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

J. Edgar Hoover called Robert Kennedy a few minutes after the shooting occurred to inform him of it. As in Texas, it was an unseasonably warm November day in Virginia, and Robert Kennedy was swimming laps in his outdoor pool when the call came in. I'm surprised Robert Kennedy found out that way. I would have thought that somebody else would have called him first. They did announce it on the radio right away, didn't they? 

So, what did J. Edgar Hoover say to Robert Kennedy? Well, apparently, he did not express any sympathy or compassion. The story goes that Hoover just blurted out bluntly: "Your brother's dead." Alright, so expressing sympathy wasn't part of it. Was providing information? But, what information could he have had at that point in time? If it was, say, 3 minutes, what did they know at that point? Had Brennan given his description to Police Inspector Sawyer yet? I doubt that the TSBD already held its "roll call," the one that found Oswald missing, which provoked Roy Truly to inform the police.  And what's strange about that is that Truly had just seen Oswald shortly before in the lunch room with Baker. If we are to believe that Oswald's absence from a company roll call was enough reason for Roy Truly to suspect he may have killed the President of the United States (and for those of you who work at a company as Oswald did, which I don't, I want you to ask yourself if, for some reason, you were not there for a company roll call, whether your boss would then suspect you of having committed a violent crime)  then why didn't Roy Truly have the same suspicion about Oswald in the lunch room? Why was he so dismissive of the idea then? We all know the account that was given, that Truly said, "Yes, I know him. He works for me." But, either he said more than that, or there was a tremendous amount of innuendo that went with it to imply: "This guy? Huh. He couldn't hurt fly. You're wasting your time with him." 

I think it was all part of the plan. They did not want Oswald to be arrested at the TSBD. They wanted to get him armed first and then hopefully he would die in a shootout with police. Of course, that didn't happen. 

But, let's get back to J.Edgar Hoover and Robert Kennedy. So, Hoover did not call to express compassion and sympathy, and he could not have had much factual information at that point concerning the shooter or shooters. And JFK was presumably being sped to the hospital at that time, his condition unknown. So, what did they talk about for 20 minutes?

Of course, he could not have had much factual information unless Hoover was in on it, and I think that the very fact that he called RFK so soon shows that he was. That's where his information came from; from having been in on it all along. I think Hoover must have told RFK that it appeared to be the work of a lone gunman. That's right; just scant minutes after the shooting, I bet you that Hoover told him that; and that no foreigners or agents of other states were involved. And then came the coup d' grace: 

"The new President and I are expecting your full cooperation. In a time of crisis, we have to pull together as one. It would be extremely disruptive, and dangerous to the future of the republic, if you were to dispute any of our findings as they are revealed. Loyalty and patriotism to this country call for you to support our efforts- wherever they lead. Can I count on you for that, Attorney General Kennedy?"

And there may have been some references to JFK, that the honors and praises he was going to get posthumously, and the willingness to forget about his sexaholic behavior, his Mafia ties during the election, his lying about his health, and more depended on RFK playing his part in bringing the country together and respecting the new administration of LBJ. 

Did Hoover even wonder if Robert Kennedy wondered if Hoover was involved in the plot to kill his brother? I don't think Hoover cared. If RFK wanted to think that Hoover was involved in it, so be it. That's his business. But, you don't breathe a word of it to anyone, publicly or privately, if you know what's good for you. And, you tow the company line, because if you don't, there is going to be trouble for you; big trouble; hell to pay.  

That, I believe, was the message from J. Edgar Hoover to Robert Kennedy. And Robert Kennedy got the message.