Landis spoke to the HSCA on February 17, 1979. He only told them there were two shots from different directions. Nothing about finding a bullet or finding a bullet fragment. Here is my transcription: Asked what happened 22nd Said he heard shots, different in sound ∴ [therefore] different in direction. 1st behind, 2nd in front right. Report written on 30th (CX 1024) w/o reading newspapers. What I remembered – not consensus of what all of us thought. No pressure to shape testimony (knew of implication of 2 directions) Only interviewed by W/C for 10 minutes. Voluntarily left service 6 months after assassination. Shook up by Dallas and works with Mrs. Kennedy after 22nd. Now works with father-in-law in machine shop. Landis told the HSCA that he was interviewed by the Warren Commission. Does anybody have a record of this or is this another one of his stories? Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Paul Landis Why Didn't Paul Landis Come Forward Before? An NBC journalist asked him the question and his answer is remarkable. The Sixth Floor Museum's Oral History Project with Paul Landis Landis talked to the Sixth Floor Museum but didn't mention picking up a bullet or bullet fragments. Did Paul Landis Really Find a Bullet? A look at Landis's statements over the years. Should We Believe Phyllis Hall? Jefferson Morley believes that Phyllis Hall, a nurse at Parkland, corroborates Landis's allegations about a bullet. She doesn't.

Oliver Stone recently sat down for an interview with Chris Wallace. Here is a transcript of the excerpt: Chris Wallace: I think it's fair to say that you are most controversial these days for a series of interviews that you did with Vladimir Putin, over a couple of years in the mid 2010s, in which you've been criticized for being too friendly, and even fawning. Why didn't you challenge Putin more in those interviews? Oliver Stone: I'm sorry, Chris, that is absolute bullshit. Look at the fourth hour, for example, this is in the fourth hour and constantly I'm pushing him in this, in this interview as ... Chris Wallace: But when he makes a contention, do you challenge him? Oliver Stone: Sometimes you have to play the game of getting an interview. You understand? If you look at ... Chris Wallace: I understand. When you get to sit down with a dictator, why would you want to tiptoe around the fact that he has been accused of killing his political opponents? Oliver Stone: He's been accused. Okay, I've never seen hard evidence of that. Chris Wallace: Are you really sitting here, Oliver, saying that you think that Putin has been unjustly accused of attacking or killing his political opponents? Oliver Stone: Again, I have to ask you, what's the motive to do this? Chris Wallace: Because he's a dictator and he doesn't like people who were a threat. Oliver Stone: That's a little simplistic. Chris Wallace: You said this summer that Putin, this is your quote, is not the monster that he has been portrayed by American propaganda. Really? Oliver Stone: You know, you're going about this all wrong. You're not even looking, giving the guy a break. You're not understanding his point of view. Chris Wallace: I'm not giving who a break? Oliver Stone: I'm talking about Putin. You're blaming him for ... what's he doing? To the Russian people ... think about it ... Chris Wallace: Oliver, the question that I would ask you is why are you giving ... Oliver Stone: I'm trying to see it from both sides. Chris Wallace: ... Putin such a break? Why are you siding with Vladimir Putin? Oliver Stone: I'm not siding with anybody. Even the Toronto Star was horrified by Stone's comments: (with Canadian spelling) That doc was like watching Genghis Khan get interviewed by Elmo. Yes. Score another one for Occam’s razor. Poor Chris Wallace looked exasperated, like he was trying to teach algebra to a goldfish. Does Mr. Stone really believe Mr. Putin is a standup guy who hums “Kumbaya” while cuddling stray kittens? Did Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet just fall out of the sky in August, two months after his Wagner Group marched toward Moscow in a ceremonial coup? Did Pavel Antov accidentally fall out of a hotel window? Did Alexander Litvinenko ask for his London tea to be flavoured with Polonium-210? And what does Stone make of Alexei Navalny? Look, there is no hard evidence he did not want to be poisoned and imprisoned. You can understand why someone like Steven Seagal is a Putin fanboy. He can’t think straight after taking so many karate chops to the head. Plus, Moscow has great prices on muumuus and moustache dye. But other celebrities who once cozied up to Putin — Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul McCartney, Gérard Depardieu — did an about-face and condemned Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, a death-a-palooza of hourly war crimes and unspeakable atrocities targeting civilians. But, sure, Oliver, keep telling us about how Putin is “misunderstood.” It has been beyond depressing over the last 579 days to watch and hear a sliver of strident Westerners muddy the waters on the firehose of suffering in Ukraine. They’d have you believe this is a “proxy war” the United States orchestrated while enslaved to the military-industrial complex. They claim Putin was forced into invading after years of creeping NATO expansionism. Huh? Unhinged conservatives like Tucker Carlson have smeared Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and openly cheered for Russia. The only good news is that, since getting whacked by Fox News, Tucker now operates out of a garden shed. He once had staff who could put a spit-shine on his crazy. Now there are no shocking chyrons and production values. All that’s left is the crazy. Oliver Stone and other so-called heterodox luminaries such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are hard-wired to blame America first. This is what happens when you soak your brain in conspiratorial bleach for decades. Reality gets whitewashed. Anyone who believes Joe Biden wanted to spend billions to help Ukraine defend itself while America’s credit card is maxed out and it can’t make monthly payments is not to be taken seriously. NATO is helping Ukraine because if Putin is not stopped there, his imperial delusions will multiply like cockroaches. He will keep crossing borders until NATO troops, including Canadians, are forced into combat. Then, yeah, cue World War III. Ukraine deserves a world that is unflinching in its demand for peace, security, territorial sovereignty and international order. Instead, Ukraine is fighting for its existence as cultural influencers such as Oliver Stone lack the moral courage to call Putin a threat to humanity. The war in Ukraine is not about geopolitics or American hegemony. It’s about the sociopathology of one despicable man. But when Wallace asked Stone why he was giving Putin a break, the director stammered about “both sides.” Roger Waters and Russell Brand make the same argument. These people are insane. There are no “both sides” on this one. There is only one side: Russia invaded Ukraine. If only Stone cared about Ukrainians as much as he cares about William Blum or nuclear power. He might be moved to tears by the carnage of cruise missiles obliterating hospitals, schools, apartment buildings. He might wonder why he is lionized as a folk hero on Russian state TV. You know, like Tucker Carlson. Oliver Stone loves conspiracies. He believes everyone else is missing the real story. He should make a biopic about how he got duped by Vladimir Putin. Previous Blog Posts on Oliver Stone's Politics Is Oliver Stone off his Meds? JFK Jr. Meets Oliver Stone My Hearty Congratulations to the Jerusalem Film Festival Shame on the Jerusalem Film Festival Oliver Stone says Putin is a "very refined individual" Oliver Stone Says the Russians are "Kicking Ass" in Ukraine Oliver Stone says that "Putin is a great leader for his country Oliver Stone is now in Alex Jones Territory! Oliver Stone: Putin is a rational, calm, thoughtful man: the United States is a Doberman... Has Oliver Stone Gone Mad? Oliver Stone Said Vladimir Putin is "very bright" and "wise" Oliver Stone's 'Bromance' with Vladimir Putin Oliver Stone Blames the United States for Putin's Invasion of Ukraine Celebrities Who Have Been Friendly with Putin Oliver Stone Says Vladimir Putin Fell into an American Trap The Day Vladimir Putin Fooled Oliver Stone with a Doctored Video Oliver Stone Watches Dr. Strangelove with Vladimir Putin Oliver Stone is Vladimir Putin's Mouthpiece Oliver Stone Says that Putin was Provoked... Will Oliver Stone Blame Kazakhstan Unrest on the United States? Is Oliver Stone Becoming a Lackey for China? Oliver Stone said the CIA may have injected cancer into Hugo Chavez's rectum... Oliver Stone Sides with Cuba's 'Repressive Dictatorship Two Views on Oliver Stone's Love Affair with Nazarbayev... Oliver Stone Fêtes Another Dictator Relevant Links on Oliver Stone's Politics Oliver Stone's Disgraceful Tribute to Hugo Chavez Is the director's latest film soft on Castro? Oliver Stone defends himself After Calling Russian Anti-LGBTQ Law ‘Sensible’ Hollywood Movie Director Oliver Stone praises Putin for Syria intervention on trip to Saudi Arabia Oliver Stone: Jewish Control of the Media is Preventing Free Holocaust Debate Oliver Stone's Latest Dictator Suckup Oliver Stone’s Latest Piece of Pro-Putin Propaganda May Be His Most Shameless Move Yet ‘The Putin Interviews’: Oliver Stone’s Wildly Irresponsible Love Letter to Vladimir Putin Has Oliver Stone Ever met a Dictator He Doesn't Admire? Oliver Stone's 'Empathy' for Hitler Iran's Fajr Film Festival grabs headlines with 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.

Jefferson Morley, in his latest Substack post, has accused me of being a CIA apologist: CIA apologist Fred Litwin can be counted on to provide overwhelming, irrefutable proof that this deluded man [Paul Landis] was just another irrational conspiracy theorist, already under the hellish time-traveling influence of Oliver Stone and Jefferson Morley, another woke fool not smart enough to appreciate, amid the flying bullets, that Dale K. Myers’ animated reconstruction of Dealey Plaza five decades in the future would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that racism did not affect the JFK crime scene in any way. Where do I even begin? My posts on Paul Landis (see the links below) all focus on his statements over the years. I have not stated that he was deluded nor have I ever stated that he was "just another irrational conspiracy theorist." Nor did I ever say he was under the influence of Oliver Stone or Jefferson Morley. Landis states he was under the influence of Josiah Thompson's book, Six Seconds in Dallas. The second part of Morley's convoluted paragraph makes no sense whatsoever. Dale Myers' animation has nothing to do with racism nor with Paul Landis. It remains probably the best reconstruction of Dealey Plaza. If Jefferson Morley has a problem with it, he should level some sort of coherent criticism, rather than a drive-by slur. Paul Landis initially believed there were two shots fired in Dealey Plaza and he has since said he believes there were three. Does Morley accept that there were only three shots fired that day? Morley ends his post with a crazy conclusion: I will add my personal opinion that racism warps the JFK story today because it blinds white people and black people, historians and journalists, JFK researchers and anti-conspiracy theorists, to Paul Landis’s story that there was a frightened black man running for cover on the grassy knoll that fateful day. I guess everybody is blinded except Jefferson Morley. Lots of people were frightened and they all reacted in different ways. This black man might have even believed he was running for cover. But no one actually knows, including Jefferson Morley. We know that Dealey Plaza was an echo chamber, and while most people thought the shots came from the Texas School Book Depository, some did feel the shots came from the grassy knoll. However, very few earwitnesses believed the shots came from two different locations. I urge people to read Paul Landis's various statements, over the years, and come to your own conclusion. As for my being a CIA apologist, well, it seems I have been downgraded from being an agent of some sort. I hope the checks keep on coming. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Paul Landis Should We Believe Phyllis Hall? There is no good reason to believe her account of finding a bullet on JFK's stretcher. Why Didn't Paul Landis Come Forward Before? An NBC journalist asked him the question and his answer is remarkable. The Sixth Floor Museum's Oral History Project with Paul Landis Landis talked to the Sixth Floor Museum but didn't mention picking up a bullet or bullet fragments. Did Paul Landis Really Find a Bullet? A look at Landis's statements over the years. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Jefferson Morley Is Jefferson Morley Seeing Double? Morley thinks there are two redacted memos on CIA reorganization, but there is only one. A Reply to Jefferson Morley on Bill Harvey A rebuttal to Morley's response to my post Was Bill Harvey in Dallas in November of 1963? Was Bill Harvey in Dallas in November of 1963? There is no credible evidence Harvey was in Dallas in November of 1963. Does it Matter Where Allen Dulles was on November 22, 1963? Morley repeats the claim that Dulles was at a CIA training center during the weekend of the JFK assassination. He wasn't. Jefferson Morley's Claims about Reuben Efron Morley's claims about Efron are all wrong. A Reply to Jefferson Morley regarding Operation Northwoods Morley responded to my article "The Truth about Operation Northwoods." Here is my reply. W. Tracy Parnell on Jefferson Morley W. Tracy Parnell is one of the best JFK assassination researchers out there. Here is his look at Jefferson Morley with several important articles. The Truth about Operation Northwoods Operation Northwoods can only understood as being part of the Kennedys' war against Cuba and Operation Mongoose. Jefferson Morley Responds to my Post on MK-Ultra and Jack Ruby And a response from me. Did Dr. Louis Jolyon West Ask to Examine Jack Ruby in November 1963? There is no evidence that Dr. West petitioned the court to examine Jack Ruby before his trial. Did the CIA use a MK-Ultra Psychiatrist to Interfere with Jack Ruby's Case? There is absolutely no evidence that Dr. Louis Jolyon West interfered with Jack Ruby's case. Jefferson Morley is wrong about "Who Shot John?" The phrase 'who shot John' does not refer to the JFK assassination. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads Viewers on Oswald's "Hands Off Cuba!" Handbills, Part Four Jefferson Morley used a fake Oswald handbill in his press conference for the Mary Ferrell Foundation. Redactions, Redactions, Redactions... An examination of redactions in the JFK collection of documents.

David Lifton sent this spoof to Sylvia Meagher: Meagher appreciated the satire: Previous Relevant Blog Posts An Unreleased "Top Secret" Memo I received this memo in the post from an unnamed correspondent. Letter from a Friend in New Orleans for the 1969 Mardi Gras A humorous commentary from public television on the Clay Shaw trial. Ramparts' Satire of Assassination Books A Ramparts review of assassination books include two that are fictitious. Sylvia Meagher's Ode to the District Attorney of New Orleans Meagher pens an ode to Jim Garrison. Jim Garrison, the Cryptologist A journalist created his own code to make fun of Garrison. Limericks from the Clay Shaw Trial I found several limericks in the papers of James KIrkwood. Art Buchwald Skewers Jim Garrison Buchwald writes on the Garrison Gap. Another Art Buchwald Column on Jim Garrison How to solve a crime. Jim Garrison wasn't the only master decoder A spook on Garrison's code.

Clint Bolton was a friend of Kerry Thornley and he had a column in the Vieux Carre Courier, a local New Orleans newspaper. Here is an excerpt from one of his columns about Thornley: Garrison indicted Thornley for perjury for maintaining that he did not bump into Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans in September 1963. Thornley dedicated his 1965 book Oswald to Clint Bolton: Of course, the Garrisonites reject Bolton as a reliable witness: Here is an excerpt from a James DiEugenio article on Kerry Thornley: During his two-year New Orleans stay of 1961-63, Thornley also befriended Clint Bolton, an associate of Courtney. (Ibid, Probe Magazine) Bolton wrote publicity copy for the FDC [Friends of Democratic Cuba]. And Thornley dedicated his 1965 book, entitled simply Oswald, to Bolton. (We will discuss this book later.) According to Garrison’s sources, Bolton was associated with the CIA. What sources? And what does that mean, "associated with the CIA."? Mr. DiEugenio does not tell us. By the way, Clint Bolton is not mentioned in Jim Garrison's book, On the Trail of the Assassins. And here is a letter that Thornley sent to Sylvia Meagher: Note the second to last paragraph: Garrison could not not believe I was not associated with Ed Butler, even though I had never heard of the man when I was in N.O. to testify. Later I learned that Clint Bolton (a friend of mine who Wildgoose [Garrison] thinks is my "CIA babysitter") was acquainted with Butler briefly, but disliked him intensely. So, Garrison thought that Clint Bolton was Thornley's CIA babysitter! Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Kerry Thornley David Lifton's Memo on Jim Garrison and Kerry Thornley Lifton circulated a memo he wrote on Garrison and Thornley in 1968. Here is his memo along with some exhibits. David Lifton (1939-2022), R.I.P. My obituary for David Lifton includes a letter that he wrote to Mark Lane about Kerry Thornley. Exclusive: Andrew Sciambra Phones Kerry Thornley A link to a tape recording of a phone call between Kerry Thornley and Andrew Sciambra. Was Kerry Thornley a Spook? James DiEugenio includes a clearly false story about Thornley in his book. Did Kerry Thornley Lie About Oswald's Height? Garrison was obsessed about Oswald's height. Exclusive: Jim Garrison Tells the HSCA that Kerry Thornley Impersonated Lee Harvey Oswald... Garrison tells the HSCA all sorts of stories about Kerry Thornley. Exclusive: Jim Garrison Interviewed by the HSCA Garrison tells the HSCA that Kerry Thornley might be the body in the backyard photographs. Gaeton Fonzi Channels Jim Garrison... Why was Kerry Thornley arrested in 1962? Kerry Thornley on Oswald right after Assassination The first writings from Thornley on November 27, 1963, about Oswald. Was Lee Harvey Oswald a Man of the Right? Jim Garrison was convinced that Thornley was the only Marine to describe Oswald's left-wing politics. Kerry Thornley Writes Sylvia Meagher Sylvia Meagher was a big supporter of Kerry Thornley and here is some of their correspondence. Was Kerry Thornley the Second Oswald? Garrison writes a memo to the HSCA alleging that Thornley was the second Oswald. Was Thornley the Second Oswald? Yes, Again An interview with another prisoner is more evidence to Jim Garrison that Thornley is the second Oswald. Reverend Raymond Broshears Makes a Startling Revelation! Was Kerry Thornley gay? Previous Relevant Links on James DiEugenio: The "Protector and Defender of the Garrison Faith" Strikes Again! James DiEugenio goes after another writer who dares go against the orthodoxy. Was Oswald an Agent of the CIA? James DiEugenio is unaware that an HSCA report on Oswald and the CIA was actually published. Was Oswald an Agent of the CIA, Part Two Dan Hardway rebuts James DiEugenio. Just who does James DiEugenio work for? Why does James DiEugenio write for one of the major agents of Russian disinformation? My So-Called Libel of James DiEugenio Mr. DiEugenio thinks that I libeled him, but his accusations are all over the map. Anatomy of a James DiEugenio Citation Was Lee Harvey Oswald at an anti-Castro training camp in the summer of 1963? Anatomy of a James DiEugenio Citation, Part Two Was David Ferrie at an anti-Castro training camp in the summer of 1963? Anatomy of a James DiEugenio Citation, Part Three James DiEugenio accepts a phony story as fact. Fact Checking James DiEugenio, Part Two Bill Boxley was not a CIA plant. Fact Checking James DiEugenio Clay Shaw was not Clay Bertrand. Fred Litwin's Follies! A response to James DiEugenio about my writings. James DiEugenio's Lame Excuses for Fletcher Prouty Prouty couldn't back up any of his allegations when he was interviewed by the ARRB. You wouldn't believe the lame excuse offered up by DiEugenio. James DiEugenio's Lame Excuse for Oliver Stone Why does Oliver Stone support so many dictators? James DiEugenio Gets it all Wrong on Permindex/CMC DiEugenio has no understanding of Permindex/CMC The Scholarship of James DiEugenio - A Case Study DiEugenio gets it all wrong on the Mannlicher-Carcano The Scholarship of James DiEugenio, Part Two The conclusion on the Mannlicher-Carcano The Scholarship of James DiEugenio Over the past ten months, I have debunked every witness cited by DiEugenio regarding Clay Shaw and David Ferrie.

This article, from the Fortean Times, issue #355, is a pretty good overview of the life of Fred Crisman. This is a pretty good article, but it goes off the rails towards the end. Fred Crisman was a conman who fooled Garrison. He was involved with Thomas Beckham in a host of ridiculous schemes and they both liked creating fake diplomas and degrees. Garrison learnt of them through anonymous letters and my theory is that Crisman was the author. Garrison had to be talked out of claiming that Crisman was a grassy knoll assassin in his book. I'll have more to say about this in a future blog post. Coming up: I will be publishing a letter that Ray Palmer, who helped popularize the UFO craze, wrote Jim Garrison in 1968. Previous Relevant Blog Posts Exclusive: Jim Garrison tells the HSCA that Fred Crisman was one of the Three Tramps Jim Garrison was interviewed by the HSCA in 1977 and here is a link to a tape and a transcript and many relevant documents. Flying Saucers Magazine, May 1958: Fred Crisman An article by Kenneth Arnold about Crisman and flying saucers. Jim Garrison Identifies the "Cut-Out" of a "Professional, Highly Organized, Clandestine Operation." A memo from Jim Garrison to the HSCA discusses Thomas Beckham and Fred Crisman. Jim Garrison's Memo to the HSCA regarding Fred Crisman and Thomas Beckham, part one... Another memo from Garrison to the HSCA regarding Crisman and Beckham. Jim Garrison's Exhibits to his HSCA Memo on Fred Crisman and Thomas Beckham Accompanying exhibits to the above memo from Garrison to the HSCA. Was Fred Crisman one of JFK's Assassins? For a while, Garrison was convinced that Crisman was one of the assassins. Bob Lavender Reveals the Secret of the JFK Assassination! A shadowy figure told Garrison investigator Bill Boxley about Fred Crisman. Was Fred Crisman Behind the JFK Assassination? Another memo from Garrison to the HSCA.

I thought it might be a good time for a quiz. Here is the cover of Flying Saucers Magazine from May 1958. What is the connection to the JFK assassination?

Irvin Dymond wrote an undated memo about the difficulties in the Clay Shaw case. There was no discovery in Louisiana courts and so they had to investigate any rumor or story that possibly implicated their client. Here is his memo: I also want to add a letter that Edward Wegmann, one of Shaw's other attorneys, wrote to Elmer Gertz, who was representing Gordon Novel in his libel lawsuit against Playboy Magazine and Jim Garrison. It was written a few weeks before the Shaw trial. His second page is most telling - "We anticipate that we will be confronted with one or more surprise witnesses about whom we know nothing and about whom we will know nothing until they walk into the courtroom, take the witness stand, swear to tell the truth and then proceed to perjure themselves with a story that can only be fictional if it involves the client ... The guilty man is easy to defend because you know what he did. We will not know what Clay did until we hear the witnesses." Here is an interesting article about discovery in the Louisiana courts: “It is an elementary observation that surprise has no legitimate place in a criminal proceeding, whether resorted to by the defense or the state. The promulgation of a comprehensive, systematic set of discovery rules will do much to take the gamesmanship out of the criminal process. Louisiana should take the step that will lead to a fairer trial for an accused and at the same time improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the courts. Nothing can possibly be gained by ignoring the question while further random requirements are imposed by the courts.”

Clay Shaw's cancer was unfortunately not "happily cured." He died on August 15, 1974. New Orleans States-Item, August 15, 1974 New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 16, 1974 Here is an obituary from the New Orleans-States-Item: New Orleans States-Item, August 16, 1974 Even in death, Clay Shaw was not to be spared humiliation. A reporter received a tip that an ambulance had arrived at his house and had brought in a body; perhaps it had been switched with Shaw’s. New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 18, 1974 The new coroner, Dr. Frank Minyard, went to Shaw’s house and asked to see the body but was refused. “But how can we know for sure the man didn’t commit suicide, wasn’t given a mercy killing or wasn’t murdered?” he asked. New Orleans States-Item, August 20, 1974 Shaw was cremated and was initially buried in an unmarked grave. Cynthia Wegmann, the daughter of Shaw’s attorney said that “we were not having him abused in death as he was in life.” Minyard called a judge to get the body exhumed but quickly realized it would be a long process. The police conducted an investigation and found nothing mysterious. A month after Shaw’s death, Garrison told reporter Richard Boyle to “look further” and noted the desire of the coroner to have Shaw’s body exhumed. Even beyond death, the Clay Shaw nightmare would continue. Oliver Stone exhumed the story in JFK. Previous Relevant Blog Posts Clay Shaw Writes Rod McKuen A letter from 1972 about Shaw's victory at the U.S. Supreme Court. Rod McKuen's Tribute to Clay Shaw McKuen's tribute was read at Clay Shaw's funeral. Holland McCombs' Memo to Life Magazine about Clay Shaw McCombs was a reporter for Life Magazine and he had some important insights about Clay Shaw. The Persecution of Clay Shaw A very good article from Look Magazine. When will Oliver Stone Admit he was Wrong about Clay Shaw? It's time for Oliver Stone to admit he made a big mistake in making Clay Shaw the villain in his movie JFK. The Return of Clay Shaw Clay Shaw had to go back to work because of his legal bills. Clay Shaw's Unjustly Damaged Reputation Shaw couldn't escape from suspicion.

Paul Landis has become an overnight sensation with a New York Times article, based upon his soon-to-be-published book, that claims he found a bullet on the back seat of the presidential limousine. This extraordinary claim, coming some sixty years after the assassination, is hard to take seriously. Gerald Posner takes apart Landis's claim here. Landis has changed his story over the years, and he has never publicly talked about his new story. Here is what he said right after the assassination: Here is what Landis said in November, 1963: Landis remembers two shots and says "I do not recall hearing a third shot." Here is what Landis said a few days later: Again, Landis reports two shots and says nothing about finding a bullet in the limousine. Landis had another story in 1988. Here are some excerpts from an article in the Columbus Dispatch of November 20, 1988: He is still saying that there were two shots. But here is a key paragraph from the same article: Arriving at the hospital's emergency entrance he remembers "going by the president's convertible and seeing the blood on the seat." And then he saw something else. "I distinctly remember there was a bullet fragment on the seat which I picked up and handed to somebody." He doesn't remember to whom, but he does recall hesitating beforehand, wondering, "Should I grab it, or should I leave it where it is in the car." Still two shots but now he retrieves a fragment from the back seat and gives it to somebody. In The Kennedy Detail, Landis puts a Zippo lighter in his pocket, and he puts a bullet fragment on the seat: (page 225 in the Kindle edition) When Agent Paul Landis helped Mrs. Kennedy out of the car he saw a bullet fragment in the back where the top would be secured. He picked it up and put it on the seat, thinking that if the car were moved, it might be blown off. And then he saw a bloody Zippo lighter with the presidential seal on it. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. He picked up her hat and purse and brought them inside. There was also this passage: (page 353 in the Kindle edition) It had taken Paul Landis a long time to get over the trauma of what he’d seen. And it wasn’t until many years later that he was able to admit to himself that what he thought he heard and what he thought he saw in the chaos of those tragic moments had very simple explanations. He had said that one of the shots he heard seemed to have come from somewhere toward the front, but when he thought back with a rational mind, he believed it must have been an echo. It wasn’t a shot from the front: it was the shot fired from behind him, echoing off the overpass directly ahead. And he had seen a man running up the grassy knoll, away from the street, and with his rational mind he realized that if he had been a bystander and had heard the barrage of gunfire, had seen the president’s head explode, he would have been running away, too. It was a natural human reaction—not evidence of a second shooter. He had made the statements five days after the assassination, still traumatized, and at the time he believed those statements to be true. He wished he had had the presence of mind then that he had now. He realized the effect of his statements, but what could he do now, after all these years? He too had been living with tremendous guilt and grief, on so many levels. The Akron Beacon Journal wrote a story about Landis in 2013 for the 50th anniversary: But Landis has no special plans for Friday, the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination. “I’ll be hanging out at home, probably flipping channels, see what programs are on. There seem to be enough of them,” he said. And no doubt, many of them will dwell on conspiracy theorists that have insisted Oswald could not have acted alone. Landis said he understands the need for people to think that something this big had to come from some huge organized, well-planned effort involving several people. But he doesn’t buy it. As hard as it may be to accept, he said, the president was brought down by one guy with a gun. “Oswald. Three shots. That was it. He was a creep who got lucky,” Landis said. “Just some nut who, for some reason, everything went his way that day.” Now, it's three shots, but nothing about finding a bullet and he is adamant that Oswald was the lone gunman. Gerald Posner believes that is quite possible that Landis's story is true and that might explain how CE399 ended up on a stretcher at Parkland. This would not invalidate the single-bullet theory, if the bullet had actually been found near the front seat. But the game-changer for me is the 1988 story from Ohio - where Landis said he found a fragment and gave it to someone. That story is far too different from today's story -- where he found a bullet and placed it on a stretcher -- for me to accept his story. Update David Von Pein found an article from 1983 in which Landis also spoke about taking a bullet fragment from the limousine:

Paul Landis spoke to the Sixth Floor Museum on September 12, 2016, 7 years ago to the date. During the interview, Landis says he heard three shots and tries to reconcile that with his statements from November 1963 in which he mentioned two shots. Now, he says that all the shots came from behind. Here is an excerpt from a transcript: (46:52 remaining) Paul Landis: ... we had really slowed down to a crawl at that point. And we had just completed our turn. I'm looking to my right. Still very few people. I'm thinking, of what I could see, a building I have, I have just kind of assumed that it was empty and that the employees were down in front of the building. And just as we straightened out, bam, I heard the first shot, and came from over my right shoulder. I knew right away it was gunshot the mind starts thinking Jack really says I'm a firecracker. That I don't think so I don't see any smoke. Even though I know that it was a gunshot, you don't want to believe it's happening. And when that happened, I've been scanning the crowd and I just happened to look straight ahead, and I was looking in the President's direction. I saw him kind of lurch forward. My first thought, my reaction was, I didn't realize he'd been hit, I thought he was starting to turn, to look to see where the sound had come from. I immediately turned again to look at the crowd. I saw nothing, saw nobody, nothing unusual there, and by the time I had scanned ahead to the president's limo, there was a second shot. Again, not wanting to believe it, all this time, I mean the mind is really going -- let's get going, get out of here. It was, we couldn't move fast enough. Meantime, I had seen Clint running for the limo. The second shot, I thought, I didn't see any reaction or anything happening. I thought that maybe the car had a blowout. We're like in an echo chamber there, reverberating. I couldn't see, the tires looked ok. All I could see was the right front tire of the limo. We were so close, I couldn't see anything else on the car. And just about then, I looked up, and Clint had made it to the car and I was saying like, go, go, go, thinking in my mind. And then I heard, I was looking right at the president, heard the third shot, saw his head explode and the blood and flesh fly. And there was like, wow, I knew that they got him. And the next thing I knew we're under the underpass and we're flying towards the hospital. I did not know; I had no idea where a hospital was, where we were going. All I knew is we're finally getting out of the area. Stephen Fagin: You knew, at that moment, that the President was dead? Paul Landis: There was no way. I mean, I had seen demonstration shooting, hunter safety courses, shoot like into a watermelon or a gallon jug of water and the way that it would explode. There was, a head wound like that, I just knew. Clint, in the meantime, had gotten up on the limo and he turned around and gave a thumbs down sign. And that was pretty much it. Stephen Fagin: You herd three shots total? Paul Landis: Yes. Interesting, I hadn't read my, we had all made a statement. In my statement, after several years, then I've taken it out to reread. I had mentioned two shots, but I had also mentioned second shot, blowout, talking about that, and then I referred to later, the second shot. So, I, there were definitely three shots and I knew they all came from back here. So, three shots from behind. Landis tries to reconcile his 'new' recollection of three shots with his earlier reports from November 1963. Unsuccessfully, I think. Just go to the reports and I don't see how they reconcile with this oral history project. Landis then talks about what happened: (about 38:00 minutes left) Paul Landis: ... and there was a little delay there because we had to Governor Connally out. I was not aware that he had been shot at that time, and Mrs. Connally, and then the President, and then finally Clint walked through with Mrs. Kennedy and I had stepped into the limo also and I saw there was a bloody cigarette lighter on the seat and a bouquet of roses and her hat. And I picked up her hat and the lighter and we left the limo, and I followed them to the hospital. No mention of finding a bullet or a bullet fragment. He just took the cigarette lighter and Mrs. Kennedy's hat. Previous Relevant Blog Post Did Paul Landis Really Find a Bullet? An examination of his many statements over the years.

Here is a letter that Clay Shaw wrote to poet Rod McKuen: The United States Supreme Court had decided not to hear an appeal from a lower court enjoining prosecution of Clay Shaw for perjury: New Orleans States-Item, November 20, 1972 In his letter to McKuen, Shaw referred to this editorial in the New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Times-Picayune, November 22, 1972 The same issue of the Times-Picayune had an article about Shaw's plans for a lawsuit against Jim Garrison: Here is how this was reported in the New Orleans States-Item: New Orleans States-Item, November 21, 1972 Previous Relevant Blog Posts Rod McKuen's Tribute to Clay Shaw A lovely tribute read at Clay Shaw's funeral. 1972: Jim Garrison Releases Crazy Statement After the U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Him. Here is Jim Garrison's full statement on the ruling. The Christenberry Decision Here is Judge Christenberry's ruling on Garrison's prosecution of Clay Shaw for perjury. The Wisdom Decision Judge Wisdom upheld Judge Christenberry's decision.