Behind The Mic With Joe Mathieu: Keeping The Kennedy Conspiracy Alive

BOSTON (CBS) – There are so many wrinkles to the anniversary of JFK's assassination and, whether you think it's justified or not, conspiracy is one of the biggest.

Polls show a majority of Americans do not believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

The question is why. And the answer is not Oliver Stone. It's the federal government. Specifically the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

That's the panel that decided in 1979 that Jack Kennedy was likely killed as part of a conspiracy. And it largely hung that conclusion on a piece of evidence that is now being called into question.

It's a tape recording from a Dallas police radio belonging to a motorcycle cop whose mic was stuck in the "on" position. And it includes the sound of 4 gunshots – one of them believed to come from the grassy knoll.

Well guess what?

Turns out that motorcycle cop was 2 miles away from the scene of the crime and a new book by University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato says those were not gunshots on the tape. An audio analysis finds they were likely just popping sounds from the motorcycle itself.

The book is called "The Kennedy Half Century."

But don't think this revelation will end all the talk of conspiracy.

Not a chance.

And there's a good reason for that. It again comes down to the government, which is keeping secret more than a thousand documents related to this case. CIA records still classified. The Center for Effective Government says it's actually more like a million documents.

They are set to be made public five years from now. In 2017. Unless whoever is president at the time decides they are too risky for us to see.

Follow Joe on Twitter @joemathieuwbz

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