Conspiracy theorists like to accuse people they disagree with of being CIA agents. I've been on the receiving end of these accusations for many months -- you can see some of the examples in the links section below. Vincent Salandria believed that Josiah Thompson was a CIA agent (see below). And I was quite surprised to see that Sylvia Meagher was also accused of being a CIA agent: Here is the text of the letter: Note for the Record, Feb. 6, 1987 The phone rang this evening and I heard a stream of obscene abuse. It was Ted Gandolfo, AKA Bob Foster. He said he had just learned what I "did to Garrison's book" -- That I was a "fucking CIA cunt" -- and that he would "expose me to the whole country". I said absolutely nothing. After further filthy language and verbal abuse, he hung up. S. Meagher After the phone call with Meagher, Gandolfo sent this letter to her and other Warren Report critics: Ted Gandolfo had a radio show and also published a conspiracy newsletter. He was a big fan of Jim Garrison and was clearly upset about Meagher's role as a referee in evaluating Garrison's manuscript for Prentice Hall. She wrote a 26-page critique of his manuscript, but recommended that his book be published because Garrison argued that Oswald was innocent. That conclusion overrode her concerns about much of the other content. In 1978, Garrison called into Gandolfo's radio show, with some startling information about the HSCA. In 1986, Gandolfo sent a copy of a Paul Hoch newsletter to Jim Garrison and you can see his reply at this link. You can read Ted Gandolfo's book here. Previous Relevant Blog Posts Is Josiah Thompson a CIA agent? Part Two A letter from Vincent Salandria to Raymond Marcus explaining why Josiah Thompson is a CIA agent. Is Josiah Thompson a CIA Agent? Vince Salandria accuses Josiah Thompson of being a CIA agent. "Guilt by Orientation" - The CIA Strikes Again! Lisa Pease accuses James Kirchick of being a CIA agent. An Announcement A variety of people have accused me of being a CIA agent. The CIA Wants You to Read My Book! A book review on Amazon accuses me of being a CIA agent.

Here is an article that I wrote that was just published in the Jerusalem Post about Oliver Stone: Previous Blog Posts on Oliver Stone's Politics 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.

Finally, RFK Jr. reveals what everybody wants to know: Here is an excerpt from a transcript starting at 1:36: (emphasis added) RFK Jr.: ... he [Lee Harvey Oswald] was a marine working at the Atsugi Air Force Base and which was the CIA Air Force Base in you know with the U-2 flights which was a CIA program and that he was recruited by James Jesus Angleton who was the director of Counterintelligence and then sent on a fake defection to Russia and then brought back you know to Dallas and people didn't know that, even though it's been known for decades but it never percolated into the mainstream media because they have such a, you know, they have such an allergy to anything that that challenges the Warren Report and when Congress investigated my uncle's murder in the 1970s, the Church Committee did, and they did you know two and a half year investigation and they had many many more documents and much more testimony available to them than the Warren Commission had, and this was a decade after the Warren Commission. They came to the conclusion that my uncle was killed by a conspiracy, and there was a division where essentially one guy on that Committee believed it was primarily the mafia, but Richard Schweitzer [sic: Schweiker] who was the Senator head of the Committee said, you know, straight out, the CIA was involved in the murder of the President United States and I've talked to most of the staff on that Committee and they said yeah I'm and [3:17] the CIA was stonewalling us the whole way through and the actual people that the CIA appointed, George Joannides, who would who the CIA appointed as a liaison to the Committee, they brought him out of retirement. He had been one of the masterminds of the assassination. There's no I mean I it's impossible to even talk about a tiny the fraction of the evidence here what I suggest to people there are hundreds of books written about this that you know assemble this evidence and mobilize the evidence. The best book to me for people to read is James Douglass's book which is called The Unspeakable [sic: the book is actually JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters] and he Douglass does this extraordinary, he’s an extraordinary scholar and he does this is an amazing job of digesting and summarizing and mobilizing all of them you know the probably a million documents and you know the evidence from all these confessions that have come out into a coherent story and it's riveting to read and you know I recommend people who do not take my word for it you know and don't take, don't take anybody else's word for go ahead and do the research yourself and one way to do that is probably the most efficient way is to read Douglas's book because he has all the references there ... There you have it - George Joannides was a mastermind of the JFK assassination. This is indicative of RFK Jr.'s sloppy thinking. He routinely talks about confessions and conspiracy without providing firm proof of anything. Jefferson Morley won't stop talking about George Joannides and his supposed "Oswald operation"; now Joannides has been given a huge promotion. I don't know what comes next, but stay tuned. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on RFK Jr.: RFK Jr. for President? Two articles on RFK Jr. RFK Jr. Shows He's Not a Serious Candidate His beliefs on Ukraine show that RFK Jr. is just not serious. Does RFK Jr. Have a Leaky Brain? RFK has some wacky views on Wi-Fi. Did RFK Jr. Tell Tony Muhammad that the CDC is Killing Black and Latino Boys? RFK Jr. has a disturbing relationship with the Nation of Islam. RFK Jr. is Taking Precautions to Avoid being Assassinated Besides being paranoid, RFK Jr. is naive about the world in which we live. Russian Propaganda Outlets are Pushing RFK Jr. Putin knows which candidate to back. RFK Jr. Misquotes JFK He can't even quote his uncle properly. RFK Jr. on the JFK Assassination and Jim Garrison He gets the Garrison story all wrong. RFK Jr.'s JFK Assassination Guru Promotes Crackpot Theories RFK Jr.'s favorite JFK assassination book is full of crackpot theories. RFK Jr. Continues with JFK Assassination Nuttiness! Just when you thought he couldn't get any nuttier.

Tampa Bay Times, November 29, 1979 Money Quote: In the many-layered horrors of Jonestown, the egregious lawyer has behaved in a manner so reprehensible that many whose minds were reeling found themselves steadied by a rush of the first manageable emotion to visit during the episode. It was sustaining rage. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Mark Lane Mark Lane: The Left's Leading Hearse-Chaser A profile from Mother Jones magazine. The Case Against Mark Lane A profile from Esquire Magazine. The Mark of Zorro An Anthony Lewis column on Mark Lane from 1978. Mark Lane's Scholarship! Howard Roffman finds that Mark Lane's scholarship is lacking. Mark Lane, Conspiracy Addict A profile of Mark Lane in Newsweek. Mark Lane offers to introduce Jim Garrison to "Mr. Candy" For $25,000 Mark Lane offers to introduce Jim Garrison to a witness that would tie Jack Ruby with Clay Shaw. Redactions, Redactions, Redactions... This post has a good case study of how Mark Lane exploited a redaction in a document.

Boston Globe, January 4, 1992 Money Quote: So the fuss over "JFK" is about facts, yes, but also about mediums and messages, the past and the future. Call it a conspiracy theory if you must, but the confusion of fact and fiction, docu and drama, is Oliver Stone's own attempted coup of American history. Previous Relevant Blog Posts Harold Weisberg writes Oliver Stone Two letter 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.

On May 27, 2023, I posted a letter from Vincent Salandria to Josiah Thompson accusing him of being a CIA agent. Here is a letter that Vince Salandria sent to Raymond Marcus with an explanation: Previous Relevant Blog Posts Is Josiah Thompson a CIA Agent? Vince Salandria accuses Josiah Thompson of being a CIA agent. "Guilt by Orientation" - The CIA Strikes Again! Lisa Pease accuses James Kirchick of being a CIA agent. An Announcement A variety of people have accused me of being a CIA agent. The CIA Wants You to Read My Book! A book review on Amazon accuses me of being a CIA agent.

An intriguing news conference: Beverly Hills Citizen News, July 31, 1968 Money Quote: In a press conference, Lane said he has received "a telephone call from a former CIA agent who told me they (the agency) had a plan to kill me. He told me it was postponed because someone thought 'Lane's death would make too big a splash now,' and that the plan would go into effect later.'" Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Mark Lane Mark Lane: The Left's Leading Hearse-Chaser A profile from Mother Jones magazine. The Case Against Mark Lane A profile from Esquire Magazine. The Mark of Zorro An Anthony Lewis column on Mark Lane from 1978. Mark Lane's Scholarship! Howard Roffman finds that Mark Lane's scholarship is lacking. Mark Lane, Conspiracy Addict A profile of Mark Lane in Newsweek. Mark Lane offers to introduce Jim Garrison to "Mr. Candy" For $25,000 Mark Lane offers to introduce Jim Garrison to a witness that would tie Jack Ruby with Clay Shaw. Redactions, Redactions, Redactions... This post has a good case study of how Mark Lane exploited a redaction in a document.

Two good overviews of RFK Jr. Here is the first by Benjamin Kerstein: One can go on endlessly about the power of demagoguery in the internet age, the rise of celebrity to the commanding heights of American politics, the degradation of the public discourse through social media, the perennial popularity of conspiracy theories, and so on, but one thing seems clear about RFK Jr.’s candidacy: It is profoundly, utterly, transcendently stupid. It is a stupid thing done by a stupid man backed by stupid people. Indeed, as unquestionably evil as he may be, Donald Trump at least articulated some genuine economic grievances and discontents on behalf of his followers. RFK Jr., on the other hand, does not possess even the pretense of substance. His candidacy is idiocracy writ large, as if it existed for the sole purpose of insulting our intelligence. And here is the second by Bonnie Greer: Images from a Kennedy rally show posters of him as a little boy with his dad and his uncle. There are “Kennedy” badges, too, and it is all a big fat throwback to what people imagine was a golden age. Just as there are those pseudo world war two vets who were born years after it ended who will tell you it was Britain or America’s “finest hour” – while ignoring the views of those who actually fought it and lived through it – there are Gen Xers, millennials and younger who will debate you about the glories of the Kennedy phenomenon and the “promise” of Robert Kennedy Jr. In other words, there are people out there looking, not for answers, but for “cleansing”. Looking to be led to a “better place”, by people who are not the political usual suspects. This is the appeal of Donald Trump. Of Boris Johnson, too. And of Robert Kennedy Jr. Conspirituality. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on RFK Jr.: RFK Jr. Shows He's Not a Serious Candidate His beliefs on Ukraine show that RFK Jr. is just not serious. Does RFK Jr. Have a Leaky Brain? RFK has some wacky views on Wi-Fi. Did RFK Jr. Tell Tony Muhammad that the CDC is Killing Black and Latino Boys? RFK Jr. has a disturbing relationship with the Nation of Islam. RFK Jr. is Taking Precautions to Avoid being Assassinated Besides being paranoid, RFK Jr. is naive about the world in which we live. Russian Propaganda Outlets are Pushing RFK Jr. Putin knows which candidate to back. RFK Jr. Misquotes JFK He can't even quote his uncle properly. RFK Jr. on the JFK Assassination and Jim Garrison He gets the Garrison story all wrong. RFK Jr.'s JFK Assassination Guru Promotes Crackpot Theories RFK Jr.'s favorite JFK assassination book is full of crackpot theories. RFK Jr. Continues with JFK Assassination Nuttiness! Just when you thought he couldn't get any nuttier.

The informant would turn out to be Perry Russo. You can read more about Clyde Limbaugh here. Jim Garrison was in Las Vegas where he was meeting with Lawrence Schiller and James Dondson, the man who was with Clay Shaw the weekend of the assassination in San Francisco. Here's another reason why Garrison asked for a preliminary hearing. You can read more about Raymond Cummings here. The reference to Omaha was in regards to Sandra McMaines who was, at one point, Perry Russo's girlfriend. She had married and was living in Omaha. Russo had told Garrison that she was at the party with Ferrie and Shaw. She would later tell Shaw's defense team that she was not there and did not meet David Ferrie until 1965. Shaw's entry for March 9, 1967 notes an important point about his arrest - he could only travel outside New Orleans Parish with the permission of Garrison's office. "I was delighted at the chance for an excursion and we went across the river bridge looking at the city sparkling in yet another beautiful day. On the other side of the river I needed cigarettes and a rest room and so we turned off the highway. I suddenly found myself in Jefferson Parish which is technically a violation of my bond so we hastened back into Orleans and on to the commissary." A good example of what Shaw had to do to leave New Orleans. This was in a newspaper from January 3, 1968. Shaw and his lawyers discuss the possibility of hiring a famous lawyer like F. Lee Bailey: "The difficulty, of course, is that all these people are famed for getting people out of things that they have done; and I have done nothing and, therefore, am a little reluctant to use their services. Moreover, there is bound to be some bias, even if it is subconscious, on the part of the Judge and jury against a "Yankee lawyer' who comes to defend a client." That was indeed part of the problem that Jack Ruby faced after hiring Melvin Belli as his attorney. Shaw notes that the Louisiana Weekly criticized the "Roman circus atmosphere which has developed": "Under these circumstances, it appears that Mr. Garrison should be making every effort to make his case as valid as possible so that the accused conspirators might be brought to justice, rather than giving his role as a publicist first priority." Shaw read that Garrison's office had given Dean Andrews the choice of taking a lie detector test or sodium pentothal. This was true, and here is the letter that was sent to Monk Zelden, Dean Andrews' attorney, offering "memory refreshing procedures": Here is the article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune from March 7, 1967 about the ACLU: This article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune of March 8, 1967 discusses the various motions, the ACLU and the issues of private money paying for a public investigation.

New Orleans Times-Picayune, February 19, 1969 I found this commentary by Tony Geiss in the Sylvia Meagher archives, and it is not bad: The above commentary is marked 1968, but it must have been 1969 because the Clay Shaw trial took place in 1969. Here is a list of people to whom Sylvia Meagher sent this commentary: (hat tip, Paul Hoch) Previous Relevant Blog Posts 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.

The Washington Evening Star, May 17. 1967 More about Stafford Cripps here. Previous Relevant Blog Posts Jim Garrison, the Cryptologist Was Oswald's Alias a Code for a Jack Ruby Stripper?

Well, time for some fun. James Kirkwood, a playwright who wrote "Chorus Line," attended Clay Shaw's trial and wrote American Grotesque. It's a terrific book, and I strongly urge everybody to buy a copy and read it. Some of the reporters at the trial penned limericks, and he put James Phelan's in his book: Cried Big Jim, the world owes me praise. And, I'll get it, come one of these days. Earl Warren, the dunce. Solved the killing just once. But I solved it seventeen ways! Last February I traveled to Boston University to go through the James Kirkwood papers. He compiled a whole file of limericks, and I copied some of the best. Kirkwood was gay and, as Don Carpenter said in his terrific book, Man of a Million Fragments: The True Story of Clay Shaw, they "captured the spirit of the overtones of homosexuality that hung over the entire case." Here we go: There was a Feller, Mark Lane Who Shrank when put on a train Clay Shaw, heard of this And on Lane took a piss causing Lane to melt down the drain. The next one is about Colonel Pierre Finck, one of JFK's autopsists, who, when he testified at the Shaw trial, spelt out a lot of words. There was a colonel named Finck Spelled F-I-N-C-K, as in 'sinck.' When asked to relate Our President's fate He said, "I only spell, I don't thinck." A hip talking lawyer named Dean Cased quite a stir at the scene a fag wedding he's sworn was where Bertrand was born And Jim's case was all just a bad dream. There was a young witness named Perry who said he was friends with a Ferrie He said he played ball with Oswald and all But his statement was very contrary. A D.A. by the name of Big Jimsy Had a fantastical whimsy But he screwed up the trial And missed by a mile For the case that he had was flimsy. The jury got horny as hell Their cocks were beginning to swell They questioned the judge about sodomy He said sure, if it relieves the monotony But don't tell the press And don't make a mess Or I'll order a frontal lobotomy. There was a young witness named Perry Who persuaded a fairy named Ferrie With his medical skill To concoct a pink pill That made any young man yield his cherrie.