Christensen drew attention to Australia's request to remove any mention of its involvement in communications related to threats against JFK or his assassination.
In 1968, Australian intelligence chief Charles Spry requested that Warren Commission document CD-971 – reportedly concerning 1963 calls to the Canberra embassy about a "$100,000 bounty on Kennedy’s head" – remain classified.
Although the CIA dismissed these calls as nonsensical, it agreed with Spry that there was "every reason" to keep them secret. The files were declassified in 1976, but portions of the text remained redacted.
In 1968, Australian intelligence chief Charles Spry requested that Warren Commission document CD-971 – reportedly concerning 1963 calls to the Canberra embassy about a "$100,000 bounty on Kennedy’s head" – remain classified.
Although the CIA dismissed these calls as nonsensical, it agreed with Spry that there was "every reason" to keep them secret. The files were declassified in 1976, but portions of the text remained redacted.
CIA Director Richard Helms' letter to ASIO’s chief Sir Charles Spry
© Photo : The National Archives and Records Administration
Another call was made to a British reporter in Cambridge just 25 minutes before Kennedy was shot, suggesting someone overseas had prior knowledge. British intelligence informed their US counterparts about the call, but both agencies then buried the information.
Christensen links these exchanges to a document stating that, a day after the assassination, ex-intelligence operative Gary Underhill claimed a small CIA clique was behind it. He was found dead six months later.
The journalist further claims Underhill had ties to Interarmco, a CIA-backed arms dealer, and notes that Interarmco was linked to the store where Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s killer, purchased the rifle.
The journalist further claims Underhill had ties to Interarmco, a CIA-backed arms dealer, and notes that Interarmco was linked to the store where Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s killer, purchased the rifle.
Memorandum concerning CIA operative John Garrett Underhill Jr.
© Photo : The National Archives and Records Administration
Two days after JFK's murder, Oswald was suddenly shot dead by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Hours after Oswald was killed, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover wrote a memo urging the agency to "convince the public that Oswald acted alone."
Newly declassified documents also reveal that, rather than investigating JFK’s murder, the US intelligence community was more focused on classifying and destroying records, Christensen emphasizes.
Not covered by Christensen is a 15-page memo titled “CIA Reorganization,” written by a Kennedy aide in 1961, warning that the agency’s growing influence and power had made it "a state within a state."
Newly declassified documents also reveal that, rather than investigating JFK’s murder, the US intelligence community was more focused on classifying and destroying records, Christensen emphasizes.
Not covered by Christensen is a 15-page memo titled “CIA Reorganization,” written by a Kennedy aide in 1961, warning that the agency’s growing influence and power had made it "a state within a state."