CIA and Political Assassinations

THE CHURCH COMMITTEE AND THE REVELATION OF ASSASSINATION PROGRAMS

In 1975, the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, chaired by Senator Frank Church (Idaho), conducted a historic investigation into the activities of the CIA. The interim report of November 1975, titled 'Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders', revealed that the CIA had participated in assassination plots against at least five foreign leaders:

1. Fidel Castro (Cuba): The CIA developed at least eight assassination plots against Castro between 1960 and 1965, including poisoned cigars, a contaminated diving suit, pen-hypodermics, and a collaboration with the Mafia (a joint CIA-Mafia operation via gangsters Johnny Roselli, Sam Giancana, and Santos Trafficante). All failed.

2. Patrice Lumumba (Congo): The CIA sent poison (with the approval of Director Allen Dulles) to assassinate Lumumba, although he was ultimately killed by Katangese soldiers and Belgian agents in January 1961 (see THEORY-0205).

3. Rafael Trujillo (Dominican Republic): The CIA provided weapons to the conspirators who assassinated dictator Trujillo in May 1961.

4. Ngo Dinh Diem (South Vietnam): The CIA supported the November 1963 coup against Diem, who was assassinated, although the Church Committee concluded that the assassination was not ordered by Americans.

5. General Rene Schneider (Chile): The CIA provided weapons to the group that assassinated General Schneider in October 1970 to prevent the inauguration of Allende (see THEORY-0205).

The Church Committee also revealed the existence of the ZR/RIFLE program, a CIA standing assassination capability ('executive action capability'), developed under the supervision of William Harvey.

THE ASSASSINATION OF JFK (NOVEMBER 22, 1963)

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963, is the most debated political assassination in American history. The Warren Commission (1964) concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. However, this conclusion has been challenged by a majority of Americans for decades.

Theories implicating the CIA are based on several elements:

• The troubled relationship between Oswald and the CIA: Oswald, a former Marine defector to the USSR who subsequently returned to the USA, had a file at the CIA (201 file). The circumstances of his defection and return, facilitated by American authorities, suggest a possible role as an agent or asset. The CIA file on Oswald, code-named GPFLOOR, shows anomalies (refusal to share information with the FBI, handling by James Angleton's counterespionage division).

• The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA, 1976-1979): In 1979, the HSCA concluded, based on a contested acoustic analysis, that a 'probable' second shooter fired from the grassy knoll, implying a 'probable conspiracy.' The Committee was unable to identify the conspirators but noted that the CIA had not been ‘frank and cooperative’ with the Warren Commission.

• The CIA’s hostility toward Kennedy: Proponents of the CIA theory note that Kennedy had fired Director Allen Dulles after the Bay of Pigs debacle (April 1961), that he had threatened to 'tear the CIA into a thousand pieces,' that he had opposed CIA and military plans for an invasion of Cuba (Operation Northwoods), and that he had negotiated with the USSR against the wishes of the national security establishment. Allen Dulles, fired by JFK, was ironically appointed as a member of the Warren Commission charged with investigating the assassination.

• Jack Ruby and the Mafia: Jack Ruby, who assassinated Oswald two days after the shooting, had documented links with the Mafia, and the Mafia had collaborated with the CIA in plots against Castro. Theories allege that Ruby assassinated Oswald to silence him.

• The JFK files: The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act (1992) ordered the declassification of all documents related to the assassination. Thousands of documents have been released, but some remain partially censored. Declassifications from 2017-2023 have revealed new information but no definitive ‘smoking gun’ evidence.

THE ASSASSINATION OF ROBERT F. KENNEDY (JUNE 5, 1968)

Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, shortly after winning the California Democratic primary. Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian immigrant, was arrested and convicted. However, ballistic analyses suggest that the bullets that killed RFK were fired from behind at close range, while Sirhan was facing Kennedy and several meters away. Some witnesses reported more gunshots than Sirhan's revolver contained (8 rounds fired, but potentially 13 impacts identified).

Theories allege that Sirhan was a ‘ Manchurian candidate’ (subject of mind control, possibly linked to the CIA’s MK-ULTRA program). Sirhan himself claims to have no memory of the shooting. Allegations identify Thane Eugene Cesar, a hotel security guard (employed by Lockheed, a CIA subcontractor, and who carried a weapon of the same caliber), as the actual shooter.

THE ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (APRIL 4, 1968)

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray was convicted after a guilty plea, which he attempted to retract three days later (unsuccessfully). In 1999, a Memphis civil jury (King v. Jowers) concluded that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy involving government agencies, the Mafia, and local businessmen. This civil verdict, although not legally binding, is significant.

The FBI’s COINTELPRO program (under J. Edgar Hoover) specifically targeted King: surveillance, illegal wiretaps, anonymous letters encouraging him to commit suicide, attempts to discredit his personal life. The FBI considered King 'the most dangerous Negro.' The question of whether this documented hostility went as far as assassination remains debated.

THE ASSASSINATION OF MALCOLM X (FEBRUARY 21, 1965)

Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted, but two of them (Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam) were exonerated in 2021 after an investigation revealed that the FBI and the New York City Police Department had withheld exculpatory evidence. The investigation revealed that the FBI and NYPD had infiltrated Malcolm X's entourage and were aware of threats against his life without acting to protect him.

ALLEGED CONTEMPORARY ASSASSINATIONS

More recent theories allege CIA involvement in the suspicious deaths of journalists and activists:

• Michael Hastings (June 18, 2013): Rolling Stone journalist whose article had prompted the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal. Hastings died in a suspected car accident in Los Angeles (his Mercedes exploded) a few hours after telling colleagues that he was working on a ‘big story’ and needed to ‘go off the grid.’ Former counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke stated that the accident was 'consistent with a cyberattack on the vehicle.’

• Gary Webb (December 10, 2004): San Jose Mercury News journalist, author of ‘Dark Alliance’ on the CIA-Contras-crack connection (see THEORY-0200). Died by suicide (two shots to the head). While medically possible, the circumstances fuel theories.

• Danny Casolaro (August 10, 1991): Investigative journalist working on what he called ‘The Octopus’ (a clandestine network involving the CIA, the DOJ, and organized crime). Found dead in a hotel bathtub, wrists slit, officially a suicide. His research notes were never found.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 12333 AND THE ‘OFFICIAL’ PROHIBITION

In 1976, President Ford signed Executive Order 11905 prohibiting ‘political assassinations.’ This order was reinforced by Reagan’s Executive Order 12333 in 1981. However, this prohibition is widely considered to be a facade: ‘targeted killings’ programs post-9/11 (drones, special operations) circumvent this prohibition by classifying targets as 'enemy combatants' rather than 'political leaders.' The assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by an American drone in January 2020 illustrates the porousness of this prohibition.