Five unanswered questions that still remain over JFK’s assassination

The FBI announced the find of astir 2,400 mislaid files relating to the assassination of John F Kennedy connected Tuesday, sparking a caller question of speculation astir the erstwhile US president.

Government agents unearthed the documents aft Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid successful January for all of the files related to the 1963 shooting to beryllium declassified shortly aft taking office.

It comes arsenic Anna Paulina Luna, the caput of a caller Task Force dedicated to the Declassification of Federal Secrets, spoke successful enactment of a conspiracy mentation that determination were ‘two shooters’ progressive successful the assassination – contradicting the authoritative relationship that lone gunman Lee Harvet Oswald was solely liable for the killing.

A 2023 poll published by Gallup revealed 65% of Americans judge others were progressive successful the slaying, portion lone 29% of Americans are definite erstwhile US Marine Lee Harvey Oswald was moving alone.

About 11% judge the Mafia oregon different organized transgression elements are liable for the killing. While this mentation has agelong been popular, it has mislaid traction successful caller years.

Meanwhile, 38% of respondents judge immoderate portion of the US national authorities is liable for the president’s death; a content which has steadily grown implicit the years, expanding by 13 points since 2013.

Despite galore investigations, including the Warren Commission, the House Select Committee connected Assassinations (HSCA), and countless books, documentaries, and studies, galore questions regarding the assassination stay unanswered. Here are the cardinal mysteries nonrecreational and amateur sleuths alike inactive question closure on:

Was Lee Harvey Oswald the Sole Assassin?

The authoritative communicative holds that erstwhile US marine Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, firing 3 shots from the Texas School Book Depository. However, inconsistencies successful the grounds person led galore to question this conclusion. For example, the timing of the shots and the trajectory of the bullets bash not align perfectly with the carnal evidence. Witnesses successful Dealey Plaza reported proceeding shots from aggregate directions, and the infamous ‘grassy knoll’ mentation suggests a 2nd shooter. 

The Zapruder film, which captures the assassination, shows Kennedy’s caput jerking backward, implying a changeable from the front—contradicting the authoritative communicative of Oswald firing from behind.

Oswald’s inheritance further complicates the picture. He defected to the Soviet Union successful 1959, lived determination for respective years, and returned to the U.S. with a Russian wife. His connections to pro- and anti-Castro groups successful the years starring up to the assassination person raised questions astir whether helium was a lone histrion oregon portion of a larger plot. 

If Oswald was not the lone gunman, who other was involved, and what was their motive? The deficiency of a wide reply has kept this question astatine the forefront  of the JFK assassination statement for decades.

What Was the Role of Government Agencies?

Oswald was reportedly connected the radar of some the CIA and FBI anterior to the assassination, and some agencies person been criticised for failing to show him much intimately anterior to the shooting.

The CIA were astatine the clip engaged successful galore covert operations aimed astatine overthrowing the authorities successful Cuba, specified arsenic embarking connected a failed crushed penetration of the Bay of Pigs and attempting to assassinate Fidel Castro connected a fig of occasions.

JFK’s reluctance to afloat enactment these operations, on with his handling of the Cuban rocket crisis, angered definite factions wrong the CIA, which conspiracy theorists judge created a motive for engagement successful his assassination.

Similarly, the FBI’s handling of grounds and its narration with Oswald person raised questions astir whether the bureau was complicit successful a cover-up. J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI manager astatine the time, was known for his aggravated dislike of the Kennedy brothers, peculiarly Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and the bureau’s nonaccomplishment to stock captious accusation with the Warren Commission has fueled suspicions that they whitethorn person been hiding something. 

The existent grade of the CIA and FBI’s involvement—or deficiency thereof—remains 1 of the astir contentious aspects of the case, and 1 of the astir tightly guarded secrets regarding the assassination.

Why Was Jack Ruby’s Killing of Oswald Never Fully Explained?

Jack Ruby’s execution of Oswald 2 days aft the assassination has been a focal constituent of conspiracy theories. Ruby, a nightclub proprietor with ties to organized crime, changeable Oswald point-blank connected unrecorded tv arsenic helium was being transferred from constabulary custody, reportedly retired of grief for the slain president.

Ruby was charged with execution but died from crab earlier helium could basal trial, and his connections to the section mob person led galore to judge helium was silencing Oswald to forestall him from revealing a larger conspiracy. 

Ruby’s proceedings and consequent decease from crab portion successful situation further analyzable efforts to recognize his motives, which was further analyzable by the information that 1 of doctors who treated him successful prison, Louis Jolyon West, was an infamous known his enactment with MKULTRA- the CIA’s infamous interrogation, hypnosis, and caput power program.

Stephen Fagin, the curator of the Sixth Floor Museum astatine Dealey Plaza, located successful the erstwhile Texas School Book Depository wherever Oswald is believed to person taken the shit, said: ‘Were it not for Jack Ruby, I don’t deliberation the Kennedy assassination would beryllium the lingering enigma that it has go for truthful galore radical astir the world.

‘Without Ruby, Lee Harvey Oswald would person gone to trial, successful 1964, and truthful overmuch much information, likely, would person travel retired astir Oswald’s inheritance and his motivations.’

‘Ruby benignant of closed the publication connected Oswald’s story, and truthful ushered successful decades of skepticism and questions astir the assassination.’

What Happened to the Physical Evidence?

The handling of carnal grounds successful the JFK lawsuit has been heavy criticized; successful peculiar the alleged ‘magic bullet,’ which allegedly struck some Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally and has been accused of travelling astatine an intolerable angle, fuelling speculation that aggregate shooters whitethorn person been involved.

The slug allegedly utilized to termination Kennedy has been preserved and kept successful the National Archive, but its pristine information aft causing truthful overmuch harm has led to doubts being formed connected its authenticity.

In addition, the windshield of the limousine Kennedy was changeable successful was replaced earlier the slug spread successful it could beryllium thoroughly examined, starring to speculation astir the fig of bullets fired during the shooting and whether Oswald was physically susceptible of firing the magnitude of bullets recovered connected the scene.

Kennedy’s archetypal handwritten autopsy notes are besides believed to person been destroyed and replaced, and photos and X-rays of JFK’s assemblage person reportedly been tampered with, altered oregon gone missing to specified an grade that his autopsy has been dubbed ‘the astir botched successful history’.

Why Were So Many Witnesses Silenced oregon Killed?

Another curio of the assassination is that truthful galore many eyewitnesses and individuals connected to the shooting look to person died successful mysterious circumstances, earlier being capable to springiness evidence.

In summation to cardinal figures similar Oswald and Jack Ruby, different mysterious deaths see Dorothy Kilgallen, a writer who claimed to person wrong accusation astir the lawsuit was recovered dormant nether questionable circumstances. Similarly, witnesses similar Lee Bowers, who saw suspicious enactment successful Dealey Plaza, died successful unexplained accidents.

Karyn Kupichet, a young pistillate who placed a telephone telephone claiming Kennedy was astir to beryllium killed a fewer days earlier the shooting was recovered aboriginal recovered strangled to decease successful mysterious circumstances and a fig of journalists investigating the shooting, including Bill Hunter of the Long Beach Press Telegram and Jim Koethe of the Dallas Times, were murdered conscionable months aft the assassination.

CIA operative Gary Underhill told his person Charlene Fitsimmons successful the days pursuing the onslaught that helium was convinced that helium had been killed by members of the CIA. He besides said: ‘Oswald is simply a patsy. They acceptable him up. It’s excessively much. The bastards person done thing outrageous. They’ve killed the President! I’ve been listening and proceeding things. I couldn’t judge they’d get distant with it, but they did!’

Underill besides said that helium feared for his life, telling friends: ‘I cognize who they are. That’s the problem. They cognize I know. That’s wherefore I’m here. I can’t enactment successful New York.’ He was aboriginal recovered dormant from a gunshot coiled to the caput connected May 8 1964, with his decease officially ruled arsenic a suicide.

Was There a Conspiracy Involving Organized Crime?

The Mafia and anti-Castro Cubans person agelong been suspected of engagement successful the assassination. JFK’s administration, peculiarly his member Robert Kennedy’s tenure arsenic Attorney General, aggressively targeted organized crime, starring to speculation that the Mafia sought revenge.

Figures similar Carlos Marcello, Sam Giancana, and Santo Trafficante Jr. were known to person expressed hostility toward the Kennedys, and immoderate researchers judge they whitethorn person orchestrated the assassination.

The astir salient escaped extremity involving the mafia involves New Orleans mobster Carlos Marcello, who was deported to Guatemala aft Kennedy came to bureau and allegedly threatened to termination him. He besides reportedly confessed to sidesplitting JFK to an FBI informant portion serving clip successful prison.

Oswald took a travel to New Orleans successful the months anterior to the assassination, and on with Jack Ruby’s mob connections, the afloat grade of the mafia’s rile successful the sidesplitting has ne'er genuinely been explained.

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