The first hearing of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets did not come anywhere close to resembling an actual investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy more than 60 years ago, but it was never really meant to.
It did, however, provide reason for optimism that the task force, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, will ultimately serve to fuel demand for further investigation of both President Kennedy’s assassination as well as other political crimes of the past half-century — most importantly those of September 11, 2001.
The three main witnesses invited to testify at the hearing — journalist Jefferson Morley, filmmaker Oliver Stone, and researcher James DiEugenio — all challenged the official narrative of Lee Harvey Oswald as a lone assassin and argued that senior members of Kennedy’s own government, most likely in the CIA and the Pentagon, were responsible for the plot.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the hearing was the contrast in receptiveness between the Republican and Democratic members of the task force.
The Democrats showed almost no interest in what was actually revealed in the 80,000 pages of recently declassified documents or in discovering the truth about President Kennedy’s assassination. Instead, all they did was criticize the careless release of sensitive personal information (this criticism was fair), go on partisan-driven tangents unrelated to JFK, and declare full-throated support for the Warren Commission narrative.
In contrast, the Republicans were generally curious and respectful of the three witnesses. However, in a stunning illustration of her lack of knowledge, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado confused Oliver Stone with Trump confidante Roger Stone, whose 2014 book, The Man Who Killed Kennedy, accused President Lyndon Johnson of ordering Kennedy’s murder.
The biggest takeaway for those hoping to see the task force seriously engage with 9/11 is that Luna appears genuinely committed to questioning the official narrative of President Kennedy’s assassination. She made skeptical comments about the official narrative during the hearing, and her efforts behind the scenes have been publicly praised by one of the witnesses — journalist Jefferson Morley. Also, Morley reported that, according to Luna, the task force plans to hold a second JFK hearing where they will interview surviving witnesses to the shooting.
In light of Luna’s apparent commitment to pursuing the truth, it does not seem outside the realm of possibility that she would take an interest in the most unambiguous evidence that contradicts the official account of 9/11. We therefore intend to continue reaching out to her and will announce ways for you to get involved in the months ahead.
Since you probably don’t have time to watch the entire hearing, here are eight highlights worth checking out.
1. Jefferson Morley highlights key revelations and urges task force to demand files and answers from CIA
2. Oliver Stone implores task force to reinvestigate assassination, starting at the scene of the crime
3. Chairwoman Luna questions Morley on specifics of new revelations
4. Ranking Member Robert Garcia tries to get Morley to state no ‘direct evidence’ of CIA involvement
5. Rep. Nancy Mace asks Morley who he thinks were the ‘intellectual authors’ of Kennedy’s assassination
6. Stone and James DiEugenio discuss crime scene and autopsy
7. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat, declares that Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy
8. Morley expresses optimism that we can reach a ‘decisive clarification’ about Kennedy’s assassination
