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News Archive - Oct 2007

Wecht's Attorney Charges Political Prosecution

Oct 25, 2007: Former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, the attorney defending Dr. Cyril Wecht against charges of misuse of the coroner's office, testified at a special hearing of the House Judiciary Committee that the prosecution is politically motivated. A Washington Post story by Dan Eggen quotes Thornburgh as saying that Wecht was an "ideal target for a Republican U.S. attorney trying to curry favor with a department which demonstrated that if you play by its rules, you will advance." See also a related story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, which noted testimony of University of Missouri professor emeritus Donald C. Shields, who co-wrote a study that shows Democratic officials have been investigated more than five times as often as Republican officials since President Bush took office.


Appellate Hearing on Joannides Documents

Oct 22, 2007: A three-judge appellate court heard arguments in Jefferson Morley's lawsuit to force the CIA to release records relating to George Joannides, pictured here. Joannides was the CIA officer who oversaw the Cuban Student Directorate (DRE) at the time of their dealings with Lee Harvey Oswald; Joannides later served as liaison to the House Select Committee on Assassinations without disclosing his prior role.

An article by Morley on the Huffington Post describes this morning's questioning: "Do you know where the records are located?" Henderson asked CIA lawyer John Truong in reference to a series of monthly reports that the Joannides was supposed to file in 1963. Truong said he did not know. Tatel questioned Truong's contention that Joannides was not the subject of congressional investigation in the late 1970s. "Aren't these key records?" asked Judge Judith Rogers.

A decision in Morley v. CIA is expected before the end of the year.


New LBJ Tapes from 1967 Released

Oct 10, 2007: New Presidential recordings from 1967 have been released by the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas. A story in the Dallas Morning News reports that in these conversations, LBJ "fretted nonstop about Vietnam." Other topics include the Six-Day War and the trial of Johnson associate Bobby Baker. For more information, see this press release at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.


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