CIA & JFK: The Secret Assassination Files

by Jefferson Morley

As the editor of JFKFacts.org, a website devoted to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Jefferson Morley is asked, “So who killed JFK? What’s your theory?”

Morley, a former reporter for the Washington Post and author of Our Man in Mexico: Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA, invariably disappoints. “I don’t know. It’s too early to tell.”

Fifty-plus years after JFK’s death, this answer is laughable but serious. The JFK story remains unsettled well into the 21st century, no matter what the various conspiracy and anti-conspiracy theorists may proclaim. Indeed, the complex reality of how a president of the United States came to be gunned down on a sunny day, and no one lost his liberty — or his job — continues to live and grow in popular memory.

This is a book that reveals deceit and deception on the part of the CIA relating to the Kennedy assassination and why the CIA should reveal to the American people what it is still keeping secret.

Employing his investigative reporting skills through interviews and examination of long-secret records, Morley reveals that the CIA was closely monitoring the movements of accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the months preceding the assassination of President Kennedy.

Questions naturally arise: Did the CIA suspect that Oswald was up to no good? Or was its surveillance part of a CIA scheme to frame Oswald for the assassination of President Kennedy? Why did the CIA keep its surveillance secret from the Warren Commission?

Morley also reveals a close relationship between the CIA and an American anti-Castro group that began advertising Oswald’s connections to communism and the Soviet Union immediately after the assassination?

That raises questions: Why didn’t the CIA reveal that relationship to official agencies investigating the assassination of President Kennedy? Why did a federal judge and the chief counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations accuse the CIA of deceit and deception?

The U.S. government retains almost 3,600 assassination-related records, consisting of tens of thousands of pages that have never been seen by the public. More than 1,100 of these records are held by the CIA.

What is in those secret files? What do they reveal about JFK’s death? Why has the CIA been so reluctant to release them? And when will they finally be revealed to the public? Will they answer the disturbing questions that the revelations in this book raise?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Politics

133 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2016

About the author

JEFFERSON MORLEY is a journalist and editor who has worked in Washington journalism for over thirty years, fifteen of which were spent as an editor and reporter at The Washington Post. The author of The Ghost, a biography of CIA spymaster James Jesus Angleton, and Our Man in Mexico, a biography of the CIA’s Mexico City station chief Winston Scott, Morley has written about intelligence, military, and political subjects for Salon, The Atlantic, and The Intercept, among others. He is the editor of JFK Facts, a blog. He lives in Washington, DC.

Reviews

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to Jefferson Morley give the 'keynote' speech at the Lancer conference in 2013. The one time reporter for the Washington Post has also filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit against CIA for release of documents relating to the JFK assassination. Documents that the U.S. Congress called for release back in the 1990's with the 'JFK Records Act'. Morley's previous publication in 2008 'Our Man in Mexico-Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA' follows similar trails to this Kindle release of 2016.
What is highly pertinent regarding 'CIA & JFK: The Secret Assassination Files' is that back in the 1990's the law allowed a ridiculous period of a further 25 years for all records to be released. Not only that, but these federal agencies can apply to whoever is president at the time to further delay the release of files for the more ridiculous excuse of 'national security'. As stated above, this is pertinent because the 25 year period expires October 2017. How on earth 'national security' is threatened by the action of a supposed lone-nut over fifty years in the past is beyond my comprehension. However, you can bet your bottom dollar that a president Clinton or Trump will acquiesce to any CIA request.
Morley is no conspiracy theorist, he is simply in pursuit of CIA lies, deceptions and obfuscations relating to the Kennedy killing. His analysis is fair and logical. In this short (and cheap £2.75) Kindle book he casts his investigative net over some of the spooks long suspected of involvement in Dallas '63, whose files remain stashed away at Langley; William King Harvey, David Atlee Phillips, Howard Hunt, David Morales and George Joannides. Not to mention the Yuri Nosenko transcripts. Personally, among many other items, I would like to know what happened to the documents removed from Winn Scott's safe, immediately after his death, by James Angleton.
'CIA & JFK' is a clarion call for leverage. Morley asks the question, "Can the CIA be shamed or coerced or persuaded to obey the law and release all the remaining JFK assassination files by October 2017 without exception?" As stated above, in this case I'm no optimist. We'll see!

[Clayton Donoghue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jefferson Morley hits the nail on the head in this book and that is after 50 years Americans are still not prepared to get a grip of their own institution. If Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK, then whats is with the all the "secret" files? There shouldn't be any. Lee shot the president and that's the end of it. Clearly not. The CIA and the FBI are more than aware the assassination was not that simple and continuing to hide documents to this nature is beyond necessary. What has to happen is now the American people have to say, that's enough, you had your fun, now hand it over. The American people are always boasting just how powerful they are, well here's their chance to prove it. I personally think its all hot air.....And as such the CIA and the FBI will continue to dictate to the Americans they are in charge...not the people!

[D. Richard Eunice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of words that said nothing

I did not learn anything new on the JFK assassination. The CIA will not disclose anything that will tell the truth on the assassination because there were people in high places involved in this murder. How high? As high as you want to reach. Nothing new was in the book. It was a rehash of old theories. The people involved are probably dead. However, you will never convince me Oswald happen to get a job at just the right place, bought a rifle that was second rate at best, picked the exact place to shoot from, fired 3 rounds at that distance and had a planned escape route. I just do not think he was that smart.

[Fu Tusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a conspiracy theory book, a factual treatment of events and people involved. There is no smoking gun, but there are paper trails and clues to help you piece things together a little more. The subject is fascinating precisely because it's so complex and mysterious. For every question answered, several new questions are raised. This book is well-researched and not fanciful.

[Joel Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dirty CIA

This is the first book I have ever read on the Kennedy assassination. Author does not make his own conclusions but definitely leads you through the facts gathered that the CIA was either responsible or allowed it to happen. Very good read and was logically laid out.

[James W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will figure out who killed JFK

Read this work carefully and you will have an epiphany as to how it all went down and who was behind it. Those that deny it are either involved in still covering it up or just really ignorant.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jefferson Morley has never promoted any conspiracy theory or pretended to know what happened on November 22, 1963. His work as a journalist is genuinely, penetratingly investigative, but because he has continued to highlight the fact that the world still doesn't know the full story of the assassination, the Washington establishment has continued to shun him. In this book he talks about how colleagues at the Washington Post cautioned him that pursuing stories of CIA deception with regard to JFK was ill-advised. One even pulled him aside to tell him it wasn't a good "career move."

He may be the best among the writers who have proven that the CIA has concealed its full knowledge of the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, from before the assassination to the present day. Within the CIA, files and reports were withheld at the very highest level from CIA officers who, in October 1963, were trying to find out how much the Agency knew. They were deliberately kept in the dark.

Morley gives many (if not most) CIA personnel the benefit of the doubt as honorable. At the same time, even those who have attempted to "sing" about the Agency's abuses after leaving clandestine service have been unwilling to pour scorn on their erstwhile employer, even when they've found themselves "banished" for daring to challenge the "fraternity of secrecy." Morley praises John Whitten, even while admitting that Whitten refused to engage in any serious criticism after changing professions (he became a choral singer). John Newman, evidently a friend and colleague of Morley's, likewise pays tribute to honorable CIA officers in the dedication of his book, Oswald and the CIA.

This attitude gives Morley a profoundly sensible tone, since it is no doubt true that many - perhaps most - people who have consciously taken jobs within the CIA have done so with noble intentions. Resisting hyperbole and recrimination keeps a writer on an even keel, and Morley's measured, calm style offers an odd but unmistakable sense of hope that, one day, Americans and the world will know the truth about the Kennedy assassination. Rejecting the Warren Report's whitewashing should not attract a "conspiracy theorist" label after so much information has emerged to call that report into question.

CIA & JFK was published before the scheduled release of a large trove of files and documents still withheld since the JFK Records Act was passed in 1992. As such, Morley expresses cautious hope that October 2017 will be a landmark in JFK assassination research. Sadly, as we now know, President Donald Trump disappointed Americans by bending to the demands of the CIA to keep the most important documents concealed from the public on the grounds of "national security." Trump delayed release until October 2021 at the earliest, but whatever President Joe Biden thinks of the matter, a loophole in the JFK Records Act allows indefinite concealment, as long as the President agrees with the CIA. Every president since JFK has done what the CIA wanted. Don't get your hopes up.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A waste of time given the recent release of thousands of new CIA files in Nov. 2017. It is also clear that the author has made liberal use of "puffery" to amplify issues and questions he raises which he felt were relevant. If you read this book knowing in advance that the author is trying to sell his point of view, you will sense the dozens of holes in his position and understand that every issue he raises is a point of his only because he ramps up the meaning of it while obscuring other explanations. He clearly wants the reader to believe that nearly every CIA activity here was born of some suspicious motive. While it is clear that the CIA and FBI should have been more aware of the danger that Oswald presented, and while it is clear that the CIA withheld information from at least two investigations, these facts have been known and written about by dozens of authors over the past decades.

Having now read four books on the Kennedy Assassination, I believe that the truth is that Oswald alone killed President Kennedy. When he killed Kennedy he was a troubled young man (age 24) who for at least the previous four years, had been acting out his delusion of grandeur. Oswald was poorly educated and had no skills of any marketable value. He was in troubled and failing marriage, he had children and he had no real prospects for making a living. And, just prior to shooting Kennedy, Oswald was clearly heading down a rabbit hole which lead only to insanity. IMO, had Oswald not killed the President, he would have likely soon engaged in some other wacky outrageous act simply to prove his worth to himself. The real horror of this is that there are certainly thousands of Oswald-like persons among us now. We should all hope that the FBI and CIA now know how to better handle these wack jobs.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad but sometimes hard to follow

This book has some new information and some old. It does raise more questions than it answers but that is what i liked about it. It certainly makes me consider just how screwed up of an organization the CIA really is. If you don't know much about the JFK Assassination already i don't recommend starting with this book as it may cause extreme confusion and turn you away entirely. I will say the best thing this book does is empower the people of this democracy to hold their government accountable for its actions!!

[Nick Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get past the very "We are not cranks" tone of the introduction and you'll be just fine as this is a fair, sober look at the more recently revealed JFK docs and the questions they raise. Morely's writing is always measured and his broad knowledge base in the subject gives context and often backstory to every piece of info that comes up.

Recommended for those who are curious as to where we are with the government's reveal of docs and info but perhaps aren't so conspiracy-minded. Highly recommended for the warning/call-to-action Morely closes with, as he states the relevance and importance of staying on the government for transparency.

[David L Bowman Sr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many assumptions

I was disappointed that the author used assumptions about what was meant, what was said, etc to arrive at his conclusions when no real evidence is disclosed. Anyone can guess what was going on, but real facts make guessing unnecessary.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book on the assassination of JFK

A insightful and informative book. It certainly is thought provoking insight into an historic event. Something I have found fascinating.

[Kurt · Rating 2 out of 5]

You will get some interesting CIA /JFK facts in this book, however it is choppy and repetitive. It feels like 3 magazine articles pasted together to form a book, which is disheartening because Morley knows his subjects.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book discussing JFK Assassination questions which may be answered with the scheduled release of files in October 2017.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good intro book to the JFK assassination conspiracy theories. I look forward to digging deeper.

[Pete Miller]

Great addition to the trove of books about the JFK assassination. This one pursues the idea that Oswald was a government agent or informant in the years and months before the shooting.

[ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Not groundbreaking given my existing knowledge of the assassination, but interesting enough to drive me while unpacking.