Memo from the Chair
Memo from the Chairman of the CAPA
Executive Committee - Dr. Cyril Wecht:
Over 50 years have passed since the Warren Commission
declared Lee Harvey Oswald the lone assassin in the murder of
President John F. Kennedy. During those decades, independent
researchers, 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 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 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 agreed to release the
government records on the assassination of President Kennedy,
including those of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, but
neglected 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 and MLK records as they are released and attempt to 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 regarding 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 is 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 transcends traditional political lines.
If
you are unhappy and frustrated and unable to prevail in the polls,
you do not accomplish your objective by physically eliminating 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 at the
ballot box.” There was only one
option left, and that is what they chose
- to kill John Kennedy.” I say that,
when this happens in any other country in the world, it is labeled
for what it is, the overthrow of the government. It was a
coup d' etat in America. That's what it was.
In the
year 2015 people are still interested in
the JFK assassination. 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 are still fascinated by the mystery.
And now,
after all these 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 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 from medico
legal, forensic science, investigative and political
perspectives.
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 attorneys 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 pressure 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 inquiries,
investigations and official verdicts by
the government 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-profit 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 and is using the courts to free secret files and enforce the
rule of law in regards to political assassinations. We shall make a
focused, highly responsible inquiry and not come
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 are standing upon
past achievements, gradually improving and coming to a deeper
understanding based upon solid ground and from pursuit of appropriate
legal protocol.
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 government strategies
that represent a completely different government strategy 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 achieve alone.