Oswald in his initial interviews, and his initial identification of Clay Shaw was very weak. His memory improved over time. The key consideration is one of discovery, and this is true for all of the Clinton witnesses . Had the Shaw defense team had all of the Garrison memos on the Clinton witnesses, they probably would not have testified. There were just too many holes and inconsistencies in their recollections. James Laurent : Like Betty Rubio, there are no contemporaneous Garrison memos on James Laurent, and as such, there are no statements on record from him. David Ferrie ran his service station for several months in 1964 -- it would be quite possible that Clay Shaw might have stopped there for gas. A perjury trial would have been extremely dangerous for Clay Shaw. How do you prove you don't know someone. Garrison would have paraded these witnesses -- horrible as they are -- and that might have persuaded a jury. Judge Herbert Christenberry held hearings on the motion to dismiss the perjury charges and on January 25, 1971, James Alcock, second-in-command to Jim Garrison, was asked about these witnesses : Alcock can provide no information on these new witnesses and whether they could have testified at Shaw's trial for conspiracy. Fortunately, Judge Christenberry stopped the proceedings . Here is what he said about the perjury charges: He also noted: Previous Relevant Blog Posts A Summary of the Clinton/Jackson Witnesses A summary of the story and links to my 19-part series on Clinton/Jackson

Here is an excerpt from his 1993 book, Trust Your Mother, But Cut the Cards: This section of Zion's book appeared in an opinion piece in the New York Times right after the acquittal of Clay. Shaw. Money Quote: This is not to suggest that the plot theorists will close up shop, for they are missionaries with all that the word implies in terms of resiliency. It is not too much to expect that the world will soon be treated to a revisionist treatise or two on the Clay Shaw trial if not Mr. Garrison himself. Indeed, one young man was heard to surmise yesterday that it was "conceivable" that Jim Garrison was actually a C.I.A. agent since why else would he have put on such a shoddy case. And of course, we ended up with Oliver Stone's polemic JFK, the ultimate in revisionist history. And then we got several revisionist histories of the Garrison debacle including Destiny Betrayed by James DiEugenio and A Farewell to Justice by Joan Mellen. Here is another relevant blog post: Was Jim Garrison Paid by the CIA? Garrison was actually a defense attorney for Gordon Novel, a man he accused of working for the CIA. Here is another excerpt from Sidney Zion's book: Money Quote: Going in, I was hip that Mr. Garrison was a spellbinder. Everybody who had been down to talk with him -- and just about every major columnist and reporter had -- came away mesmerized. Max Lerner said that it took him weeks to shake off the spell. But even knowing that, I practically had to be hosed down after three hours with the amazing District Attorney of New Orleans parish. Wow! As my man cousin Joe, the great Vieux Carré blues singer would say, he had an "Elgin movement would make a rabbit hug a hound." Previous Relevant Blog Posts Max Lerner: Garrison and Shaw Lerner discusses Edward Jay Epstein's book on Garrison. Garrison Mentions a Homosexual Plot to Yet Another Journalist An important Max Lerner opinion piece. Zion then goes into the origins of the Vietnam War: Money Quote: And give us a break that the money men had him whacked because they needed the war to fill their pockets. Those guys, said to be the "permanent government," are either in jail today or in bankruptcy court. The Soviet Union is dead, but Karl Marx lives in Oliver Stone. Here is the excerpt from James Reston's book referenced by Zion: One thing that the "JFK Cult" misses is that whatever JFK's feelings were about peace and detente, it takes two to tango. The Soviet Union was intent on fostering revolution, and the North Vietnamese were intent on taking all of Vietnam. Their visions of the world were diametrically opposed to that of JFK. Here is a short excerpt from my book, Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza: (pages 596 - 597 in the Kindle edition) [Fredrik] Logevall notes that “the Vietnam problem that he [JFK] left behind that day was much larger than the one he inherited.” Professors Lawrence Bassett and Stephen Pelz elaborate on the problems awaiting Lyndon Johnson: In any case, by late 1963 Kennedy had radically expanded the American commitment to Vietnam. By putting advisors in harm’s way and allowing the press to chronicle their tribulations and casualties, he helped to engage American patriotism in a war against the Vietnamese people. By arguing that Vietnam was a test of American credibility in the Cold War, he raised the costs of withdrawal for his successor. By launching a strategic hamlet program, he further disrupted peasant society. By allowing Harkins and the ARVN to bomb, shell, search, and destroy, he made so many recruits for the NLF that he encouraged North Vietnam and the NLF to move the war into its final military phase. By participating in Diem’s removal, he brought warlords politics to Saigon. By downplaying publicly the American role in Vietnam, he discouraged a constitutional debate about the commitment of American advisors to battle. By publicly and privately committing the United States to the survival of an anti-Communist state in South Vietnam, he made it much more difficult for his successors to blame the South Vietnamese government for its own failures and to withdraw. And by insisting that military victory was the only acceptable outcome, he ignored the possibility that negotiations might lead to an acceptable process of retreat. Kennedy bequeathed to Lyndon B. Johnson a failing counterinsurgency program and a deepened commitment to the war in South Vietnam. JFK was facing quite the mess in Vietnam when he was assassinated. The truth is that we don’t know what he would have done had he not been killed. Sidney Zion referenced a portrait of Hitler on the wall of Perry Russo's apartment. I found this excerpt from James Kirkwood's book, American Grotesque: (page 625) (page 630)

Many people wrote Jim Garrison with tips and information on the assassination. Tom Bethell put together some of the zanier letters and sent them to Sylvia Meagher. Here is an excerpt from a letter he sent her : Meagher replied : Here is Bethell's memo on letters to Garrison: (the unfavorable letter referenced by Meagher is on page 4, and the letter from the student from Staten Island is on page 7) By the way, whenever I go through HSCA boxes at the National Archives, I come across lots of letters, and some with manuscripts, sent in by people and many are quite wacky. Unfortunately, Garrison did listen to many ridiculous letters . Previous Relevant Blog Posts The Diaries of Tom Bethell and Richard Billings I've added many new pages to the Bethell diary from the Sylvia Meagher archives. Perry Russo Talks - in Baton Rouge, Part Five   Additional information about a meeting with Perry Russo and James Phelan. Perry Russo Talks - in Baton Rouge, Part Four   Tom Bethell wrote Sylvia Meagher details about a meeting he had with Richard Billings in which they discussed Perry Russo and James Phelan. Tom Bethell Writes Sylvia Meagher about the Shaw Trial   Bethell sat through the Shaw trail and he wrote Meagher about what happened. Jim Garrison's Files and Mark Lane   Tom Bethell had lots to say about Mark Lane's usage of Jim Garrison's files. "Earl Warren: On the Mob's Payroll" by Tom Bethell   An article by Tom Bethell from the Washington Monthly  of March 1976. Tom Bethell Died This Week at Age 84, R.I.P.   A tribute to Tom Bethell and an article he wrote for the National Review.