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

Continuing now with the case that David Talbot made against Allen Dulles in The Devil's Chessboard for having murdered John F. Kennedy, we get to St. John Hunt.

You know who he is: the son of rogue CIA operative E. Howard Hunt (HH). HH had always said that at the time of the JFK assassination, he was at home outside Washington with his wife, and he was helping her prepare a meal; he was chopping vegetables. Chopping vegetables.  Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, perhaps rutabagas? When Saint first heard that, his first thought was that his father never chopped a vegetable in his life and wouldn't recognize one if he saw it up close. Alright, I added the last phrase- just for effect- but you get the idea. 

But, in 2003, when HH was getting ready to shuffle off this mortal coil, Saint urged him to come clean about his role in the JFK assassination and what he knew about the role of others. So, HH started talking. He said that in 1963, he was summoned to a meeting in Miami by anti-Castro Cuban Frank Sturgis. Also present was David Sanchez Morales. Hovering over the meeting as if he was present was Bill Harvey, the ringleader.  They told Hunt that they were going to kill President Kennedy. Bill Harvey, who had been assigned to kill Castro, was the originator, reportedly.  He was arranging for the Mob shooters and the weapons.  They also informed Hunt that, another Dirty-Ops guy, David Atlee Phillips was in on it. And, they also informed him that Vice President Lyndon Johnson was in on it. 

Now, that's where David Talbot interrupted the narrative with his own analysis. How could any of these people, including Bill Harvey, gain access to Vice President Lyndon Johnson? There's no record that they knew each other. There's no record that Johnson knew any of them. And according to David Talbot, it is highly unlikely that Johnson would have met with any of them. It is also highly unlikely that Johnson would have trusted these men with his complicity, that there had to be somebody else, higher up, somebody with a lot of power and influence, whom Johnson knew well, who was also involved whom Johnson could trust. The most logical candidate for that other person, the missing link, according to Talbot, was Allen Dulles.

So, why didn't E. Howard Hunt mention Dulles? It's because he wanted to protect him, according to Talbot. Hunt liked Dulles. Hunt respected Dulles. Hunt was loyal to Dulles. And he did not want to sully Dulles' name. So, he simply left him out, like the missing piece of a puzzle. That's what David Talbot thinks. 

But, there is evidence, according to Talbot, that Johnson and Dulles were close, both as friends and government officials. There was also the fact that they both were cast aside by John Kennedy. Dulles had already been sacked. LBJ was still in office as Vice President, but it was well known that JFK was getting ready to dump him, that LBJ would not be JFK's running mate in 1964. 

But, think about how Dulles would go about discussing this delicate matter with Johnson. He certainly couldn't do it on the phone; it would have to be in person. And he wouldn't do it any place that bugging was possible, even remotely. Why do it in Washington at all? No, the place to do it was far away from Washington and outside- in the great outdoors. 

So, is there any record of Dulles being with Johnson in such a locale months before the assassination? Yes! David Talbot found it. In the summer of 1963, Dulles traveled to Johnson's ranch in Johnson City, Texas to spend several days with him. 

Hey, I was just there on Sunday. I had a friend visiting from out of state, and it was a gorgeous day, so we decided to do the Johnson City/Fredricksburg/Enchanted Rock tour that people in this part of the world when the weather is nice, which it was. 

Johnson lived well for a public servant; it is a big sprawling place. And somewhere on that big sprawling place, when the moment was right, and it was just the two of them, Allen Dulles must have broached the subject of "The Big Event." 

And I strongly suspect that he did it in code, that, initially at least, he spoke to Johnson in code about killing Kennedy. 

"Mr. Vice President, I and others in the national security arena, believe that our nation is in great peril because of the recklessness of the current Executive leadership. Never before in modern times has a President been so rash, so brash, and so oblivious and indifferent to the threats of international communism. Our concerns are so great that we feel that drastic action is urgently needed to save this country from an unspeakable disaster. We need to know if you share our concerns and would support such drastic action."

According to David Talbot, there really is no one else but Allen Dulles who could have done that; been the link between Bill Harvey and his team and LBJ. Going to LBJ was crucial. It was critical. They simply had to be certain that JFK's successor would stifle an honest investigation. They wanted to kill Kennedy but without getting the electric chair. That meant his successor had to be an accomplice. Who knew Johnson well enough and had enough trust with him to discuss murdering JFK even in code? Dulles. There's nobody else.

You really should read it yourself. David Talbot makes a powerful case for it. And there's more than that.