On the Garrison Trail

Mexico City



Mexico City has a part in the events just prior to the assassination, and questions still remain if Lee Oswald visited there in Sept. '63.
There is some evidence that he may have gone, but no proof he showed up at the embassies there, or had met a Soviet assassin kingpin.
The above photograph was taken at the time Lee Oswald was supposed to be there, and the identity was known to CIA and some FBI in Dallas.
CIA Officer, Winston Scott, and CIA Chief, Col J C King, corresponded on this matter. A pouch of detailed information was forwarded to Dallas.

The charade by the HSCA regarding this incident demonstrates their lack of intention in following leads that circle back to CIA covert operations.
They knew who this man was, Richard Helms knew who this man was. The photos pouched to Dallas had full descriptions on the back.
CIA Officer, Winston Scott, "I requested permission to give the Legal Attache copies of photographs of a certain person who is known to you."

“A Little Incident in Mexico City”
"The CIA worked so hard behind the scenes to try to keep the Warren Commission from publishing a photo of this supposedly unidentified person,
even after receiving assurances that the background would be cropped out(the suggestion was even made that perhaps the face could be altered)."

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On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison

"While his wife and daughter stayed with Ruth Paine, Lee Oswald himself, according to the government, was in Mexico City,
allegedly contacting the Soviet and Cuban embassies and making himself quite visible. But I was already having doubts about this explanation.

Those doubts were confirmed later, when more information on this incident became available. A C.I.A. memo dated October 10, 1963,
reported that in late September and early October Lee Oswald had repeatedly phoned and appeared at the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City,
asking if there had been calls for him and talking with a trade consultant who was supposedly a member of the K.G.B.’s “liquid affairs”
(murder) bureau. Copies of the memo were sent to the F.B.I. and the State Department. Follow-up Agency leads placed Oswald in the Cuban
Embassy as well, where he ostensibly was trying to obtain a visa to go to the Soviet Union via Cuba.

Early in the official inquiry, the C.I.A. informed the Warren Commission of Oswald’s alleged activities in Mexico City before the assassination.
Uncharacteristically, the Commission asked for more evidence. Perhaps the Commission members, aware that the Agency had 24-hour photographic
surveillance of the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico City, were hoping for a good picture to shore up their sparsely documented account of
Oswald’s trip to Mexico. Initially, the Agency ignored the Commission’s request. But after more pressure, the C.I.A. finally handed over a
murky snapshot of a portly, greying gentleman almost old enough to be Oswald’s father.

This, the Agency claimed, was Lee Oswald at the Cuban Embassy."
link to photo supplied by Cuba to HSCA

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Duran, Duran

Silvia Duran began working in the Cuban consul's office in Mexico City in August 1963.
On Sept. 27, 1963, an American claiming to be Lee Harvey Oswald, said he he needed a Cuban transit visa.
Silvia was smart enough to ask certain questions that raised suspicions of his actions.

She told him, he would have to confirm any further excursion to Russia with the Soviet Embassy.
When he told her he had, she called and confirmed he hadn't. The man became quite aggregated, left and returned 2 more times.
Six time he would have passed CIA surveillance cameras, all were working, as well as Duran herself being monitored by CIA from within.
There are no pictures of Lee Oswald walking in or out of the Cuban Embassy at Mexico City in the last week of Sept. '63.
When Duran identified the American as short and blonde, she was arrested by Mexican authorities. A CIA cable kept the agency clean.

Anthony Summers, The Kennedy Conspiracy (1980)
"Duran and her former boss both remembered the Oswald at the consulate as being blond-haired.
She has also said she remembers him as having had "blue or green eyes." Neither detail fits with the authentic Oswald.
Persuasively, Duran's signed statement following her interrogation by Mexican investigators-within days of the assassination-specified
that Oswald's hair was blond. But that detail was removed from a second statement, which was likely a deliberate fabrication."

The CIA cable regarding Duran's arrest:
"Arrest of Silvia Duran is extremely serious matter which could prejudice U.S. freedom of action on entire question of Cuban responsibility .. .
With full regard for Mexican interests, request you ensure that her arrest is kept absolutely secret, that no information from her is
published or leaked, that all such info is cabled to us, and that fact of her arrest and her statements are not spread to leftist or
disloyal circles in the Mexican government." When Duran was finally freed, she began to speak of her experience, CIA asked for her re arrest.

Another CIA cable was issued, "...to be certain that there is no misunderstanding between us, we want to insure that Silvia Duran gets no
impression that Americans are behind her rearrest. In other words we want Mexican authorities to take responsibility for the whole affair."
Silvia Duran did not speak of this again until she identified the man as Oswald to the HSCA. She was never called before the Warren Commission.

Imposters



In the weeks after the assassination the FBI received reports from citizens in Dallas about a man they had
seen that looked like, and even sometimes identified himself as Lee Harvey Oswald. There was a furniture store,
a shooting range, a hitchhiker, and a very strange incident at a Ford Dealership, and a wild test ride.

These incidents need careful consideration in the witnesses of the Tippitt shooting.
Evidence suggests, Lee was taken from his rooming house to the Texas Theater at an earlier time.
While another man, perhaps one of these imposters, later killed Tippit, then snuck into the balcony while Lee was downstairs.

If Lee was brought to the theater at an earlier time, he would not hear radio, or news reports of a policeman being killed.
If the real killer ran upstairs, he was covered by somebody that identified themselves as management and directed the officers back downstairs.
Bernard Haire saw a man [looked like Lee] being taken out the rear and put into a police car - arrested, and in cuffs near the BACK of his store.

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On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison

[In Oct.' 63] "... Mrs. Lovell Penn found three men ostentatiously firing a rifle on her property and chased them away.
After they left, she found an empty cartridge case bearing the label of “Mannlicher-Carcano”—the archaic and almost useless rifle which,
the Warren Commission would announce, Oswald used in his historic exhibition of marksmanship at Dealey Plaza.

In early November a young man using the name of “Lee Oswald” applied for a job at a parking lot at the Southland Hotel.
During the course of his conversation with the manager he asked if there was a good view of “downtown Dallas” from the building.
These scenarios were about as subtle as roaches trying to sneak across a white rug. But the most preposterous incident of the bunch
took place one afternoon in early November of 1963.

A young man arrived at the Downtown Lincoln Mercury dealership—which happened to be just across the way from where the
assassination soon would occur. He announced his intention of test driving and buying a car. The salesman, Albert Bogard,
showed him a red Mercury Comet, and in short order they were cruising along the Stemmons Freeway, the customer at the wheel.

After they got on the freeway, he revved up the speed to 60 and 70 miles an hour and began driving like Mario Andretti at the Indianapolis 500.
He had the car taking even the tightest turns at high speed. As the salesman afterwards told his boss, “He drove like a madman.”

When they got back, the customer seemed unhappy upon learning that he would have to pay at least a $200 or $300 down payment to drive
out with the brand new car. Eugene Wilson, another salesman, heard him say, “Maybe I’m going to have to go back to Russia to buy a car.”
The man then told Bogard that he would be back to get the car in a couple of weeks, that he had some money coming in.

He gave his name as “Lee Oswald,” and Bogard wrote it on the back of one of his business cards. Several weeks later Bogard
heard on the showroom radio that Lee Oswald had been arrested. He pulled out “Oswald’s” card, ripped it up, and threw it away.
“He won’t want to buy a car,” he said.

Bogard remembered the speed of the ride on the freeway better than he remembered the appearance of the customer.
His response was: “I can tell you the truth, I have already forgotten what he actually looked like. I identified him as in pictures,
but just to tell you what he looked like that day, I don’t remember.”

Another salesman, Frank Prizzo, remembered a hairline different than the line up photograph taken that night.
"Very weak—not the bushy type that I see in the picture. Well, if I’m not sure—then—I have to say that he is not the one—
if you want the absolute statement."

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Garrison Footnote:
It is interesting to note that after Oswald’s arrest the F.B.I., which had been informed immediately after the assassination of the
“Lee Oswald” visit to Downtown Lincoln Mercury, did not take any of the witnesses from the automobile dealership over to Oswald’s lineup.

Not Jigging Anymore



Dean Adams Andrews, Jr. was the jive-talking attorney who told the Warren Commission
that he'd been asked by a "Clay Bertrand" to represent Lee Oswald in Dallas.
He described "Bertrand" as a "swinging cat" who occasionally guaranteed fees for some of his homosexual clients.

He testified July 21, '64. Wesley Liebeler was the questioning attorney in New Orleans.
He went over the few meetings he had with Oswald regarding his discharge and wife's citizenship.
A few times, he met with Lee, he was with some gay Mexicans that had gotten into trouble dressing in drag.
Lee was not one of these transvestites, but was with them when they came in for legal assistance.

Andrews is extremely cagey on the stand, dancing around questions, some answers sounded made up, like when he saw Bertrand on he street,
"...He is about 5'8"...sandy hair, blue eyes, ruddy complexion. Must weigh about 165, 170, 175. He really took off, that rascal."
Elaborations were not specific, sometimes divided by a choice, and not followed up or challenged by the attorney.

When Liebeler confronted him with the height discrepancy of Bertrand 6'2" to 5'8", he said the man was sitting down.
The attorney discarded the taller length taken earlier, nor did he challenge if it was seen while the man was actually standing.
A lot of what he said later changed. In '67 it was a friend, Gene Davis, then he later claimed, he couldn't say who it was.
But he knew exactly who Clay Bertrand was. When he had a lunch at Broussard's Restaurant, he warned Jim, "...if I give you that name..."

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On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison

"From reading his statements and subsequent testimony, it was clear to me that Andrews indeed had received a phone call from
someone in New Orleans about going to Dallas and defending Oswald. And it had come the day after the assassination.
Andrews suddenly leaned forward, his black glasses looming at me.

“Pipe the bimbo in red,” he said in a low voice.
“What’s that?”

I glanced in the direction he was pointing and saw a lissome young lady radiant in crimson, turning heads as she arrived with her lunch date.
“She’s pretty,” I said, turning back to Andrews. His laid-back manner, which seemed to enable him to shed reality as a duck sheds water,
was beginning to irritate me. I had been trying to pin him down for half an hour now, and he was well into his second martini, quite unfazed.

“Could we get to the point? Just who is Clay Bertrand? Where do I find him? I want to talk to him.”

Andrews swung his arms open wide in exaggerated frustration. “God almighty,” he said. “You’re worse than the Feebees.*
How can I convince you that I don’t know this cat, I don’t know what he looks like, and I don’t know where he’s at.
All I know is that sometimes he sends me cases. So, one day, this cat Bertrand’s on the phone talkin’ to me about going to Dallas
and representing Oswald.”

He put his hand over his heart. “Scout’s honor, man. That’s all I know about the guy.”
Andrews resumed eating his Crabmeat Louie with gusto. Apparently he felt that I had my answer and the matter was settled.

For the first time it occurred to me that seated in front of me was a man who took everything in life with a grain of salt.
Or perhaps, I reflected, he had up to now. As he lifted another forkful of his Crabmeat Louie, I reached out and grabbed the fat
hand with the fork in it. The black glasses swung my way. The crab meat halted in mid-air.

“Dean,” I said, “I think we’re having a communication problem. Let me see if this will help clarify it for you.
Now stop eating that damn crab meat for a minute and listen to me.”

I could not see through the glasses, but I knew I had his attention. “I’m aware of our long friendship,”
I said. “But I want you to know that I’m going to call you in front of the Grand Jury. If you lie to the Grand Jury as you
have been lying to me, I’m going to charge you with perjury. Now am I communicating with you?”

Andrews stopped eating his crab meat and put down his fork. He was silent for a long moment, apparently saddened at the failure of his jive humor.
Then he spoke, and for the first time he seemed to be serious—at least, as far as you could tell before the black glasses blocked your vision.

“Is this off the record, Daddyo?” he asked me. I nodded. “In that case,” he said, “let me sum it up for you real quick.
It’s as simple as this. If I answer that question you keep asking me, if I give you that name you keep trying to get, then it’s goodbye,
Dean Andrews. It’s bon voyage, Deano. I mean like permanent. I mean like a bullet in my head—which makes it hard to do one’s legal research,
if you get my drift. Does that help you see my problem a little better?”

"...I leaned forward. “Read my lips,” I said. I spoke with careful deliberation. “Either you dance in to the Grand Jury with the real
moniker of that cat who called you to represent Lee Oswald, or your fat behind is going to the slammer. Do you dig me?”

Andrews froze. I could not read through the huge pitch-black glasses, but I sensed that he was shaken.
Then he stood up so suddenly it startled me. “Do you have any idea what you’re getting into, my man?” he asked.
“You want to dance with the government? Is that what you want? Then be my guest. But you will get sat on, and I do mean hard.”
He dropped his pink napkin on top of his Crab meat Louie. “Thanks for the lunch,” he mumbled. “It’s been lovely.”

He wheeled and walked away from the table. When he had entered the restaurant he had jigged in the front door,
snapping his fingers to some imagined tune. Looking at him as he walked away, I realized that I had finally gotten through.
He was not jigging anymore."

Clay Shaw



Clay LaVerne Shaw, was born, March 1913, in Kentwood, Louisiana.
His father was a US Marshall, Glaris Lenora Shaw, his mother, Alice, tended home.
When he was five, the family moved to New Orleans, where Shaw attended, Warren Easton Charter High School.

After graduating, he joined the Army and worked up to Secretary of the General Staff.
General Staff, is a group of military officers responsible for administrative, operational and logistical needs of its unit.
Shaw was the personal aide to General Charles Thrasher before retiring from the service a Major General in 1946.

After returning from the war, he founded the International Trade Mart of New Orleans.
It was an organization dedicated to improving trade relations between New Orleans and the world.
Clay Shaw was the managing director from its inception until he retired in 1965.

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Peut-être un peu

Clay Shaw was an extremely intelligent man, he certainly would have seen the advantage and opportunity in military intelligence.
As Secretary to the General Staff in the US Army, he was exposed to various levels of military intelligence.
Given the questions that arose about him later in his life, it appears evident he took a route best suited for information advantage.
Wikipedia breaks down staff command thru many years, but C2 to C3 would be constant throughout, basic, without extreme technology,

"C2" (command and control) to "C3" (C2 with addition of "communication", such as PsyOps) to "C4" (C3 with addition of "computers", such as IT and networks)
to C4I2 (C4 with addition of "intelligence" and "interoperability")to "C5I" (C4 with addition of "collaboration" and "intelligence")
to "C6ISR" (subsumes C4I2 and C5I by combining C4 element of "command, control, communications and computers" with addition of 2C
"cyber-defense and combat systems" (e.g. aegis) and ISR elements of "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance").

"C2" (command and control) to "C3" (C2 with addition of "communication", such as PsyOps" "PsyOps is Psychological warfare (PSYWAR),
or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms,
including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Minds", and propaganda."

Clay Shaw was Secretary to the Staff thru all this, and he is talking to everybody as the go between at some very high level operations.
He was decorated with "Legion of Merit" and "Bronze Star", by the US, The "Croix de Guerre" and named Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite,
by France and named "Knight of the Order of the Crown of Belgium". They don't pass these out lightly, some are awarded by royalty.

Most importantly he was networking and developing relationships. When he came home in '46 those contacts helped him facilitate the Trade Mart.
At first the Agency would not admit Shaw had anything to do with them, then when the term "Domestic Contact" was exposed, the excuse was he
worked in a limited capacity domestically. What does that even mean? Here's a clue, it was completely denied, then it was, ok, maybe a little.

High ranking CIA staff officer, Victor Marchetti | True magazine [1975]:
"I, was then told, 'Well... Shaw, a long time ago, had been a contact of the Agency...
He was in the export-import business...He knew people coming and going from certain areas-the Domestic Contact Service'
he used to deal with them ... and it's been cut off a long time ago' and then I was told, 'well of course the Agency doesn't
want this to come out now because Garrison will distort it, the public would misconstrue it.'

Former CIA Director Richard Helms, described Shaw’s contact with the CIA from 1948 to 1956:
"...at one time, as a businessman, (Shaw) was one of the part-time contacts of the Domestic Contact Division.”