MY REVIEW OF LITWIN’S JFK BOOK
INTRODUCTION
Litwin claims that “thousands of JFK conspiracy books have been published”—but as of 2004 there were just over 400 books (according to Publishers Weekly). He says Judyth Vary Baker claims “Oswald intentionally missed Kennedy”—but of course she believes he never fired.
CHAPTER 1
Litwin says first generation critics “started finding small inconsistencies”, but they were actually BIG inconsistencies. He avows: “The motorcade HAD to turn onto Elm Street so it could take an exit to the Stemmons Freeway which would have taken them to the Dallas Trade Mart for Kennedy’s speech.” False! They could have went Main St. to Industrial Blvd. He incorrectly says there are “20,000 pages” in the 26 Volumes when really there are 17,816 pages. Shockingly, before even going into the actual evidence at all, Litwin casually says: “The authors of the Warren Report were honorable men who conducted an honest investigation and reached the right answer.” This is not right. This is not right at all. He incorrectly says Connally’s “lapel” flipped—his chest wound was nowhere near the lapel!
Litwin then goes through the “overwhelming” “evidence” against Oswald. He claims Oswald had “a long...package”—but the two witnesses to it said it was NOT long. (2 H 239-240, 249) Litwin claims that “after the assassination, he was the only warehouseman missing”—but Charles Givens was also missing. (3 H 183, 208) Litwin nonchalantly says Oswald “killed police officer J.D. Tippit”, which is wrong. He claims that “many witnesses identified Oswald“—but those “identifications” were based on rigged lineups and showing Oswald’s photo months after he was dead and nationally known. He says that “one expert concluded that one of the four bullets recovered from Tippit’s body matched the revolver found in Oswald’s possession“—but 8 other experts disagreed with him, and moreover that bullet did not appear for a quarter of a year! (3 H 474) Litwin says “the expended [Tippit] cartridge cases matched Oswald’s gun to the exclusion of all other weapons”—but those cases did not appear for a week (24 H 253, 332), four officers’ initials disappeared from them (7 H 251, 275-276; 24 H 415), and they could not be identified by the three witnesses as the ones they found that day. (24 H 414-415) Litwin says “Oswald’s right palm print was found on the rifle barrel”—but the only person to see this print said it was an OLD print. (First Day Evidence, p. 108) He then says “his fingerprints were found on the bag used to carry the rifle to work”—but the tests on the bag revealed NO prints. (4 H 3, 267) Litwin then declares: “Faced with this massive amount of incriminating evidence, the critics could only chip away at the margins.” But as you can clearly see above, I did not “chip away at the margins”. I simply debunked all those claims with ORIGINAL EVIDENCE.
Litwin then proceeds to speak in paragraphs to derail Lee Bowers’ account, but he never gets to the meat and potatoes. So I will spell it out here...Bowers told Mark Lane on camera on March 31, 1966:
“THERE WERE, AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING, 2 MEN STANDING AT THE TOP OF THE INCLINE. AND ONE OF THEM, FROM TIME TO TIME AS HE WALKED BACK AND FORTH, UH - DISAPPEARED BEHIND A WOODEN FENCE WHICH ALSO IS - UH - SLIGHTLY TO THE WEST OF THAT. AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING IN THE VICINITY OF WHERE THE 2 MEN WERE, THERE WAS A FLASH OF LIGHT. THE AREA WAS SEALED OFF BY AT LEAST 50 POLICE WITHIN 3 TO 5 MINUTES. I WAS THERE ONLY TO TELL ‘EM WHAT THEY ASKED, AND - UH - SO THAT WHEN THEY SEEMED TO WANT TO CUT OFF THE CONVERSATION.” (https://youtu.be/hm1d3pTj50A)
Litwin also apparently doesn’t know that subsequently three of Bowers’ friends independently came forward and confirmed that yes he did see more than he told the Warren Commission, but “he was afraid. He didn't want his life threatened or ruined being the main witness against Lee Oswald being the lone shooter.” (https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/10951-on-the-two-men-bowers-saw/)
Litwin avows that “Dealey Plaza was an echo chamber which made it hard for witnesses to determine the direction of the shots”—but the flash of light, smoke, fresh footprints, cigarette butts, and an anomalous shape in the Moorman photo all confirm the 58 grassy knoll ear witnesses! All of which are JFK 101 and never mentioned in Litwin’s book. Litwin declares “there were absolutely no witnesses to gunmen on the grassy knoll or behind the picket fence.” Well, of course, everyone was looking at the President, not at some random fence in the corner! Snipers are trained to not be seen. But we do have physical and photographic evidence left behind, as I mentioned above. Litwin claims “the Dallas doctors did not see the [rear skull] entrance wound because they didn’t turn Kennedy’s body over”—but they DID lift the head up, and this wound WAS seen, by Drs. Jenkins and Grossman. Litwin says “Virginia and Barbara Davis saw Oswald run across their lawn after the [Tippit] murder.” But remember, they pointed him out of a rigged lineup. Also, the Davis sisters were really confused witnesses. For instance, Barbara claimed she saw the killer again “a few minutes later” after the shooting! (CD 630e, p. 1) And Virginia claimed she heard the second gunshot “a few minutes later” after the first one! (CD 630f, p. 1) So they were confused witnesses.
CHAPTER 2
I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.
CHAPTER 3
Litwin incorrectly says the Zapurder film is “27 seconds” when of course it is 26 seconds. He says the parade route “never changed”—but SAIC Gerald Behn confirmed to Vince Palamara the route WAS changed for the Dallas trip! (Survivor’s Guilt, p. 104) Litwin always makes a big deal that in 1972 Drs. John Lattimer and Cyril Wecht, after viewing the autopsy materials, concluded JFK was only hit from the rear. But the fact is that we have come SO far since 1972, and because of this, Wecht has since changed his mind. But Litwin doesn’t explain this context. He cites Lattimer’s old myth of Connally having an “elongated wound in the back”—but Connally’s doctor testified it was elongated ONLY AFTER he removed damaged skin. (6 H 88) He says “Kennedy’s head moved forward before it moved back and to the left”—but this has since been shown to probably be an optional illusion due to camera movement. (See Last Second in Dallas by Josiah Thompson) Litwin says the back and to the left “was probably caused by a neuromuscular spasm”—but as another reviewer has pointed out, “no expert in neuroscience has ever supported this hypothesis.” Moreover, neuromuscular spasms only occur when the nerve centers (at the bottom of the brain) are inflicted, and JFK’s were not. Litwin also says “there might also have been some minor movement due to something called the ‘jet effect’”—but the fact of the matter is that this theory met a timely end in 2014 (see https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4955953/user-clip-jfk-jet-effect-theory-debunked) Litwin: “The autopsy materials...totally refuted a shot from the front.” This is false. The lateral X-ray (assuming it’s authentic) clearly shows a trail of bullet fragments going from front to back (we know it goes from front to back because the largest fragments are in the back). That means a shot from the front.
CHAPTER 4
Again, I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.
CHAPTER 5
Litwin touched a bit on the acoustics evidence, but ignored the recent work that’s been done on it. His argument was very dated. He avows that “the autopsy X-rays and photographs...showed a small wound in the back of Kennedy’s head”—this would be news to autopsist James Humes, who couldn’t find one when shown the materials during his ARRB deposition. Litwin says “the Zapruder film shows the back of Kennedy’s head to be intact after the fatal shot”—but (assuming the film is authentic) the back of the head is unfortunately IN SHADOW in the Z film. What Litwin also doesn’t say is that actually a few frames are not in shadow, and they DO IN FACT show the rear of the head blown out! (Frames 335, 337, 374) He says “you can see a visible exit wound in the right front”—but what that actually is is a flap of scalp hanging down. No one that day saw a wound “in the right front”. He says “his [Harrison Livingstone’s] witnesses all disagreed with each other.” I’m not sure what Litwin means here. All the witnesses Livingstone interviewed were unanimous that the back of the head was gone. Litwin (like Gerald Posner) misconstrues a 1990 quote by autopsy technician Paul O’Connor—“It has been so many years and so much has happened, I kind of doubt my own ability to remember fine details.”—Posner attributes this to O’Connor’s overall memory, but actually it was attributed to the specific question as to whether JFK was wrapped in a mattress cover! (High Treason 2, p. 272) This is complete dishonesty, and Litwin just copied it from Posner’s book.
Litwin says “the radiologist [John Ebersole] who took the X-rays at the autopsy...said that ‘none are missing...’” But Ebersole did NOT in fact take the X-rays, technician Jerrol Custer did, and Custer was adamant that he took more than 3 skull X-rays (3 is the official number). (Inside the ARRB, p. 455)
Litwin always makes a big deal that “every forensic pathologist who had viewed the autopsy evidence had concluded that Kennedy was shot from behind.” But here’s the thing, none of their reports ever mention the words “grassy knoll”, “knoll”, or “fence”. They didn’t even take that into consideration! So that talking point is INVALID. Litwin also ignores that Dr. Michael Baden conservatively acknowledged a grassy knoll headshot was POSSIBLE! (HSCA Final Report, pp. 80-81) Litwin incorrectly accuses critics of “ignoring the HSCA test results.” He jumps on critics for using “faulty diagrams” of the single-bullet theory. He then shows a still from Dale Myers’ animation and declares: “They were in perfect alignment for a shot to hit both men.” But of course, Myers’ dishonest animation only works if you move JFK’s back wound up, stretch his neck, lean his neck way forward, shrink Connally, and slide his seat in 6 inches when it was actually 2.5 inches. (patspeer.com, Chapter 12c) Litwin discusses the unreliable “Badgeman” in the Moorman photo, but completely omitted the very RELIABLE anomalous shape I mentioned earlier. It’s not there in later photos, so that WAS a person. Coincidently, that flash of light and smoke was seen there, and those fresh footprints and cigarette butts were found there. Again, none of this is mentioned in Litwin’s book. He incorrectly calls Robert Groden’s 1993 book “The Death of a President”—it’s actually The Killing of a President.
CHAPTER 6
Litwin nonchalantly mentioned Thomas Canning’s HSCA trajectory analysis—but none of the wound locations in Canning’s analysis are the same as the locations that were reported in the HSCA’s Forensic Pathology Report. Canning chose them. Yes, he chose his own wound locations! (6 HSCA 33) All trying to confirm a bias – aka a lone assassin. Moreover, Canning’s trajectory analysis for the single-bullet theory is at Zapruder frame 190, and Litwin believes it happened at frame 224. Litwin says “Oswald qualified as a sharpshooter in the U.S. Marines”, but ignores the Warren Commission’s own admission that Oswald was, at the time of the shooting, a “rather poor shot” (R 191) He incorrectly claims “there were numerous witnesses who heard a shot before Kennedy was hit in the neck”—there were only three! (patspeer.com, Chapter 9) Litwin claims “four of the Dallas doctors involved in treating Kennedy went to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in 1988 to view the autopsy X-Rays and photographs. They all went on the record to confirm the authenticity of the autopsy materials.” This is nonsense and sleight of hand. First of all, this goes directly against what these four doctors said in the past when originally shown the back of the head photo (showing it intact).
Dr. Peters—“I don’t think it’s consistent with what I saw. There was a large hole in the back of the head through which one could see the brain. But that hole does not appear in the photograph.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)
Dr. Dulany—"There's a definite conflict. That's not the way I remember it." (“Dispute on JFK Assassination Evidence Persists”, The Boston Globe, 6/21/81)
Dr. Jenkins—“No, not like that. Not like that...No...That picture doesn’t look like it from the back.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 10/22/80)
Dr. McClelland—“He firmly rejected the autopsy photos.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)
And likewise all the other Dallas treating staff have denounced the photo. Now, concerning what those four doctors said in 1988 to NOVA, they said that IF the pathologist’s hand in the photo is holding up a flap of loose skin to cover the defect in the back of the head, THEN the photo would be accurate. But as Dr. Michael Baden has said: “There is no flap of skin there.” (Case Closed, p. 310) So therefore, the photo apparently IS inaccurate. Litwin mentions ARRB chairman John R. Tunheim telling Vincent Bugliosi that “there’s no smoking gun” in the remaining sealed files—as if conspirators would leave behind a trace for all the world to see! He incorrectly says Doug Horne “wrote a series of books”—it was actually ONE book of five volumes.
CHAPTER 7
Litwin avows: “Over the years, more and more documents and records have been released but no major revelation on the assassination has emerged.” This is simply not true. For instance, in 1993 the sealed HSCA testimony of JFK’s mortician Tom Robinson was declassified, and it was a bombshell. For years, Warren Commission defenders have demanded to know, “Where’s the grassy knoll bullet?!” The answer came when Robinson’s testimony was released. He said:
“They were literally picked out, little pieces of this bullet from all over his head...They had the little pieces. They picked them out...I watched them pick the little pieces out. They had something like a test tube or a little vile or something that they put the pieces in...Fairly many pieces...They were all small that could be picked up with forceps...The largest piece that I saw [was] maybe a quarter of an inch.” (RIF#180-10089-10178)
Robinson said “that the total number would be close to 10 fragments." (ARRB MD 180)
These numerous fragments have to be from the knoll headshot (Z-313). Why? Because they disappeared. They were removed and disappeared. (They would’ve had to have been removed from the head early in the autopsy, for the six autopsy technicians don’t remember them.) In the end, the only fragments from the autopsy turned over to the Warren Commission were two from the Depository headshot (Z-328) that matched Oswald’s rifle. (See Last Second in Dallas for the Z-328 headshot evidence)
When I asked Litwin if he knows who Tom Robinson is, his response to me was: “The terrific British rocker...I have several of his CDs.” (4/6/21 Facebook message)
POSTSCRIPT
Litwin writes: “Oliver Stone is locked in for life his with conspiracy theories—there’s nothing that could ever change his mind.” I simply turn the question around on Litwin: is there anything that could ever change YOUR mind? He simply replied: “Evidence.” (ibid.)
Well, I’ve spent countless hours both in person and online TRYING to patiently tell Fred Litwin the evidence, but it’s always the same—excuses, arguments from authority, and stubbornness. I was (and am still) truly shocked by his blatant denial and ignorance. It’s actually mind-torturing. At this point, I can only shake my head. As someone once said, “You can pile up all the evidence in the world, and they don’t wanna listen.”
Litwin relayed a story to me:
“It's a story that should be in my Teenage Conspiracy Freak book, but isn't. It goes like this. As I was slowly changing my opinion, I decided it was time to read Posner's book. I bought it...but I couldn't open it. It sat there for days....until I decided to read the medical evidence chapter. I thought it was a great chapter - in fact, I wish I had written it....and I knew then that there was no conspiracy...and I put the book down....a changed man.” (1/15/21 Facebook message)
I was taken aback by this. The truth of the matter is that Gerald Posner’s book Case Closed has been debunked 7 ways to Sunday ever since it was first published in 1993! I reminded Litwin this, and he just said: “It has not been debunked.” I then proposed, “If I could prove it has been debunked what would you say?” Litwin retorted: “If you could prove the earth is flat, what would I say?” (ibid.) When I told him “Baden says it’s possible a shot from the knoll”, Litwin retorted: “It’s possible we are being visited by flying saucers; and it is possible that Bigfoot exists.” (4/5/21 Facebook message) Folks, that’s Fred Litwin for ya.
-
Litwin always says: “The HSCA had hired a lot of experts and they conducted a lot of tests. They sustained the conclusion of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots and killed Kennedy.“ (p. 155) Now, at first glance this seems convincing to the average reader. But the truth is, most of those tests have since been debunked—Vincent Guinn’s neuron activation analysis has been rejected by science, Thomas Canning’s fraudulent trajectory analysis was debunked by Pat Speer, the Forensic Pathology Panel was wrong about the rear entry wound being high on the head, and Dr. David Mantik, using optical densitometry, has shown that the X-rays in the National Archives (while of Kennedy) show signs of some alteration.
Litwin says the HSCA “concluded that Kennedy and Connally’s alignment in the limousine was consistent with the single-bullet theory.” (p. 152) But in order for it to work, they said, JFK would have to be leaning WAY forward (7 HSCA 100)—which he WAS NOT! (18 H 26)
Litwin also says there was a “forward dispersal of brain matter indicating a shot from behind.” (p. 51) This is a common argument, but Josiah Thompson has since pointed out how it’s actually the OPPOSITE.
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MY REVIEW OF LITWIN’S JFK BOOKINTRODUCTIONLitwin claims that “thousands of JFK conspiracy books have been published”—but as of 2004 there were just over 400 books (according to Publishers Weekly). He says Judyth Vary Baker claims “Oswald intentionally missed Kennedy”—but of course she believes he never fired.CHAPTER 1Litwin says first generation critics “started finding small inconsistencies”, but they were actually BIG inconsistencies. He avows: “The motorcade HAD to turn onto Elm Street so it could take an exit to the Stemmons Freeway which would have taken them to the Dallas Trade Mart for Kennedy’s speech.” False! They could have went Main St. to Industrial Blvd. He incorrectly says there are “20,000 pages” in the 26 Volumes when really there are 17,816 pages. Shockingly, before even going into the actual evidence at all, Litwin casually says: “The authors of the Warren Report were honorable men who conducted an honest investigation and reached the right answer.” This is not right. This is not right at all. He incorrectly says Connally’s “lapel” flipped—his chest wound was nowhere near the lapel!Litwin then goes through the “overwhelming” “evidence” against Oswald. He claims Oswald had “a long...package”—but the two witnesses to it said it was NOT long. (2 H 239-240, 249) Litwin claims that “after the assassination, he was the only warehouseman missing”—but Charles Givens was also missing. (3 H 183, 208) Litwin nonchalantly says Oswald “killed police officer J.D. Tippit”, which is wrong. He claims that “many witnesses identified Oswald“—but those “identifications” were based on rigged lineups and showing Oswald’s photo months after he was dead and nationally known. He says that “one expert concluded that one of the four bullets recovered from Tippit’s body matched the revolver found in Oswald’s possession“—but 8 other experts disagreed with him, and moreover that bullet did not appear for a quarter of a year! (3 H 474) Litwin says “the expended [Tippit] cartridge cases matched Oswald’s gun to the exclusion of all other weapons”—but those cases did not appear for a week (24 H 253, 332), four officers’ initials disappeared from them (7 H 251, 275-276; 24 H 415), and they could not be identified by the three witnesses as the ones they found that day. (24 H 414-415) Litwin says “Oswald’s right palm print was found on the rifle barrel”—but the only person to see this print said it was an OLD print. (First Day Evidence, p. 108) He then says “his fingerprints were found on the bag used to carry the rifle to work”—but the tests on the bag revealed NO prints. (4 H 3, 267) Litwin then declares: “Faced with this massive amount of incriminating evidence, the critics could only chip away at the margins.” But as you can clearly see above, I did not “chip away at the margins”. I simply debunked all those claims with ORIGINAL EVIDENCE.Litwin then proceeds to speak in paragraphs to derail Lee Bowers’ account, but he never gets to the meat and potatoes. So I will spell it out here...Bowers told Mark Lane on camera on March 31, 1966:“THERE WERE, AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING, 2 MEN STANDING AT THE TOP OF THE INCLINE. AND ONE OF THEM, FROM TIME TO TIME AS HE WALKED BACK AND FORTH, UH - DISAPPEARED BEHIND A WOODEN FENCE WHICH ALSO IS - UH - SLIGHTLY TO THE WEST OF THAT. AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING IN THE VICINITY OF WHERE THE 2 MEN WERE, THERE WAS A FLASH OF LIGHT. THE AREA WAS SEALED OFF BY AT LEAST 50 POLICE WITHIN 3 TO 5 MINUTES. I WAS THERE ONLY TO TELL ‘EM WHAT THEY ASKED, AND - UH - SO THAT WHEN THEY SEEMED TO WANT TO CUT OFF THE CONVERSATION.” (https://youtu.be/hm1d3pTj50A)Litwin also apparently doesn’t know that subsequently three of Bowers’ friends independently came forward and confirmed that yes he did see more than he told the Warren Commission, but “he was afraid. He didn't want his life threatened or ruined being the main witness against Lee Oswald being the lone shooter.” (https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/10951-on-the-two-men-bowers-saw/)Litwin avows that “Dealey Plaza was an echo chamber which made it hard for witnesses to determine the direction of the shots”—but the flash of light, smoke, fresh footprints, cigarette butts, and an anomalous shape in the Moorman photo all confirm the 58 grassy knoll ear witnesses! All of which are JFK 101 and never mentioned in Litwin’s book. Litwin declares “there were absolutely no witnesses to gunmen on the grassy knoll or behind the picket fence.” Well, of course, everyone was looking at the President, not at some random fence in the corner! Snipers are trained to not be seen. But we do have physical and photographic evidence left behind, as I mentioned above. Litwin claims “the Dallas doctors did not see the [rear skull] entrance wound because they didn’t turn Kennedy’s body over”—but they DID lift the head up, and this wound WAS seen, by Drs. Jenkins and Grossman. Litwin says “Virginia and Barbara Davis saw Oswald run across their lawn after the [Tippit] murder.” But remember, they pointed him out of a rigged lineup. Also, the Davis sisters were really confused witnesses. For instance, Barbara claimed she saw the killer again “a few minutes later” after the shooting! (CD 630e, p. 1) And Virginia claimed she heard the second gunshot “a few minutes later” after the first one! (CD 630f, p. 1) So they were confused witnesses.CHAPTER 2I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.CHAPTER 3Litwin incorrectly says the Zapurder film is “27 seconds” when of course it is 26 seconds. He says the parade route “never changed”—but SAIC Gerald Behn confirmed to Vince Palamara the route WAS changed for the Dallas trip! (Survivor’s Guilt, p. 104) Litwin always makes a big deal that in 1972 Drs. John Lattimer and Cyril Wecht, after viewing the autopsy materials, concluded JFK was only hit from the rear. But the fact is that we have come SO far since 1972, and because of this, Wecht has since changed his mind. But Litwin doesn’t explain this context. He cites Lattimer’s old myth of Connally having an “elongated wound in the back”—but Connally’s doctor testified it was elongated ONLY AFTER he removed damaged skin. (6 H 88) He says “Kennedy’s head moved forward before it moved back and to the left”—but this has since been shown to probably be an optional illusion due to camera movement. (See Last Second in Dallas by Josiah Thompson) Litwin says the back and to the left “was probably caused by a neuromuscular spasm”—but as another reviewer has pointed out, “no expert in neuroscience has ever supported this hypothesis.” Moreover, neuromuscular spasms only occur when the nerve centers (at the bottom of the brain) are inflicted, and JFK’s were not. Litwin also says “there might also have been some minor movement due to something called the ‘jet effect’”—but the fact of the matter is that this theory met a timely end in 2014 (see https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4955953/user-clip-jfk-jet-effect-theory-debunked) Litwin: “The autopsy materials...totally refuted a shot from the front.” This is false. The lateral X-ray (assuming it’s authentic) clearly shows a trail of bullet fragments going from front to back (we know it goes from front to back because the largest fragments are in the back). That means a shot from the front.CHAPTER 4Again, I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.CHAPTER 5Litwin touched a bit on the acoustics evidence, but ignored the recent work that’s been done on it. His argument was very dated. He avows that “the autopsy X-rays and photographs...showed a small wound in the back of Kennedy’s head”—this would be news to autopsist James Humes, who couldn’t find one when shown the materials during his ARRB deposition. Litwin says “the Zapruder film shows the back of Kennedy’s head to be intact after the fatal shot”—but (assuming the film is authentic) the back of the head is unfortunately IN SHADOW in the Z film. What Litwin also doesn’t say is that actually a few frames are not in shadow, and they DO IN FACT show the rear of the head blown out! (Frames 335, 337, 374) He says “you can see a visible exit wound in the right front”—but what that actually is is a flap of scalp hanging down. No one that day saw a wound “in the right front”. He says “his [Harrison Livingstone’s] witnesses all disagreed with each other.” I’m not sure what Litwin means here. All the witnesses Livingstone interviewed were unanimous that the back of the head was gone. Litwin (like Gerald Posner) misconstrues a 1990 quote by autopsy technician Paul O’Connor—“It has been so many years and so much has happened, I kind of doubt my own ability to remember fine details.”—Posner attributes this to O’Connor’s overall memory, but actually it was attributed to the specific question as to whether JFK was wrapped in a mattress cover! (High Treason 2, p. 272) This is complete dishonesty, and Litwin just copied it from Posner’s book.Litwin says “the radiologist [John Ebersole] who took the X-rays at the autopsy...said that ‘none are missing...’” But Ebersole did NOT in fact take the X-rays, technician Jerrol Custer did, and Custer was adamant that he took more than 3 skull X-rays (3 is the official number). (Inside the ARRB, p. 455)Litwin always makes a big deal that “every forensic pathologist who had viewed the autopsy evidence had concluded that Kennedy was shot from behind.” But here’s the thing, none of their reports ever mention the words “grassy knoll”, “knoll”, or “fence”. They didn’t even take that into consideration! So that talking point is INVALID. Litwin also ignores that Dr. Michael Baden conservatively acknowledged a grassy knoll headshot was POSSIBLE! (HSCA Final Report, pp. 80-81) Litwin incorrectly accuses critics of “ignoring the HSCA test results.” He jumps on critics for using “faulty diagrams” of the single-bullet theory. He then shows a still from Dale Myers’ animation and declares: “They were in perfect alignment for a shot to hit both men.” But of course, Myers’ dishonest animation only works if you move JFK’s back wound up, stretch his neck, lean his neck way forward, shrink Connally, and slide his seat in 6 inches when it was actually 2.5 inches. (patspeer.com, Chapter 12c) Litwin discusses the unreliable “Badgeman” in the Moorman photo, but completely omitted the very RELIABLE anomalous shape I mentioned earlier. It’s not there in later photos, so that WAS a person. Coincidently, that flash of light and smoke was seen there, and those fresh footprints and cigarette butts were found there. Again, none of this is mentioned in Litwin’s book. He incorrectly calls Robert Groden’s 1993 book “The Death of a President”—it’s actually The Killing of a President.CHAPTER 6Litwin nonchalantly mentioned Thomas Canning’s HSCA trajectory analysis—but none of the wound locations in Canning’s analysis are the same as the locations that were reported in the HSCA’s Forensic Pathology Report. Canning chose them. Yes, he chose his own wound locations! (6 HSCA 33) All trying to confirm a bias – aka a lone assassin. Moreover, Canning’s trajectory analysis for the single-bullet theory is at Zapruder frame 190, and Litwin believes it happened at frame 224. Litwin says “Oswald qualified as a sharpshooter in the U.S. Marines”, but ignores the Warren Commission’s own admission that Oswald was, at the time of the shooting, a “rather poor shot” (R 191) He incorrectly claims “there were numerous witnesses who heard a shot before Kennedy was hit in the neck”—there were only three! (patspeer.com, Chapter 9) Litwin claims “four of the Dallas doctors involved in treating Kennedy went to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in 1988 to view the autopsy X-Rays and photographs. They all went on the record to confirm the authenticity of the autopsy materials.” This is nonsense and sleight of hand. First of all, this goes directly against what these four doctors said in the past when originally shown the back of the head photo (showing it intact).Dr. Peters—“I don’t think it’s consistent with what I saw. There was a large hole in the back of the head through which one could see the brain. But that hole does not appear in the photograph.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)Dr. Dulany—"There's a definite conflict. That's not the way I remember it." (“Dispute on JFK Assassination Evidence Persists”, The Boston Globe, 6/21/81)Dr. Jenkins—“No, not like that. Not like that...No...That picture doesn’t look like it from the back.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 10/22/80)Dr. McClelland—“He firmly rejected the autopsy photos.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)And likewise all the other Dallas treating staff have denounced the photo. Now, concerning what those four doctors said in 1988 to NOVA, they said that IF the pathologist’s hand in the photo is holding up a flap of loose skin to cover the defect in the back of the head, THEN the photo would be accurate. But as Dr. Michael Baden has said: “There is no flap of skin there.” (Case Closed, p. 310) So therefore, the photo apparently IS inaccurate. Litwin mentions ARRB chairman John R. Tunheim telling Vincent Bugliosi that “there’s no smoking gun” in the remaining sealed files—as if conspirators would leave behind a trace for all the world to see! He incorrectly says Doug Horne “wrote a series of books”—it was actually ONE book of five volumes.CHAPTER 7Litwin avows: “Over the years, more and more documents and records have been released but no major revelation on the assassination has emerged.” This is simply not true. For instance, in 1993 the sealed HSCA testimony of JFK’s mortician Tom Robinson was declassified, and it was a bombshell. For years, Warren Commission defenders have demanded to know, “Where’s the grassy knoll bullet?!” The answer came when Robinson’s testimony was released. He said:“They were literally picked out, little pieces of this bullet from all over his head...They had the little pieces. They picked them out...I watched them pick the little pieces out. They had something like a test tube or a little vile or something that they put the pieces in...Fairly many pieces...They were all small that could be picked up with forceps...The largest piece that I saw [was] maybe a quarter of an inch.” (RIF#180-10089-10178)Robinson said “that the total number would be close to 10 fragments." (ARRB MD 180)These numerous fragments have to be from the knoll headshot (Z-313). Why? Because they disappeared. They were removed and disappeared. (They would’ve had to have been removed from the head early in the autopsy, for the six autopsy technicians don’t remember them.) In the end, the only fragments from the autopsy turned over to the Warren Commission were two from the Depository headshot (Z-328) that matched Oswald’s rifle. (See Last Second in Dallas for the Z-328 headshot evidence)When I asked Litwin if he knows who Tom Robinson is, his response to me was: “The terrific British rocker...I have several of his CDs.” (4/6/21 Facebook message)POSTSCRIPTLitwin writes: “Oliver Stone is locked in for life his with conspiracy theories—there’s nothing that could ever change his mind.” I simply turn the question around on Litwin: is there anything that could ever change YOUR mind? He simply replied: “Evidence.” (ibid.)Well, I’ve spent countless hours both in person and online TRYING to patiently tell Fred Litwin the evidence, but it’s always the same—excuses, arguments from authority, and stubbornness. I was (and am still) truly shocked by his blatant denial and ignorance. It’s actually mind-torturing. At this point, I can only shake my head. As someone once said, “You can pile up all the evidence in the world, and they don’t wanna listen.”Litwin relayed a story to me:“It's a story that should be in my Teenage Conspiracy Freak book, but isn't. It goes like this. As I was slowly changing my opinion, I decided it was time to read Posner's book. I bought it...but I couldn't open it. It sat there for days....until I decided to read the medical evidence chapter. I thought it was a great chapter - in fact, I wish I had written it....and I knew then that there was no conspiracy...and I put the book down....a changed man.” (1/15/21 Facebook message)I was taken aback by this. The truth of the matter is that Gerald Posner’s book Case Closed has been debunked 7 ways to Sunday ever since it was first published in 1993! I reminded Litwin this, and he just said: “It has not been debunked.” I then proposed, “If I could prove it has been debunked what would you say?” Litwin retorted: “If you could prove the earth is flat, what would I say?” (ibid.) When I told him “Baden says it’s possible a shot from the knoll”, Litwin retorted: “It’s possible we are being visited by flying saucers; and it is possible that Bigfoot exists.” (4/5/21 Facebook message) Folks, that’s Fred Litwin for ya.-Litwin always says: “The HSCA had hired a lot of experts and they conducted a lot of tests. They sustained the conclusion of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots and killed Kennedy.“ (p. 155) Now, at first glance this seems convincing to the average reader. But the truth is, most of those tests have since been debunked—Vincent Guinn’s neuron activation analysis has been rejected by science, Thomas Canning’s fraudulent trajectory analysis was debunked by Pat Speer, the Forensic Pathology Panel was wrong about the rear entry wound being high on the head, and Dr. David Mantik, using optical densitometry, has shown that the X-rays in the National Archives (while of Kennedy) show signs of some alteration.Litwin says the HSCA “concluded that Kennedy and Connally’s alignment in the limousine was consistent with the single-bullet theory.” (p. 152) But in order for it to work, they said, JFK would have to be leaning WAY forward (7 HSCA 100)—which he WAS NOT! (18 H 26)Litwin also says there was a “forward dispersal of brain matter indicating a shot from behind.” (p. 51) This is a common argument, but Josiah Thompson has since pointed out how it’s actually the OPPOSITE.
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 21, 2021
MY REVIEW OF LITWIN’S JFK BOOK
INTRODUCTION
Litwin claims that “thousands of JFK conspiracy books have been published”—but as of 2004 there were just over 400 books (according to Publishers Weekly). He says Judyth Vary Baker claims “Oswald intentionally missed Kennedy”—but of course she believes he never fired.
CHAPTER 1
Litwin says first generation critics “started finding small inconsistencies”, but they were actually BIG inconsistencies. He avows: “The motorcade HAD to turn onto Elm Street so it could take an exit to the Stemmons Freeway which would have taken them to the Dallas Trade Mart for Kennedy’s speech.” False! They could have went Main St. to Industrial Blvd. He incorrectly says there are “20,000 pages” in the 26 Volumes when really there are 17,816 pages. Shockingly, before even going into the actual evidence at all, Litwin casually says: “The authors of the Warren Report were honorable men who conducted an honest investigation and reached the right answer.” This is not right. This is not right at all. He incorrectly says Connally’s “lapel” flipped—his chest wound was nowhere near the lapel!
Litwin then goes through the “overwhelming” “evidence” against Oswald. He claims Oswald had “a long...package”—but the two witnesses to it said it was NOT long. (2 H 239-240, 249) Litwin claims that “after the assassination, he was the only warehouseman missing”—but Charles Givens was also missing. (3 H 183, 208) Litwin nonchalantly says Oswald “killed police officer J.D. Tippit”, which is wrong. He claims that “many witnesses identified Oswald“—but those “identifications” were based on rigged lineups and showing Oswald’s photo months after he was dead and nationally known. He says that “one expert concluded that one of the four bullets recovered from Tippit’s body matched the revolver found in Oswald’s possession“—but 8 other experts disagreed with him, and moreover that bullet did not appear for a quarter of a year! (3 H 474) Litwin says “the expended [Tippit] cartridge cases matched Oswald’s gun to the exclusion of all other weapons”—but those cases did not appear for a week (24 H 253, 332), four officers’ initials disappeared from them (7 H 251, 275-276; 24 H 415), and they could not be identified by the three witnesses as the ones they found that day. (24 H 414-415) Litwin says “Oswald’s right palm print was found on the rifle barrel”—but the only person to see this print said it was an OLD print. (First Day Evidence, p. 108) He then says “his fingerprints were found on the bag used to carry the rifle to work”—but the tests on the bag revealed NO prints. (4 H 3, 267) Litwin then declares: “Faced with this massive amount of incriminating evidence, the critics could only chip away at the margins.” But as you can clearly see above, I did not “chip away at the margins”. I simply debunked all those claims with ORIGINAL EVIDENCE.
Litwin then proceeds to speak in paragraphs to derail Lee Bowers’ account, but he never gets to the meat and potatoes. So I will spell it out here...Bowers told Mark Lane on camera on March 31, 1966:
“THERE WERE, AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING, 2 MEN STANDING AT THE TOP OF THE INCLINE. AND ONE OF THEM, FROM TIME TO TIME AS HE WALKED BACK AND FORTH, UH - DISAPPEARED BEHIND A WOODEN FENCE WHICH ALSO IS - UH - SLIGHTLY TO THE WEST OF THAT. AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING IN THE VICINITY OF WHERE THE 2 MEN WERE, THERE WAS A FLASH OF LIGHT. THE AREA WAS SEALED OFF BY AT LEAST 50 POLICE WITHIN 3 TO 5 MINUTES. I WAS THERE ONLY TO TELL ‘EM WHAT THEY ASKED, AND - UH - SO THAT WHEN THEY SEEMED TO WANT TO CUT OFF THE CONVERSATION.” (https://youtu.be/hm1d3pTj50A)
Litwin also apparently doesn’t know that subsequently three of Bowers’ friends independently came forward and confirmed that yes he did see more than he told the Warren Commission, but “he was afraid. He didn't want his life threatened or ruined being the main witness against Lee Oswald being the lone shooter.” (https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/10951-on-the-two-men-bowers-saw/)
Litwin avows that “Dealey Plaza was an echo chamber which made it hard for witnesses to determine the direction of the shots”—but the flash of light, smoke, fresh footprints, cigarette butts, and an anomalous shape in the Moorman photo all confirm the 58 grassy knoll ear witnesses! All of which are JFK 101 and never mentioned in Litwin’s book. Litwin declares “there were absolutely no witnesses to gunmen on the grassy knoll or behind the picket fence.” Well, of course, everyone was looking at the President, not at some random fence in the corner! Snipers are trained to not be seen. But we do have physical and photographic evidence left behind, as I mentioned above. Litwin claims “the Dallas doctors did not see the [rear skull] entrance wound because they didn’t turn Kennedy’s body over”—but they DID lift the head up, and this wound WAS seen, by Drs. Jenkins and Grossman. Litwin says “Virginia and Barbara Davis saw Oswald run across their lawn after the [Tippit] murder.” But remember, they pointed him out of a rigged lineup. Also, the Davis sisters were really confused witnesses. For instance, Barbara claimed she saw the killer again “a few minutes later” after the shooting! (CD 630e, p. 1) And Virginia claimed she heard the second gunshot “a few minutes later” after the first one! (CD 630f, p. 1) So they were confused witnesses.
CHAPTER 2
I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.
CHAPTER 3
Litwin incorrectly says the Zapurder film is “27 seconds” when of course it is 26 seconds. He says the parade route “never changed”—but SAIC Gerald Behn confirmed to Vince Palamara the route WAS changed for the Dallas trip! (Survivor’s Guilt, p. 104) Litwin always makes a big deal that in 1972 Drs. John Lattimer and Cyril Wecht, after viewing the autopsy materials, concluded JFK was only hit from the rear. But the fact is that we have come SO far since 1972, and because of this, Wecht has since changed his mind. But Litwin doesn’t explain this context. He cites Lattimer’s old myth of Connally having an “elongated wound in the back”—but Connally’s doctor testified it was elongated ONLY AFTER he removed damaged skin. (6 H 88) He says “Kennedy’s head moved forward before it moved back and to the left”—but this has since been shown to probably be an optional illusion due to camera movement. (See Last Second in Dallas by Josiah Thompson) Litwin says the back and to the left “was probably caused by a neuromuscular spasm”—but as another reviewer has pointed out, “no expert in neuroscience has ever supported this hypothesis.” Moreover, neuromuscular spasms only occur when the nerve centers (at the bottom of the brain) are inflicted, and JFK’s were not. Litwin also says “there might also have been some minor movement due to something called the ‘jet effect’”—but the fact of the matter is that this theory met a timely end in 2014 (see https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4955953/user-clip-jfk-jet-effect-theory-debunked) Litwin: “The autopsy materials...totally refuted a shot from the front.” This is false. The lateral X-ray (assuming it’s authentic) clearly shows a trail of bullet fragments going from front to back (we know it goes from front to back because the largest fragments are in the back). That means a shot from the front.
CHAPTER 4
Again, I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.
CHAPTER 5
Litwin touched a bit on the acoustics evidence, but ignored the recent work that’s been done on it. His argument was very dated. He avows that “the autopsy X-rays and photographs...showed a small wound in the back of Kennedy’s head”—this would be news to autopsist James Humes, who couldn’t find one when shown the materials during his ARRB deposition. Litwin says “the Zapruder film shows the back of Kennedy’s head to be intact after the fatal shot”—but (assuming the film is authentic) the back of the head is unfortunately IN SHADOW in the Z film. What Litwin also doesn’t say is that actually a few frames are not in shadow, and they DO IN FACT show the rear of the head blown out! (Frames 335, 337, 374) He says “you can see a visible exit wound in the right front”—but what that actually is is a flap of scalp hanging down. No one that day saw a wound “in the right front”. He says “his [Harrison Livingstone’s] witnesses all disagreed with each other.” I’m not sure what Litwin means here. All the witnesses Livingstone interviewed were unanimous that the back of the head was gone. Litwin (like Gerald Posner) misconstrues a 1990 quote by autopsy technician Paul O’Connor—“It has been so many years and so much has happened, I kind of doubt my own ability to remember fine details.”—Posner attributes this to O’Connor’s overall memory, but actually it was attributed to the specific question as to whether JFK was wrapped in a mattress cover! (High Treason 2, p. 272) This is complete dishonesty, and Litwin just copied it from Posner’s book.
Litwin says “the radiologist [John Ebersole] who took the X-rays at the autopsy...said that ‘none are missing...’” But Ebersole did NOT in fact take the X-rays, technician Jerrol Custer did, and Custer was adamant that he took more than 3 skull X-rays (3 is the official number). (Inside the ARRB, p. 455)
Litwin always makes a big deal that “every forensic pathologist who had viewed the autopsy evidence had concluded that Kennedy was shot from behind.” But here’s the thing, none of their reports ever mention the words “grassy knoll”, “knoll”, or “fence”. They didn’t even take that into consideration! So that talking point is INVALID. Litwin also ignores that Dr. Michael Baden conservatively acknowledged a grassy knoll headshot was POSSIBLE! (HSCA Final Report, pp. 80-81) Litwin incorrectly accuses critics of “ignoring the HSCA test results.” He jumps on critics for using “faulty diagrams” of the single-bullet theory. He then shows a still from Dale Myers’ animation and declares: “They were in perfect alignment for a shot to hit both men.” But of course, Myers’ dishonest animation only works if you move JFK’s back wound up, stretch his neck, lean his neck way forward, shrink Connally, and slide his seat in 6 inches when it was actually 2.5 inches. (patspeer.com, Chapter 12c) Litwin discusses the unreliable “Badgeman” in the Moorman photo, but completely omitted the very RELIABLE anomalous shape I mentioned earlier. It’s not there in later photos, so that WAS a person. Coincidently, that flash of light and smoke was seen there, and those fresh footprints and cigarette butts were found there. Again, none of this is mentioned in Litwin’s book. He incorrectly calls Robert Groden’s 1993 book “The Death of a President”—it’s actually The Killing of a President.
CHAPTER 6
Litwin nonchalantly mentioned Thomas Canning’s HSCA trajectory analysis—but none of the wound locations in Canning’s analysis are the same as the locations that were reported in the HSCA’s Forensic Pathology Report. Canning chose them. Yes, he chose his own wound locations! (6 HSCA 33) All trying to confirm a bias – aka a lone assassin. Moreover, Canning’s trajectory analysis for the single-bullet theory is at Zapruder frame 190, and Litwin believes it happened at frame 224. Litwin says “Oswald qualified as a sharpshooter in the U.S. Marines”, but ignores the Warren Commission’s own admission that Oswald was, at the time of the shooting, a “rather poor shot” (R 191) He incorrectly claims “there were numerous witnesses who heard a shot before Kennedy was hit in the neck”—there were only three! (patspeer.com, Chapter 9) Litwin claims “four of the Dallas doctors involved in treating Kennedy went to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in 1988 to view the autopsy X-Rays and photographs. They all went on the record to confirm the authenticity of the autopsy materials.” This is nonsense and sleight of hand. First of all, this goes directly against what these four doctors said in the past when originally shown the back of the head photo (showing it intact).
Dr. Peters—“I don’t think it’s consistent with what I saw. There was a large hole in the back of the head through which one could see the brain. But that hole does not appear in the photograph.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)
Dr. Dulany—"There's a definite conflict. That's not the way I remember it." (“Dispute on JFK Assassination Evidence Persists”, The Boston Globe, 6/21/81)
Dr. Jenkins—“No, not like that. Not like that...No...That picture doesn’t look like it from the back.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 10/22/80)
Dr. McClelland—“He firmly rejected the autopsy photos.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)
And likewise all the other Dallas treating staff have denounced the photo. Now, concerning what those four doctors said in 1988 to NOVA, they said that IF the pathologist’s hand in the photo is holding up a flap of loose skin to cover the defect in the back of the head, THEN the photo would be accurate. But as Dr. Michael Baden has said: “There is no flap of skin there.” (Case Closed, p. 310) So therefore, the photo apparently IS inaccurate. Litwin mentions ARRB chairman John R. Tunheim telling Vincent Bugliosi that “there’s no smoking gun” in the remaining sealed files—as if conspirators would leave behind a trace for all the world to see! He incorrectly says Doug Horne “wrote a series of books”—it was actually ONE book of five volumes.
CHAPTER 7
Litwin avows: “Over the years, more and more documents and records have been released but no major revelation on the assassination has emerged.” This is simply not true. For instance, in 1993 the sealed HSCA testimony of JFK’s mortician Tom Robinson was declassified, and it was a bombshell. For years, Warren Commission defenders have demanded to know, “Where’s the grassy knoll bullet?!” The answer came when Robinson’s testimony was released. He said:
“They were literally picked out, little pieces of this bullet from all over his head...They had the little pieces. They picked them out...I watched them pick the little pieces out. They had something like a test tube or a little vile or something that they put the pieces in...Fairly many pieces...They were all small that could be picked up with forceps...The largest piece that I saw [was] maybe a quarter of an inch.” (RIF#180-10089-10178)
Robinson said “that the total number would be close to 10 fragments." (ARRB MD 180)
These numerous fragments have to be from the knoll headshot (Z-313). Why? Because they disappeared. They were removed and disappeared. (They would’ve had to have been removed from the head early in the autopsy, for the six autopsy technicians don’t remember them.) In the end, the only fragments from the autopsy turned over to the Warren Commission were two from the Depository headshot (Z-328) that matched Oswald’s rifle. (See Last Second in Dallas for the Z-328 headshot evidence)
When I asked Litwin if he knows who Tom Robinson is, his response to me was: “The terrific British rocker...I have several of his CDs.” (4/6/21 Facebook message)
POSTSCRIPT
Litwin writes: “Oliver Stone is locked in for life his with conspiracy theories—there’s nothing that could ever change his mind.” I simply turn the question around on Litwin: is there anything that could ever change YOUR mind? He simply replied: “Evidence.” (ibid.)
Well, I’ve spent countless hours both in person and online TRYING to patiently tell Fred Litwin the evidence, but it’s always the same—excuses, arguments from authority, and stubbornness. I was (and am still) truly shocked by his blatant denial and ignorance. It’s actually mind-torturing. At this point, I can only shake my head. As someone once said, “You can pile up all the evidence in the world, and they don’t wanna listen.”
Litwin relayed a story to me:
“It's a story that should be in my Teenage Conspiracy Freak book, but isn't. It goes like this. As I was slowly changing my opinion, I decided it was time to read Posner's book. I bought it...but I couldn't open it. It sat there for days....until I decided to read the medical evidence chapter. I thought it was a great chapter - in fact, I wish I had written it....and I knew then that there was no conspiracy...and I put the book down....a changed man.” (1/15/21 Facebook message)
I was taken aback by this. The truth of the matter is that Gerald Posner’s book Case Closed has been debunked 7 ways to Sunday ever since it was first published in 1993! I reminded Litwin this, and he just said: “It has not been debunked.” I then proposed, “If I could prove it has been debunked what would you say?” Litwin retorted: “If you could prove the earth is flat, what would I say?” (ibid.) When I told him “Baden says it’s possible a shot from the knoll”, Litwin retorted: “It’s possible we are being visited by flying saucers; and it is possible that Bigfoot exists.” (4/5/21 Facebook message) Folks, that’s Fred Litwin for ya.
-
Litwin always says: “The HSCA had hired a lot of experts and they conducted a lot of tests. They sustained the conclusion of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots and killed Kennedy.“ (p. 155) Now, at first glance this seems convincing to the average reader. But the truth is, most of those tests have since been debunked—Vincent Guinn’s neuron activation analysis has been rejected by science, Thomas Canning’s fraudulent trajectory analysis was debunked by Pat Speer, the Forensic Pathology Panel was wrong about the rear entry wound being high on the head, and Dr. David Mantik, using optical densitometry, has shown that the X-rays in the National Archives (while of Kennedy) show signs of some alteration.
Litwin says the HSCA “concluded that Kennedy and Connally’s alignment in the limousine was consistent with the single-bullet theory.” (p. 152) But in order for it to work, they said, JFK would have to be leaning WAY forward (7 HSCA 100)—which he WAS NOT! (18 H 26)
Litwin also says there was a “forward dispersal of brain matter indicating a shot from behind.” (p. 51) This is a common argument, but Josiah Thompson has since pointed out how it’s actually the OPPOSITE.
INTRODUCTION
Litwin claims that “thousands of JFK conspiracy books have been published”—but as of 2004 there were just over 400 books (according to Publishers Weekly). He says Judyth Vary Baker claims “Oswald intentionally missed Kennedy”—but of course she believes he never fired.
CHAPTER 1
Litwin says first generation critics “started finding small inconsistencies”, but they were actually BIG inconsistencies. He avows: “The motorcade HAD to turn onto Elm Street so it could take an exit to the Stemmons Freeway which would have taken them to the Dallas Trade Mart for Kennedy’s speech.” False! They could have went Main St. to Industrial Blvd. He incorrectly says there are “20,000 pages” in the 26 Volumes when really there are 17,816 pages. Shockingly, before even going into the actual evidence at all, Litwin casually says: “The authors of the Warren Report were honorable men who conducted an honest investigation and reached the right answer.” This is not right. This is not right at all. He incorrectly says Connally’s “lapel” flipped—his chest wound was nowhere near the lapel!
Litwin then goes through the “overwhelming” “evidence” against Oswald. He claims Oswald had “a long...package”—but the two witnesses to it said it was NOT long. (2 H 239-240, 249) Litwin claims that “after the assassination, he was the only warehouseman missing”—but Charles Givens was also missing. (3 H 183, 208) Litwin nonchalantly says Oswald “killed police officer J.D. Tippit”, which is wrong. He claims that “many witnesses identified Oswald“—but those “identifications” were based on rigged lineups and showing Oswald’s photo months after he was dead and nationally known. He says that “one expert concluded that one of the four bullets recovered from Tippit’s body matched the revolver found in Oswald’s possession“—but 8 other experts disagreed with him, and moreover that bullet did not appear for a quarter of a year! (3 H 474) Litwin says “the expended [Tippit] cartridge cases matched Oswald’s gun to the exclusion of all other weapons”—but those cases did not appear for a week (24 H 253, 332), four officers’ initials disappeared from them (7 H 251, 275-276; 24 H 415), and they could not be identified by the three witnesses as the ones they found that day. (24 H 414-415) Litwin says “Oswald’s right palm print was found on the rifle barrel”—but the only person to see this print said it was an OLD print. (First Day Evidence, p. 108) He then says “his fingerprints were found on the bag used to carry the rifle to work”—but the tests on the bag revealed NO prints. (4 H 3, 267) Litwin then declares: “Faced with this massive amount of incriminating evidence, the critics could only chip away at the margins.” But as you can clearly see above, I did not “chip away at the margins”. I simply debunked all those claims with ORIGINAL EVIDENCE.
Litwin then proceeds to speak in paragraphs to derail Lee Bowers’ account, but he never gets to the meat and potatoes. So I will spell it out here...Bowers told Mark Lane on camera on March 31, 1966:
“THERE WERE, AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING, 2 MEN STANDING AT THE TOP OF THE INCLINE. AND ONE OF THEM, FROM TIME TO TIME AS HE WALKED BACK AND FORTH, UH - DISAPPEARED BEHIND A WOODEN FENCE WHICH ALSO IS - UH - SLIGHTLY TO THE WEST OF THAT. AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING IN THE VICINITY OF WHERE THE 2 MEN WERE, THERE WAS A FLASH OF LIGHT. THE AREA WAS SEALED OFF BY AT LEAST 50 POLICE WITHIN 3 TO 5 MINUTES. I WAS THERE ONLY TO TELL ‘EM WHAT THEY ASKED, AND - UH - SO THAT WHEN THEY SEEMED TO WANT TO CUT OFF THE CONVERSATION.” (https://youtu.be/hm1d3pTj50A)
Litwin also apparently doesn’t know that subsequently three of Bowers’ friends independently came forward and confirmed that yes he did see more than he told the Warren Commission, but “he was afraid. He didn't want his life threatened or ruined being the main witness against Lee Oswald being the lone shooter.” (https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/10951-on-the-two-men-bowers-saw/)
Litwin avows that “Dealey Plaza was an echo chamber which made it hard for witnesses to determine the direction of the shots”—but the flash of light, smoke, fresh footprints, cigarette butts, and an anomalous shape in the Moorman photo all confirm the 58 grassy knoll ear witnesses! All of which are JFK 101 and never mentioned in Litwin’s book. Litwin declares “there were absolutely no witnesses to gunmen on the grassy knoll or behind the picket fence.” Well, of course, everyone was looking at the President, not at some random fence in the corner! Snipers are trained to not be seen. But we do have physical and photographic evidence left behind, as I mentioned above. Litwin claims “the Dallas doctors did not see the [rear skull] entrance wound because they didn’t turn Kennedy’s body over”—but they DID lift the head up, and this wound WAS seen, by Drs. Jenkins and Grossman. Litwin says “Virginia and Barbara Davis saw Oswald run across their lawn after the [Tippit] murder.” But remember, they pointed him out of a rigged lineup. Also, the Davis sisters were really confused witnesses. For instance, Barbara claimed she saw the killer again “a few minutes later” after the shooting! (CD 630e, p. 1) And Virginia claimed she heard the second gunshot “a few minutes later” after the first one! (CD 630f, p. 1) So they were confused witnesses.
CHAPTER 2
I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.
CHAPTER 3
Litwin incorrectly says the Zapurder film is “27 seconds” when of course it is 26 seconds. He says the parade route “never changed”—but SAIC Gerald Behn confirmed to Vince Palamara the route WAS changed for the Dallas trip! (Survivor’s Guilt, p. 104) Litwin always makes a big deal that in 1972 Drs. John Lattimer and Cyril Wecht, after viewing the autopsy materials, concluded JFK was only hit from the rear. But the fact is that we have come SO far since 1972, and because of this, Wecht has since changed his mind. But Litwin doesn’t explain this context. He cites Lattimer’s old myth of Connally having an “elongated wound in the back”—but Connally’s doctor testified it was elongated ONLY AFTER he removed damaged skin. (6 H 88) He says “Kennedy’s head moved forward before it moved back and to the left”—but this has since been shown to probably be an optional illusion due to camera movement. (See Last Second in Dallas by Josiah Thompson) Litwin says the back and to the left “was probably caused by a neuromuscular spasm”—but as another reviewer has pointed out, “no expert in neuroscience has ever supported this hypothesis.” Moreover, neuromuscular spasms only occur when the nerve centers (at the bottom of the brain) are inflicted, and JFK’s were not. Litwin also says “there might also have been some minor movement due to something called the ‘jet effect’”—but the fact of the matter is that this theory met a timely end in 2014 (see https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4955953/user-clip-jfk-jet-effect-theory-debunked) Litwin: “The autopsy materials...totally refuted a shot from the front.” This is false. The lateral X-ray (assuming it’s authentic) clearly shows a trail of bullet fragments going from front to back (we know it goes from front to back because the largest fragments are in the back). That means a shot from the front.
CHAPTER 4
Again, I am not well-versed in Garrison, so I’m skipping this one.
CHAPTER 5
Litwin touched a bit on the acoustics evidence, but ignored the recent work that’s been done on it. His argument was very dated. He avows that “the autopsy X-rays and photographs...showed a small wound in the back of Kennedy’s head”—this would be news to autopsist James Humes, who couldn’t find one when shown the materials during his ARRB deposition. Litwin says “the Zapruder film shows the back of Kennedy’s head to be intact after the fatal shot”—but (assuming the film is authentic) the back of the head is unfortunately IN SHADOW in the Z film. What Litwin also doesn’t say is that actually a few frames are not in shadow, and they DO IN FACT show the rear of the head blown out! (Frames 335, 337, 374) He says “you can see a visible exit wound in the right front”—but what that actually is is a flap of scalp hanging down. No one that day saw a wound “in the right front”. He says “his [Harrison Livingstone’s] witnesses all disagreed with each other.” I’m not sure what Litwin means here. All the witnesses Livingstone interviewed were unanimous that the back of the head was gone. Litwin (like Gerald Posner) misconstrues a 1990 quote by autopsy technician Paul O’Connor—“It has been so many years and so much has happened, I kind of doubt my own ability to remember fine details.”—Posner attributes this to O’Connor’s overall memory, but actually it was attributed to the specific question as to whether JFK was wrapped in a mattress cover! (High Treason 2, p. 272) This is complete dishonesty, and Litwin just copied it from Posner’s book.
Litwin says “the radiologist [John Ebersole] who took the X-rays at the autopsy...said that ‘none are missing...’” But Ebersole did NOT in fact take the X-rays, technician Jerrol Custer did, and Custer was adamant that he took more than 3 skull X-rays (3 is the official number). (Inside the ARRB, p. 455)
Litwin always makes a big deal that “every forensic pathologist who had viewed the autopsy evidence had concluded that Kennedy was shot from behind.” But here’s the thing, none of their reports ever mention the words “grassy knoll”, “knoll”, or “fence”. They didn’t even take that into consideration! So that talking point is INVALID. Litwin also ignores that Dr. Michael Baden conservatively acknowledged a grassy knoll headshot was POSSIBLE! (HSCA Final Report, pp. 80-81) Litwin incorrectly accuses critics of “ignoring the HSCA test results.” He jumps on critics for using “faulty diagrams” of the single-bullet theory. He then shows a still from Dale Myers’ animation and declares: “They were in perfect alignment for a shot to hit both men.” But of course, Myers’ dishonest animation only works if you move JFK’s back wound up, stretch his neck, lean his neck way forward, shrink Connally, and slide his seat in 6 inches when it was actually 2.5 inches. (patspeer.com, Chapter 12c) Litwin discusses the unreliable “Badgeman” in the Moorman photo, but completely omitted the very RELIABLE anomalous shape I mentioned earlier. It’s not there in later photos, so that WAS a person. Coincidently, that flash of light and smoke was seen there, and those fresh footprints and cigarette butts were found there. Again, none of this is mentioned in Litwin’s book. He incorrectly calls Robert Groden’s 1993 book “The Death of a President”—it’s actually The Killing of a President.
CHAPTER 6
Litwin nonchalantly mentioned Thomas Canning’s HSCA trajectory analysis—but none of the wound locations in Canning’s analysis are the same as the locations that were reported in the HSCA’s Forensic Pathology Report. Canning chose them. Yes, he chose his own wound locations! (6 HSCA 33) All trying to confirm a bias – aka a lone assassin. Moreover, Canning’s trajectory analysis for the single-bullet theory is at Zapruder frame 190, and Litwin believes it happened at frame 224. Litwin says “Oswald qualified as a sharpshooter in the U.S. Marines”, but ignores the Warren Commission’s own admission that Oswald was, at the time of the shooting, a “rather poor shot” (R 191) He incorrectly claims “there were numerous witnesses who heard a shot before Kennedy was hit in the neck”—there were only three! (patspeer.com, Chapter 9) Litwin claims “four of the Dallas doctors involved in treating Kennedy went to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in 1988 to view the autopsy X-Rays and photographs. They all went on the record to confirm the authenticity of the autopsy materials.” This is nonsense and sleight of hand. First of all, this goes directly against what these four doctors said in the past when originally shown the back of the head photo (showing it intact).
Dr. Peters—“I don’t think it’s consistent with what I saw. There was a large hole in the back of the head through which one could see the brain. But that hole does not appear in the photograph.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)
Dr. Dulany—"There's a definite conflict. That's not the way I remember it." (“Dispute on JFK Assassination Evidence Persists”, The Boston Globe, 6/21/81)
Dr. Jenkins—“No, not like that. Not like that...No...That picture doesn’t look like it from the back.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 10/22/80)
Dr. McClelland—“He firmly rejected the autopsy photos.” (The Continuing Inquiry newsletter, 11/22/81)
And likewise all the other Dallas treating staff have denounced the photo. Now, concerning what those four doctors said in 1988 to NOVA, they said that IF the pathologist’s hand in the photo is holding up a flap of loose skin to cover the defect in the back of the head, THEN the photo would be accurate. But as Dr. Michael Baden has said: “There is no flap of skin there.” (Case Closed, p. 310) So therefore, the photo apparently IS inaccurate. Litwin mentions ARRB chairman John R. Tunheim telling Vincent Bugliosi that “there’s no smoking gun” in the remaining sealed files—as if conspirators would leave behind a trace for all the world to see! He incorrectly says Doug Horne “wrote a series of books”—it was actually ONE book of five volumes.
CHAPTER 7
Litwin avows: “Over the years, more and more documents and records have been released but no major revelation on the assassination has emerged.” This is simply not true. For instance, in 1993 the sealed HSCA testimony of JFK’s mortician Tom Robinson was declassified, and it was a bombshell. For years, Warren Commission defenders have demanded to know, “Where’s the grassy knoll bullet?!” The answer came when Robinson’s testimony was released. He said:
“They were literally picked out, little pieces of this bullet from all over his head...They had the little pieces. They picked them out...I watched them pick the little pieces out. They had something like a test tube or a little vile or something that they put the pieces in...Fairly many pieces...They were all small that could be picked up with forceps...The largest piece that I saw [was] maybe a quarter of an inch.” (RIF#180-10089-10178)
Robinson said “that the total number would be close to 10 fragments." (ARRB MD 180)
These numerous fragments have to be from the knoll headshot (Z-313). Why? Because they disappeared. They were removed and disappeared. (They would’ve had to have been removed from the head early in the autopsy, for the six autopsy technicians don’t remember them.) In the end, the only fragments from the autopsy turned over to the Warren Commission were two from the Depository headshot (Z-328) that matched Oswald’s rifle. (See Last Second in Dallas for the Z-328 headshot evidence)
When I asked Litwin if he knows who Tom Robinson is, his response to me was: “The terrific British rocker...I have several of his CDs.” (4/6/21 Facebook message)
POSTSCRIPT
Litwin writes: “Oliver Stone is locked in for life his with conspiracy theories—there’s nothing that could ever change his mind.” I simply turn the question around on Litwin: is there anything that could ever change YOUR mind? He simply replied: “Evidence.” (ibid.)
Well, I’ve spent countless hours both in person and online TRYING to patiently tell Fred Litwin the evidence, but it’s always the same—excuses, arguments from authority, and stubbornness. I was (and am still) truly shocked by his blatant denial and ignorance. It’s actually mind-torturing. At this point, I can only shake my head. As someone once said, “You can pile up all the evidence in the world, and they don’t wanna listen.”
Litwin relayed a story to me:
“It's a story that should be in my Teenage Conspiracy Freak book, but isn't. It goes like this. As I was slowly changing my opinion, I decided it was time to read Posner's book. I bought it...but I couldn't open it. It sat there for days....until I decided to read the medical evidence chapter. I thought it was a great chapter - in fact, I wish I had written it....and I knew then that there was no conspiracy...and I put the book down....a changed man.” (1/15/21 Facebook message)
I was taken aback by this. The truth of the matter is that Gerald Posner’s book Case Closed has been debunked 7 ways to Sunday ever since it was first published in 1993! I reminded Litwin this, and he just said: “It has not been debunked.” I then proposed, “If I could prove it has been debunked what would you say?” Litwin retorted: “If you could prove the earth is flat, what would I say?” (ibid.) When I told him “Baden says it’s possible a shot from the knoll”, Litwin retorted: “It’s possible we are being visited by flying saucers; and it is possible that Bigfoot exists.” (4/5/21 Facebook message) Folks, that’s Fred Litwin for ya.
-
Litwin always says: “The HSCA had hired a lot of experts and they conducted a lot of tests. They sustained the conclusion of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots and killed Kennedy.“ (p. 155) Now, at first glance this seems convincing to the average reader. But the truth is, most of those tests have since been debunked—Vincent Guinn’s neuron activation analysis has been rejected by science, Thomas Canning’s fraudulent trajectory analysis was debunked by Pat Speer, the Forensic Pathology Panel was wrong about the rear entry wound being high on the head, and Dr. David Mantik, using optical densitometry, has shown that the X-rays in the National Archives (while of Kennedy) show signs of some alteration.
Litwin says the HSCA “concluded that Kennedy and Connally’s alignment in the limousine was consistent with the single-bullet theory.” (p. 152) But in order for it to work, they said, JFK would have to be leaning WAY forward (7 HSCA 100)—which he WAS NOT! (18 H 26)
Litwin also says there was a “forward dispersal of brain matter indicating a shot from behind.” (p. 51) This is a common argument, but Josiah Thompson has since pointed out how it’s actually the OPPOSITE.
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