If Oswald Was The Assassin, Did He Plan His Escape From The TSBD Very Well?

[Michael T. Griffith]

If Oswald was being set up how could he be allowed to wander around the TSBD during the shooting? How could those doing the setting up control the TSBD, making sure they get in/out unnoticed and have a floor to themselves?

The last place they wanted Oswald was on the sixth floor. Whatever theory you want to offer must address the evidence that Oswald simply could not have gotten from the sniper's nest to the second-floor lunchroom in time to be seen by Baker.

The sixth floor was mainly a storage area and people were up there sparingly and intermittently, and the plotters knew it would be lunchtime and that many people would be downstairs watching the motorcade. Plus, the elevator was locked/not working so no one could use it to come up to the sixth floor. Furthermore, and this is a point that is often overlooked, the power to the TSBD got cut off just before the shooting occurred. Several witnesses alluded to this strange fact in passing, and one of them specifically mentioned the power being cut off, but, of course, the commission's interviewers failed to pursue it. The main witness to this was Geneva Hine:

Mr. BALL. Were you alone then at this time?
Miss HINE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did you stay at your desk?
Miss HINE. Yes, sir: I was alone until the lights all went out and the phones became dead because the motorcade was coming near us and no one was calling so I got up and thought I could see it from the east window in our office.

This is supported by the Alyea film. The film shows a light on in the entrance to the TSBD at the 2:03 mark, but this light not on in the Altgens photo taken during the assassination.

In addition, there is credible evidence that there were at least two people on the sixth floor during the shooting. This evidence includes the fact that the HSCA's photographic evidence panel determined from photos of the sniper's nest that someone was moving boxes around within 2 minutes after the shooting: "There is an apparent rearranging of boxes within 2 minutes after the last shot was fired at President Kennedy" (6 HSCA 109). Obviously, Oswald could not have been the one moving the boxes around.

[Martin Weidmann]

All kinds of problems here. First of all, Oswald could not have gotten from the sixth floor sniper's nest to the second floor lunchroom in time to be seen by Officer Baker. As historian David Wrone has often pointed out, the WC found it necessary to severely rig the reenactment of Oswald's alleged movements in order to appear to get him to the lunchroom in time to be seen by Baker. Wrone discusses this point in detail in this lecture:

Second, there were people on the stairs who would have seen Oswald if he had come down the stairs. We know he could not have used the elevator. He would have had to come down the stairs.

Third, a huge problem with the WC's account is that if Oswald was only one foot past the foyer door when Baker spotted him, as Baker belatedly claimed, then Roy Truly, who was running ahead of Baker, surely would have seen Oswald either coming off the stairs, or walking across the landing toward the door, or opening the door. The Commission itself admitted that Oswald must have gone through the foyer door only "a second or two" before being spotted by Baker:

But the Commission never explained how Oswald could have done this. If Oswald had gone through the foyer door before Truly reached the top of the stairs, he would have been several feet beyond the door by the time Baker reached the landing, and thus would not have been visible to Baker through the window. And, if Oswald had entered the door "only a second or two" before Baker reached the top of the stairwell, then Truly could not have missed seeing him. Nor did the Commission explain how Baker could have been the least bit unsure about whether or not Oswald had gone through the foyer door if Baker spotted Oswald right next to the door and if the door was in any kind of motion at the time.

First of all, Oswald could not have gotten from the sixth floor sniper's nest to the second floor lunchroom in time to be seen by Officer Baker.

Actually, as far as the time line is concerned, Oswald (if he was the killer) could indeed have gotten to the 2nd floor lunchroom, but it is a tight squeeze between Victoria Adams & Sandra Styles arriving at the bottom of the stairs and Truly & Baker going up. The mere fact that Adams/Styles and Truly/Baker missed eachother at the bottom of the stairs gives anybody coming down the stairs after Adams & Styles just enough time to reach the 2nd floor just prior to Truly coming up.

Second, there were people on the stairs who would have seen Oswald if he had come down the stairs. We know he could not have used the elevator. He would have had to come down the stairs.

The people who were on the stairs were Victoria Adams & Sandra Styles and they were always ahead of anybody coming down after them. They couldn't have seen anybody coming down, but they might have heard him on the wooden stairs

A bigger problem is Dorothy Garner and some of the other girls on the 4th floor, who had a clear line of sight to the staircase and they would have seen anybody coming down them passing the 4th floor landing. According to the Stroud letter, Garner said that she saw Truly and the police man come up after Adams went down.

Third, a huge problem with the WC's account is that if Oswald was only one foot past the foyer door when Baker spotted him, as Baker belatedly claimed, then Roy Truly, who was running ahead of Baker, surely would have seen Oswald either coming off the stairs, or walking across the landing toward the door, or opening the door. The Commission itself admitted that Oswald must have gone through the foyer door only "a second or two" before being spotted by Baker:

But the Commission never explained how Oswald could have done this. If Oswald had gone through the foyer door before Truly reached the top of the stairs, he would have been several feet beyond the door by the time Baker reached the landing, and thus would not have been visible to Baker through the window. And, if Oswald had entered the door "only a second or two" before Baker reached the top of the stairwell, then Truly could not have missed seeing him.

Agreed... only one of those two options can be correct.

[Bill Chapman]

If Oswald was being set up how could he be allowed to wander around the TSBD during the shooting? How could those doing the setting up control the TSBD, making sure they get in/out unnoticed and have a floor to themselves?

 

He was wandering around during the shooting?

[Martin Weidmann]

Those are excellent questions.  Some CTers suggest there was a grand plan to frame Oswald but he was apparently allowed to roam about at the moment of the assassination and potentially have an alibi.  It's ridiculous.  And how did they get him to take an unusual trip to the Paine residence on Thursday where he kept his rifle and carry a long package to work the next morning?  How lucky could they get!? How did they know he would even go to work on Friday if he was heading to Paine residence on Thursday?  For all they would have known, he decided to take the day off.

The classic LN "magic trick" conundrum; "how could they have done that?"....

The answer is always the same; they did it, but you won't know how until the trick is explained to you.

The answer is never; I don't know how the trick works, so the trick didn't happen and doesn't work.

What guys like Richard always forget/ignore is that the narrative he believes in was written after the event and with Oswald no longer around to dispute any of it. There is no way of knowing if what they have told you actually did happen or if what they are telling you is the actual and complete story.

The best magic trick ever; keep 'm guessing.... The best lie always hides between the truth.

[Bill Chapman]

Those are excellent questions.  Some CTers suggest there was a grand plan to frame Oswald but he was apparently allowed to roam about at the moment of the assassination and potentially have an alibi.  It's ridiculous.  And how did they get him to take an unusual trip to the Paine residence on Thursday where he kept his rifle and carry a long package to work the next morning?  How lucky could they get!? How did they know he would even go to work on Friday if he was heading to Paine residence on Thursday?  For all they would have known, he decided to take the day off.

Or Buell(er) might have decided to take the day off.

[Jerry Freeman]

If Oswald was being set up how could he be allowed to wander around the TSBD during the shooting? How could those doing the setting up control the TSBD, making sure they get in/out unnoticed and have a floor to themselves?

The president was scheduled to be at the Trade Mart at 12:00...How could someone then know exactly when to set up the ambush and know exactly when the motorcade was to come through the plaza?

[Charles Collins]

The president was scheduled to be at the Trade Mart at 12:00...How could someone then know exactly when to set up the ambush and know exactly when the motorcade was to come through the plaza?

12:30 iirc