View source for United States House Select Committee on Assassinations

{{Short description|Former assassination investigation committee}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox U.S. congressional committee|name=The Select Committee on Assassinations|type=select|chamber=house|congress=95th|status=|formed=*First creation September 15, 1976 (by HR 1540, 94th Congress)<ref name="archives.gov">{{Cite web |date= August 15, 2016|title=House Select Committee on Assassinations: Introduction |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/intro.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=[[U.S. National Archives]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3"/>
*Second creation January 3, 1977 (Enacted on February 2nd by HR 222, 95th Congress)<ref name=":3"/>|disbanded=*January 3, 1977 (End of 94th Congress)
*January 3, 1979 (End of 95th Congress)<ref name="archives.gov">{{Cite web |date= August 15, 2016|title=House Select Committee on Assassinations: Introduction |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/intro.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=[[U.S. National Archives]] |language=en}}</ref>|chair=[[Louis Stokes]]|chair_party=D|chair_since=|vice_chair=|vc_party=|vc_since=|seats=12|majority1=D|majority1_seats=8|minority1=R|minority1_seats=4|purpose=To conduct a "full and complete investigation of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of President [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]] and [[Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.|Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]]"<ref name="archives.gov">{{Cite web |date= August 15, 2016|title=House Select Committee on Assassinations: Introduction |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/intro.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=[[U.S. National Archives]] |language=en}}</ref>|counterpart=|website=[https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report]|image=Final Report of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, 1979 (title page).jpg|image_size=|caption=Title page of the Final Report, published by the [[U.S. Government Printing Office]]|subcommittees=*<div style="text-align: left; direction: ltr">Subcommittee on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Chaired by [[Walter Fauntroy|Walter E. Fauntroy]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])</div>
*<div style="text-align: left; direction: ltr">Subcommittee on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy; Chaired by [[L. Richardson Preyer|Richardson Preyer]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])</div>|ranking_member=[[Samuel L. Devine]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pepper |first=Benjamin F. |date=17 May 1978 |title=CIA/FBI Briefing of the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/03250231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241004024433/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/03250231 |archive-date=4 October 2024 |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=www.cia.gov |series=FOIA Collection}}</ref>}}

The '''United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations''' ('''HSCA''') was established on September 15, 1976 by [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House]] Resolution 1540<ref name=":3" /> to investigate the assassinations of [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]] and [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King Jr.]] in 1963 and 1968, respectively. The [[Select or special committee (United States Congress)|select committee]] was first formed by the [[94th United States Congress]], and expired at the end of the [[95th United States Congress|95th Congress]].<ref name="archives.gov">{{Cite web |date= August 15, 2016|title=House Select Committee on Assassinations: Introduction |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/intro.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=[[U.S. National Archives]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date= August 15, 2016|title=House Select Committee on Assassinations: Appendix VI: Enabling Resolutions |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/appendix-06.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=[[U.S. National Archives]] |language=en}}</ref>

The HSCA completed its investigation in 1978 and issued its final report in 1979, which concluded that Kennedy “was probably assassinated as a result of a [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy]].”<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=December 31, 1978 |title=House Panel Reports a Conspiracy 'Probable' in the Kennedy Slaying |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/31/archives/house-panel-reports-a-conspiracy-probable-in-the-kennedy-slaying.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924045622/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/31/archives/house-panel-reports-a-conspiracy-probable-in-the-kennedy-slaying.html |archive-date=24 September 2023 |website=[[The New York Times]] |page=1}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=June 3, 1979 |title=Assassination Panel's Final Report Backs Theory of Plot on Kennedy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/03/archives/assassination-panels-final-report-backs-theory-of-plot-on-kennedy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604000128/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/03/archives/assassination-panels-final-report-backs-theory-of-plot-on-kennedy.html |archive-date=4 June 2022 |website=[[The New York Times]] |page=1}}</ref> In addition to acoustic analysis of a [[John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording|police channel dictabelt recording]],<ref name="HSCAReport">{{cite web |title=Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report |access-date=November 11, 2013 |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives}}</ref> the HSCA also commissioned numerous other scientific studies of assassination-related evidence that corroborate the [[Warren Commission]]'s findings.<ref name="HCSA-IA">{{cite book |title=Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/ |year=1979 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |page=44 |chapter=I.A. |chapter-url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1a.html}}</ref> However, the HSCA challenged the Warren Commission's conclusion that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] was the only shooter, while stating that it was “unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracy.”<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> The HSCA likewise concluded, based on circumstantial evidence, that there was a “likelihood” King was also assassinated “as a result of a [[Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy]].”<ref name=":2" /> The two-year inquiry cost $5.8 million. In December 1978, the HSCA recommended that the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] review its findings to decide if further investigation was merited.<ref name=":2" />

The HSCA found that although the Commission and the different agencies and departments examining Kennedy's assassination performed in good faith and were thorough in their investigation of Oswald, they performed with “varying degrees of competency” and the search for possible conspiracy was inadequate.<ref name="HSCAReport" />{{rp|2}} The HSCA determined, based on available evidence, that the probable conspiracy did not involve the governments of [[Cuba]] or the [[Soviet Union]]. The committee also stated that the conspiracy did not involve any [[organized crime]] group, anti-[[Fidel Castro|Castro]] group, nor the [[FBI]], [[CIA]], or [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]]. The committee found that it could not exclude the possibility that individual members of the national syndicate of organized crime or anti-Castro Cubans were involved in a probable conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.<ref>{{cite web |title=House Select Committee on Assassinations – Findings |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1c.html |publisher=National Archives|date=August 15, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=":4" /> However, some members of the committee would later state their personal belief that one of those groups was involved in the assassination, with Representative [[Floyd Fithian]] believing that the Kennedy assassination was orchestrated by members of organized crime.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41011949/the_star_press/ |title=Ex-Congressman Sure of Mafia Involvement in Assassination |date=27 January 1992 |work=The Star Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224085007/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41011949/the_star_press/ |archive-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=live |page=6 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

In a memorandum written to the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] in 1988 by [[United States Department of Justice Criminal Division|Criminal Division]] [[United States Assistant Attorney General|Assistant Attorney General]] [[Bill Weld|William F. Weld]], the recommendations of the HSCA report were formally reviewed and a conclusion of active investigations was reported.<ref name="JusticeDeptMemo">{{cite web|title=Letter from Assistant Attorney General William F. Weld to Peter W. Rodino Jr., undated|url=http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/J%20Disk/Justice%20Department%20of/Justice%20Department%20of%20JFK-King%20Reinvestigation/Item%2014.pdf|access-date=October 19, 2014}}</ref> In light of investigative reports from the FBI's Technical Services Division and the [[National Academy of Sciences]] Committee determining that “reliable acoustic data do not support a conclusion that there was a second gunman” in the Kennedy assassination, and that all investigative leads known to the Justice Department for both assassinations had been “exhaustively pursued”, the Department concluded “that no persuasive evidence can be identified to support the theory of a conspiracy in either the assassination of President Kennedy or the assassination of Dr. King.”<ref name="JusticeDeptMemo" />

== Historic context ==
Several forces contributed to the formation of the HSCA. With the rapidly growing body of assassination conspiracy material, public trust in the findings of the [[Warren Commission]] report was declining. The Hart-[[Richard Schweiker|Schweiker]] and [[Church Committee]] hearings had recently revealed CIA ties to other assassinations and assassination attempts and illegal actions from federal administration (FBI and IRS). The [[Church Commission]] also conducted an investigation into the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]] in 1963, concluding that the federal agencies the FBI and the CIA had failed in their duties and responsibilities and that the investigation into the assassination had been deficient.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Church Committee |url=https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1161#relPageId=8 |title=Book V – The Investigation of the Assassination o |publisher=US Government printing |year=1976 |edition=1 First |location=Washington |pages=2 |language=en}}</ref>

There was also significant public interest after a video segment of the [[Zapruder film]] was first shown on TV on March 6, 1975, during the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] late-night television show ''Good Night America'',<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Richard B. Trask |title=National Nightmare on Six Feet of Film : Mr. Zapruder's Home Movie and the Murder of President Kennedy |publisher=Yeoman Press, 391 p |year=2005 |isbn=0-9638595-4-4 |location=Massachusetts |language=en}}</ref> after being stored by ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine out of view for almost twelve years. The footage showed the president's head recoiling violently backwards inside the presidential limousine during the fatal shooting as Lee Harvey Oswald was more than 80 yards behind. The public, having more and more difficulty accepting the conclusions of the Warren Commission report, led members of Congress to ask for new investigations into the assassination, within the framework of a new Commission of Inquiry.<ref name=":0" />

== Formation ==
In September 1976, the [[United States House of Representatives]] voted 280–65 to establish the Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) in order to investigate the assassinations of [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]] and [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King Jr.]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/94-1976/h1183|title=To Agree to H.R. 1540, to Establish a Select Committee ... – House Vote #1183 – Sep 17, 1976|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref>
[[File:House_Select_Committee_on_Assassinations.jpg|right|thumb|350x350px|Meeting of the House Select Committee on Assassinations. Rep. [[Yvonne Brathwaite Burke|Burke]] (upper left), Rep. [[Walter Fauntroy|Fauntroy]] (second from upper left), and Rep. [[Louis Stokes|Stokes]] (fifth from upper left), listen to witness testimony.]]
The committee was both controversial and divided among itself. The first chairman, Thomas N. Downing of Virginia, retired in January 1977 and was replaced by Henry B. Gonzalez on February 2, 1977. Gonzalez and Chief Counsel Richard A. Sprague had irreconcilable disagreements over control of the committee, budget, and investigative techniques, ending with Gonzalez's resignation. Sprague also resigned, in part to increase the chances of Congress voting to reconstitute the HSCA for the new two-year congressional term. Sprague's like-minded deputy [[Robert K. Tanenbaum]] similarly resigned shortly thereafter. Louis Stokes replaced Gonzalez as chairman, and [[G. Robert Blakey]] was appointed as Chief Counsel and Staff Director to replace Sprague.

===Members, 95th Congress===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Majority
! Minority
|-
| {{party shading/Democratic}} valign=top |
* [[Louis Stokes]], Ohio, ''Chair''
* [[L. Richardson Preyer|Richardson Preyer]], North Carolina
* [[Walter E. Fauntroy]], District of Columbia
* [[Yvonne Brathwaite Burke]], California
* [[Christopher Dodd]], Connecticut
* [[Harold Ford, Sr.]], Tennessee
* [[Floyd Fithian]], Indiana
* [[Robert W. Edgar]], Pennsylvania
| {{party shading/Republican}} valign=top |
* [[Samuel L. Devine]], Ohio, ''Ranking Member''
* [[Stewart McKinney (politician)|Stewart McKinney]], Connecticut
* [[Charles Thone]], Nebraska
* [[Harold S. Sawyer]], Michigan
|}
'''''Members of the Subcommittee on the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., 95th Congress'''''
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Majority
! Minority
|-
| {{party shading/Democratic}} valign=top |
* Walter E. Fauntroy, District of Columbia, ''Chair''
* Harold Ford, Sr., Tennessee
* Floyd Fithian, Indiana
* Robert W. Edgar, Pennsylvania
| {{party shading/Republican}} valign=top |
* Stewart McKinney, Connecticut
|-
! colspan=2 | ''Ex officio''
|-
| {{party shading/Democratic}} valign=top |
* Louis Stokes, Ohio
| {{party shading/Republican}} valign=top |
* Samuel L. Devine, Ohio
|}

'''''Members of the Subcommittee on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, 95th Congress'''''
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Majority
! Minority
|-
| {{party shading/Democratic}} valign=top |
* Richardson Preyer, North Carolina, ''Chair''
* Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, California
* Christopher Dodd, Connecticut
| {{party shading/Republican}} valign=top |
* Charles Thone, Nebraska
* Harold S. Sawyer, Michigan
|-
! colspan=2 | ''Ex officio''
|-
| {{party shading/Democratic}} valign=top |
* Louis Stokes, Ohio
| {{party shading/Republican}} valign=top |
* Samuel L. Devine, Ohio
|}

==Investigations==
{{multiple image
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| image1            = John_F._Kennedy,_White_House_photo_portrait,_looking_up.jpg
| width1            = 163
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Martin Luther King, Jr. (3x4 cropped).jpg
| width2            = 158
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| footer            = The HSCA investigated the assassinations of [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]] (left) and [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King Jr.]] (right)
}}

The HSCA commissioned a number of expert scientific studies to re-investigate the physical evidence of the JFK assassination. In comparison to witness testimony and government documents, the committee felt that such investigations would particularly benefit from the scientific advances of the fifteen years since the [[Warren Commission]].<ref name="HSCAReport" />{{rp|19}} Several lines of inquiry were followed to both reaffirm the single shooter/[[single-bullet theory]] as well as to disprove specific [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy theory]] allegations. The HSCA concluded that these scientific studies of assassination-related evidence do "not preclude the possibility of two gunmen firing at the President."<ref name="HCSA-IA" />

===Ballistic analysis===
Forensic analysis confirmed that the mostly-intact stretcher bullet, bullet fragments from the presidential limo and the three cartridge casings from the sniper's nest were all fired from Oswald's rifle to the exclusion of all others.<ref name="HSCAAppendix">{{cite web|title=Appendix Volumes to the Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives|url=https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/docset/getList.do?docSetId=1010|publisher=U.S. House of Representatives|access-date=June 7, 2014}}</ref>{{rp|Vol VII, 379}} A technique using [[neutron activation analysis]] (NAA), a form of what has become known as [[comparative bullet-lead analysis]] (CBLA), was used to analyse the bullet lead from the JFK assassination. It revealed that it was highly likely that only two lead bullets were the source of all the following pieces of evidence: the mostly-intact stretcher bullet, fragments found in the [[SS-100-X|presidential limousine]]'s front seat and rug, fragments recovered from JFK's brain autopsy and fragments recovered from Governor [[John Connally|Connally]]'s wrist.<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol I, 530}} Whether CBLA data can be used to actually exclude the possibility that there were fragments from more than two bullets in the wounds and the car has been the subject of controversy. (See [[Single-bullet theory#Neutron activation analysis of bullet fragments|single bullet theory]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Comparative Bullet Lead Analysis: A Retrospective |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=faculty_publications |website=scholarlycommons.law.case.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Randich |first1=Erik |last2=Grant |first2=Patrick M. |title=Proper Assessment of the JFK Assassination Bullet Lead Evidence from Metallurgical and Statistical Perspectives |journal=Journal of Forensic Sciences |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=717–728  |doi=10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00165.x |pmid=16882211 |year=2006|s2cid=20614842 |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc890664/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Solomon |first1=John |title=Scientists Cast Doubt on Kennedy Bullet Analysis |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051601967.html?hpid=moreheadlines |date=17 May 2007}}</ref><ref name=Rahn>[http://karws.gso.uri.edu/JFK/scientific_topics/NAA/review_of_rg/Review.html Review of Randich and Grant's article on NAA<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220085652/http://karws.gso.uri.edu/JFK/scientific_topics/NAA/Review_of_RG/Review.html |date=2012-02-20 }}</ref>

Additionally, the location of the shooter (at the 6th floor [[Texas School Book Depository]] window) was determined using trajectory analysis. The origin of the rifle bullets was calculated using the location of the presidential limousine and its occupants combined with the bullet wounds found on the president and governor.<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol VI, 34–35}}

===Photographic analysis===
A team of photographic experts was used to answer several questions related to the photographic evidence of the case. [[Forensic anthropology|Forensic anthropologists]] as well as photographic and radiographic experts, based on unique anatomical details, verified that JFK's autopsy photos and x-rays were only of the late president.<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol VI, 225–239}} Forensic anthropologists were also used to verify that all relevant photographs of [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] were of only one person.<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol VI, 274–277}} They verified that the backyard photos (showing Oswald holding the rifle used to kill the president) depicted the same rifle found in the Texas school book depository building after the crime.<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol VI, 64–66}} The panel of photographic experts were also used to verify the authenticity of the assassination-related photos and to analyze for any tampering or fakery; none was detected.<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol VII, 41}}

===Forensic Pathology Panel===
The HSCA's Forensic Pathology Panel included [[Michael Baden]], John I. Coe, Joseph H. Davis, George S. Loquvam, Charles S. Petty, [[Earl Rose (coroner)|Earl Rose]], [[Werner Spitz]], [[Cyril Wecht]], and James T. Weston.<ref name="HCSA-VII">{{cite book |title=Appendix to Hearings before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?absPageId=39001 |volume=VII |date=March 1979 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |page=73 |chapter=Evaluation of the medical, pathological and related evidence pertaining to the death of President John F. Kennedy |chapter-url=http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?absPageId=39083 |ref={{harvid|Appendix to Hearings before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, Volume VII|1979}}}}</ref>

With the benefit of authenticated photographs, x-rays and notes from the [[John F. Kennedy autopsy|Kennedy autopsy]], a nine-doctor panel of expert pathologists reviewed and corroborated the Warren Commission's medical findings. Although the HSCA medical panel was critical of the thoroughness and methodology of the original autopsy,<ref name="ReclaimingHistory">[[Vincent Bugliosi]], "[[Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy]]," W. W. Norton & Company, 2007</ref>{{rp|382–386}} they concurred, although Cyril Wecht dissented, with the Warren Commission's conclusion that two, and only two bullet wounds entered from above and behind (the direction of Oswald in the Book Depository). Their conclusion that the President was struck by a bullet that entered in the right rear of the head near the cowlick area and exited from the right front side of the head differed from a diagram in the Warren Commission's report showing this entrance wound low in the back of the head.<ref name="HSCAReport" />{{rp|43–44}}<ref>{{cite web |title=History Matters Archive – Warren Commission Hearings, Volume XVI, pg |url=https://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh16/html/WH_Vol16_0504b.htm |website=history-matters.com}}</ref>

===Fingerprint and handwriting analysis===
The authenticity of several [[fingerprints]] and a palm print found on assassination-related materials was reaffirmed by a fingerprint expert. Lee Harvey Oswald's prints were found on the trigger guard and underside of the [[John F. Kennedy assassination rifle|Mannlicher–Carcano rifle]] used to shoot the president, the brown paper container used to transport the rifle, several cardboard boxes in the sniper's nest and on the magazine order form to purchase the rifle.<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol VII, 247–249}}

In addition, dozens of documents were analyzed by a panel of three [[handwriting experts]] who verified that "the signatures and handwriting purported to be by Oswald are consistently that of one person."<ref name="HSCAAppendix" />{{rp|Vol VIII, 225–247}} These include such incriminating items as the envelope and order form used to purchase the rifle, the application forms to rent the PO Box that the rifle was delivered to, and the notated backyard photo depicting Oswald holding the rifle.

=== Secret Services Actions analysis ===
The Department of Justice, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|F.B.I]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency|C.I.A.]] and the [[Warren Commission]] were all criticized for the quality of the investigations carried out and for the way they informed the Warren Commission.

The [[United States Secret Service|Secret Services]] was criticized for the weak protection of the president, which was weakened between the parade in Houston on November 21 and Dallas on November 22, 1963. During the parade in Houston, the HSCA noted that 33 motorcyclists – including 6 on the flanks of the same presidential limousine- were deployed throughout the journey, which was not the case in Dallas 24 hours later. The HSCA reported that in its own report that : ''"(104) The Secret Service's alteration's of the Dallas Police Department's original motorcycle deployment plan prevented the use of maximum safety precautions."''<ref>{{Cite book |last=US House of representatives |first=HSCA House Select Committee on Assassinations |title=Current Section: VII. The Residual Role of the Secret Service in Motorcade Planning |publisher=US Government Publishing |year=1979 |edition=1fst |location=Washington |page=551 |language=en |chapter-url=https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=83#relPageId=535 |chapter=HSCA Report, Volume XI}}</ref>

===Dictabelt audio recording===
{{Main|John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording}}
Although the HSCA had prepared a draft report confirming the [[Warren Commission]]'s single shooter theory and finding no evidence of conspiracy, at the eleventh hour, the committee was swayed by a since-disputed acoustic analysis of a dictabelt police channel recording.<ref name="HSCAReport" />{{rp|495}} This acoustic analysis of the dictabelt recording by the firm [[BBN Technologies|Bolt, Beranek and Newman Inc.]] concluded that four shots were fired at the president, thus causing the HSCA to reverse its earlier position and report "that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy."<ref name="HSCAReport" />{{rp|9}} In terms of scientific evidence, the HSCA acknowledged that the existence of a second shooter was only supported by this acoustic analysis.<ref name="HSCAReport" />{{rp|84}}

As recommended by the HSCA, the Justice Department reviewed those findings through the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI's]] Technical Services Division and by contracting the [[National Academy of Sciences]], which specially appointed the Committee on Ballistic Acoustics (CBA). Both the FBI and CBA analyzed the acoustic data and BBN's scientific methodology and concluded that their findings were mistaken.<ref name="CBAReport">{{cite book|title=Report of the Committee on Ballistic Acoustics|url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10264|publisher=National Research Council|access-date=November 11, 2013|doi = 10.17226/10264|year = 1982|isbn = 978-0-309-25372-7}}</ref><ref>Technical Services Division, "Review Requested by the Department of Justice of the Acoustical Reports Published by the House Select Committee on Assassinations," Federal Bureau of Investigation, November 19, 1980</ref> Although there has been some recent back-and-forth between different researchers, the HSCA's acoustic analysis is widely considered to be discredited.<ref name="JusticeDeptMemo" /><ref name="ReclaimingHistory" />{{rp|377}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Posner|first1=Gerald|title=Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK|date=2013|publisher=Open Road Media|pages=Afterword|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>Linsker R., Garwin R.L., Chernoff H., Horowitz P., Ramsey N.F., [http://jfk-records.com/ScienceAndJustice_45%284%29_207-226%282005%29.pdf "Synchronization of the acoustic evidence in the assassination of President Kennedy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013231553/http://jfk-records.com/ScienceAndJustice_45%284%29_207-226%282005%29.pdf |date=October 13, 2013 }}. ''Science & Justice'', vol. 45(4), 2005, pp. 207–226.</ref><ref name="Campbell2008">{{cite book|author=Ballard C. Campbell|title=Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History: A Reference Guide to the Nation's Most Catastrophic Events|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VitlO1mWxzAC|access-date=September 1, 2013|year=2008|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-3012-5|page=1936}}</ref><ref name="ATY">{{cite journal | title=After Thirty Years: Making Sense of the Assassination | author=Holland, Max | journal=[[Reviews in American History]] |date=June 1994 | volume=22 | issue=2 | pages=191–209 | doi=10.2307/2702884| jstor=2702884 }}</ref><ref name="48 years">{{cite journal | title=The Assassination of John F. Kennedy – 48 Years On | author=Martin, John | journal=Irish Foreign Affairs |date=September 2011}}</ref><ref name="Knight2007">{{cite book|author=Peter Knight|title=The Kennedy Assassination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRs2Tu714ZUC&pg=PA72|access-date=September 4, 2013|year=2007|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-934110-32-4|page=72}}</ref><ref name="Olmsted2011">{{cite book|author=Kathryn S. Olmsted|title=Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u7Sd5vyOOtEC&pg=PA170|access-date=September 4, 2013|date=March 11, 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-975395-6|pages=169–170}}</ref><ref>Gary Savage, "JFK first day evidence," Shoppe Press, 1993, pg. 331</ref><ref>Peter Jennings Reporting: The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy, ABC News Special, November 20, 2003</ref><ref>Larry M. Sturdivan, "The JFK myths: a scientific investigation of the Kennedy assassination," Paragon House, September 15, 2005, pg. 77</ref>

== Witness auditions ==
Unlike the Warren Commission and the FBI who had concluded that there was a minor interest in their investigation of this aspect of the life of the former marine without digging further on the grounds that their investigation had not revealed the presence of [[Lee Harvey Oswald]]. at 544 Camp Street17, the HSCA revealed on the contrary several witnesses who confirmed the presence of Lee Harvey Oswald within the illegal branch of the CIA, including the brothers Allen and Daniel Campbell, former marines recruited by [[Guy Banister]], his secretary Delphine Roberts or his own brother again.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=The Select Committee of Assassinations of US House Representatives |first=Volume X – Anti castro activities and organization Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans – CIA Plots against Castro – Rose Cheramie |url=https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1212#relPageId=133&search=banister |title=Current Section: XIII. 544 Camp Street and Related Events |publisher=US Government Printing |year=1979 |edition=1 first |location=Washington |pages=126–130 |language=en}}</ref>

In the address book of Lee Harvey Oswald was also found the coordinates of several notorious anti-Castroists.<ref name=":1" />

The committee also found a connection between Lee Harvey Oswald and [[David Ferrie]].<ref name=":1" /> The committee indicated that Lee Harvey Oswald and David Ferrie knew each other since 1955 and their actions in the civil air patrol.<ref name=":1" />

The HSCA did not interview the personal physician of John F Kennedy, the doctor Georges Burkley who was never interviewed by the Warren Commission.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 March 2023 |title=The Missing Physician |url=https://www.maryferrell.org/pages/The_Missing_Physician.html?search=missing%20physician |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=Mary Ferrell Foundation}}</ref>

==Conclusions==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations. Findings in the Assassination of President Kennedy (Page 3).jpg
| width1            = 120
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations. Findings in the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Page 5).jpg
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| caption2          = 
| footer            = HSCA findings in the assassinations of President Kennedy (left) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (right), as published in 1979.
}}

=== General conclusions ===
In particular, the various investigations performed by the U.S. government were faulted for insufficient consideration of the possibility of a conspiracy in each case. The committee in its report also made recommendations for legislative and administrative improvements, including making some assassinations Federal crimes.

===Conclusions regarding the King assassination===
On the King assassination, the committee concluded in its report that while King was killed by one rifle shot from [[James Earl Ray]], "there is a likelihood" that it was the result of a conspiracy, and that no U.S. government agency was part of this conspiracy; on the contrary, it was more likely to be between Ray and his brothers.

===Conclusions regarding the Kennedy assassination===
On the Kennedy assassination, the HSCA concluded in its 1979 report that:<ref name="HSCAReport" />
#[[Lee Harvey Oswald]] fired three shots at Kennedy. The second and third shots Oswald fired struck the President. The third shot he fired killed the President.
#Scientific acoustical evidence establishes a high probability that at least two gunmen fired at the President. Other scientific evidence does not preclude the possibility of two gunmen firing at the President. [[Scientific evidence]] negates some specific conspiracy allegations.
#The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy]]. The committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the extent of the conspiracy.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that the Soviet Government was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that the Cuban Government was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that anti-Castro Cuban groups, as groups, were not involved in the assassination of Kennedy, but that the available evidence does not preclude the possibility that individual members may have been involved.
#* The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that the national syndicate of organized crime, as a group, was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy, but that the available evidence does not preclude the possibility that individual members may have been involved.
#* The Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Central Intelligence Agency were not involved in the assassination of Kennedy. 
#Agencies and departments of the U.S. Government performed with varying degrees of competency in the fulfillment of their duties. President Kennedy did not receive adequate protection. A thorough and reliable investigation into the responsibility of Lee Harvey Oswald for the assassination was conducted. The investigation into the possibility of conspiracy in the assassination was inadequate. The conclusions of the investigations were arrived at in good faith, but presented in a fashion that was too definitive.

The committee further concluded that it was probable that:
*four shots were fired
*the fourth shot came from a second assassin located on the [[grassy knoll]], but missed. The HSCA concluded the existence and location of this alleged fourth shot based on the [[Dallas Police Department]] Dictabelt recording analysis, along with witness testimony that reported suspicious activity in the vicinity.<ref name="HSCAReport" /><sup>:91</sup>

The HSCA agreed with the [[single bullet theory]],<ref name="HCSA-IA"/> but concluded that it occurred at a time point during the assassination that differed from any of the several time points the [[Warren Commission]] theorized it occurred.

The [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]], FBI, CIA, and the Warren Commission were all criticized for not revealing to the Warren Commission information available in 1964, and the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] was deemed deficient in their protection of the President.

The HSCA made several accusations of deficiency against the FBI and CIA <ref name="HSCAReport" />{{rp|239–256}} as the [[Church Committee]] in 1976.<ref>{{Cite book |last=United States Senate |first=Select Committee to study governmental operations with respect to the intelligence activities |title=Book five – The investigation of the assassination of President John F Kennedy : performances of the intelligence agencies |publisher=US Government Printing Office |date=April 23, 1976 |edition=First |location=Washington |pages=2–8 |language=en}}</ref> The accusations encompassed organizational failures, miscommunication, and a desire to keep certain parts of their operations secret. Furthermore, the Warren Commission expected these agencies to be forthcoming with any information that would aid their investigation. But the FBI and CIA only saw it as their duty to respond to specific requests for information from the commission. However, the HSCA found the FBI and CIA were deficient in performing even that limited role.

==Criticisms==
Although the HSCA publicly released its findings in 12 volumes and a single-volume summary report, the majority of primary documents were sealed for 50 years under congressional rules. In 1992, Congress passed legislation to collect and open up all the evidence relating to Kennedy's death, and created the [[Assassination Records Review Board]] to further that goal. No materials have been uncovered which significantly change the conclusions or opinion of the HSCA.<ref name="ReclaimingHistory" />{{rp|Endnotes 149}}

The ARRB reported: "Because the HSCA investigation was marked by internal squabbling and disillusioned staffers, the committee's records were the subject of ongoing controversy. Some ex-staffers claimed the HSCA report did not reflect their investigative work, and that information that did not conform with the committee leadership's preconceived conclusions was ignored or left out of the report and supporting volumes."<ref name="ARRB">{{cite book |author=Assassination Records Review Board |author-link1=Assassination Records Review Board |title=Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board |chapter-url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/review-board/report/arrb-final-report.pdf |access-date=October 26, 2015 |date=September 30, 1998 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |page=6 |chapter=Chapter 1: The Problem of Secrecy and the Solution of the JFK Act}}</ref>

In 1992, author [[Bonar Menninger]] dismissed the committee report as ''Blakey's $5 Million Folly''.<ref>''Blakey's $5 Million Folly'' is the title of Chapter 13 of ''[[Mortal Error]]''. [[G. Robert Blakey]] was the [[Chief Counsel]] and staff director.</ref>

Robert Blakey, the chief counsel of the committee, later changed his views that the CIA was being cooperative and forthcoming with the investigation when he learned that the CIA's special liaison to the committee researchers, [[George Joannides]], was actually involved with some of the organizations that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] was allegedly involved with in the months leading up to the assassination. Among these organizations was an anti-Castro group, the [[Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil]], which was linked to the CIA (Joannides was in fact working for the CIA in 1963). Chief Counsel Blakey later stated that Joannides should have in fact been interviewed by the HCSA, rather than serving as a gatekeeper to the CIA's evidence and files regarding the assassination. He further disregarded and suspected all the CIA's statements and representations to the committee, accusing it of [[obstruction of justice]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/oswald/interviews/blakey.html#addendum|title=Interview – G. Robert Blakey – Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? |website=Frontline |publisher=PBS}}</ref>

In the same 2003 interview, Blakey issued a statement on the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]:

<blockquote>...I no longer believe that we were able to conduct an appropriate investigation of the [Central Intelligence] Agency and its relationship to Oswald.... We now know that the Agency withheld from the Warren Commission the CIA–Mafia plots to kill Castro. Had the commission known of the plots, it would have followed a different path in its investigation. The Agency unilaterally deprived the commission of a chance to obtain the full truth, which will now never be known. Significantly, the Warren Commission's conclusion that the agencies of the government co-operated with it is, in retrospect, not the truth. We also now know that the Agency set up a process that could only have been designed to frustrate the ability of the committee in 1976–79 to obtain any information that might adversely affect the Agency. Many have told me that the culture of the Agency is one of prevarication and dissimulation and that you cannot trust it or its people. Period. End of story. I am now in that camp.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interview - G. Robert Blakey &#124; Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? &#124; FRONTLINE |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/oswald/interviews/blakey.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408073435/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/oswald/interviews/blakey.html |archive-date=8 April 2018 |website=www.pbs.org}}</ref></blockquote>

According to Dan Hardway, an investigator for the HCSA, Joannides was running a "covert operation" to obstruct their investigation into the assassination.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Caputo |first1=Marc |title=CIA admits shadowy officer monitored Oswald before JFK assassination, new records reveal |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/07/05/cia-agent-oswald-kennedy-assassination |work=[[Axios (website)|Axios]] |date=5 July 2025}}</ref> Hardway says that when Joannides was brought in by the CIA, he limited their access to files and changed the process for file requests.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hearing Wrap Up: Task Force Examines Newly Released JFK Files |url=https://oversight.house.gov/release/hearing-wrap-up-task-force-examines-newly-released-jfk-files/ |website=oversight.house.gov |publisher=Committee on Oversight and Government Reform}}</ref>

According to a 2015 ''[[Politico]]'' report,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/jfk-assassination-john-mccone-warren-commission-cia-213197/|title=Yes, the CIA Director Was Part of the JFK Assassination Cover-Up|website=politico.com|date=October 6, 2015 }}</ref> newly declassified documents show that CIA director [[John A. McCone]] hid evidence from the Warren Commission. According to a once-secret report<ref>{{Cite journal | url=http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB493/docs/intell_ebb_026.PDF | title=(U) DCI John McCone and the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy |  access-date=2024-07-06 | journal=Studies in Intelligence | volume=57 | issue=3 | date=September 2013}}</ref> written in 2013 by the CIA's top in-house historian, David Robarge, the CIA admits McCone and other senior CIA officials withheld 'incendiary' information from the Warren Commission.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|United States House Select Committee on Assassinations}}
* [https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/ Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives] (March 29, 1979). Stokes, Louis Chairman, House Select Committee on Assassinations.
* [[iarchive:HouseSelectCommitteeOnAssassinations|Appendix Volumes to the Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives]] (March 29, 1979). Stokes, Louis Chairman, House Select Committee on Assassinations.

{{John F. Kennedy assassination}}
{{Martin Luther King, Jr.|expanded=Assassination}}

[[Category:Defunct committees of the United States House of Representatives|Assassinations]]
[[Category:Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]]
[[Category:John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Official enquiries concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:1976 establishments in the United States]]