Tag: assassinations

CIA admits shadowy officer monitored Oswald before JFK assassination, new records reveal

For the first time since President Kennedy’s assassination nearly 62 years ago, the CIA has tacitly admitted that an officer specializing in psychological warfare ran an operation that came into contact with Lee Harvey Oswald before the Dallas killing.

Why it matters: The disclosure Thursday — nestled in a batch of 40 documents concerning officer George Joannides — indicates the CIA lied for decades about his role in the Kennedy case before and after the assassination, according to experts on JFK’s slaying.

  • The linchpin document: A Jan. 17, 1963, CIA memo showing Joannides was directed to have an alias and fake driver’s license bearing the name “Howard Gebler.”
  • Until Thursday, the agency had denied that Joannides was known as “Howard,” the case officer name for the CIA contact who worked with activists from an anti-communist group opposed to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro called the Cuban Student Directorate.
  • For decades, the agency also falsely said it had nothing to do with the student group, which was instrumental in having Oswald’s pro-Castro stances published soon after the shooting.

The bottom line: “The cover story for Joannides is officially dead,” said Jefferson Morley, an author and expert on the assassination. “This is a big deal. The CIA is changing its tune on Lee Harvey Oswald.”

  • The information comes to light as part of President Trump’s order that the government meet its obligations to disclose all documents under the JFK Records Act of 1992.
  • Little was known of Joannides’ involvement in the case until disclosures in 1998 under the records act. New disclosures of previously hidden records keep adding slices of information to the story.

Zoom in: Joannides was the deputy chief of the CIA’s Miami branch, overseeing “all aspects of political action and psychological warfare.” That included covertly funding and directing the Cuban student group, commonly referred to as DRE for its Spanish-language initials.

  • On Aug. 9, 1963, more than three months before Nov. 22 assassination, four DRE operatives got into a scuffle with Oswald in New Orleans when he was passing out pro-Castro “Fair Play for Cuba Committee” pamphlets. The subsequent court hearing was covered by local news media.
  • On Aug. 21 , 1963, Oswald debated DRE activists on local TV, providing more media attention to him as a communist.
  • After the assassination, DRE’s newsletter identified Oswald as a pro-Castro communist, and the Miami Herald and Washington Post covered the story.
  • A year before Oswald became known as pro-Castro, the Pentagon formulated a plan called Operation Northwoods to stage a false-flag attack in the United States, blame Cuba and then attack it.

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Well, Now We Know Why Trump-Hating Newspaper Hid Reader Comments on Assassination Story…

The attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., one year ago this month was fake, according to Washington Post readers. Worse, the paper is trying to protect its crazed readers by hiding their comments.

Comments to a Post story, excerpting a juicy new book about how Democrats knew all along that Joe Biden was a terrible candidate and couldn’t win the 2024 election, revealed just how untethered to reality this bunch really is. It’s as if they’d read the Washington Post and come away believing President Donald Trump was Hitler and couldn’t be believed or something. 

These TDS-afflicted readers will be startled to learn for the first time that one congressional rep texted with his colleagues during a Zoom meeting with “a mumbl[ing] and rambl[ing],” and “sometimes incoherent” Biden that the president’s behavior in this meeting was “'[W]orse than the debate,'” the Post belatedly divulged.

Another tidbit that would have been nice to know before the election was that Democrat Leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, held a secret Rehoboth Beach meeting with Biden, where he overheard the explosive meeting from another room. When he got face time with Biden, Schumer allegedly “told Biden that if they held a secret ballot, maybe five of the fifty-one senators would want him to stay in the race.”

He also allegedly told Biden that Kamala Harris had a better chance of winning the 2024 race than the president did and urged Biden to get out of the race. Of course, he never said anything remotely like this out loud for public consumption. One wonders if the four current and former reporters who wrote “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” saved these damning reports about Biden for after the election to help the home team. 

The book excerpt and the story’s reporters described the near-life-ending head shot by saying, “Trump felt a sting on his right ear, like the world’s largest mosquito.” We can’t imagine why Post readers would think the assassination attempt was fake.

The book excerpt also reported that the president cleaned his blood-stained suit, but did save his bloody red hat from that real assassination attempt one year ago, on July 13.

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Fatwa Calling for Muslims to Assassinate President Trump Issued by Iranian Ayatollah

Iranian Shiite Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, 98, issued a fatwa calling on Muslims worldwide to assassinate President Donald Trump, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The semi-official Iranian news outlet Mehr News Agency reported on its English language site on Sunday (excerpt):

Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has issued a fatwa in which he declares anyone who threatens Leader, and Shia Marja to be the Enemy of God, who has to be fought against according to Islamic teachings.

After threats were made by the criminal American president and the leaders of the child-killing Zionist regime against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and the senior Shiite clerics known as Marja, a group of believers submitted a request to His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi regarding the duties of Muslims in response to such threats. Grand Ayatollah Makarem response to the question put forward by his followers is as follows:

“Any person or regime that threatens the Leader or Marja (May God forbid) is considered an enemy of God,” Grand Ayatollah Makarem said in his Fatwa, which is a response to the question to him.

The senior Iranian Shia Marja added that “any cooperation or support for that enemy by Muslims or Islamic states is haram or forbidden. It is necessary for all Muslims around the world to make these enemies regret their words and mistakes.”

Definition of “Marja” via Wikipedia:

Marja’ (Arabic: مرجع, romanized: marjiʿ ; plural marājiʿ ; lit. ’source to follow’ or ‘religious reference’) is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah (a seminary where Shi’a Muslim scholars are educated) to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and clerics below him in rank. The highest ranking marjiʿ is known as the marja al-mutlaq or marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq.[1][2][note 1] A marji’ is usually also[3] a grand ayatollah.

English translation posted by Mark Dubowitz:

In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

It is clear that threatening the leader of the Islamic world, as well as the esteemed sources of emulation, is a war against Islam. According to the Quranic verse “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against God and His Messenger…”, this act carries a severe punishment.

Strengthening the front of Muslims and the unity of Islamic ranks is an obligation. I consider it haram (forbidden) to remain silent in the face of such threats.

It is necessary for Muslims around the world to strongly condemn these threats and to take appropriate and united action.

May God preserve the Islamic community from the evil of enemies under the protection of the Imam of the Age (may God hasten his reappearance), and reward the righteous defenders.

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Iran’s IRGC Quds Force Leader Shows Up In Tehran Streets After Reports Of His Death

A week ago there were widespread reports and rumors that Israeli airstrikes and targeted assassinations in Iran had killed Esmail Qaani, who in 2020 had succeeded the top Iranian IRGC Quds Force general Qassem Soleimani, killed by a US strike in Baghdad.

But on Tuesday Qaani appeared before crowds in Tehran, as Iranians take to the streets to support the military and assert their defiance following Israeli and US bombs falling on the country during the current ceasefire.

“Several news outlets affiliated with Iran-allied groups, including the Houthis’ Al Masirah TV, have shared footage they say shows Esmail Qaani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force, among the rallying crowds in Tehran,” Al Jazeera writes.

“If confirmed, the videos would dispel reports that Qaani was assassinated by Israel,” the report concludes.

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‘I will assassinate her’: Kamala Harris threat suspect said he’d kill the VP ‘if she runs for pres,’ feds say

A 37-year-old man in Pennsylvania has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill former Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris, repeatedly claiming on social media that he would “assassinate her.”

Steven Alexander Hartford was indicted by a federal grand jury last week and charged with two counts of making threats against a major candidate for the office of the president, court documents show. According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Hartford accessed and controlled the username “thealex13one13” on TikTok, under which he made the threats against the former attorney general of California, beginning in the summer of 2024.

The first threat was allegedly issued on July 21, 2024, in response to a 17-second video posted by the Daily Mail that was captioned, “Will Kamala Harris be the next Democratic nominee?” At about 7:32 p.m. that evening, Hartford allegedly commented, “I will assassinate her if she runs for pres.,” a copy of the indictment states.

Later that same day, the Daily Mail posted a 12-second video to TikTok that showed Harris and was captioned, “Could [Kamala Harris] replace Joe Biden?”

At about 7:56 p.m. that evening, Hartford responded to the video by commenting, “I will assassinate her.”

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The following day, authorities say that Hartford made several other threats directed at Harris under the username “thealex13one13,” including: “22 250 coming her way,” “5.56 for her,” and “5.56 waiting for her.”

It appears likely that “22 250” is a reference to a high-velocity 22-caliber rifle cartridge while “5.56” is likely a reference to another rifle cartridge typically used in assault rifles.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that the case stems from “Operation Take Back America,” which it describes as a “nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”

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Now We Know Why the Minnesota Assassin Story Disappeared Overnight

Have you wondered why the story of the Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter has suddenly vanished from the news? Now we have a pretty good idea why.

Boelter, who murdered State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband while also shooting State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, unleashed terror that sparked a massive manhunt before his capture late Sunday. Initial media coverage was rife with speculation, with left-leaning outlets eager to cast Boelter as a MAGA Republican, hastily blaming the GOP and even President Donald Trump for inciting his shooting spree. 

Yet the letter found in Boelter’s abandoned vehicle tells a radically different story, one that not only exposes the media’s rush to judgment and political opportunism but sudden drop in coverage.

According to Minnesota’s largest newspaper, the Star-Tribune, Boelter believed he was acting under the supposed orders of Democrat Gov. Tim Walz. Boelter’s incoherent letter, about a page and a half long, bizarrely claimed that killing Sen. Amy Klobuchar was necessary to clear the way for Walz to run for the U.S. Senate. 

The letter is the clearest evidence yet of Boelter’s mindset after the targeted violence against Minnesota politicians last week. It is incoherent, one and a half pages long, confusing and hard to read, according to two people familiar with the letter’s contents. It includes Boelter alleging he had been trained by the U.S. military off the books, and that Walz, who is not running for Senate, had asked him to kill Klobuchar and others.

Asked to comment about the letter, Hennepin County Attorney spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping said the office cannot comment on an open investigation but “due to the seriousness of the allegations it contains, we will state only that we have seen no evidence that the allegations regarding Governor Walz are based in fact.”

What’s more, as we previously reported, Walz appointed Boelter to a government workforce board, a fact that seemingly fueled his delusion of a personal relationship with the governor. But this imagined relationship was the extent of any link, as the letter’s ramblings make clear. There is no evidence that support for Trump or any conservative cause motivated Boelter’s actions. Instead, his violent spree was rooted in a deranged fixation on Walz, a far cry from the media’s initial narrative that sought to weaponize the tragedy against the pro-Trump right.

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Alleged Minn. Assassin Says Gov. Tim Walz Wanted Him To Kill Sen. Amy Klobuchar

The man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses reportedly wrote in a letter to the FBI that Gov. Tim Walz also wanted him to assassinate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, according to a bombshell report from the Minnesota Star Tribune. A Walz did not deny the allegation when commenting on the report.

Citing two people familiar with letter’s contents, the Star Tribune reported Friday that Boelter claimed “Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to kill U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar so that Walz could run for the U.S. Senate.”

Boelter does have a loose link to Walz, who ran for Vice President last year on Kamala Harris’s ticket. Boelter was appointed to the workforce development board by then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 and then reappointed in 2019 by Walz to a four-year term that expired in 2023.

However, the Star Tribune reported that Boelter’s letter reflected the ramblings of a mentally ill man, downplaying the likelihood that what he says about Walz is true.

“The letter is the clearest evidence yet of Boelter’s mindset after the targeted violence against Minnesota politicians last week. It is incoherent, one and a half pages long, confusing and hard to read, according to two people familiar with the letter’s contents,” the newspaper reported. “It includes Boelter alleging he had been trained by the U.S. military off the books, and that Walz, who is not running for Senate, had asked him to kill Klobuchar and others.”

Hennepin County Attorney spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping reportedly responded to the letter, saying that “due to the seriousness of the allegations it contains, we will state only that we have seen no evidence that the allegations regarding Governor Walz are based in fact.”

Instead of denying the allegation, a Walz spokesman reportedly gave a rambling non-answer.

“This tragedy continues to be deeply disturbing for all Minnesotans,” said the spokesperson, Teddy Tschann

“Governor Walz is grateful to law enforcement who apprehended the shooter, and he’s grateful to the prosecutors who will ensure justice is swiftly served,” Tschann said.

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Top Iranian Nuclear Scientists Killed By Secret Israeli Weapon: Report

As Israeli jets struck military targets, high-ranking officers and nuclear-related facilities in Iran during the opening salvo of Operation Rising Lion, there was another extremely high-stakes clandestine mission taking place. Code-named Operation Narnia, Israeli operatives reportedly used a “secret weapon” to simultaneously kill nine of Iran’s top nuclear scientists as they slept in their beds, according to Israel’s N12 news outlet. It was the latest move in Israel’s long-time effort to blunt Iranian nuclear ambitions by killing off the people capable of advancing the program.

Officials declined to say what this special weapon, “which remains under censorship and has not been disclosed publicly,” was, the Times of Israel explained. The War Zone cannot verify these claims. However, as we have previously reported, Israel hit residences of high-value individuals with smaller munitions and Mossad used drones and anti-tank guided missiles inside Iran (more on those later) on the first night of its attack. These targeted assassinations continue today, although not in the same volume seen during the opening acts of the war. It remains possible that some of these systems were used in the assassination of the scientists.

Israeli intelligence deliberately orchestrated simultaneous hits as the opening blow of the war to avoid any chance of warning or escape, according to the N12 report. In previous incidents, Iranian nuclear scientists had often been targeted with car bombs and drive-by shootings while commuting. As a result, these public events set off alarms and spurred increased protection for other potential high-value targets.

For a reason not yet clear, while nine scientists were killed, a 10th scientist escaped the initial attack but was killed later.

“These scientists believed their homes were safe zones,” a senior Israeli official told N12. “They never imagined they would be reached in their bedrooms.”

Israeli intelligence officials told N12 that killing the scientists was the most important part of the opening phase of Operation Rising Lion. Air defenses, ballistic missile systems, and command and control nodes are important and difficult to replace. However, the officials emphasized that “the knowledge of these people is irreplaceable. It takes many years, if any, to regroup these minds who each worked for 20-40 years on the nuclear and weapons program.”

“There is a long-term effect here for more than many years,” the officials added.

The nuclear scientists who were eliminated “had been involved for decades in promoting nuclear weapons – an essential component of the Iranian regime’s plan to destroy the State of Israel,” according to the publication.

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Minnesota assassin blames Tim Walz for his attack on state lawmakers: report

Vance Boelter, 57, the suspect in the assassination and attempted assassination of Minnesota state lawmakers, said that he blamed Governor Tim Walz for the shooting rampage, according to a report from Alpha News.

The outlet, citing multiple sources familiar with the investigation into Boelter and the shootings, said in a “confession letter” intended for FBI Director Kash Patel, Boelter confirmed that he was the “shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shootings.”

Charging documents from police indicated that the handwritten note was from “Dr Vance Luther Boelter,” and that the letter was found in the Buick that he had purchased in the hours after shooting Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were hospitalized, the outlet reported. Boelter fatally shot Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, after shooting Hoffman and his wife.

Boelter has been charged with murder as well as stalking by the Department of Justice in the case. He is also facing state charges of murder. An affidavit stated that evidence in the case “indicates that Boelter extensively planned his stalking, murders, and attempted murders.”

There were around 45 names of lawmakers and others inside a notebook, including the names of Hoffman as well as Hortman. However, Walz was not named in a typed copy of a “hit-list” that Alpha News received.

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‘Minnesota assassin’s’ wife has ‘disappeared’ after being caught with guns and cash

Vance Boelter’s spooked wife has remained in hiding – as the accused assassin’s defiant family were tight-lipped concerning her whereabouts, telling a DailyMail.com reporter to ‘piss off.’

Shaken mom-of-five Jenny, 51, rang pals only to say she was in a ‘safe’ location but wouldn’t reveal where she was.

She fled the family’s bucolic farmhouse home in Green Isle, Minnesota, last Saturday morning after Boelter hinted that he had done something monstrous in a 6.18am text.

‘Dad went to war last night,’ wrote her 57-year-old husband.

‘There’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger happy and I  don’t want you guys around.’

As news broke that Boelter had allegedly gunned down two lawmakers and their spouses in Minneapolis, Jenny was pulled over driving through Onamia, 90 miles north.

She had their youngest children in the car along with their passports, $10,000 in cash and two handguns, according to federal court filings.

Jenny, president of the couple’s private security firm, consented to a voluntary search of her electronic devices but wasn’t arrested in the 10am traffic stop.

There’s nothing in her husband’s charging documents to suggest she had advance knowledge of his alleged plot to slaughter dozens of Democrat lawmakers and pro-abortion activists.

Friends told DailyMail.com that Jenny was in such a hurry she left the family’s three dogs behind.

‘Jenny called and asked if we could feed the dogs and that’s what we’ve been doing,’ said neighbor Kevin Effertz, 64.

‘She said she was in a safe place and that’s all she would say. She hasn’t said when she’s coming back.’

Jenny has not commented publicly since Boelter was captured Sunday evening and charged with multiple counts of murder and stalking.

Her brother Jason Doskocil, 54, had a blunt message for DailyMail.com when we asked about her whereabouts.

‘I’m sorry, we are not going to talk to nobody – so piss off,’ he replied.

The Boelters’ four-bed, $520,000 farmhouse, nestling between rolling meadows and dense woodland, was deserted Tuesday.

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