The Walker Case

[John Mytton]

What a load of self-serving BS.

Without Marina's testimony, the WC wouldn't have been able to make any kind of case against Oswald at all, so of course they considered her to be credible.
The same goes for Markham, who they called a screwball, yet still relied on her as their key witness.

It's pathethic.

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Golly Gosh Martin, isn't that a bit of an overreaction? All I was doing was putting Redlich's early naïve comment into perspective as compared to his later conclusions.

As for the "screwball" comment by not "they" but the singular Ball, I think in context of his debate with Mark Lane, Ball was just being sarcastic.

JohnM

[Martin Weidmann]

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Golly Gosh Martin, isn't that a bit of an overreaction? All I was doing was putting Redlich's early naïve comment into perspective as compared to his later conclusions.

As for the "screwball" comment by not "they" but the singular Ball, I think in context of his debate with Mark Lane, Ball was just being sarcastic.

JohnM

More BS

[Charles Collins]

Howard Willens, in his book “History Will Prove Us Right” pp 88-89 sheds more light on the context of Redlich’s memo:

We had another witness on the stand later in the month whose testimony involved Marina Oswald. After the assassination, she had hired James Martin as her business manager to deal with her extraordinary situation. By February, our lawyers had some concern that he was taking advantage of her—both financially and personally. The FBI and the Secret Service provided the commission with evidence that they were sleeping together.10 Within the staff, we debated whether the commission needed to delve into that relationship. As he had done with Marina Oswald, Redlich had prepared for Martin’s appearance. The commission had requested Martin to bring all documents relating to “any conversations and advice, instructions and other material of that kind concerning the testimony of Mrs. Marina Oswald or preparation of articles by her, or other things of that character.”11 Warren severely restricted Redlich’s interrogation of Martin. He “stated very definitely he believed that neither the character of Marina Oswald nor the business relationships” between her and Martin “were of interest to the Commission.” Redlich strongly disagreed with the chief justice’s decision. In a memo to Rankin the next day, he said bluntly: “We cannot ignore, however, that Marina Oswald has repeatedly lied to the Secret Service, the FBI, and this Commission on matters which are of vital concern to the people of this country and the world.” He believed that the commission had an obligation to pursue all possible motives that might have prompted Oswald’s assassination of the president. One of those motives might have resulted from his wife’s actions. For this reason Redlich thought that Marina Oswald’s character, her moral fiber, fell well within the reach of our investigation.12

[John Iacoletti]

What a load of self-serving BS.

Indeed. Vince in his characteristically verbose way uses up a lot of words to make a ridiculous argument: prosecutors expect perjury, therefore Marina is credible. But if she makes contradictory statements, which one is the “credible” one? The one Vince likes the best?

The weaker his argument, the more words he uses to try to dance around it. If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS.

[Charles Collins]

Howard Willens, on pp. 91-92 of his book “History Will Prove Us Right”, writes the following interesting passages:

Oswald’s note wasn’t his only link to the Walker shooting. Investigators had found photographs of the general’s home among Oswald’s possessions, and firearms identification experts told the commission that the bullet recovered at the Walker scene was the same type of ammunition used in the assassination. On the commission staff, we thought that the Walker incident provided strong circumstantial evidence that Oswald had the determination and mental capacity required to plan an assassination and was willing to kill if he thought he had sufficient reason to do so. As to what those reasons were in the case of Walker, Marina Oswald told the commission that her husband thought the general “was a very bad man, that he was a fascist, that he was the leader of a fascist organization, and when I said that even though all of that might be true, just the same he had no right to take his life, he said if someone had killed Hitler in time it would have saved many lives.”13
At this early stage of our investigation, we were struck by certain aspects of the Walker attempt that might shed light on Oswald’s culpability in President Kennedy’s death. Many of the conspiracy theories about the assassination were based on the assumption that Oswald simply lacked the capacity to shoot the president without the assistance of others. As the details of the Walker attempt unfolded, we came to believe that some characteristics of Oswald’s behavior relating to the Walker incident challenged this assumption.
Oswald Planned Carefully: The notebook and photographs found in Oswald’s home indicated meticulous planning for Walker’s assassination. Oswald had studied Dallas bus routes, which he subsequently used. He took photographs of Walker’s house and possible locations for burying his rifle both before and after the attempt. And, of course, there was the note left for his wife with detailed instructions for her to follow in the event he did not return home.
Oswald Planned No Escape: Oswald faced the possibility that he might be apprehended for this attempt on Walker’s life. His note advised his wife where he would be imprisoned if he was captured. He also contemplated that he might die as a result of this plan, and advised his wife regarding the money he left for her, what bills had been paid, and the assistance that friends or the Red Cross might provide her in his absence.
Oswald Left a Historical Record: In his note Oswald advised his wife to send any information in the newspapers about him to the Soviet embassy, which he said “would come quickly to your aid once they know everything.” He posed for two pictures with his recently acquired rifle and pistol and copies of issues of The Worker and The Militant. Although he destroyed most of the notebook about his planning for the Walker attempt, he did not destroy the note that he left for his wife or some of the pictures that he had pasted in the notebook. He told her that he “wanted to leave a complete record so that all the details would be in it.” This concern for his place in history seemed to be an important factor to consider in assessing possible motivation for the Kennedy assassination.14
Oswald Acted Alone: The commission and staff were well aware by this time of the widespread public perception that Oswald might have been part of a conspiracy of some kind. It was important to us, therefore, that we found no indication that Oswald had any assistance in planning for this attempt on Walker’s life, in the attempt itself, or in its aftermath. His note to his wife and his conversations with her after the unsuccessful attempt never hinted of the involvement of anyone else. I am sure I was not alone in thinking: “This Walker incident is really interesting. With all the possibilities of conspiracy that have been swirling around the Kennedy assassination, Oswald seemed to have acted entirely on his own in the Walker case. Although it doesn’t prove anything about the Kennedy assassination, it certainly suggests that it could have been a lone operation as well.”

[Steve M. Galbraith]

Howard Willens, on pp. 91-92 of his book “History Will Prove Us Right”, writes the following interesting passages:

Oswald’s note wasn’t his only link to the Walker shooting. Investigators had found photographs of the general’s home among Oswald’s possessions, and firearms identification experts told the commission that the bullet recovered at the Walker scene was the same type of ammunition used in the assassination. On the commission staff, we thought that the Walker incident provided strong circumstantial evidence that Oswald had the determination and mental capacity required to plan an assassination and was willing to kill if he thought he had sufficient reason to do so. As to what those reasons were in the case of Walker, Marina Oswald told the commission that her husband thought the general “was a very bad man, that he was a fascist, that he was the leader of a fascist organization, and when I said that even though all of that might be true, just the same he had no right to take his life, he said if someone had killed Hitler in time it would have saved many lives.”13
At this early stage of our investigation, we were struck by certain aspects of the Walker attempt that might shed light on Oswald’s culpability in President Kennedy’s death. Many of the conspiracy theories about the assassination were based on the assumption that Oswald simply lacked the capacity to shoot the president without the assistance of others. As the details of the Walker attempt unfolded, we came to believe that some characteristics of Oswald’s behavior relating to the Walker incident challenged this assumption.
Oswald Planned Carefully: The notebook and photographs found in Oswald’s home indicated meticulous planning for Walker’s assassination. Oswald had studied Dallas bus routes, which he subsequently used. He took photographs of Walker’s house and possible locations for burying his rifle both before and after the attempt. And, of course, there was the note left for his wife with detailed instructions for her to follow in the event he did not return home.
Oswald Planned No Escape: Oswald faced the possibility that he might be apprehended for this attempt on Walker’s life. His note advised his wife where he would be imprisoned if he was captured. He also contemplated that he might die as a result of this plan, and advised his wife regarding the money he left for her, what bills had been paid, and the assistance that friends or the Red Cross might provide her in his absence.
Oswald Left a Historical Record: In his note Oswald advised his wife to send any information in the newspapers about him to the Soviet embassy, which he said “would come quickly to your aid once they know everything.” He posed for two pictures with his recently acquired rifle and pistol and copies of issues of The Worker and The Militant. Although he destroyed most of the notebook about his planning for the Walker attempt, he did not destroy the note that he left for his wife or some of the pictures that he had pasted in the notebook. He told her that he “wanted to leave a complete record so that all the details would be in it.” This concern for his place in history seemed to be an important factor to consider in assessing possible motivation for the Kennedy assassination.14
Oswald Acted Alone: The commission and staff were well aware by this time of the widespread public perception that Oswald might have been part of a conspiracy of some kind. It was important to us, therefore, that we found no indication that Oswald had any assistance in planning for this attempt on Walker’s life, in the attempt itself, or in its aftermath. His note to his wife and his conversations with her after the unsuccessful attempt never hinted of the involvement of anyone else. I am sure I was not alone in thinking: “This Walker incident is really interesting. With all the possibilities of conspiracy that have been swirling around the Kennedy assassination, Oswald seemed to have acted entirely on his own in the Walker case. Although it doesn’t prove anything about the Kennedy assassination, it certainly suggests that it could have been a lone operation as well.”

Admittedly I'm an amateur at at this (I'm going to assume everyone reading this is one too; but maybe not) but if I'm going to frame Oswald for shooting Walker and plant a note pointing to his act I'm going to put IN THE NOTE that he went to shoot Walker. Why manufacture a fake note and not explicitly include that element in the phony document?

The usual suspects will not start their hand waving and diversions from the point.

[Martin Weidmann]

Howard Willens, on pp. 91-92 of his book “History Will Prove Us Right”, writes the following interesting passages:

Oswald’s note wasn’t his only link to the Walker shooting. Investigators had found photographs of the general’s home among Oswald’s possessions, and firearms identification experts told the commission that the bullet recovered at the Walker scene was the same type of ammunition used in the assassination. On the commission staff, we thought that the Walker incident provided strong circumstantial evidence that Oswald had the determination and mental capacity required to plan an assassination and was willing to kill if he thought he had sufficient reason to do so. As to what those reasons were in the case of Walker, Marina Oswald told the commission that her husband thought the general “was a very bad man, that he was a fascist, that he was the leader of a fascist organization, and when I said that even though all of that might be true, just the same he had no right to take his life, he said if someone had killed Hitler in time it would have saved many lives.”13
At this early stage of our investigation, we were struck by certain aspects of the Walker attempt that might shed light on Oswald’s culpability in President Kennedy’s death. Many of the conspiracy theories about the assassination were based on the assumption that Oswald simply lacked the capacity to shoot the president without the assistance of others. As the details of the Walker attempt unfolded, we came to believe that some characteristics of Oswald’s behavior relating to the Walker incident challenged this assumption.
Oswald Planned Carefully: The notebook and photographs found in Oswald’s home indicated meticulous planning for Walker’s assassination. Oswald had studied Dallas bus routes, which he subsequently used. He took photographs of Walker’s house and possible locations for burying his rifle both before and after the attempt. And, of course, there was the note left for his wife with detailed instructions for her to follow in the event he did not return home.
Oswald Planned No Escape: Oswald faced the possibility that he might be apprehended for this attempt on Walker’s life. His note advised his wife where he would be imprisoned if he was captured. He also contemplated that he might die as a result of this plan, and advised his wife regarding the money he left for her, what bills had been paid, and the assistance that friends or the Red Cross might provide her in his absence.
Oswald Left a Historical Record: In his note Oswald advised his wife to send any information in the newspapers about him to the Soviet embassy, which he said “would come quickly to your aid once they know everything.” He posed for two pictures with his recently acquired rifle and pistol and copies of issues of The Worker and The Militant. Although he destroyed most of the notebook about his planning for the Walker attempt, he did not destroy the note that he left for his wife or some of the pictures that he had pasted in the notebook. He told her that he “wanted to leave a complete record so that all the details would be in it.” This concern for his place in history seemed to be an important factor to consider in assessing possible motivation for the Kennedy assassination.14
Oswald Acted Alone: The commission and staff were well aware by this time of the widespread public perception that Oswald might have been part of a conspiracy of some kind. It was important to us, therefore, that we found no indication that Oswald had any assistance in planning for this attempt on Walker’s life, in the attempt itself, or in its aftermath. His note to his wife and his conversations with her after the unsuccessful attempt never hinted of the involvement of anyone else. I am sure I was not alone in thinking: “This Walker incident is really interesting. With all the possibilities of conspiracy that have been swirling around the Kennedy assassination, Oswald seemed to have acted entirely on his own in the Walker case. Although it doesn’t prove anything about the Kennedy assassination, it certainly suggests that it could have been a lone operation as well.”

Although it doesn’t prove anything about the Kennedy assassination

Enough said