Return to Main Page
On November 20, 1998, the first day of the National Conference of the Coalition on Political Assassinations, Dan Rather reported on CBS News that the Assassination Records Review Board "did find enough evidence to conclude that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only gunman..."
This comment caused quite a stir among conference attendees. On Saturday, November 21, former Board member John Tunheim was asked about if he or any other Board member would "publicly refute" Rather's statements.
Judge Tunheim replied: "I didn't hear the statements. I think it may have come out of something that Henry Graff said, or predicted. I'm not exactly sure about that. Every time that I've been interviewed or asked the queston I've been very careful to say that we did not reach a conclusion as a Board. The book --- the report, the Final Report that you all have --- spells out very clearly that we did not reach a conclusion. And if someone is reporting that, I'm happy to send a letter, or even send a copy of the page of the report that says that."
The Report states in its Preface, on page xxi, that "this Final Report does not offer conclusions about what the assassinaton records released did or did not prove."
The following is a transcript of the CBS News item in question. It was purchased by Fair Play from Burrelle's Transcripts.
DAN RATHER, anchor:
CBS' Eye on America tonight investigates the lingering questions and non-stop search for answers in the murder of President John F. Kennedy, 35 years ago this weekend. Despite strong evidence, only 1 out of 10 Americans polled this week by CBS News believes the Warren Commission conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
(Graphic on screen)
CBS News Poll
Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone?
Yes 30% No 76%
Margin Of Error: 3 Pts.
RATHER: A review and release of US government documents related to the case has just now been completed by the Assassination Records Review Board, which was created six years ago by a congressional bill.
Mr. HENRY GRAFF (Assassination Records Review Board): The aim of the bill was to help dispel doubt about the truthfulness of the United States government.
Judge JACK TUNHEIM: The work is continuing and will continue...
RATHER: For the chairman of the review board, Judge Jack Tunheim, the Kennedy assassination was a multimillion-piece puzzle with lots of missing pieces.
Judge TUNHEIM: Through our review of the records we found a lot of those pieces and filled them in. But not all of the pieces are findable, at least not at this time, and many of those pieces are lost to history.
RATHER: The board members acknowledge that there will be plenty of questions raised because of what they uncovered. More than 30 years after the fact, the board faced continued reluctance from government agencies.
Judge TUNHEIM: One of their first comments was, you know, 'No one has ever been fired here for protecting information.'
RATHER: That was at the CIA, where, 30 years ago, the chief investigator into the assassination was James Angleton, an expert in counterintelligence.
Judge TUNHEIM: As the CIA says today, his records are no longer identifiable as a collection, which means they don't exist.
RATHER: The CIA destroyed those files long ago. But what about the Secret Service files from the agency that was guarding President Kennedy in Dallas 35 years ago? What Judge Tunheim says [what] he learned may raise more questions for those who are convinced that a cover-up still exists.
Judge TUNHEIM: The Secret Service destroyed records after we were on the job and working. They claimed it was a mistake, that it was just by the normal progression of records destruction.
(Excerpt from vintage footage)
Unidentified Reporter: Did you kill the president?
Mr. LEE HARVEY OSWALD: No, I have not been charged with that.
(End of excerpt)
RATHER: The board did find enough evidence to conclude that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only gunman. What about a possible conspiracy behind Oswald?
Mr. GRAFF: We do not know what forces played upon Oswald. We do not know whether there were people who were paying him or supporting him.
Ms. MARGUERITE OSWALD: (From vintage footage) I have an original application.
RATHER: In 1964, Oswald's mother told CBS News that her son was an operative in the Cold War for the US.
Ms. OSWALD: (From vintage footage) I think my son was sent to Russia. You see, Lee knew Russian fluently.
RATHER: While in Russia, Oswald married a Russian woman. All part of the plan, said Marguerite Oswald.
Ms. OSWALD: (From vintage footage) I think that he had orders from the State Department to marry the Russian girl.
Judge TUNHEIM: We couldn't find any evidence in the government files on those claims by Mrs. Oswald.
RATHER: But those were US files. There are files that exist that may shed light on Oswald that the board wants but can't get: Russian files.
Judge TUNHEIM: High levels in the Soviet government knew all about Oswald, and the KGB conducted a very serious investigation to see whether there was any way the Russians or the Soviets could be tied to the assassination.
RATHER: Judge Tunheim believes those possibly crucial KGB files on Oswald are only a phone call away.
Judge TUNHEIM: I think if President Clinton asked President Yeltsin to turn over to our government in the interest of history copies of the KGB files, we'd get them right away.
RATHER: In the US, the results of the board's efforts are four and a half million pages of documents on the assassination stored at the National Archives outside Washington, enough, they hope, to dispel any thoughts that if there ever was a government cover-up, there isn't one now.
Judge TUNHEIM: What we can say to the American people is that there are no longer files being hidden in government files about the assassination of President Kennedy.
RATHER: And this note, the White House told CBS News today that it is actively pursuing now the KGB files at the highest levels of the Russian government.
Return to Main Page
* * *