Nov. 25 1963: After the funeral, Washington's response firms up

On the Monday following the tragic and astonishing events in Dallas, President Kennedy's body was laid to rest in Arlington cemetery. A host of foreign dignitaries took part, including British Prime Minister Home, French President Charles de Gaulle, and many others. Meanwhile the federal government's response to the assassination was taking shape. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach sent the White House a memo proposing a course of action. He went right to the point in its second paragraph:

"The public must be satisfied that Oswald was the assassin; that he did not have confederates who are still at large; and that evidence was such that he would have been convicted at trial."

Many have interpreted this as a clear call to cover-up -- that the federal government was already committed to what the Warren Commission would later conclude -- that Oswald was the sole assassin, not part of any larger conspiracy. To be fair, the memo opens with: "It is important that all the facts surr…