Important Disclosure about William King Harvey in Recently Released Document

[Lance Payette]

I did see that Shaw had agreed in 1955 to attend an international conference on behalf of the CIA provided the expenses were borne by the CIA and was referred to at that time as a "valued source." Perhaps McDonald saw some raw dollar figures for travel reimbursement and thought that equated to "highly paid." Shaw was quite wealthy, so perhaps the memo means nothing more than "rich guy cont[r]act source" - not "highly paid by the CIA cont[r]act source." Who cares anyway? Shaw's activities seem pretty well-known and he seems to me right up there with Ruth Paine as an unfairly maligned victim of CT craziness.

[Tom Graves]

I did see that Shaw had agreed in 1955 to attend an international conference on behalf of the CIA provided the expenses were borne by the CIA and was referred to at that time as a "valued source." Perhaps McDonald saw some raw dollar figures for travel reimbursement and thought that equated to "highly paid." Shaw was quite wealthy, so perhaps the memo means nothing more than "rich guy cont[r]act source" - not "highly paid by the CIA cont[r]act source." Who cares anyway? Shaw's activities seem pretty well-known and he seems to me right up there with Ruth Paine as an unfairly maligned victim of CT craziness.

Russophile Ruthie did nothing wrong!!!

Nyet! Nyet! Nyet!

[Lance Payette]

Well, I have been inspired to purchase, for a mere $7.99 in the Kindle version, this massive biography of Clay Shaw: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Million-Fragments-True-Story/dp/0692226419/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pb_opt?ie=UTF8.

Based on the reviews, my guess is that it will have the same effect as the massive biography of George de Mohrenschildt - i.e., further convince me that the dark and sinister CT speculation is fundamentally nutty. When you think about it, it's almost incredible: So many of the key figures in the JFKA - Oswald, Marina, Ruth Paine, George de Mohrenschildt, Clay Shaw, Allen Dulles and many others - have "CT versions" of themselves that are almost completely at odds with the real people.

Interestingly, the Shaw book has an Amazon review by Carlos Bringuier:

Dr. Carlos J. Bringuier
5.0 out of 5 stars A TRUE BIOGRAPHY OF A VICTIM
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013

I met Clay Shaw the day of his acquittal. This man won the trial but lost his life persecuted by a deranged, communist, District Attorney who for some reasons wanted to destroy a leader of the community. I hope that one day a Hollywood producer decides to do justice to the memory of Clay Shaw and make a real movie about this poor man. Oliver Stone should be ashamed of his JFK movie where he depicted Jim Garrison as an honest District Attorney.

The references to me in this book are accurate and not distorted. I congratulate Donald H. Carpenter in his very good job writing this book

[Steve M. Galbraith]

Well, I have been inspired to purchase, for a mere $7.99 in the Kindle version, this massive biography of Clay Shaw: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Million-Fragments-True-Story/dp/0692226419/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pb_opt?ie=UTF8.

Based on the reviews, my guess is that it will have the same effect as the massive biography of George de Mohrenschildt - i.e., further convince me that the dark and sinister CT speculation is fundamentally nutty. When you think about it, it's almost incredible: So many of the key figures in the JFKA - Oswald, Marina, Ruth Paine, George de Mohrenschildt, Clay Shaw, Allen Dulles and many others - have "CT versions" of themselves that are almost completely at odds with the real people.

Interestingly, the Shaw book has an Amazon review by Carlos Bringuier:

Dr. Carlos J. Bringuier
5.0 out of 5 stars A TRUE BIOGRAPHY OF A VICTIM
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013

I met Clay Shaw the day of his acquittal. This man won the trial but lost his life persecuted by a deranged, communist, District Attorney who for some reasons wanted to destroy a leader of the community. I hope that one day a Hollywood producer decides to do justice to the memory of Clay Shaw and make a real movie about this poor man. Oliver Stone should be ashamed of his JFK movie where he depicted Jim Garrison as an honest District Attorney.

The references to me in this book are accurate and not distorted. I congratulate Donald H. Carpenter in his very good job writing this book

If you want a Reader's Digest version (the book is enormously detailed) look up the footnotes on Hunter Leake (right, Leake). He was the CIA Domestic Contacts agent that Shaw communicated/worked with. Carpenter says that Shaw's information (apparently all on economic/trade matters) over the eight years (1948-56) of the relationship generated eight CIA reports with six still around.

All of Shaw's activity with the CIA apparently ended in 1956 when he also largely stopped traveling abroad when promoting the Trade Mart. Apparently (there's that word again) the last contact was in 1956 when it seems Leake (or someone with the CIA) approached Shaw about helping them find out about shipments of mercury from Spain and Italy to the Soviet bloc. Shaw offered to write letters to companies in Italy and Spain about the question. The CIA later said it wasn't needed. Carpenter doesn't mention anything about Shaw being "highly paid."

Shaw regularly traveled overseas during that early period promoting the Trade Mart so it makes sense that the CIA would have a formal relationship with him about what he saw or heard. This was not some person traveling abroad on an occasion and then being interviewed about what he or she heard. The above mentioned mercury matter doesn't seem to be something someone with an informal or ad hoc relationship would be asked to do. As to the payments, again Carpenter doesn't mention any being made or discussions about it.

As you point out, Shaw would have been an ideal person to use by the CIA for economic or trade information. But there's nothing indicating he did anything more than that.

[Benjamin Cole]

Shaw had a position in an international trade mart that would allow him to use that facility to move goods or documents, and have eyes and ears in a lot of places.

It may be the CIA did not spend its money wisely---after all, they are not a private-sector company, and thus had to get a measurable return on its investment.

In the military and intel worlds, a lot of people are paid to "stand and wait." In case they are some day needed. Some people are reimbursed based on their status and potential value, and perhaps not actual worth.

If a CIA historian in a prepared report---not a memo, or causal conversation---referred to anyone as a "highly paid contract source," and never retracted the statement, I would consider that to be a true statement.

The fact that the CIA historian's statement was made regarding an individual who had, very publicly, been prosecuted for the JFKA makes its doubly unlikely that the "highly paid contract source" description of Shaw is in error.

The probable truth that Shaw was in fact a "highly paid contract source" hardly proves the JFKA was perped by the CIA, or even that there was a JFKAC. My take is Shaw had nothing to do with the JFKA.

Perhaps Shaw was asked to figure out who was LHO, someone who would be reasonably regarded as a suspect character. Maybe Shaw never even met LHO---but Shaw was still a highly paid contract source.

CT'ers and LN'ers both tend to regard evidence they do not like as "faked" or in error. Usually CT'ers, but it can go both ways.

As I always say, caveat emptor, and draw your own conclusions. 

[Tom Graves]

Shaw had a position in an international trade mart that would allow him to use that facility to move goods or documents, and have eyes and ears in a lot of places.

It may be the CIA did not spend its money wisely---after all, they are not a private-sector company, and thus had to get a measurable return on its investment.

In the military and intel worlds, a lot of people are paid to "stand and wait." In case they are some day needed. Some people are reimbursed based on their status and potential value, and perhaps not actual worth.

If a CIA historian in a prepared report---not a memo, or causal conversation---referred to anyone as a "highly paid contract source," and never retracted the statement, I would consider that to be a true statement.

The fact that the CIA historian's statement was made regarding an individual who had, very publicly, been prosecuted for the JFKA makes its doubly unlikely that the "highly paid contract source" description of Shaw is in error.

The probable truth that Shaw was in fact a "highly paid contract source" hardly proves the JFKA was perped by the CIA, or even that there was a JFKAC. My take is Shaw had nothing to do with the JFKA.

Perhaps Shaw was asked to figure out who was LHO, someone who would be reasonably regarded as a suspect character. Maybe Shaw never even met LHO---but Shaw was still a highly paid contract source.

CT'ers and LN'ers both tend to regard evidence they do not like as "faked" or in error. Usually CT'ers, but it can go both ways.

You're full of high-fructose beans.

Pardon my collegiality.

[Benjamin Cole]

I beg to differ.

I only eat low-fructose beans!