NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
Program moderator Paul Duke introduces interview segment with Jim Lehrer and committee chairman U.S. Senator Frank Church.
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
Image and/or narration of Jim Lehrer requires additional clearances. Jim Lehrer and U.S. Senator Frank Church (D-ID) seated in television studio for interview. Lehrer brings up Vice-Chairman Senator John Tower (R-TX) disassociating himself from the committee’s report. Sen. Church responds by stating that Sen/ Tower has not disassociated himself from the report, but rather disassociated with making the report public. Lehrer brings up the possibility that the assassination on Fidel Castro could have brought about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Senator Church says the possibility of attempts on Castro’s life could have been related to the JFK assassination did occur to the committee. Castro is on record saying that if the U.S. did not leave him alone, Cuba would play the same game. Sen. Church says there has been no evidence linking Castro to JFK’s assassination. Lehrer asks if the committee plans to examine the JFK assassination. Senator Church says the committee has gathered all the evidence they can, was never given authority to investigate the JFK assassination. the resolution that created the committee has given them the authority to make the shortfalls of the FBI and CIA public. Lehrer asks if anyone has received the mandate to investigate possibilities within the JFK assassination. Sen. Church says no one has received a mandate to his knowledge, that if Congress believes there is reason to investigate the JFK assassination then it is up to Congress to create a committee.
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
Image and/or narration of Jim Lehrer requires additional clearances. Continuation of Jim Lehrer interviewing Senator Frank Church (D-ID). Lehrer brings up Senator Barry Goldwater and the suggestion that Church and his committee gave the benefit of the doubt to Democratic Presidents, letting them off the hook and placing more of the blame on the CIA. Sen. Church says that if Goldwater thought that if the committee treated any matters with partiality between Democrats and Republicans, Goldwater would have never signed the report. Senator Church says that with respect to treating all of the Presidents more easily than others, he does not think it true; the committee simply followed the evidence as far as they could. Sen. Church points out facts not brought up in Lehrer’s discussion with other reporters. Sen. Church says Robert Kennedy did have knowledge of past attempts on Fidel Castro’s life, and it is possible that this information was passed on to President John F. Kennedy by his brother or FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, information related to past attempts on Castro's life. Senator Church says the committee did reprimand Presidents for failing to make it clear that assassinations were out of order. Sen. Church says these presidents are dead men and without clear evidence that they knew all of the facts, and did in fact authorize these assassinations, the committee would have brought injustice upon them. Lehrer clarifies that Church does not agree the committee applied a double standard to the Presidents. Church says the committee only wanted to do justice and treated everyone concerned evenly; if that had not happened, the report would not have been unanimously signed.
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
Image and/or narration of Jim Lehrer requires additional clearances. Continuation of Jim Lehrer interviewing Senator Frank Church (D-ID). Lehrer asks Senator Church if the committee investigated if any members of Congress were aware of assassinations. Church says the committee did investigate and the evidence was spotty. As far as the committee knows, no one in Congress was told of assassinations. Congress did not watch the CIA and the CIA decided what to tell Congress. Lehrer brings up a law Senator Church has proposed to make it a crime to attempt, plot to, or assassinate a foreign leader. Lehrer asks how such a law could be enforced. Church says it was a surprise to find that such a law did not exist., that it will be a criminal law with sanctions and penalties. Lehrer brings into question the mechanics of the law, asks who would be responsible for investigating the assassination of a foreign leader. Sen. Church says the Justice Department will be responsible for investigations, that just as any other situation, you can’t indict someone without probable cause. Church gives an example of how the statute could keep the CIA in check.
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
Image and/or narration of Jim Lehrer requires additional clearances. Continuation of Jim Lehrer interviewing Senator Frank Church (D-ID). Lehrer clarifies that Senator Church does not see any issues with enforcing a law against the assassination of foreign leaders. Sen. Church brings up the idea of whether it would have been good to assassinate Hitler as a defense for political assassinations of foreign leaders. He dismisses the “Hitler defense,” in this case we are talking about black leaders and Latin leaders of small countries that could not influence the United States. Sen. Church says the only time Fidel Castro made Cuba a threat to the U.S. was when he allowed the Soviets to position missiles in Cuba (Cuban Missile Crisis); it was at this exact time that all efforts to assassinate Castro were ceased. Jim Lehrer thanks Senator Church. End of interview.