Old Documents May Stir Up JFK Controversy
Newly discovered papers transcribe a purported talk between Oswald and Ruby.
Feb. 18, 2008 — -- It reads like a movie screenplay, but when Dallas officials release a just-discovered transcript of a purported conversation between Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby today, it is likely to give new life to conspiracy theories that there was something more to President Kennedy's assassination.
The papers were discovered in a forgotten Dallas courtroom safe and may be a President's Day gift to conspiracy believers who have long disagreed with the official version of what happened Nov. 22, 1963.
"I do believe that it's important for us to release this information and let the public view it," said Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins.
The true story behind the death of Camelot's king has saturated history and pop culture with a variety of alleged plots discussed since Kennedy's death.
This new batch of papers discusses the mob's plans to kill then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who had cracked down on the mob. The purported Oswald-Ruby conversation took place Oct. 4, 1963, at Ruby's Carousel Club on Commerce Street. The transcript reads:
Oswald: There is a way to get rid of him without killing him.
Ruby: How is that?
Oswald: I can shoot his brother.
Ruby shot Oswald two days after the president's death.
Official records from Ruby's trial, a gun holster that probably belonged to Ruby or Oswald and personal letters from former District Attorney Henry Wade, the prosecutor in the Ruby trial, also were found inside the safe.
The conversation on the newly revealed documents is so cinematic some believe it actually is an unfinished screenplay. Even the Warren Commission, which investigated Kennedy's death and concluded Oswald acted alone, determined the conversation couldn't have taken place.
"There is no question Oswald wasn't at the Carousel Club that night. He wasn't even in Dallas after 12 noon that day so, it could not have been a conversation with Oswald," said Greg Mack, curator of the Sixth Floor Museum, which is dedicated to the Kennedy assassination.
Still some conspiracy theorists may be thrilled that the information is coming to light, but it's a double-edge sword for Dallas. The city always will be synonymous with the death of the nation's 35th president.