JFK Case: Garrison Investigation Documents – FBI, CIA, Congress

Description

Jim Garrison’s JFK Assassination Investigation and Clay Shaw Trial

1956:

• Clay Shaw’s contract with the CIA as a “highly paid CIA contract source” ends.

1962 – 1973:

• Jim Garrison serves as the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana.

February 26, 1967:

• FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover issues a memo to the FBI New Orleans Bureau, designating Jim Garrison as “a person not to be contacted without prior Bureau approval” due to his actions and comments regarding his assassination investigation.

March 1, 1967:

• New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison arrests and charges New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw with conspiring to assassinate President John F. Kennedy.
• The charge alleges Shaw conspired with Lee Harvey Oswald, David Ferrie, and others.

May 5, 1967:

• An FBI memo recounts information from Aaron Kohn (head of the Metropolitan Crime Division in New Orleans) about alleged wrongdoings by Jim Garrison, including intimidating and bribing witnesses, and accepting National Guard pay without showing up for duty.
• The FBI decides not to pursue action against Garrison, fearing he would claim it was retaliation for his Kennedy assassination investigation.

February 11, 1969:

• A memo is sent to the CIA Office of Security listing the names and brief background information of all the jurors in the Clay Shaw trial.

March 1, 1969:

• A jury finds Clay Shaw not guilty of conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy after less than an hour of deliberation.
• This marks the only trial ever brought for the assassination of President Kennedy.

Undated (During Garrison’s Investigation/Clay Shaw Trial):

• The Abraham Zapruder film footage of the assassination is publicly shown for the first time during the Clay Shaw trial, an “important assassination records milestone.”
• Jim Garrison’s investigation popularizes a “radical critique of the official version of the assassination, placing blame on the CIA.”
• Carlos Jose Bringuier, former New Orleans leader of the CIA-conceived, created, and funded Student Revolutionary Directorate (DRE), informs the CIA’s Defense Clandestine Service that he was polygraphed and questioned by Garrison’s office regarding CIA contact.

May 2018:

• Some material included in the “JFK Assassination: Jim Garrison/Garrison Investigation FBI, CIA & Congressional Files” collection is released to the public for the first time.

1992 (Post-Garrison Investigation):

• The movement for the passage of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 influences the CIA’s attitude towards assassination records.

Cast of Characters

• Jim Garrison: District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, from 1962 to 1973. He conducted the only trial brought for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, charging Clay Shaw with conspiracy. His investigation was a “media sensation” and “altered the assassination debate,” popularizing a critique that blamed the CIA. He was portrayed by Kevin Costner in the film “JFK.”
• Clay Shaw: New Orleans businessman and, according to a CIA file, a “highly paid CIA contract source until 1956.” He was arrested and charged by Jim Garrison on March 1, 1967, for conspiring to assassinate President Kennedy. He was found not guilty on March 1, 1969.
• President John F. Kennedy (JFK): The U.S. President whose assassination was the subject of Jim Garrison’s investigation and the Clay Shaw trial.
• Lee Harvey Oswald: Mentioned as an alleged co-conspirator with Clay Shaw and David Ferrie in Jim Garrison’s indictment.
• David Ferrie: Mentioned as an alleged co-conspirator with Clay Shaw and Lee Harvey Oswald in Jim Garrison’s indictment.
• J. Edgar Hoover: Director of the FBI. He issued a memo in February 1967 restricting contact with Jim Garrison due to his investigation.
• Aaron Kohn: Head of the Metropolitan Crime Division in New Orleans. He provided information to the FBI regarding alleged wrongdoings by Jim Garrison.
• William C. Sturbitts: An individual from the Intelligence Directorate of the CIA, whose deposition is included in the Congressional Investigations files.
• W. Guy Bannister: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Frank Sturgis: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• E. Howard Hunt: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Orlando Avila Y Beech (Orlando Bosch): An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Richard S. Cain: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Gerald Patrick Hemming: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Gordon Dwane Novel: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Frank Bartes: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Herbert Huber (Alias Rafael Santiago): An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Marshall Wilson Houts: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Bill Gervage (William Gurvich): An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Donald P. Norton: An individual mentioned in CIA files as being involved in the Garrison investigation and potentially having “Agency ties.”
• Carlos Jose Bringuier: Former New Orleans leader of the Student Revolutionary Directorate (DRE), an anti-Castro group “conceived, created, and funded by CIA.” He reported to the CIA that Jim Garrison’s office had polygraphed and questioned him about CIA contact.
• Abraham Zapruder: The creator of the Zapruder film footage of the assassination, which was publicly shown for the first time at the Clay Shaw trial.