Assassination of John F. Kennedy Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Official investigations== ===Dallas Police=== [[File:Lee Harvey Oswald 1963.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Oswald in police custody|[[Lee Harvey Oswald]] in police custody.]] At the Dallas Police headquarters, officers interrogated Oswald about the shootings of Kennedy and Tippit; these intermittent interviews lasted for approximately 12 hours between 2:30 p.m. on November 22 and 11 a.m. on November 24.<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 180.</ref> Throughout, Oswald denied any involvement and resorted to statements that were found to be false.<ref name="warren180195"/> Captain [[J. W. Fritz]] of the Homicide and Robbery Bureau did most of the questioning and kept only rudimentary notes.<ref name="fritz"/><ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 113–116, 126, 123–132.</ref> Days later, Fritz wrote a report of the interrogation from notes he made afterwards.<ref name="fritz">[[#Fritz|Report of Capt. J. W. Fritz, Dallas Police Department]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> There were no stenographic or tape recordings. Representatives of other law enforcement agencies were also present, including the FBI and the Secret Service, and occasionally participated in the questioning.<ref name="warren180195"/> Several of the FBI agents who were present wrote contemporaneous reports of the interrogation.<ref>[[#FBI|Reports of Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1964)]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> On the evening of November 22, Dallas Police performed [[paraffin test]]s on Oswald's hands and right cheek in an effort to establish whether or not he had recently fired a weapon. The results were positive for the hands and negative for the right cheek. Such tests were unreliable,<ref name="warren180195"/><ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 164–165.</ref> and the Warren Commission did not rely on these results.<ref name="warren180195">[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], pp. 180–195.</ref> The Dallas police forced Oswald to host a press conference after midnight on November 23, and, early in the investigation, made many leaks to the media. Their conduct angered Johnson, who instructed the FBI to tell them to "stop talking about the assassination".<ref name="kurtz2"/> Dallas Police, after the FBI expressed concerns that someone might try to kill Oswald, assured federal authorities that they would provide him adequate protection.<ref>[[#Pappalardo|Pappalardo (2017)]]</ref> ===FBI investigation=== [[File:Presentation of the Young American Medals for Bravery. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Director of F.B.I. J.... - NARA - 194254.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Attorney General [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and President [[John F. Kennedy]] are pictured speaking at the White House|FBI Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]] (pictured between [[Robert F. Kennedy|Robert]] and [[John F. Kennedy]] in May 1963) wrote in a 1964 memo that "we left no stone unturned".<ref name="bug338"/>]] The FBI immediately launched an investigation into the assassination, relying on a federal statute that forbade assaulting a federal officer. Within 24 hours of the killing, FBI Director Hoover sent President Johnson a preliminary report finding that Oswald was the sole culprit. After Ruby killed Oswald, Johnson decided that the Texan authorities were incompetent and instructed the FBI to conduct a complete investigation.<ref name="kurtz2">[[#Kurtz|Kurtz (1982)]], p. 2.</ref> On December 9, 1963, the Warren Commission received the FBI's report of its investigation which concluded that three bullets had been fired{{mdashb}}the first striking Kennedy in the upper back; the second striking Connally; and the third striking Kennedy in the head, killing him.<ref name=":2">[[#assoc|Associated Press (1963)]], p. 16.</ref> The FBI continued to serve as the main investigative arm of the Warren Commission in the field. A total of 169 FBI agents worked on the case, conducting over 25,000 interviews and writing over 2,300 reports.<ref name="bug338">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 338.</ref> The thoroughness of the FBI's investigation is contested. Bugliosi applauded its quality and cites conspiracy theorist [[Harrison Edward Livingstone]]'s praise of the FBI's commitment to following all leads.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 338–339.</ref> In its 1979 report, the HSCA found that the FBI's investigation of pro- and anti-Castro Cubans, and any connections to Oswald or Ruby, was insufficient.<ref name="bug338"/> The HSCA also noted that Hoover "seemed determined [to make the case that Oswald was the lone assassin] within 24 hours of the assassination".<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 339.</ref> ===Warren Commission=== {{Main|Warren Commission}} [[File:Lbj-wc.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Members of the Warren Commission present their report to President Johnson|The [[Warren Commission]] presents its report to President Johnson. From left to right: [[John J. McCloy|John McCloy]], [[J. Lee Rankin]] (General Counsel), Senator [[Richard Russell, Jr.|Richard Russell]], Congressman [[Gerald Ford]], Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]], President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [[Allen Dulles]], Senator [[John Sherman Cooper]], and Congressman [[Hale Boggs]].]] On November 29, President Johnson established by executive order "[[Warren Commission|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy]]" and selected Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]] of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] to chair the investigation, commonly known as the Warren Commission.<ref>[[#Baluch|Baluch (1963)]]</ref><ref name="kurtz2"/> Its 888-page final report was presented to Johnson on September 24, 1964, and made public three days later.<ref>[[#Roberts|Roberts (1964)]]</ref> It concluded that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] had acted alone in killing Kennedy and wounding Connally, and that [[Jack Ruby]] acted alone in killing Oswald.<ref>[[#Lewis|Lewis (1964)]], p. 1.</ref><ref>[[#Pomfret|Pomfret (1964)]], p. 17.</ref> It made no conclusions as to Oswald's motive, but noted his [[Marxism]], [[anti-authoritarianism]], violent tendencies, failure to form personal relationships, and his desire to be significant in history.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 359.</ref> Upon examining the Zapruder film, commission staffers realized that the FBI's gunshot theory was impossible. The reaction times of Kennedy and Connally were too close to have been caused by two bullets from Oswald: the reaction interval was less than the 2.3 seconds that it took to reload.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 454–457.</ref><ref>[[#Sabato|Sabato (2013)]], p. 136.</ref> This was one of the commission's most crucial findings: that a single shot caused the non-fatal wounds of Kennedy and Connally, known as the "single-bullet theory".<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. xx.</ref><ref>[[#Specter|Specter (2015)]]</ref> In May 1964, staffer [[Arlen Specter]] replicated the single bullet's trajectory via a reenactment in Dealey Plaza: the bullet's path was exactly consistent with Kennedy's and Connally's wounds.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 355, 455.</ref> Out of the eight commission members, three—Representative [[Hale Boggs]] and Senators [[John Sherman Cooper|John Cooper]] and [[Richard Russell Jr.|Richard Russell]]—found the theory "improbable"; their qualms were not mentioned in the final report.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 455–456.</ref> Conspiracy theorists labelled this theory the "magic bullet theory", partly due to the bullet's intact and purportedly pristine state. However, the HSCA's [[Michael Baden]] noted that the bullet, despite its lack of fragmentation, was fundamentally deformed.<ref name="posnerbullet"/> In 2023, Secret Service Agent Paul Landis—who had stood on the running board of Kennedy's car—told ''The New York Times'' that he retrieved the "magic bullet" from immediately behind Kennedy's seat upon arrival at Parkland, and that he placed it on Kennedy's stretcher. Landis believes that the bullet dislodged from a shallow wound in Kennedy's back.<ref>[[#Baker|Baker (2023)]]</ref> As well as the Warren Report's 27 published volumes, the commission created hundreds of thousands of pages of investigative reports and documents. [[Relman Morin]] stated that "Never in history was a crime probed as intensely"; Bugliosi concluded that the commission's basic findings have "held up remarkably well".<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. xxxii–xxxiii.</ref> According to [[Gerald Posner]], the Warren report is "universally derided" by the American public.<ref>[[#Posner|Posner (1993)]], p. x.</ref> Walter Cronkite noted that, "Although the Warren Commission had full power to conduct its own independent investigation, it permitted the FBI and the CIA to investigate themselves – and so cast a permanent shadow on the answers."<ref>[[#CBS|'The Warren Report – Part 4 – Why Doesn't America Believe the Warren Report?". CBS.]]</ref> According to a 2014 report by CIA Chief Historian [[David Robarge]], then-CIA director [[John A. McCone]] was involved in a "benign cover-up" by withholding information from the commission.<ref>[[#Shenon|Shenon (2014)]]</ref> ===Trial of Clay Shaw=== {{Main|Trial of Clay Shaw}} [[File:Cartão de imigração de Clay LaVergne Shaw (frente) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=.85|alt=A portrait of Clay Shaw|[[Clay Shaw]] (pictured in 1951) was [[Trial of Clay Shaw|acquitted]] by the New Orleans jury after less than an hour of deliberation.]] On March 22, 1967, New Orleans District Attorney [[Jim Garrison]] arrested and charged New Orleans businessman [[Clay Shaw]] with conspiring to assassinate President Kennedy, with the help of Oswald, [[David Ferrie]], and others.<ref name="bug1347"/> A respected businessman who had helped renovate and preserve the [[French Quarter]],<ref name="bug1347"/> Shaw was described as "the unlikeliest villain since [[Oscar Wilde]]".<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 1348.</ref> Both Shaw and the neurotic, avidly anti-Castro Ferrie were members of [[LGBT history in Louisiana|New Orleans' gay community]].<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 1348–1349.</ref> Ferrie died, possibly by suicide, four days after news of the investigation broke.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 1399, 1401.</ref> On ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' in 1968, Garrison first publicly alleged that Shaw and Ferrie had been part of a [[CIA Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory|larger CIA scheme]] to kill Kennedy and frame Oswald.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 1349.</ref> In the 34-day trial conducted in 1969,<ref name="Bugliosi 2007">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 1351.</ref> Garrison played the Zapruder film and argued that the backwards motion of Kennedy's head after the fatal shot was indicative of a shooter in front on the grassy knoll.<ref name="backandtotheleft">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 371, 504, 1349.</ref> After a brief deliberation, the jury found Shaw not guilty.<ref name="Bugliosi 2007"/> [[Mark Lane (author)|Mark Lane]] interviewed the jurors after the trial and stated that some believed that Shaw likely was involved in a conspiracy but that there was insufficient evidence to convict.<ref>[[#Lane|Lane (1991)]], p. 221.</ref><ref>[[#Davy|Davy (1999)]], p. 173.</ref> Lane's claims have been disputed by playwright [[James Kirkwood, Jr.|James Kirkwood]]—a personal friend of Clay Shaw—who said that he met several jurors who denied ever speaking to Lane.<ref>[[#Kirkwood|Kirkwood (1992)]], p. 510.</ref><ref>[[#Shawesq|Kirkwood (1968)]]</ref> Kirkwood also questioned Lane's claim that the jury believed that there was a conspiracy:<ref>[[#Kirkwood|Kirkwood (1992)]], p. 557.</ref> jury foreman Sidney Hebert told Kirkwood, "I didn't think too much of the Warren Report either until the trial. Now I think a lot more of it than I did before."<ref>[[#Kirkwood|Kirkwood (1992)]], p. 511.</ref> According to academic E. Jerald Ogg, the Shaw trial is now widely regarded as a "travesty of justice";<ref>[[#Ogg|Ogg (2004)]], p. 137.</ref> Kirkwood likened the trial to a [[Spanish Inquisition]] hearing.<ref>[[#Ogg|Ogg (2004)]], p. 139.</ref> Other observers have characterized the proceedings as relying on homophobia.<ref>[[#Evica|Evica (1992)]], p. 18.</ref> It remains the only trial to be brought for the Kennedy assassination.<ref name="bug1347">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 1347.</ref> In 1979, former CIA director [[Richard Helms]] testified that Shaw had been a part-time contact of the [[CIA activities in the United States#1951|Domestic Contact Service]] of the CIA, through which Shaw volunteered information from his travels abroad, mostly to Latin America. However, according to [[Max Holland]], some 150,000 Americans were contacts.<ref name=Holland>[[#Holland|Holland (2001)]]</ref> In 1993, the PBS program ''[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]'' obtained a group photograph that featured Ferrie and Oswald together at a 1955 cookout for the [[Civil Air Patrol]]: Ferrie had denied ever knowing Oswald.<ref name="frontline">[[#Frontline|"Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald". PBS.]]</ref> ===Ramsey Clark Panel=== [[File:President Lyndon B. Johnson and Attorney General Ramsey Clark.jpg|thumb|upright=1|alt=President Lyndon B. Johnson and Attorney General Ramsey Clark shaking hands.|The panel organized by Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] (pictured with President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in 1968) found that two bullets struck Kennedy from behind.]] Excluding Chief Justice Warren, the members of Warren Commission did not view the photographs or X-rays taken during Kennedy's autopsy. According to Warren, this was to avoid having to publicly release the explicit material to "sensation mongers".<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 426–427.</ref> Due to persistent speculation, in February 1968, Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] convened a panel of four medical experts to examine the photographs and X-rays from the Kennedy autopsy. Their findings concurred with the Warren Commission: Kennedy was struck by two bullets, both from behind.<ref name="bug369"/> ===Rockefeller Commission=== {{Main|United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States}} In 1975, President [[Gerald Ford]]—who had been a member of the Warren Commission a decade prior—established the [[United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States]], better known as the Rockefeller Commission after its chairman, Vice President [[Nelson Rockefeller]].<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. xix, 369.</ref><ref name="ford">[[#Ford|"U.S. President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States Files, [1947-74] 1975". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.]]</ref> The commission received a mandate to determine if any domestic activities by the CIA were unlawful and to make appropriate recommendations: accordingly, it also re-examined the Kennedy assassination.<ref name="bug369">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 369.</ref> [[File:Back-and-to-the-left-fairuse.png|thumb|left|upright=1.7|alt=Four juxtaposed frames from the Zapruder film illustrating the backwards motion of his head and body after the fatal head shot|The [[Rockefeller Commission]] first proposed that the backwards motion of Kennedy following the fatal shot—which conspiracy theorists claim is indicative of a shot from the grassy knoll—was due to a "seizure-like neuromuscular reaction".]] After five months of investigation, the Rockefeller Commission submitted its report to President Ford.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 1214.</ref> The report reviewed the medical evidence and agreed that Kennedy had been killed by two shots from behind.<ref name="bug369"/> Refuting Garrison's claims that the backwards motion of Kennedy's head seen on the Zapruder film was indicative of a grassy knoll shooter,<ref name="backandtotheleft"/> the commission found that "such a motion would be caused by a violent straightening and stiffening of the entire body as a result of a seizure-like neuromuscular reaction to major damage inflicted to nerve centers in the brain".<ref name="reitzes">[[#Reitzes|Reitzes (2013)]]</ref> The later HSCA suggested that the "[[Newton's laws of motion#Third|propulsive effect resulting from brain matter]]" ejected from the exit wound may have been responsible.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 484.</ref> Pathologist [[Vincent Di Maio]] testified before the HSCA that the notion of a "transfer of momentum" from a grassy knoll bullet was unfounded and something from "[[Arnold Schwarzenegger filmography|Arnold Schwarzenegger]] pictures".<ref name="reitzes"/> The Rockefeller Commission also sought to determine whether CIA operatives—particularly [[E. Howard Hunt]] and [[Frank Sturgis]]—were present in Dealey Plaza during the assassination, and whether they were among the "[[three tramps]]" pictured shortly after the assassination. The commission found no evidence for these claims.<ref name="ford"/> It also inquired into purported connections between the CIA and Oswald and Ruby, for which it found no evidence and concluded was "farfetched speculation".<ref name="ford"/> They concluded that there was "no credible evidence of CIA involvement".<ref name="bug369"/> ===Church Committee=== {{Main|Church Committee}} [[File:Church Committee report (Book II) (page 1 crop).jpg|thumb|upright=.7|alt=Title page of Book II of the Church Committee report|Church Committee report (Book II)]] In 1975, following the [[Watergate scandal]] and the revelation of CIA misconduct by [[Seymour Hersh]] (the CIA's so-called "[[Family Jewels (Central Intelligence Agency)|Family Jewels]]"), the [[U.S. Senate]] launched the [[United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities]]—better known as the Church Committee after its chairman, Senator [[Frank Church]].<ref>[[#jewels|"Timeline of the C.I.A.'s 'Family Jewels'". ''The New York Times'']]</ref><ref>[[#x|"Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities". US Senate.]]</ref><ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 369–370.</ref> The committee was to investigate all improper and unlawful actions by the CIA and FBI, both foreign and domestic. Due to persisting theories, the Church Committee organized a subcommittee (staffed by Senators [[Richard Schweiker]] and [[Gary Hart]]) to examine CIA and FBI conduct pertaining to the assassination.<ref name="bug370">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 370.</ref> In its final report, the Church Committee concluded that there was no evidence of a CIA- or FBI-led conspiracy.<ref name="bug370"/> They found that the original investigation into the assassination was "deficient" and criticized the FBI and CIA for withholding information from the Warren Commission. In particular, it noted that knowledge of the [[CIA Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro|CIA's many failed attempts to assassinate Castro]] may have significantly affected the course of the investigation.<ref name="bug370"/><ref name="thehorror"/> Moreover, the Church Committee revealed that the CIA had conspired with the [[Italian-American Mafia|Mafia]] in these plots against Castro.<ref name="bug370"/><ref>[[#Sabato|Sabato (2013)]], p. 548.</ref> These revelations led to further public scrutiny of the assassination.<ref name="thehorror">[[#Kurtz|Kurtz (1982)]], p. 8.</ref> ===United States House Select Committee on Assassinations=== {{Main|United States House Select Committee on Assassinations}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | total_width = 230 | image1 = HSCA-Connally-7-166.jpg | image2 = JFK Assassination - HSCA - Dr. Cyril Wecht's testimony.ogg | caption1 = The HSCA concurred with the [[Warren Commission]]'s [[single-bullet theory]]. (The figure illustrates how the oblong wound in Connally's back was indicative of a bullet which had been tumbling after striking an intervening object.) | caption2 = Of the nine-member medical panel, only Dr. [[Cyril Wecht]] (testimony above) rejected the theory.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 859.</ref> | alt1 = A illustration shows the bullet, which had hit Kennedy a moment before, rotating and tumbling before entering Connally's skin, causing his entry wound. }} As a result of increasing public and congressional skepticism of the Warren Commission's findings and the transparency of government agencies,<ref name="thehorror"/> in 1976 the House Select Committee on Assassinations was created to investigate the assassinations of Kennedy and [[Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.|that of Martin Luther King, Jr.]]<ref>[[#Stokes|Stokes (1979)]], pp. 9–16.</ref> The HSCA conducted its inquiry until 1978 and issued its final report the following year, concluding that Kennedy was likely assassinated as a result of a [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]].<ref>[[#Stokes|Stokes (1979)]], p. 2.</ref> They concluded that there was a "high probability" that a fourth shot was fired from the grassy knoll, but they stated that this shot missed Kennedy.<ref name="bugxii">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (1998)]], p. xxii.</ref> Concerning the conclusions of "probable conspiracy", four of the twelve committee members wrote dissenting opinions.<ref name="stokes2">[[#Stokes|Stokes (1979)]], pp. 483–511.</ref> The HSCA also concluded that previous investigations into Oswald's responsibility were "thorough and reliable" but did not adequately investigate the possibility of a conspiracy, and that federal agencies performed with "varying degrees of competency".<ref>[[#Stokes|Stokes (1979)]], pp. 2–3.</ref> Specifically, the FBI and CIA were found to be deficient in sharing information with other agencies and the Warren Commission. Instead of furnishing all relevant information, the FBI and CIA only responded to specific requests and were still occasionally inadequate.<ref>[[#Stokes|Stokes (1979)]], pp. 239–261.</ref> Furthermore, the Secret Service did not properly analyze information it possessed prior to the assassination and was inadequately prepared to protect Kennedy.<ref name="stokes2"/> The chief reason for the conclusion of "probable conspiracy" was, according to the report's dissent, the subsequently discredited acoustic analysis of a [[John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording|police channel Dictabelt recording]].<ref name="bugxii"/><ref name="CBAReport">[[#NRC|"Report of the Committee on Ballistic Acoustics". National Research Council.]]</ref><ref name="JusticeDeptMemo">[[#Weld|Letter from Assistant Attorney General William F. Weld to Peter W. Rodino Jr., undated.]]</ref> In accordance with the recommendations of the HSCA, the Dictabelt recording and acoustic evidence of a second assassin was subsequently reexamined. In light of investigative reports from the FBI's Technical Services Division and a specially appointed [[National Academy of Sciences]] Committee determining that "reliable acoustic data do not support a conclusion that there was a second gunman",<ref name="CBAReport"/> the Justice Department concluded "that no persuasive evidence can be identified to support the theory of a conspiracy" in the Kennedy assassination.<ref name="JusticeDeptMemo" /> ===JFK Act and Assassination Records Review Board=== {{Main|President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992}} [[File:Oliver Stone 01.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|alt=A portrait of Oliver Stone|[[Oliver Stone]]'s 1991 film ''[[JFK (film)|JFK]]'' spurred the "[[President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992|JFK Act]]", which mandated the release of all relevant classified files.]] In 1991, [[Oliver Stone]]'s film ''[[JFK (film)|JFK]]'' renewed interest in the assassination and particularly in the still-classified files relating to the killing. In response, Congress passed the [[President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992|JFK Records Act]], which called for the National Archives to collect and release all assassination-related documents within 25 years.<ref>[[#AARBR|Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board]], p. xxiii.</ref><ref name="2017a"/><ref>[[#Hornaday|Hornaday (2021)]]</ref> The act also mandated the creation of an independent office, the [[Assassination Records Review Board]], to review the submitted records for completeness and continued secrecy. From 1994 until 1998, the Assassination Records Review Board gathered and unsealed about 60,000 documents comprising over 4 million pages.<ref>[[#AARBR|Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board]], Chapter 4.</ref><ref>[[#Unlock|Tunheim (2000)]].</ref> A 1998 staff report for the Assassinations Records Review Board contended that brain photographs in the Kennedy records may not be of Kennedy's brain, reportedly showing much less damage than Kennedy sustained. Dr. Boswell refuted these allegations.<ref>[[#Lardner|Lardner Jr. (1998)]].</ref> The board also found that, conflicting with the photographic images showing no such defect, several witnesses (at both Parkland hospital and the autopsy) remembered a large wound in the back of Kennedy's head.<ref>[[#Stone|Stone (2013)]]</ref> The board, and board member Jeremy Gunn, stressed the problems with witness testimony, urging people to weigh all of the evidence, with due concern for human error, rather than take single statements as "proof" for one theory or another.<ref>[[#Scientists|"Clarifying the Federal Record on the Zapruder Film and the Medical and Ballistics Evidence". Federation of American Scientists.]]</ref> All remaining assassination-related records were scheduled to be released by October 2017, with the exception of documents certified for continued postponement by succeeding presidents due to "identifiable harm... to the military, defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations... of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure."<ref>[[#Bender1|Bender (2013)]]</ref><ref name=Trump/> President [[Donald Trump]] said in October 2017 that he would not block the release of documents,<ref name=Trump>[[#Trump|"Trump has no plan to block scheduled release of JFK records". Associated Press.]]</ref> but in April 2018—the deadline he set to release all JFK records—Trump blocked the release of some records until October 2021.<ref>[[#Shapira|Shapira (2018)]]</ref><ref name="2017a">[[#2017|"National Archives Releases JFK Assassination Records". The National Archives.]]</ref> President [[Joe Biden]], citing the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], delayed the release further,<ref>[[#Bender1|Bender (2021)]]</ref><ref>[[#Biden|"Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on the Temporary Certification Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy". The White House.]]</ref> before releasing 13,173 unredacted documents in 2022.<ref name="matza">[[#Matza|Matza (2022)]]</ref> A second group of files were unsealed in June 2023, at which point 99 percent of documents had been made public.<ref name="matza"/><ref>[[#June2023|Fossum (2023)]]</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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