Dr. Cyril Wecht:Over 50 years have passed since the Warren Commission declared that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin in the murder President John F. Kennedy. During those decades, independent researches, authors, medical and ballistic experts continue to expose the hard evidence that proves the official government conclusion is invalid.
We want to live in a country where murders will not go unpunished and where the democratic processes cannot be frustrated by individuals, agencies or organizations who oppose the popular will and violate the Constitution.
It has been over 35 years since Congress was convinced to reinvestigate the JFK assassination as well as the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an investigation that was totally compromised by the government itself. The result of those compromised investigations is an ongoing decline in confidence in government, in both the American legal process and the credibility of the institutions involved. Until this nation moves to honestly deal with such crimes and their implications, that loss of faith will continue to undermine the nation’s faith in its own character.
Five decades of independent research has demonstrated that the American system is unable to effectively address crimes which have the potential of exposing groups with radical and socially explosive motives. There is strong evidence that lead key decision makers compromised investigations and manipulated official conclusions on political assassinations at both the state and national level.
It has been nearly 25 years since Congress was convinced to release the government records on the assassination of President Kennedy, including those of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, but neglecting to order the release of the MLK records of the same committee. We want to pursue the release of these records that continue to be withheld at the National Archives and work closely with Congress to suggest a process similar to the JFK Act for release of the Martin Luther King files. We will analyze the JFK records as they are released and educate people as to their contents.
We now know that the official investigations were flawed and important leads never properly pursued, that significant unanswered questions remain in other political assassinations, that most people believe – and with good reason, that one man alone could not be responsible for these crimes, and that the truth remains hidden as long as the government records on these assassinations remain sealed from the public.
Some people may feel that there is no purpose in working to solve murders that date back fifty years, but we know there‘s no statute of limitations in a murder case, and no time limit on determining the truth. And until we face the truth about the assassinations of our political leaders, we cannot hope to move toward a viable democracy in this country, nor prevent such assassinations from happening in the future.
I put the cap on this when I talk to groups. I say to folks – ”what does it mean today, these 52 years later?” I say it means this is not the way governments are supposed to run in a democracy. You go to the polls and you vote. You could be left wing, you could be Tea Party, right wing, liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican. This is one issue that transends traditional political lines.
You do not accomplish your objective because you are unhappy and frustrated and unable to prevail in the polls, then go and physically eliminate the leader of the other side. I say to them, let’s label this and understand it for what it is: the physical elimination, by murder, of the president whom they could not beat. There was only one way, and that is what they chose: To kill John Kennedy. I say that in any other country in the world, when this happens it is labeled for what it was, the overthrow of the government. It was coup d’ etat in America. That’s what it was.
In the year 2015 people are interested. When I am asked to speak to a civic group I don’t choose the subject. They call me, and I ask what do you want me to talk about? Most of them choose John F. Kennedy. They’re still fascinated by the mystery.
And now, after this many years, with so many people gone who remember when he was alive, it’s become more of a suspicion, a haunting suspicion that something went wrong, and that we trace it back to that moment. No other event has changed the shape of the future in the same way as the assassination of President Kennedy and we can wait no longer for a solution. We must act now.
Political assassination is the most serious threat to democratic government and occurs somewhere every day, usually as a convenient means of obtaining, maintaining or controlling power. That’s why it is important to support those who focus on research and study political assassinations as a tactic.
Towards that end we have reorganized our efforts under the banner of a new organization – Citizens Against Political Assassinations – CAPA – with the mission of establishing the truth about political assassinations and major crimes of social significance.
We oppose the use of political assassination as a means to obtain or maintain power. We are committed to support those researchers, investigators and attornies who attempt to determine the truth, seek justice and educate people on the dangers that political assassinations pose to our society.
Well, how do you deal with it? This is how we are dealing with it. In order to achieve our goals, CAPA will:
– Pursue the release of records with both the National Archives and Congress to identify and obtain the release of missing, lost, allegedly destroyed and currently withheld records and make them as widely available as possible.
– File FOIA and legal action suits against government agencies to obtain the release of records related to political assassinations.
– Ensure that the JFK Act is fulfilled and make the release of the remaining withheld records by October 2017 a campaign issue in the next presidential election.
– Work closely with the NARA and get Congress to fulfill their oversight mandate by holding public hearings and ensure the full disclosure of the remaining sealed records.
– Initiate a similar process to release the records in other assassinations, especially the HSCA MLK files that remain sealed and weren’t covered by the JFK Act.
– Analyze the new records and educate the American people about who commits political assassinations, who covered up the conspiracies and why.
– Establish investigative teams to thoroughly review and critique the evidence now available and identify any potential political conspiracies associated with the crimes.
– Engage in a public/media effort to correct the impression that the previous inquires and official verdicts are necessarily correct and can be taken to represent the historical truth of the crimes.
– Correct the media spin that says there is nothing new in these records, answer the outstanding questions that can be answered, determine the truth and seek justice.
The ultimate goal of this work will be an effort to seek both truth and justice in regard to any crime which can be shown to have been an act of political assassination anywhere in the world.
There are hundreds of non-profits organizations and think tanks that study war and peace and promote democracy but only a few that focus on political assassinations as the biggest threat to the legitimacy of government and that is what CAPA is doing.
Recent polls show that 85% of the American people agree with us about the evidence of conspiracy in this case and the need to release all of the remaining withheld records. They know they have never been told the full story by the official investigations. We need your help to reach them and to let them know that something can and must be done. Help us reveal the truth and tell the American public that there is something new in these files and something can be done about it.
With the amount of potential support we can generate, we can become the NRA of political assassinations – opposing the hunting of human beings as a popular sport – and with your help we can become a powerful lobby that can support candidates, make and break politicians and ensure that Congress enforces the JFK Act and all of the laws it makes.
Now there is an organization that supports the latest research, uses grassroots outreach and social media, is lobbying Congress for oversight hearings, is using the courts to free secret files and enforce the rule of law in regards to political assassinations. And we will make a focused, highly responsible inquiry and not coming out with wild statements and allegations. We will be doing it in a responsible, objective fashion, with the basic philosophy – the raison d’etre – to look into assassinations as many people believe they are: politically motivated murders.
We’re standing upon past achievements, gradually improving and coming to a deeper understanding based upon solid ground and progress.
CAPA is intent upon keeping the best aspects of the JFK research processes in the news, bringing them to average Americans, and making it a topic that is especially relevant during an era where political assassinations are being authorized daily using gadgetry, technology, drones and other capabilities that represent a completely different realm from anything we’ve ever known.
As we formally launch our mission, announce our intentions and reach out to those who support us, we ask you to join us in this great effort because one person can make a difference in small ways. United we can achieve goals that one person cannot do alone.