Episode 166 is  the sixteenth in a new series of episodes that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Today's episode is the first in a  two part multi-espisode mini series on Rose Cherami.  You may recall that the story of Rose Cherami dons the opening scene of the movie JFK. She was a stripper and a prostitute and a drug mule and a mother. And she worked for Jack Ruby at one point. She is one of a unique handful of witnesses who expressed knowledge of the assassination before the assassination actually occurred and she met with a mysterious death within two years of our president's murder. Her story was not featured in the Warren Commission but her fantastic story was unearthed soon after by Jim Garrison and his  team, including Frances Fruge  who was  on loan to Garrison from the Louisiana State Police. Fruge was the officer who originally interacted with Rose and heard her claim of the impending assassination for the first time on the night of November 20th, 1963.  Her story was investigated further by the House Select Committee on Assassinations.  Ironically, Cherami was admitted for drug detoxification  on the night of the 20th at East Louisiana State Hospital. The same hospital where Lee Harvey Oswald had applied for a job while in the Clinton/Jackson area.  It was a very small world.  Listen to these three episodes and see how the characters begin to draw closer together in relation to one another. As the ever deepening analysis draws out the players, and exposes the relationships that most clearly existed.

 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 165 is  the fifteenth in a new series of episodes that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Today's episode features the audio from Jim Garrison's nationally televised rebuttal of the  NBC Whitepaper on the Garrison Investigation. While the NBC  White Paper shed some light on many controversial aspects of the investigation, there was a clear bias contained in the programming. Outraged, Jim Garrison appealed to the FCC and, under the "then existing fairness doctrine",  he was granted 30 minutes of prime time on NBC to rebut the case.  Garrison used the rebuttal to make his bigger than life case about the  true forces behind the  Kennedy assassination, but avoided addressing the specific allegations about his investigation that were leveled during NBC's program.  The NBC White Paper aired on June 19th, 1967,  and Garrison's rebuttal came within weeks. The NBC White Paper was  a major blow to Garrison and his team.  On the surface, this prime  time television special  was an attempt by NBC to address the controversial aspects of the Garrison investigation, which had already resulted in the arrest  of Clay Shaw on March 1st, 1967. Shaw was subsequently  indicted, after a preliminary hearing and a grand jury proceeding,  under the  charge of conspiracy to murder President Kennedy. One of the principal forces behind  the NBC White Paper  was  Walter Sheridan  and his  ultimate objective was to discredit the investigation overall. NBC attacked  the rather flimsy evidence that Garrison's team presented in a preliminary hearing...evidence used to justify arresting  Clay Shaw. NBC also  addressed  what appeared to be dubious methods applied by the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office  to obtain testimony from key witnesses. Finally they would attempt to refute that Clay Shaw was Clay Bertrand resulting  in an embarrassing faux pas by the network  that backfired. Many of the so called witnesses featured in the NBC White Paper were subsequently summoned to testify in front of the Orleans Parish Grand Jury and repeat their statements under oath. Playing hardball, Garrison used this tool to test whether   the statements made on the NBC TV special were truthful.  Several of the witnesses appearing on the NBC program refused to answer such questions before the grand jury, citing their right to avoid self incrimination.  

 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 164 is  the fourteenth  in a new series of episodes that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.   Today's episode features the audio from the  NBC Whitepaper on the Garrison Investigation, which aired on June 19th, 1967. It was a major blow to Garrison and his team.  On the surface, this prime  time television special  was an attempt by NBC to address the controversial aspects of the Garrison investigation, which had already resulted in the arrest  of Clay Shaw on March 1st, 1967. Shaw was subsequently  indicted, after a preliminary hearing and a grand jury proceeding,  under the  charge of conspiracy to murder President Kennedy. One of the principal forces behind  the NBC White Paper  was  Walter Sheridan  and his  ultimate objective was to discredit the investigation overall. NBC attacked  the rather flimsy evidence that Garrison's team presented in a preliminary hearing...evidence used to justify arresting  Clay Shaw. NBC also  addressed  what appeared to be dubious methods applied by the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office  to obtain testimony from key witnesses. Finally they would attempt to refute that Clay Shaw was Clay Bertrand resulting  in an embarrassing faux pas by the network  that backfired. Many of the so called witnesses featured in the NBC White Paper were subsequently summoned to testify in front of the Orleans Parish Grand Jury and repeat their statements under oath. Playing hardball, Garrison used this tool to test whether   the statements made on the NBC TV special were truthful.  Several of the witnesses appearing on the NBC program refused to answer such questions before the grand jury, citing their right to avoid self incrimination.  While the White Paper shed some light on many controversial aspects of the investigation, there was a clear bias contained in the programming. Outraged, Jim Garrison appealed to the FCC and, under the "then existing fairness doctrine",  he was granted 30 minutes of prime time on NBC to rebut the case. Garrison's rebuttal is featured in episode 165.

 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 163 is  the thirteenth in a new series of episodes that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Episode thirteen  is the  forth in a mini-series that addresses the star witness of the Clay Shaw trial, Perry Russo. In this forth episode, we  continue with a recreation of  Russo's sworn testimony under oath at the preliminary hearing which was his first debut as a witness related to the case against Clay Shaw.  Today's episode features the cross examination of Perry Russo by the defense attorney Irvin Dymond. Perry Russo had previously gone public on his own before he was discovered by anyone,  including  Garrison...but Garrison  soon took control and the ensuing story related to Russo's ongoing interactions with the New Orleans D.A.'s office would prove to be more than controversial. Phelan and others would contend that  Garrison and his staff  engaged in a progressive series of actions that included the use of sodium pentothal (truth serum) and a series of hypnosis sessions  all of which pointed to witness manipulation. That he and his office  had engaged in steps to suggest the proper answers  to Russo, was the issue in question and   whether   those actions materially enhanced the original testimony of Perry Russo and were, essentially, untruths... Critics contend that the changes were so radical that  Russo's testimony evolved from being initially irrelevant,  to so significant that it singlehandedly resulted in  the arrest of Clay Shaw, for conspiracy to murder the President. Join us in in this exciting series of episodes about one of the most fascinating witnesses....in fact the star witness...of the Clay Shaw trial.
  
 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 162 is  the twelfth  in a new series of episodes that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Episode twelve  is the third  in a mini-series that addresses the star witness of the Clay Shaw trial, Perry Russo. In this third episode covering Russo's sworn testimony under oath at the preliminary hearing which was his first debut as a witness related to the case against Clay Shaw. Perry Russo had previously gone public on his own before he was discovered by anyone,  including  Garrison...but Garrison  soon took control and the ensuing story related to Russo's ongoing interactions with the New Orleans D.A.'s office would prove to be more than controversial. Phelan and others would contend that  Garrison and his staff  engaged in a progressive series of actions that included the use of sodium pentothal (truth serum) and a series of hypnosis sessions  all of which pointed to witness manipulation. That he and his office  had engaged in steps to suggest the proper answers  to Russo, was the issue in question and   whether   those actions materially enhanced the original testimony of Perry Russo and were, essentially, untruths... Critics contend that the changes were so radical that  Russo's testimony evolved from being initially irrelevant,  to so significant that it singlehandedly resulted in  the arrest of Clay Shaw, for conspiracy to murder the President. Join us in in this exciting series of episodes about one of the most fascinating witnesses....in fact the star witness...of the Clay Shaw trial.
  
 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 161 is  the eleventh   in a new series of episodes that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Episode eleven  is the second  in a mini-series that addresses the star witness of the Clay Shaw trial, Perry Russo. In this second episode covering Russo, we tell the story from the perspective of Jim Phelan from the Saturday Evening Post and the  issues with Perry Russo's testimony. Phelan became privy to certain memos prepared by Andrew Sciambra, Assistant District Attorney, which highlighted these discrepancies in various versions of Perry Russo's story.  A story that had rapidly become the sole basis for charging Clay Shaw with conspiracy to murder the President of the United States. Unbeknownst to Garrison, Phelan had already become an FBI (and possibly a CIA) informant. He would use his influence with Garrison to secure two memos prepared by Sciambra. The discrepancies between these memos and other statements by Russo would serve as the basis of a confrontation with Garrison and his team.    Phelan began as a friendly member of the press,  but  a few days after charging Clay Shaw,  Garrison would spend a weekend in Las Vegas and Phelan would meet him there. Breaching his confidence, Phelan would secure copies of the memos and then deliver them to the FBI. This occurred  before the initial testimony at Shaw's preliminary hearing.  Perry Russo had previously gone public on his own before he was discovered by anyone,  including  Garrison...but Garrison  soon took control and the ensuing story related to Russo's ongoing interactions with the New Orleans D.A.'s office would prove to be more than controversial. Phelan and others would contend that  Garrison and his staff  engaged in a progressive series of actions that included the use of sodium pentothal (truth serum) and a series of hypnosis sessions  all of which pointed to witness manipulation. That he and his office  had engaged in steps to suggest the proper answers  to Russo, was the issue in question and   whether   those actions materially enhanced the original testimony of Perry Russo and were, essentially, untruths... Critics contend that the changes were so radical that  Russo's testimony evolved from being initially irrelevant,  to so significant that it singlehandedly resulted in  the arrest of Clay Shaw, for conspiracy to murder the President. Join us in in this exciting series of episodes about one of the most fascinating witnesses....in fact the star witness...of the Clay Shaw trial.
  
 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 160 is  the tenth  in a new series of episodes  that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Episode ten is the first in a mini-series that addresses the star witness of the Clay Shaw trial. Perry Russo. In this first episode covering Russo, we pick up the action on February 22nd, the date of David Ferrie's death, when by all accounts the investigation should probably have been closed down. But Garrison pushed on and he was given a gift almost immediately as this young twenty five year old insurance salesman living in Baton Rouge saw the news of Ferrie's death and would step forward immediately and begin to tell the story of a David Ferrie obsessed with the idea of killing the President.  Russo went public on his own before he was discovered by anyone including  Garrison...But Garrison  soon took control and the ensuing story related to Russo's ongoing interactions with the New Orleans D.A.'s office would prove to be more than controversial as Garrison's staff  engaged in a progressive series of actions that included the use of sodium pentothal truth serum and a series of hypnosis sessions  all of which ensured a  lifetime of criticism mounted at Garrison. That he and his office  had engaged in steps to suggest the proper answers  to Russo and that  those actions enhanced the original testimony of Perry Russo, so much so, from something initially that may or may not have been initially relevant, to finally being significant and comprehensive enough... all by itself..to justify arresting Shaw and charging him with conspiracy to murder the President of the United States. Join us in the first and subsequent episode about one of the most fascinating witnesses....in fact the star witness...of the Clay Shaw trial.
  
 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 159 is  the ninth in a new series of episodes  that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Episode nine address the eight witnesses that testified at the Clay Shaw Trial who were from the Clinton/Jackson Louisiana area. In late August or early September 1964, Lee Harvey Oswald came to Clinton Louisiana in search of employment at the state mental hospital situated close to another nearby town Jackson, Louisiana.  His quest initially led him to speak to the local barber, a local politician and  take a trip over  to  the mental hospital in order to complete an application for employment and finally to the local voter registration office, after he was advised that registering to vote locally would improve his chances of employment at the hospital. His trip to the voter registration office in Clinton took place during a voter registration drive that was undertaken by CORE principally for the benefit of black voters in the area during a tense period of civil rights activity in an area where the Ku Klux Klan was highly influential.  Under the circumstances, his presence there and being a white man in the midst of what was primarily an all black event, contributed to he and his travel companions  becoming noticeably more visible to CORE volunteers as well as local officials. He was seen in the company of Clay Shaw and David Ferrie during the portion of the trip that involved his attempt to sign up and become a locally registered voter in the area.   This is the story of the witnesses who provided credible evidence at the trial  that was critical to proving that Clay Shaw, David Ferried and Lee Harvey Oswald were indeed known to one another and were engaging in activities together.  The testimony of the Clinton witnesses was a critical piece of evidence underpinning Garrison's overall attempt to prove that a conspiracy amongst these men to kill President Kennedy actually existed. This part of the trial was one of the few  that presented  substantial evidence  pertaining to the affiliation between these three men, even though Garrison overall  was unsuccessful in presenting additional evidence in support of a murder conspiracy. 
  
 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 158 is  the eighth  in a new series of episodes  that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw. Episode 158 is a wander that sets up the discussion related to the "Clinton" witnesses who saw Clay Shaw, David Ferrie and Oswald together in that town.

Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 157 is  the seventh  in a new series of episodes  that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw. Episode 157 and 158  contain useful information for listeners  who are not already familiar with the participants or those listeners who would like to hear more background information on some of the characters that were included in  episodes 155 and 156.  The previous two episodes, part 5and part 6 ,  back the tape up and tell the complete  story of the Garrison investigation and the Clay Shaw trial chronologically. In those episodes, we tell it in a way that is designed to help you as a juror and historian  understand how all the complex parts of the Garrison story....fit together...and to help you evaluate and view these events in their proper historical perspective. There is more information packed into those two summary episodes than I have provided in any previous set of  summary episodes produced for the podcast.  So jump right in, and lets get going...

Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.