6) 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, and 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. As JFK said, “One person can make a
difference and everyone should try.” United
we can achieve goals that one person cannot achieve alone.