Speaker Program For March 16 Forum On Secret JFK Records

 

Sunshine Week logo 2017

 "JFK at 100: State of the Records"

News Conference and Forum

Speakers

1 p.m., Thursday, March 16, 2017
National Press Club, Zenger Room, Washington, DC

To mark the 100th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's birth this spring, leaders in the JFK research community are convening at the National Press Dr. Cyril WechtClub during "Sunshine Week" March 16.

The purpose is to examine the past and current importance of the National Archives' scheduled release by next October of the final batch of declassified documents further illuminating President Kennedy's 1963 assassination. Citizens Against Political Assassinations (CAPA) has organized the news conference and forum in the spirit of Sunshine Week, celebrated by journalists nationally this week.

1 p.m. Andrew Kreig, CAPA board member and journalist, Welcome & Introduction of Dr. Cyril H. Wecht,

Dr. Cyril H. Wecht (shown above left), CAPA chairman, medical professor, world-renowned forensic pathologist, and author or co-author of more than 50 books, and former Allegheny County coroner for 20 years, Introduction of keynote speaker.

1:05 p.m. Keynote With Q&A

The Hon. John R. Tunheim, Chief U.S. District Judge for Minnesota and former chair of the congressionally-created Assassination Records Review Board John Tunheim, Chief U.S. District Judge for Minnesota(ARRB) (Shown at left)

1:40 p.m. Research News: Expected Findings From New Documents, Q&A on Current Implications

  • Jefferson Morley, FOIA litigation expert on JFK issues, JFKFacts.org editor, author ("Our Man in Mexico," and others), AlterNet Washington correspondent and former Washington Post reporter
  • James H. Lesar, J.D., FOIA litigation expert and president, Assassination Archives & Research Center
  • John M. Newman, Ph.D., author ("Countdown To Darkness," "JFK and Vietnam," and "Oswald and the CIA"), former Army intelligence officer and assistant to the National Security Agency director, and history professor at James Madison University and formerly at the University of Maryland

2:25 p.m. Break  

2:30 p.m. The Cold Facts From Forensic Evidence

  • Cyril H. Wecht, J.D., M.D., forensic pathologist, medical school professor, leader or former leader multiple medical and scientific professional societies, Allegheny County coroner for 20 years

3 p.m. Next Steps in Fact-Finding with Q&A

  • Sunshine Week logoLawrence Schnapf, Esq., a New York-based attorney and co-chair of the CAPA legal committee, Moderator and panelist. He will describe how current events reflect the JFK assassination's relevance today. He is helping organize a CAPA event next Nov. 20-21 in Houston at the Southwestern School of Law entitled "The People v. Lee Oswald: A 21st Century examination of the forensic evidence in the assassination of President John Kennedy."
  • James H. Lesar, Esq., AARC president speaks on the need for further investigations by Congress, particularly regarding new evidence that the CIA impeded during the 1970s congressional probe.

3:45 p.m. Open Government In 2017: Researchers' Guide To Documents, Witnesses & Freedom of Information with Q&A

  • Andrew Kreig, J.D., M.S.L., Justice Integrity Project editor, author, and member of CAPA, ASNE, SPJ, Overseas Press Club, IRE, ASJA and National Press Club, Moderator
  • Nate Jones, M.A., Director of the Freedom of Information Act Project, National Security Archive, George Washington University and  author, "Able Archer 83: The Secret History of the NATO Exercise That Almost Triggered Nuclear War"
  • Adam A. Marshall, J.D., Knight Foundation Litigation Attorney, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP)
  • Randolph Benson, award-winning producer and director of "The Searchers" documentary about courageous JFK assassination researchers, and Instructor, Film & Video, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University

Related Events

Jack Ruby Murders Lee Harvey Oswald(A file photo shows nightclub owner Jack Ruby murdering accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas police station Nov. 24, 1963.) 

At 5:15 p.m. on March 16, CAPA hosts a cash-bar networking reception for speakers, CAPA members and prospective members in the Cosgrove Room. Then experts will speak on "How To Study the Kennedy Assassination – and why it remains important in the Trump era" at a 6 p.m. forum organized by the CAPA and the McClendon Group. An optional no-host dinner is available.

Speakers include Randolph Benson, the award-winning producer and director of The Searchers, author and press club member Andrew Kreig, independent researcher and CAPA board member Jerry Policoff, and McClendon Group Chairman John Edward Hurley, a former White House correspondent and museum curator whose late father worked at the JFK White House. They will discuss why so many in the public feel so strongly about such research and its continuing relevance.

CAPA, a non-partisan research organization, organized these events and reported them in these articles parallelling coverage here:

The American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) founded Sunshine Week to foster open government via events like this throughout the nation. For further information, contact Andrew Kreig at andrew @ justice-integrity.org or (202) 638-0070. 

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Justice Integrity Project Readers Guide To JFK Assassination

* Denotes major articles in this Readers Guide series

Dealey Plaza Panorama (Andrew Kreig Photo)At right is a photo by this editor in Dallas showing Dealey Plaza. The Texas Book Depository Building where Oswald worked is behind the row of trees. The car in the center lane is near the location of President Kennedy's limo at the time of his fatal shooting.

  1. Project Launches JFK Assassination Readers' Guide, Oct. 16, 2013.
  2. Project Provides JFK Readers Guide To New Books, Videos, Oct. 26, 2013. This is a list of new books and films in 2013.
  3. Disputes Erupt Over NY Times, New Yorker, Washington Post Reviews of JFK Murder, Nov. 7, 2013. *
  4. Self-Censorship In JFK TV Treatments Duplicates Corporate Print Media's Apathy, Cowardice, Nov. 7, 2013.
  5. 'Puppetry' Hardback Launched Nov. 19 at DC Author Forum on ‘White House Mysteries & Media,'  Nov. 19, 2013.
  6. Major Media Stick With Oswald 'Lone Gunman' JFK Theory, Nov. 27, 2013.
  7. JFK Murder Scene Trapped Its Victim In Kill Zone, Nov. 30, 2013.
  8. Project Lists JFK Assassination Reports, Archives, Videos, Events, Nov. 2, 2013. *
  9. JFK Murder, The CIA, and 8 Things Every American Should Know, Dec. 9, 2013. *
  10. JFK Murder Prompts Expert Reader Reactions, Dec. 19, 2013. Reactions to our Dec. 9 column. 
  11. Have Spy Agencies Co-Opted Presidents and the Press? Dec. 23, 2013. *
  12. Don't Be Fooled By 'Conspiracy Theory' Smears, May 26, 2014. *
  13. Experts To Reveal Secrets of JFK Murder, Cover-up at Sept. 26-28 DC Forum , Sept. 5, 2014. 
  14. Washington Post Still Selling Warren Report 50 Years Later, Sept. 22, 2014. *
  15. JFK Experts To Explode Myths, Sign Books In DC Sept. 26-28, Sept. 24, 2014.
  16. Former Cuban Militant Leader Claims CIA Meeting With Oswald Before JFK Killing, Sept. 27, 2014. *
  17. JFK Readers Guide: Assassination Books, Reports, Oct. 15, 2014. *
  18. Dealey Plaza Picket Fence (Andrew Kreig Photo)Former House JFK Murder Prober Alleges CIA ‘Lied,’ Seeks Hidden Records, Oct. 18, 2014. *
  19. The JFK Murder 'Cover-up' Still Matters -- As Does C-SPAN's Coverage, Nov. 11, 2014. *
  20. JFK, Nov. 22 and the Continuing Cover-Up, Nov. 24, 2014. *
  21. JFK Assassination Readers Guide To 2013-14 Events, Nov. 28, 2014. *
  22. CIA, Empowered by JFK Murder Cover-up, Blocks Senate Torture Report, Dec. 1, 2014. *
  23. Nearly Too Late, Public Learns of Bill Moyers’ Conflicts Over PBS, LBJ, Jan. 2, 2014.
  24. Why Bill O'Reilly's Lie About JFK's Murder Might Matter To You, March 17, 2015.
  25. Free Videos Show Shocking Claims About CIA, JFK Murder Probes, June 29, 2015.
  26. Pioneering Black Secret Service JFK Guard Abraham Bolden Warns Of Current Lessons, July 22, 2015.
  27. Understanding Hollywood-Style Presidential Propaganda From JFK To Trump, Aug. 18, 2015.
  28. Beware Of Wrong Conclusions From New CIA Disclosure On Oswald, Sept. 28, 2015.
  29. The JFK Murder Cover-Up: Your Rosetta Stone To Today’s News, Nov. 29, 2015.
  30. Austin Kiplinger, David Skorton: Two Civic Giants Going And Coming, Dec. 15, 2015.
  31. Trump Alleges Rafael Cruz Tie To JFK Murder Suspect Oswald, May 3, 2016.
  32.  Revelations Confirm Proof Of JFK, RFK Murder Cover-ups, Nov. 25, 2016.
  33. Top Experts To Assess JFK Murder Records, Revelations March 16, March 8, 2017.
  34. Speaker Program For March 16 Forum On Secret JFK Records, March 8, 2017.
  35. JFK Experts Advocate Compliance With Records Deadline, March 8, 2017.
  36. At CAPA Forum, JFK Experts See Need, Momentum For Assassination Records Release, March 23, 2017.