NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
U.S. Senator Frank Church (D-ID), head of Church Committee, introduces report on the CIA's involvement in assassinations as a historic document. "This is a report that should have significant contribution and historic importance because it s the first detailed look at how that secret world worked and all of the serious weakness within it."
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
Washington Impact logo appears - image of Capitol Building. Title screen rifle scope appears with the titles "Assassination" and "The Senate Report on the CIA." Narration introduces hosts Paul Duke and Jim Lehrer
NPACT coverage of Church Committee Hearings - Assassinations
Program moderator Paul Duke introduces the Senate committee's report on CIA involvement in political assassinations. In two cases the CIA was directly involved in attempts to kill Fidel Castro of Cuba and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo. In three other cases financial aid and support was given to opposition factions that planned or carried out assassinations. The committee was unable to establish any clear evidence that any U.S. President personally gave orders to kill a foreign official. There is evidence to suggest that President Dwight Eisenhower may have authorized an attempt on Patrice Lumumba's life. Presidents Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy may have known about plans to get rid of Castro. Photos of JFK and Eisenhower on screen behind Paul Duke. U.S. Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) said it is likely that U.S. Presidents knew of assassination plots. The committee agreed that Presidents bore the ultimate responsibility for CIA actions. The committee's report has been made public despite the objections of President Gerald Ford, who believes material in the report will endanger national security. The committee believes that releasing the report will regain respect for the U.S. in admitting it's mistakes.