A Quick Take on the New RFK Files
Larry Hancock of the Mary Ferrell Foundation summarizes what we know about the newly released records related to the 1968 slaying of RFK Jr.'s father.
I’ve received many inquiries about the release of records related to the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a subject on which I am no expert. I did comment on the release of the RFK autopsy photos, approved by the Senator’s son, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which struck me as needlessly inflammatory. I’ve been in family feuds before (though nothing like the battle royale the Kennedys have right now) and my impulse is to tamp them down, not make them worse.
To turn down the RFK heat I turned to the best-informed person of the subject who I know. He is Larry Hancock, a longtime friend, the author of deeply researched books on JFK’s assassination, UAP, and U.S. covert warfare. He also serves, as I do, as a director of the non-profit Mary Ferrell Foundation (MFF).
Hancock had this to say:
About documents concerning the efforts of Sirhan's family and their efforts to garner support for him among the Arab states: “That was much discussed at some points during his trial and his appeals - and these documents are resurfacing that angle.”
”Another angle that will likely come up in regard to Sirhan and the Middle East - in particular in respect to Iran - will be the FBI and LAPD file reports involving the Khaiber Khan family and RFK's campaign, and their investigation as possible associates of either Sirhan or a member of his family,” Hancock said, citing these online records.
Hancock added:
“Its important to note that the vast majority of the JFK and RFK files
being 'released' are not really new and have been investigated and
written about in considerable extent over the years.”
Hancock is not deprecating the significance of the new RFK records, only issuing a useful reminder: If you want to understand what’s in the new RFK files, you need to know what the best-informed independent observers have said in the recent past. You need to know the facts to inform your opinion.
By independent observers I mean informed analysts who are not indebted to or associated with the U.S. intelligence community, the conspiracy grift industry, legacy news organizations, or the Kennedy family.
Analysts like Larry Hancock of the Mary Ferrell Foundation (MFF).
How Do I Learn More?
For a thoughtful introduction to the story of RFK’s assassination, check out this MFF web page.
The issue in a nutshell:
In the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the evidence tying the alleged assassins to the case was circumstantial and almost too neat. But here, Sirhan was apprehended on the scene firing a gun within a couple of feet of Kennedy. An open-and-shut case? Ironically, the RFK assassination has the starkest physical and eyewitness evidence indicating a conspiracy involving Sirhan and at least one additional gunman.
Stay tuned to JFK Facts for the latest developments concerning RFK assassination records.
Like Jefferson Morley, I am more knowledgeable about Dallas 1963 than L.A. 1968.
However, one question seems to be in Jeff's wheelhouse: what were RFK autopsy photos doing in James Angleton's safe after his demise?
Jefferson you need to get out more; Larry Hancock is great, but there are others who were there first when it comes to RFK: Lisa Pease and John Hunt have each written brilliantly researched books on the RFK murder, just for a start. Their work is probably the best place to start, plus, just as important, work done years ago by William Turner and Philip Melanson. It's fine if RKF is not an area you have explored extensively, but you owe it to your readers to make them aware of the most important work that has been done.