Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

Who got a seat at the table? Do you realize how small the space was in that garage when Oswald was led out? It was really just a cubbyhole.

This diagram details most, if not all, of the cameramen who were there, but it does not show the reporters. So, you have to add them in, mentally. And when you do, you realize that that garage, in the area of that recess, was full. It was filled to capacity. It had all the newsmen and cameramen it could possibly hold: no more and no less. 

But, how was it that the exact number of people who could fit showed up? The whole world had descended on Dallas that weekend. By Sunday morning, reporters and cameramen from news organization all over the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, etc. were there. We have to assume that any number of them would have wanted to be represented in that garage. Could it be that the exact number who could fit in that space showed up? No. That is absurd. It is obvious that this was more like a wedding party in which seating was arranged. It was by invitation only. 

The jail transfer was announced on the radio. And not only was it announced, but it was the talk of the town that Sunday morning. I've listened to some of the broadcasts, some of the on-air discussions, and the focus was on how much danger Oswald was in from all the threats that were coming in, and how much provisioning was being done by the Dallas Police to insure his safety.  

So, does it, or does it not, seem like an unlimited number of news organizations would have wanted to be represented there?

So, this could not have been a situation in which anyone with a press badge who showed up could get in. There was a limited number of seats at this table. There must have been a "wedding planner" who assigned the seats and made sure that there weren't too many or too few. 

As far as I know, this was entirely a domestic affair. They were all U.S. news organizations. No foreign ones. All three of the television networks were there: CBS, NBC, and ABC, WFAA being an ABC affiliate. Then you had the wire services: AP and UPI. You had the two Dallas newspapers, the Dallas Times Herald and the Dallas Morning News. But, weren't there an unlimited number of newspapers from all over the country and the world who would have wanted to be there?

So again, this could not have been a situation in which anyone who shows up with a press badge could get in. It must have been by special invitation only- somehow. If there was this much press interest in the Oswald jail transfer, then it must have been unlimited. And you know how great the number of news organizations is and were. And it could not have been first come/ first serve either because it's just too damn convenient that these pillars of the American media just happened to be the ones to show up in time. It simply must have been pre-arranged, by special invitation, again like a wedding. 

But, who would do that for what was supposed to be Oswald being led into a garage, put into a car, and driven away? Was it not too much ado about nothing if it really was expected to be just that?  No, no, no. It was known that it was going to be more than that, that Oswald was going to be shot. 

The Dallas Police definitely knew that Oswald was going to be shot. It was all pre-arranged. Jim Leavelle wore his light Easter suit precisely so that he would stand out in contrast to Oswald who was in black. The detectives were lined up against the wall so that they could create a smokescreen once the ruckus started, and also for some of them to be the Penguins who would huddle around Bookhout and keep him out of view while he was being scurried out of there, and they particularly had tall ones there to do that. And look at Will Franz, who marched out like he was in some kind of "pomp and circumstance" procession. And, why was it necessary for him to be there at all, if it was just going to be Oswald being put in a car and driven away? Fritz didn't even attend the lineups that Oswald was in. So, why would he attend the jail transfer? Just to see him walk outside and get into a car? No, no, no. He knew. They all knew. This was a combined Dallas Police and FBI operation, to get Oswald properly shot and killed. Obviously, the FBI was involved since James Bookhout was an FBI agent.

So, the Dallas Police knew and the FBI knew. But, what about the media representatives, whether they were reporters or cameramen? Did they all know? Were they all part of it? Were they all in on it?

I doubt that the answer to that is yes. I simply can't imagine that they told cameramen and reporters, "Hey, we're killing Oswald today."  However, let's understand the nature of the news organizations who were there; they were all extremely cooperative. They were all extremely compliant. They all had an extremely non-confrontational, and "whatever you tell us we accept" attitude. And that's really what earned them a seat at the table. 

But, were they all present when the real Jack Ruby was allowed in, when he got by two cops at the ramp entrance who just happened to be distracted? Where the one guarding the ramp entrance felt the need to assist the other one who was exiting in his car at the time, rather than do what he was assigned to do, which was guard the entrance? "What a darn shame (that Ruby got by) but you know, shit happens." 

Well, obviously the cameramen weren't there when the real Jack Ruby was there because wouldn't they have captured pictures of him being taken down? And since the ones in charge explicitly and profoundly did not want images of that taken, why would they let them be there? 

No, I have to believe that they kept this select group of journalists and photojournalists under wraps somewhere until they were done with the real Jack Ruby, and then they let them spill in there. We know from Bob Jackson that they were made to wait in the press room on the 3rd floor until it was time. That's where they must have been when the real Jack Ruby had his forever moment. And as soon as they scurried Ruby out of there and out of sight, then they let the select newsmen in to fill the space. 

It's interesting that the only Dallas Police officer whom Jack Ruby could remember seeing, as someone he knew, was Rio "Sam" Pierce, who was the one driving the police car that Ray Vaugn felt it necessary to help make a turn. And remember that Main Street, like Commerce, was a one-way street. So, it's not as though Pierce had to cross over to the other side of the street and confront traffic going the other way. The idea that he should have needed help to do that is ridiculous. Anyone with normal, everyday driving skill could have done it.  This was about letting Jack Ruby in. This was about creating an alibi for how Ruby got past them. They let Jack Ruby in. They let Jack Ruby in. 

What we saw on television was a staged event. It was theater. The Dallas Police and the FBI must have gotten the order from J. Edgar Hoover and LBJ that the country needed Oswald to die, that the country would be paralyzed if it had to wait for, and endure, a trial before it could put the case behind them and get back to work, to get back to normal everyday American life. The trauma must end now. That was the message, and they ended it alright: with trauma- to Oswald. And, the willingness of the Dallas Police to do it was bolstered by the belief that Oswald had killed one of their own, J.D Tippit. It was all very Machiavellian.