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

John Armstrong:

Hi Ralph,

I continue to think about Oswald in the doorway.

I continue to think about LHO's statement to Fritz that he was out front with Shelley. You recent write-up was excellent, and I think you should focus on this instead of relying entirely on the Altgens photo.

You are correct in stating that LHO would have naturally assumed that Shelley would have backed up his story that he (LHO) was on the front steps at the time of the shooting. But if LHO and Shelley were together on the front steps, then Shelley lied and he lied on purpose. And the only reason for his lying is if he was somehow involved. 

At the time of the shooting, or within seconds thereafter, LHO could not be seen anywhere outside the building--he had to be inside the building. But where? Eliminating the floors, one by one, leaves only the vacant lunchroom. But I don't believe for a second that LHO went to the lunchroom on his own. Someone told him to go there, probably his boss--Shelley. To me, this is very important.

I would pursue this avenue of thought by searching all DPD reports and WC testimony relating to Shelley's whereabouts after the shooting. We know that Shelley lied, but we have to prove it thru other witnesses.

Shelley out on the front steps with LHO at the time of the shooting fits perfectly with my thoughts that LHO was constantly monitored and observed in the weeks and days leading up to the assassination. All the planning, preparation, time, expense---everything depended upon him being at the TSBD on 11/22/63, but unseen at 12:30 PM. And who better to stalk LHO than Shelley ( at work), Ruth Paine (on weekends) and who knows who at 1026 N. Beckley.

John

Ralph Cinque:

Exactly, John. Harvey cited Shelley precisely because he thought Shelley, of all people, would confirm it. But, what he didn't know was that Shelley was in on it, that Shelley was playing him all along.

Whenever you try to place Oswald elsewhere but the lunch room, it fails. He said he ate lunch in the first floor lunch room, and again he cited someone: "Junior (Jarman) and a "short negro" (Harold Norman). And, they confirmed that they were there at the time- about 12:15. But, from there, they went outside and took a position on the street (intending to watch the motorcade from there) then they got the bright idea to watch from a window. So, they walked down the length of Houston Street to the back of the building, reentered thru the back door, and rode the elevator up to the 5th floor, and then walked across the expanse of the 5th floor to the southeast window, directly below the Sniper's Nest. It's quite a hike. And, we have two photos of them there at 12:30. So, there are no grounds to place Oswald in the first floor lunch room at 12:30. 

And why would he be? Like everyone else, he got off work at 11:45 which gave him 45 minutes to eat lunch before the President arrived. So, why would he wait to 12:30 to eat? It's pretty crazy, you know? The very idea is ridiculous. 

And the other claim that is often made, based on Bookhout's report, is that he went directly from the 1st floor lunch room to the 2nd floor lunch room and was there at 12:30. But, that is so false it's an outrage. Baker made clear that Oswald was just getting to the lunch room when he first saw him. Oswald was entering the vestibule from the office area, which means he just arrived there. Oswald had not yet set foot in the lunch room when Baker saw him. Baker and Oswald arrived at the same time. Oswald was not already there. 

So, both lunch rooms are ruled out, and the only place left is the doorway- unless one goes for something arbitrary, such as he was in the bathroom.  

Captain Will Fritz was asked directly by the Warren Commission where Oswald said he was at the time of the shots, and Fritz said that Oswald said he was "eating lunch with other employees". What a stupid thing to say. The automatic response should have been: "Oh really? What other employees? Provide their names. We need to talk to these people." But of course, Fritz was never asked that. 

So just consider: not only were they were making the preposterous assumption that Oswald skipped the motorcade to eat a late lunch, but, according to Fritz, so did other employees. Of course, it was never examined. 

Fritz never said anything publicly about "out with Shelley in front" but Bookhout did. He was there when Oswald said it, and he twisted it to mean that Oswald was out in front with Shelley AFTER the assassination when Oswald left for home. But, that was impossible because Shelley left immediately for the railroad tracks and then he went around to the back. There is NO CHANCE that Shelley was out front when Oswald left for home.

It's all just bloody lies, just like that new "scientific" research about the Backyard photos. 

John, Officialdom is going to lie about the JFK assassination forever, but it's our job to force their lies back down their throats.

Ralph