On
March 1, 1967, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison
arrested businessman Clay Lavergne Shaw on the charge
of conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy.
Precisely two years later, Shaw was acquitted. Clay
Shaw is the only individual ever prosecuted
for conspiracy to assassinate JFK. Here is testimony from
the historic Shaw trial, along with other resources.
Clay Shaw Grand Jury Files
02-13-96
New Orleans. A former investigator for Jim Garrison, whose
Kennedy assassination probe was fictionalized by Oliver Stone
in the movie ``JFK,'' was thrown in jail Tuesday for giving secret
records to a federal panel.
A judge also was considering contempt charges against a television
reporter who obtained the secret grand jury transcripts from
investigator Gary Raymond and aired the names of witnesses who
testified decades ago. Shortly after Harry Connick succeeded
Garrison as District Attorney in 1974, he ordered Raymond to
destroy the records of Garrison's grand jury proceeding.
Instead, Raymond put the files in the trunk of his car, then
kept them hidden for 21 years. He wasn't sure
what to do with them -- until Connick told the Assassination
Records Review Board last June 28 that the
files had disappeared when Garrison left office.
``Not only is the man lying about these records, but he is
trying to pin it on Garrison's people,'' Raymond
said.
Raymond went to WDSU-TV reporter Richard Angelico with the
files, and asked him to pass them on to
the review board. ``These documents are an important part of
the historical record of the Kennedy
assassination because they were part of the Garrison investigation,''
said Tom Samoluk, spokesman for
the review board.``They involve an important and much-studied
chapter of the Kennedy assassination
story.''
But Criminal District Judge Frank Marullo ordered Raymond
jailed for six months, the maximum, for
violating a state law regarding the secrecy of grand juries.
He was taken into custody and released shortly
after posting a $10,000 bond. He remains free during his appeal.
Marullo said he was inclined to find Angelico in contempt,
but would rule on Feb. 22 after studying court cases regarding
reporters' rights.
Raymond said he only went to Angelico because the reporter
knew who to contact on the review board.
He said he knew nothing of Angelico's plan to report on the transcripts.
``If Mr. Angelico wanted to have some fun with Harry Connick,
that was his business,'' Raymond said.
``Connick was embarrassed and he deserved to be.''
Samoluk said the board, which now has the records, wants to
release them to the public. But Connick
wants them back on the grounds that state law guards the secrecy
of grand jury proceedings. ``We have
not released them,'' Samoluk said. ``We intend to clarify their
legal status before we do anything with
them.''
The board was created by Congress in 1992 in an attempt to
address any public concern that the
government has not divulged all it knows about the assassination.
Its job is to uncover any new records
related to the assassination and review for possible release
those records the federal government wants to
keep secret. It can delay release only until 2017, the deadline
set by law. So far, hundreds of thousands of
Kennedy assassination records have been logged with the National
Archives.
