A reader, Laura, takes issue with my recent post exculpating the late President Bush from involvement in the Kennedy assassination. Upon reflection, I think she makes two very good points.
One is about the definition of evidence. Certainty is not required, it is true.
The second concerns a point I had scanted: the declassified Bush records make it clear that someone thought it important to brief George H. Bush about the Miami Cubans under investigation after JFK was killed. I should have noted this fact.
Who thought that Bush needed to know and why they thought he needed to know is an interesting and potentially important fact. I still don’t see what it tells us about the causes of the assassination but it is a salient point I should have mentioned. My conclusion was too sweeping. Thanks Laura.
Here’s Laura’s note:
Mr Morley— I agree with your evidence based approach and your refusal to engage in unwarranted speculation. However, your claim that there is no “evidence” (as you define the term) of any “connection” between GHWB and the JFK assassination is untenable.
First: where did you come up with your definition of “evidence?” You write, “I’m looking for evidence that meets the definition of the word: facts that indicate or prove something to a reasonable certainty.” No court of law that I’m aware of would impose “a reasonable certainty “ standard on evidence before being considered probative and admitted by the court. If courts did impose such a requirement, most circumstantial evidence cases could never be proven. You set the bar so high for “evidence” in the case of GHWB that nothing short of a confession, an eyewitness, or a smoking gun document will constitute “evidence” of a “connection.” Given the amount of time you have spent litigating in the federal courts, I assume you are aware of the federal standard for “evidence” and it has nothing to do with “certainty.”
Second—In describing the FBI document of November 29, 1963, you focus only on the CIA’s duplicity in denying that the George Bush mentioned therein was, in fact, GHWB. I agree that the CIA’s lies about GHWB’s affiliation with the agency does not establish a connection between 41 and the JFK assassination. However, what does establish at least a “connection” is that one day after the assassination someone informed the FBI that GHWB needed to be briefed about interviews the FBI was conducting with Miami Cuban groups in connection with the assassination. What was GHWB’s connection to these groups — some members of which have been implicated in the assassination for decades?
The FBI’s decision to brief GHWB on these matters may not be evidence that he was complicit in the assassination, but it does “connect” him to groups of interest to the FBI and to assassination researchers for decades. Your ignoring the obvious implications of this memo is puzzling and inconsistent with critical thinking.
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Jeff – FYI
I found additional information on this topic, which starts on p.60 of the linked document noted below.
https://archive.org/details/CovertActionInformationBulletinNo41Summer1992/page/n59/mode/2up
Laura’s right. There are plenty of incidences that are looked over and ignored. For instance the latest revelation that the Mayor of Dallas, Earl Cable was a CIA asset. He and his brother CIA Deputy Director General Charles Cable along with there CIA boss CIA Director Allen Dulles were all part of the CIA family similar to the Bush brothers in Florida, in 2000 were connected to another CIA Director, there family boss GHWB. Both the assassination of JFK in the home state of the next President LBJ and the political assassination of Al Gore in Florida, the political home state of the brother of the next president GWB, makes you wonder if they copied the suspected home state conspiracy in Texas to steal the presidency from Gore in Florida.
Jeff is only willing to lower the standard of evidence for books he has written, maybe if he writes a book about Poppy his opinion will change.
Im also guilty in the fact that I’ve never been overwhelmingly convinced of George H.W Bush and his supposed involvement with the JFK assassination. This just never fit in my JFK puzzle and ive pretty much moved on from looking into it any more.
But after seeing this particular post and the well placed argument concerning the evidence,I too might have overlooked these facts surrounding this individual and jumped ship to soon.
Thanks for posting this.
Yes, there is no “reasonable certainty” test per se.
Evidence is anything which may be used to prove a fact or support an assertion. There are rules which govern the admission of information of all forms in proceedings before a court or tribunal (Pocket Dictionary of Cdn Law – Dukelow, p.156)
Circumstantial evidence is that which a fact in issue or a fact relevant to an issue may be inferred (Ibid, p.68)
As for why GHWB was briefed about the FBI interest in Miami groups following the assassination, perhaps it was just a heads up to avoid unwarranted panic and to maintain silence with respect to Anti-Castro activities that he may have been involved with indirectly (i.e., transporting arms on his ship, etc.), and to preserve them. It may explain his alleged defense of such groups which Hoover mentioned in his memo about a George Bush of the CIA contacting him, following the assassination.
RE: My Comments at your deep state blog. Jeff didn’t mean to offend anyone especially you. I understand you are a very busy man.
I would like to read https://aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/robert-mueller-has-been-inducted-into-the-chickensh-club It is very short
It concerns comments James Comey made to a luncheon while he was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York back in 2002.
The piece is written by Larry Beinhart of “Wag the Dog” fame.
But here is the bottom line. Unlike individuals such as yourself the laymen among us, definitions 1 & 2, have little understanding of the law and to make matters worse, much worse, have almost no respect for it.
I’m pretty sure by now you do realize this truth about me. My message is that the young of this country are pretty aggravated at this point in time. Time which is running out for them and the planet. They have acquired an “edge” so to speak. Don’t miss this in the winds of political change.
Time is running out for the “Pomous Ass Class” like Barr and his ilk. I hope you would agree there is enough truth in what I wrote to make even you nervous.
Thank you again Jeff. Now I’ll see if I can get what I wrote posted in the comments at consortium news. No hard feelings from me I just happen to have an agenda and I realize depending on the courts, which is something you are locked into is a waste of time for me.
I don’t suppose you could find the kindness in your heart to e-mail what I wrote back to me in an email I never keep copies of what I write. So much for Professionalism on my part.
Thanks again for caring.