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Note: Contrary to popular
belief, the "magic" bullet, CE399, is not the only
ballistic evidence found in the JFK assassination evidence.
Most people are surprised when informed of how many fragments
were left behind:
1. CE
567 (found driver's side front seat of limo)
2. CE 569 (found beside front seat of limo)
3. CE 840 (3 fragments found from
underneath the left jump seat. \ One
is now missing from NARA.)
4. CE 843 Gov. Connally's wrist (Parkland, fragments
were removed)
5. Gov. Connally's wrist (Parkland, fragments
left in, shown on Xray)
6. CE 843 Pres. Kennedy's brain
(Bethesda, 2 fragments removed | (receipt
states missile) | Note on sizes
7. Pres. Kennedy's brain (Bethesda, fragments
left in, shown on Xray)
8. Strike on Commerce Street curb
left metal smear (Dealey Plaza, from missed shot, fragment or bullet)
"FURTHER SCIENTIFIC
EXAMINATION OF THE JFK ASSASSINATION EVIDENCE" (1/21/2000)
AND SOME RESULTANT NEWS MEDIA ANALYSIS.
On January 21, 2000, the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released
a report on the analysis of materials adhering to Warren
Commission Exhibit #567, the nose of a bullet found in the
limousine in which President Kennedy was riding when assassinated
on November 22, 1963. These materials were found to consist
of fibers, as well as human tissue, which, we are told, did
not yield conclusive results in DNA testing. On the same
day as the release of the report, at least one news program
that aired on a Los Angeles radio station stated that the
testing of the fibers had proved the "single bullet
theory" of the assassination correct, thereby bolstering
the concept of a lone gunman.
CAN THE DISPROVING OF A
NEGATIVE PROVE A POSITIVE?
The press release accompanying
the report states, in part, that: "...The Department
of Justice said that if "alleged fiber evidence embedded
in the bullet nose recovered from the front seat of the limousine" was "consistent
with the President's shirt collar, tie, and tie liner," then
there might have been a "different trajectory than that
previously identified" by the Warren Commission. *The
Justice Department's logic is simple to follow: Any fragment
of a bullet that passed through clothing would be expected
to carry microscopic traces of cloth fibers. Also, if the
above bullet fragment proves to have caused any of the wounds
that the Warren Report attributed to the nearly pristine
bullet found at Parkland Hospital, then the 'Parkland Bullet'
ceases to be a 'Single Bullet'. Since the Warren Commission
concluded that a lone gunman could not have fired more than
3 shots in the allotted time span, and with one shot missing
the car and another causing the fatal wound to the President's
head, the addition of two more bullets, rather than just
the single bullet, would make 4 shots --- too many bullets
--- necessitating the presence of more than one gunman. The
new Report found that none of the fibers adhering to the
piece of bullet fragment #567 came from the clothing of either
man. This, on the surface, would appear to rule out fragment
#567 as causing most, if not all, of the non-fatal wounds
(the possible exception being the wrist wounds of Governor
Connally.) However the question remains: Does the elimination
of bullet fragment #567 as causing the non-fatal wounds in
any way establish that the Parkland Bullet was, indeed, a
single bullet causing all non-fatal wounds? It does not.
In the case of the news report above, someone unfamiliar
with the facts of the case jumped to the conclusion that
if fragment #567 did not cause any of the non-fatal wounds,
this automatically proves that the 'Parkland Bullet' did
cause all the non-wounds. This, however, is not the basis
of a sound argument.
WHAT DOES THE TESTING OF
THE BULLET FRAGMENT PROVE?
By being unable to match
the fibers to any known fibers within the assassination setting,
and by not being able to determine the source of the tissue
found, the testing proves nothing at all.
WHAT CAN WE FURTHER LEARN
FROM THIS?
In the press release, the
Justice Department does, however, implicitly take a position
that is not an assumption, but a fact consistent with forensic
science --- a bullet passing through clothing and human flesh
will contain microscopic traces of cloth fibers, as well
as blood and tissue. What the JD does not comment on is the
fact that the nearly-pristine bullet found at Parkland Hospital,
and which for over 3 decades the Government has contended
caused all of the non-fatal wounds to both the President
and the Governor, contained not the slightest microscopic
residue of either cloth fibers, blood or tissue.
Testimony of FBI Agent Frazier;
3/31/64:
Q: Did you clean the bullet
prior to the examination?
A: No, sir; it was not necessary. The bullet was clean when
we received it, and it was not necessary to change it in
any way.
This would seem to also rule
out the Parkland Bullet as a cause of the non-fatal wounds,
making it at least the 4th bullet to have been fired that
day in Dallas. * The "trajectory" referred to above
is the path of the theoretical 'single bullet', proposed
by then-Commission Counsel Arlen Specter to have entered
the back of the President's neck, striking no bone and exiting
through the front of his throat, entering the back of Governor
John Connally, striking a piece of the Governor's rib, exiting
through the front of his chest, passing through his wrist
and severing tendons, and then partially embedding itself
in Connally's leg.
Copyright © 2000 JFK Lancer. All rights reserved. 1-21-00
From: JFK News
Folks, I have been alerted
by the National Archives that a report on the bullet fragment
testing has been released. The release being faxed to me
now (29 pages). I will scan them and post on our web site
right away. A few questions I already have is if the fiber
could be carpet from the limousine and if the report will
state if the fragment was ever kept in another container?
Of course, we already knew the DNA would be inconclusive
due to the "sent-by-mistake" memo a few months
ago. I request that anyone with further information or insight
to please send it along. To refresh your understanding of
this testing see the article by Joe Backes and myself at http://
jfklancer.com/LNE/fragments.html Meanwhile I have received
the following press release from Karen Gullo (AP).
See below:
Sent to JFK Lancer: NARA
2000-075
NOTICE
Expiration Date: 01/21/2001
Lab tests on JFK assassination evidence now complete
All employees
We are releasing
today a report on laboratory analyses of evidence from the
assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.The evidence
analyzed was Warren Commission Exhibit (CE) #567 containing
the nose portion of a bullet recovered from the limousine
in which the President was riding. The exhibit, which has
been in NARA custody since 1966, consisted of five fragments:
one copper and lead fragment with adhering fibrous debris,
and four smaller pieces of organic material.
Tests were made
of the debris and the organic material to determine their
composition for possible relevance to the Commission's conclusion
that alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.In requesting
such tests, the Department of Justice said that if "alleged fiber evidence embedded in the bullet nose
recovered from the front seat of the limousine" was "consistent
with the President's shirt collar, tie, and tie liner," then
there might have been a "different trajectory than that
previously identified" by the Warren Commission.
Scientists
concluded from the test that the fibers were of non-textile
origin and did not come from the clothing of John F. Kennedy,
nor of John B. Connally. The Department of Justice also had
speculated that the organic fragments might shed light on the
assassination, but DNA analysis of them proved inconclusive.Most
of the analysis was accomplished on site at NARA.
Instrumental
analysis of a portion of the fibrous material was undertaken
at the FBI Laboratory (Washington, DC); histological preparations
of samples taken from the four organic fragments were processed
at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Walter Reed Complex);
and mitochondrial DNA examinations of samples taken from the
four organic fragments were conducted at the Armed Forces DNA
Identification Laboratory (Rockville, MD).
The final report
on the investigation, entitled "Further Scientific Examination
of JFK Assassination Evidence," describes the scientific
decision-making process, summarizes the findings, and appends
the individual laboratory reports. The three investigative
agencies that cooperated on the project were the FBI Laboratory,
The Armed Forces Medical Examiner, and the Armed Forces DNA
Identification Laboratory. The Department of Pathology and
Laboratory Medicine of the Maimonides Medical Center and the
Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education supplied
independent participants in the testing.2
For work on
this matter, I wish to express particular appreciation to
Margaret Kelly (NWTD), who coauthored the summary report,
and Steven Tilley (NWCTF).
For questions
regarding this notice, please contact Jerry George (NCOM)
in room 4400, AII; on 301-713-7360, ext. 264; by fax on 301-713-7344;
or by email.
JOHN W. CARLIN
Archivist
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