Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, known for his 1991 film JFK that depicted President John F. Kennedy’s assassination as part of a government conspiracy, is scheduled to testify before the US Congress today. This comes in light of newly released documents related to the assassination. Joining him are Jefferson Morley and James DiEugenio, both authors who advocate for conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of JFK.
Despite the recent release of documents ordered by Donald Trump, experts assert that the files do not provide any substantial new evidence that undermines the conclusion that Kennedy was killed by a lone gunman. Many of these documents were previously available, but now include newly unveiled information, such as Social Security numbers.
The first session of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Warren Commission’s investigation. This investigation concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old former Marine, acted alone in assassinating Kennedy on 22 November 1963 as his motorcade passed through downtown Dallas.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna from Florida, leader of the task force, expressed her desire to collaborate with writers and researchers to help resolve “one of the biggest cold case files in US history.”
Oliver Stone’s film JFK was a critical and commercial success, earning eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and winning two. Despite its accolades, the film faced scrutiny over its factual accuracy.
The last formal congressional probe into Kennedy’s assassination concluded in 1978, when a House committee reported that the Soviet Union, Cuba, organized crime, the CIA, and the FBI were not involved. However, they did suggest that Kennedy “probably was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.” A Senate committee in 1976 similarly reported insufficient evidence to conclude a conspiracy existed.
The Warren Commission, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy’s successor, determined that Oswald fired from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Oswald was apprehended by police within 90 minutes, but was killed two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby during a live televised jail transfer.
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