Law&Crime Sidebar - 8 New Discoveries in JFK File Dump

Episode Date: March 19, 2025

The US government released thousands of unredacted documents related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy on Tuesday night. The huge document dump includes memorandums and reports related not only to the president’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, but also to other major historical events happening globally. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down the newest information.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If your child, under 21, has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease, visit https://forthepeople.com/food to start a claim now! HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea & Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that will

keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. We have another massive document dump from the U.S. government this time in connection with the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. Yep, those files have been released. We have gone through hundreds and hundreds of pages and have picked out some key selections that now provide more context and more details into this assassination plot and the role Lee Harvey Oswald played in all of it. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime.

I'm Jesse Weber. So before we get into all of this, and there's a lot to get into, something I have to announce real quick and exciting announcement at Law and Crime. We are launching a new channel dedicated to exposing the dark, side of fame. And the name, very fitting one, scandal by law and crime. We are going to be covering the wildest celebrity crimes and lawsuits along with disturbing claims and rumors that have been floating around celebrity circles. So go subscribe to the channel now to stay up on all the latest scandals in Hollywood. And that channel link is in the description. All right,

let's get into this. So it appears to be here. President Donald Trump indicated that he would authorize the release of the files connected to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. and that is what we have. Last night, March 17th, 2025, 62 years after John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22nd, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, we have the release of these documents. And more specifically, what am I talking about? Over 1,100 PDF documents, 63,000 pages, according to the National Archives. In fact, on the National Archives website, it reads, quote,

In accordance with President Donald Trump's directive of March 17, 2025, so you get an idea of maybe this mad dash to get all this released, all records previously withheld for classification that are part of the President John F. Kennedy assassination records collection are released. The National Archives has partnered with agencies across the federal government to comply with the president's directive in support of executive order 14176. As of March 18th, 2025, the records are available to access either online at this page or in person via hard copy or on analog media formats at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. As the records continue to be digitized, they will be posted to this page. So it's interesting because the president had indicated there are 80,000 pages. So when you hear that and you hear this statement from the National Archives, it essentially means that there could be more documents that come out. Now, to be clear, the National Archives did indicate that there may still be material that can't be disclosed because they were sealed by a court, maybe they're subject to a grand

jury investigation, maybe there's private tax information, things like that. But there is a lot here. Here's the problem. A lot of these documents, and we're talking reports, letters, memos, a lot of them are difficult to read. I mean, they are just physically difficult to read. They're old. They're illegible.

The way the documents were released, there are. are no titles or annotations or categories. So it's kind of difficult to make sense of what each document is, where it comes from, which agency. And also, it's not entirely clear what is new per se, as there have been releases of documents in the past, including in 2017. And that was thanks to the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which said that documents needed to be unsealed no later than 25 years after the signing of that act. So that would be 2017. And a majority of the documents were released, but some were withheld in part or in full for various reasons. So was it to protect the identity of sources? Was it to protect investigative methods by these

agencies? It's a number of different reasons. Hey everybody, this is a law and crime legal alert. Do you know that children are being diagnosed with serious conditions like type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? And the research is potentially linking ultra-processed foods to this? Yeah. Well, Morgan and more are going to step in into fight to hold these food companies accountable. With decades of experience fighting large corporations, they are ready to stand up for families who deserve justice. So if your child under 21 has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease, then visit www.4thepeople.com slash food or scan the QR code on screen to learn more. So these latest documents, let me tell you what we have here, they are dated both

before and after Kennedy's assassination. And they don't just contain information about the shooting itself. They include materials about major incidents that were happening on a global scale around the same time. So we're talking about Vietnam, communism in Cuba, we have JFK's presidency, the international reaction to not only JFK's death, but also the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. even plans on how to reorganize the CIA's infrastructure. There's a lot here. And many of the documents are connected to the President's Commission on the assassination of President Kennedy, more commonly known as the Warren Commission because Chief Justice Earl Warren was its chairman. And President Lynda M. Johnson established the commission through an executive order to

investigate JFK's assassination, one of the most complex crimes in American history. And all seven members of the committee have since died, as have most of the staff and assistant council members, which makes any documentation even more critical. But the commission had released an 888 page final report in 1964, which concluded that President Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. and that he acted alone. It was also concluded that a man named Jack Ruby acted alone when he shot Oswald after his arrest. So the commission's findings have always been controversial,

which is one of the reasons that people wanted to be able to see all of the evidence, everything the commission had, to see if everything lined up. Now, it is not clear if this latest release reveals new bombshell insights or clues as to what happened in Dallas in 1963. However, let me get into some of what we have. And obviously, we can't go through everything, but here are some very interesting takeaways from what we have seen so far in this release. So first off, let's start with Lee Harvey Oswald, who has long been suspected to be the lone assassin of Kennedy.

And this is, again, despite numerous theories and alternative conclusions. So a big theme from this release is whether or not Oswald was in fact a KGB agent, a major concept when we think about JFK's death during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. So, for example, there is a letter dated May 21st, 1982 from David Blee, who apparently ran the CIA Soviet division, worked on the defector policy. This is per reporting from the New York Times. So he writes this letter to an Anthony DeVare, and it is actually marked and then crossed out secret on it. It's at the top. And it reads in part. In September, October 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald approached the Soviet embassy in Mexico City in an attempt to get a visa, allowing him to return to the USSR.

are. Kostakov, as a consular officer, handled this visa request. We have no information which indicates any relationship between these individuals other than for the purpose of Oswald's making his visa request. And what's interesting about this is that this is in reference or seemingly in reference to Valerie Kostakov, a suspected KGB officer. In fact, in the letter, Kostakov is described this way. While in Mexico, he was considered by some to be the most effective and dangerous of intelligence officers in Mexico. He has been described as being without morals, education, and manners. And then you have another document, seemingly from September 14, 1993, to the Moscow Info Director

concerning a potential KGB official known as Nikonov. And it reads in part, Nikonov personally reviewed KGB files to determine if Lee Harvey Oswald had been a KGB agent. He reviewed five thick volumes of files on Oswald. Nikonov is now confident that Oswald was at no time an agent controlled by the KGB. From the description of Oswald in the files, he doubted that anyone could control Oswald, but noted that the KGB watched him closely and constantly while he was in the USSR. He commented that Oswald had a stormy relationship with his Soviet wife, who rode him incessantly.

The file also reflected that Oswald was a poor shot when he tried target firing in the USSR. are. Now, that's just an interesting note about that being a poor shot. But then you have this 416 page PDF that has a label at the top that reads, material reviewed at CIA headquarters by House Select Committee on Assassination Staff Members. And there's a document date of February 1968. And this CIA study is titled, The Examination of the Bonafides of a KGB defector that appears to be authored by a Yuri Nosenko. And it's labeled top secret. Again, pretty fascinating. We're able to see this. And there is a section about Oswald that reads, for continuity of presentation, both periods of Nisenko's alleged involvement with Oswald in 1959 to 1960 and in 1963 are described elsewhere.

According to Nisenko, he was involved with Oswald in 1959 because he was then deputy chief of the American British Commonwealth section of the seventh department. In that capacity, he participated in the decision that Oswald was of no interest to the KGB and he should not be allowed to remain in. the Soviet Union. But what about a tip regarding Lee Harvey Oswald? Well, in a routing and recording sheet dated April 3rd, 1978 on the cover sheet, it reads, please find attached correspondence received from one Sergei Zernorno, who claims that he provided information about Lee Harvey Oswald to the American Vice Consul, presumably Tom Blackshear, in Soviet Bulgaria in August 1963. So this is three months before JFK's assassination. And in what a appears to be a handwritten letter, and I'm going to read parts of it right now, but it appears to

be in broken English. On July 18, 1963, I was in London, England at the airport. Immigration Officer No. 175. I had no visa. Immigration placed me under house arrest. Mr. Smith in police uniform secret service brought me steak dinner, and police officer interrogated me. He asked me what the embassy of USSR say, what did you heard in Vienna, Austria? I said I have heard that one American defector, Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald, to Russia, and he returned to United States of America, this man, he preparing to kill to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. And then in the retyped letter, it says, Mr. Wallacev, Consul of Embassy of USSR, gave me this information about Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald on August 14, 1963. Mrs. Bessaria Asanova,

girlfriend of Russian consul, came to my room and repeated that Mr. Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald is assassin. He will kill President Kennedy. On August 15, 1963, in Sofia, Bulgaria, at the airport and embassy car, I told to Mr. Blackshire, American Vice Consul, that Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald is assassin. He has a weapon or has ordered one. Mr. Blackshire said it seems like he will kill someone. I said that Mr. Lee H. Oswald is preparing to kill President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.

Mr. Blackshire said, where will it happen? I said they right wing will invite president, criticize him in the newspaper, then kill him. Mr. Blackshire told me he will give the telegram to Department of State, and he gave me the address, where to report. At 9 a.m. on August 19th, 1963 in Washington, D.C., I went to see Mr. Kippigan, Director of Special Counselor Service Department of State at 1901, Pennsylvania Avenue 11th floor. I told the director that I have information about President Kennedy. The director said, do not mention name of President Kennedy, only respond to the question.

The director said, tell us what will happen to Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald then. I said, Mr. Lee H. Oswald will be killed after Kill Kennedy. I said, I will take the truth drug to tell the truth. The director tells us who else gets killed in this country. I said, as I heard, that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be killed. Who will kill Dr. King Jr.? I said a man who is in person at this time. Mr. James Earl Ray was in prison at that time.

Director asked where assassination will happen. I said in Dallas, Texas. Director said, if someone gave this information here, I would expel the man. Director did call on FBI agents after FBI use anesthesia gas to freeze me to drug me to keep amnesia. I told Director Department of State that Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald have a weapon, go see him. Director told me, you too can have weapon. So what if Oswald got weapon? Fascinating.

Not sure exactly what to make of it and whether there was advance notice or not. but that is a fascinating account. And there is at least one document also about Oswald coming back to the United States. That's interesting. Dated January 29th, 1964, this memo reads, according to a newspaper column of Alan and Scott in the Chicago American of December 6th, 1963 on the Oswald case, Abram Chase, legal officer of the State Department, was one of two persons immediately responsible for Oswald's being permitted to return to the United States from the Soviet Union.

in June 1962. The other individual named was Llewellyn Thompson, the then ambassador of Russia. Another said to have been involved in the handling of Oswald's case was Samuel Wise, counsel of the American Embassy in Moscow. Now, there is more about Oswald, but I kind of want to give you a perspective about what else we saw in here. So going back to the Warren Commission, more than 500 witnesses were interviewed during its investigation.

One of the most revealing testimonies came from a man named Alan H. Belmont, the assistant director to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. And this is dated May 6, 1964, and Belmont's testimony before the Warren Commission provides a chilling glimpse into the FBI's apparent interactions with Oswald. So Belmont's statements, now part of the declassified JFK files, delve into Oswald's mysterious journey to the Soviet Union and his subsequent return to the United States. When questioned about Oswald's motives for defecting to Russia, Belmont recounted the FBI's efforts to determine whether Oswald had been recruited by Soviet intelligence. Quote, Mr. Belmont says, the purpose of our interview with him was to determine whether

he had been recruited by the Soviet intelligence, and we asked him whether he would tell us if he was contacted here in this country. He replied he would. Whether he meant it is a question. However, you must bear in mind that this man, I believe it was when he was interviewed in July of 1961 in the American Embassy, the interviewing official there said it was apparent that he had learned his lesson the hard way and that he had a new concept of the American way of life and apparently had decided that Russia was not for him. When we interviewed

him, likewise, he told us that he had not enjoyed his stay in Russia. He likewise commented that he had not enjoyed his stay in the Marines. Now, perhaps even more intriguing is Belmont's firm assertion that Oswald was never an informant for the FBI. In a letter dated February 6, 1964, attached to his testimony, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover himself admitted this fact. And here's actually the back and forth between Belmont, CIA head Alan Dulles, and Samuel Stern, a member of the committee's assistant counsel. Mr. Belmont says, this is a letter dated February 6, 1964 to the commission from the FBI, to which is attached an affidavit by Director J. Edgar Hoover. Mr. Stern says, what is the subject? Mr. Belmont replies, stating flatly that Lee Harvey Oswald

was never an informant of the FBI. Mr. Dulles responds, would you define informant? Obviously, in the sense he knew some information as previously indicated from the previous interviews. I mean, for the record, would you just define what you mean by an informant in this sense? To which Mr. Belmont replies, an informant in this sense is an individual has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and to furnish information to the FBI either for or without payment. Mr. Stern says, I take it you also would not have regarded Lee Oswald as an informant from the contacts with him that you have told us about and the other agents you have told us about. Mr. Belmont replies, indeed not. In no way, could he be considered an informant in no way.

Now, in the summer of 1964, as the Warren Commission worked to piece together the events surrounding the assassination of JFK, there was one question that loomed. Was Lee Harvey Oswald's departure from the Soviet Union unusual or suspicious? And this question was taken on by David Slosson, a key member of the commission staff, because he was tasked with examining the circumstances of Oswald's return. return to the United States in 1962. A letter dated July 3rd, 1964, from J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel of the President's Commission to Richard Helms of the CIA, reveals Slosson's efforts to reconcile the Commission's findings with intelligence provided by the State Department. So Slosson expressed his initial belief that Oswald's departure from the USSR was not particularly suspicious. Quote, by way of introduction, Mr. Slosson said that in the portion of the

commission's report that he was writing, he would have to deal with the question of whether or not the Oswald departure from the USSR and the circumstances, timing of that departure, were unusual or suspicious in any way. He expressed his belief that they probably were not and cited Soviet relaxation in such matters in the post-Stalin error. However, he wanted to be sure in his own mind that our information was not conflict with that which the commission had received from the state since all of the information would remain in the records of the commission. Now, to move on this. In the chaotic aftermath of President JFK's assassination, you have a man named Gary Underhill. This is so fascinating. So he apparently was a former CIA employee who made a startling claim.

According to a memo from July 19, 1967, quote, the day after the assassination, Gary Underhill left Washington in a hurry. Late in the evening, he showed up at the home of friends in New Jersey. He was very agitated. A small click within the CIA was responsible. for the assassination, he confided, and he was afraid for his life and probably would have to leave the country. Less than six months later, Underhill was found shot to death in his Washington apartment. The coroner ruled it a suicide. The friends whom Underhill visited said he was sober, but badly shook. They say he attributed the Kennedy murder to a CIA clique, which was carrying on a lucrative racket in gun running, narcotics, and other contraband, and manipulating

political intrigue to serve its own ends. Kennedy supposedly got wind that something was going on and was killed before he could blow the whistle on it. The verdict of suicide in Underhill's death is by no means convincing. His body was found by a writing collaborator, Asher Burns of the New Republic. He had been shot behind the left ear and an automatic pistol was under his left side. Odd, says Burns, because Underhill was right-handed. Burns thinks the pistol was fitted with a silencer, and occupants of the apartment building could not recall hearing a shot. Underhill obviously had been dead several days. Now, as I mentioned, a lot of these documents are actually related to events that happened

before and after the assassination. For example, there's a lot of information about U.S. operations in Cuba. So you have this declassified document dated December 18, 1963, and it reveals Cuban leader Fidel Castro's surprising reaction to the assassination of JFK. The leader of Cuba's relationship with the United States had been fraught with tension since the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. And according to the document, Castro was, quote, very upset by the change in the U.S. administration brought about by Kennedy's death. Quote, Fidel Castro was very upset over the change in the United States administration brought about by President Kennedy's assassination. The top Cuban leadership was sure President Kennedy would not invade Cuba.

And they were convinced that the policy of his administration for economic blockade, and internal subversion against Cuba would not overthrow the regime. The present policy of the Cuban government on orders from Castro is not to attack President Johnson in public or do anything to irritate him. According to Cuban government leaders, Castro wants to wait and see what President Johnson says and does about Cuba and give him an opportunity to improve if he feels so inclined, relations between the two countries. And with that in mind, the new trove of documents contains a lot of information about the

against communism in Southeast Asia and Cuba with notes about plans to overthrow the Castro regime. Again, over the years, the U.S.'s involvement in such activities, including the Cuban missile crisis, has invited speculation that that could have been a factor in JFK's assassination. So you have a memo here with a return to CIA stamp, and it talks about a meeting with an unidentified individual labeled Ambang One on July 27, 1963 out in Miami. And it's kind of fascinating to read this. says with respect to a request for explosives, it reads, Ambang One stated that in view of my outline of strategic targets inside Cuba during our last meeting, which took place in Washington

on the 21st of June 1963, he had directed to attempt a sabotage operation against the Havana power plant. Then it says, Ambang One asked me if it would be possible for us to arrange some means for Rahilio Cisnernos to visit Guantanamo and talk to his brother who is an employee of the naval base and another agent of theirs likewise employed there. The reason A1 gave for the request was that they wished to inform Ramon Cisneros Diaz of the Jure plans to begin the implementation of their plan of resistance and overthrow of the Castro regime. I advised A1 that whereas I would look into this matter as I could tentatively tell him that the chances of accomplishing this were remote. Or how about this? This secret memo from July 20th, 1962. In the conversation I learned also that the

DRE is expecting another ship with arms and ammunition in the near future and a yacht, which is now in a Latin American country. The yacht is for use in activities against the Castro government. The activities against the Castro government to be carried out by the DRE are expected to start within a month or two months at the latest. Or how about this report, presumably from the CIA or associated with the CIA, from August 1959, right after Castro assumed power. quote, source Alberto Fernandez Hechevaria, the chief of the Cuban sugar stabilization board, who has the job of selling Cuba's sugar. He is wealthy and his family have lost through Castro's economic reforms. He appears to know a lot about the agreement and also seems to have an insight into Castro.

He regards Castro as some type of Univac machine. That's a universal automatic computer. His mind automatically photostating details which he can and will use in the future. He says that Castro is ruthless and that. nothing can stop him in his determination to do something, i.e. agrarian reform, and that he will sacrifice his friends, his family, his money, and his fortune to accomplish his purpose. It is just fascinating, historically speaking, to read this. And by the way, speaking of that, another major historical event discussed in these documents is the assassination of Martin Luther

King, Jr., who was killed in April 1968 out in Tennessee. A man named James Earl Ray was convicted of his murder. And so there is a memo in this release for the director of the FBI. And it reads in part, quote, on the 16th of April, Roderick Claflin Brown, a Panamanian National born July 1st, 1917 in British Honduras, voluntarily appeared at the Department of National Investigations of the Republic of Panama and signed a deposition. And it goes on to say, while on a shore visit to the Nobel Airport on the morning of the 26th of October, 1962, in the company of two fellow Panamanian seamen, he was literally approached by Marvin P. LaTrell, owner of Latrell Motorco, South Clinton Street, Athens, Alabama, who after ascertaining Brown

was a Panamanian seamanian, asked if he knew of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Latrell inquired whether Brown was interested in employment, the details of which were unspecified. He went on to describe Dr. King as, quote, our greatest problem who is causing us much trouble. He gave Brown a business card to use in the event that he was interested in pursuing the employment offer. And then, quote, after discussions with a relative and friends in New York City, Brown suspected that the Latrell job offer was related with assassination plans for Dr. King. Therefore, he did not respond to the Latrell letter and dismiss the incident until the death of Dr. King in April 1968. Brown returned to Panama in 1964. Wow.

And then there's just stuff in this release that's apparently regarding covert evidence. activities that, again, is just so interesting for us to see as the general public, for example, there is a memo dated July 18, 1963 to the chief support branch. The case was assigned to the district field office and special agent redacted was designated as responsible agent. It is agent redacted plan to place microphones in the downstairs bar in the main floor living room and a tap on the string and all the wires to a crawl space over the garage. In that ladder space, which will be kept locked, he will set up two regular AC-operated tape recorders to be actuated by the two VORs obtained from friconia and paid for by S-A-S.

Unbeknownst to the subject and his companion, a case officer, will have to service this equipment whenever an opportunity presents itself. The cover story to be used by agents during the installation is that he is working on the house at the request of the lease or. Wow. So what does all of this mean, right? That's the main question. Does it provide definitive answers as to what really happened in Texas that day?

Not really. Historians told the New York Times that they're adopting a wait-and-see policy when it comes to these new documents. Scholars say it could take months, maybe even years, to fully parse out all of the information in the more than a thousand PDFs. We had a couple hours last night and this morning. Now, Tim Nuffali, an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, told the New York Times that after reviewing some of these documents, documents found that much of the previously redacted information was likely to protect CIA sources and methods and not as part of a coordinated cover-up. According to CBS, much of this could be unredacted versions of materials that have already been released, but that were blocked

out in the past with researchers estimating that there are about maybe 3,000 documents that hadn't been released in full to the public, possibly again, to protect methods or identities or sources, including the identities of CIA materials. So listen, We will keep a very careful eye on this, see where it goes, but we wanted to get something out to you immediately. Our first impressions of what we could find in our initial review of these documents, fascinating to say the least. That is all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts.

I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series, ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.