How the KGB Duped Oliver Stone

How the KGB Duped Oliver Stone

Not just Ollie. A very high percentage of Americans believed at one time or another that Oswald was a patsy for some type of cabal or another, CIA-led or otherwise. Much of that seed had been sown by Moscow's crypto-communist propaganda arms.

Poor Clay Shaw, the retired businessman accused by Garrison. There was not one shred of evidence against that guy, and he apparently had absolutely no connection of any kind to the JFK assassination, but D.A. Jim Garrison put him through two years of hell. His reputation was destroyed and he had to go back to work to pay his legal bills. The only thing that surprised me about the Clay Shaw trial is that the judge did not grant the defense motion to dismiss after the prosecution had presented its case. As it was, when the case went to the jury, the jurors returned their verdict almost instantly. They sat down, took a preliminary vote, found they were unanimous, and trudged back into the courtroom to exonerate Shaw. The trial lasted 34 days. The jury returned the verdict 54 minutes after they were sent to deliberate.

Fortunately for Garrison, the trial was held in Louisiana. In pretty much any sensible state, such a reckless crackpot who ignored evidence contrary to his narrative would have been considered guilty of prosecutorial misconduct. For example, part of his case hinged on the fact that Clay Shaw was the same man as Clay Bertrand, who was mentioned by the Warren Commission. There were two major problems with that theory:

1. Clay Bertrand was not an alias used by anyone. It was a totally fictional character!

2. Garrison knew it.

A memorandum (which still exists) from one of Garrison's subordinates to Garrison clearly told him that Clay Bertrand never existed at all. (The FBI knew that as well because the witness who fabricated the name admitted it was a figment of his imagination.) But Garrison took the case to trial anyway.

Needless to say, the defense called as a witness the guy who originally fabricated the whole story. Oops!

Those facts alone should have cost Garrison his job at the very minimum. (Mike Nifong was disbarred for similar shenanigans in the Duke lacrosse case.) As it was, Shaw filed a large lawsuit against Garrison, but died before it could come to fruition. Since it was Louisiana, Garrison not only avoided disbarment, but he actually became a judge. (Elected, not appointed.)

Just the kind of sensible, deliberative, clear thinker we want on the bench!