House Select Committee on Assassinations

House Select Committee on Assassinations
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Committee	House Select Committee on Assassinations
Chamber	United States House of Representatives
Formed	1976
Disbanded	1979

House Select Committee on Assassinations was a congressional committee established by the United States House of Representatives in 1976 to investigate the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.. The committee was formed in response to growing public concern and skepticism about the official accounts of these events, which were investigated by the Warren Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The committee's work built upon the earlier investigations of the Church Committee and the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities. The committee's findings were influenced by the work of researchers such as Mark Lane and Gerald Posner, who had written extensively on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.

● Introduction

The House Select Committee on Assassinations was established during a time of great social and political upheaval in the United States, marked by the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. The committee's investigation was also influenced by the work of the Senate Watergate Committee and the Pentagon Papers. The committee's mandate was to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., as well as to examine the performance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in investigating these events. The committee's work was informed by the research of Oliver Stone, Jim Garrison, and Robert F. Kennedy, who had all expressed doubts about the official accounts of the assassinations.

● Formation and Mandate

The House Select Committee on Assassinations was formed in 1976, with Henry B. Gonzalez as its first chairman, and later Louis Stokes took over as chairman. The committee was composed of 12 members, including Richard Schweiker, Gary Hart, and Charles Rangel. The committee's mandate was to investigate the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., as well as to examine the performance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in investigating these events. The committee's work was influenced by the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, which allowed for greater access to government documents and records. The committee also drew on the expertise of J. Edgar Hoover, Allen Dulles, and Richard Helms, who had all played key roles in the earlier investigations.

● Investigations and Findings

The House Select Committee on Assassinations conducted a thorough investigation of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., including the examination of thousands of documents and the testimony of hundreds of witnesses. The committee's investigation was informed by the work of the Warren Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as well as the research of Mark Lane and Gerald Posner. The committee's findings included the conclusion that there was a "probable conspiracy" involved in the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had withheld information from the Warren Commission. The committee's report also criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for its handling of the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. investigation, citing the work of J. Edgar Hoover and William Sullivan. The committee's findings were influenced by the testimony of Fidel Castro, Lee Harvey Oswald, and James Earl Ray, as well as the research of Oliver Stone and Jim Garrison.

● Committee Members and Staff

The House Select Committee on Assassinations was composed of 12 members, including Louis Stokes, Richard Schweiker, Gary Hart, and Charles Rangel. The committee's staff included G. Robert Blakey, who served as the committee's chief counsel, and Robert K. Tanenbaum, who served as the committee's deputy chief counsel. The committee's work was also informed by the expertise of J. Edgar Hoover, Allen Dulles, and Richard Helms, who had all played key roles in the earlier investigations. The committee's staff drew on the research of Mark Lane and Gerald Posner, as well as the work of Oliver Stone and Jim Garrison. The committee's members and staff also consulted with Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Coretta Scott King, who had all been affected by the assassinations.

● Legacy and Impact

The House Select Committee on Assassinations had a significant impact on the public's understanding of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.. The committee's findings, which included the conclusion that there was a "probable conspiracy" involved in the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, contributed to a growing skepticism about the official accounts of these events. The committee's report also led to the establishment of the Assassination Records Review Board, which was tasked with reviewing and declassifying documents related to the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. The committee's work was influenced by the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, which allowed for greater access to government documents and records. The committee's legacy can be seen in the work of researchers such as Vincent Bugliosi and Gerald Posner, who have continued to investigate the assassinations.

● Conclusion

The House Select Committee on Assassinations played a significant role in investigating the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and its findings continue to influence the public's understanding of these events. The committee's work built upon the earlier investigations of the Warren Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and its findings were informed by the research of Mark Lane and Gerald Posner. The committee's legacy can be seen in the establishment of the Assassination Records Review Board and the continued investigation of the assassinations by researchers such as Vincent Bugliosi and Gerald Posner. The committee's work was also influenced by the Church Committee and the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, and its findings continue to be relevant to the work of Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Coretta Scott King. Category:United States congressional committees