Statements That Sink The WC's Conclusions - #45

[Robert Caprio]

[b]The WC claimed LHO went to the Mexican Consulate in New Orleans to
get a visa to travel to Mexico City in late September 1963. The ONLY
problem with this claim is the man who would have been next to him
knew him, and had many years of ties to the CIA said he never saw him!
The only other witness present also said it was NOT LHO who applied
for the visa. Without this visa, LHO could NOT legally travel to
Mexico City, so if he did (and I personally doubt it based on the
evidence we have) that means he was aided and smuggled in. But by
whom?

Let's look at William Gaudet's story.[/b]

*********************************************

Recently someone wrote that just because William Gaudet did NOT see
LHO in line for a visa at the Mexican Consulate in New Orleans on
9/17/63 that does NOT mean he did not get a visa for travel to Mexico
City. This could be quite true IF Mr. Gaudet was just an "average
Joe", but we shall see he was NOT.

As I just said, IF William Gaudet was an ordinary person, I could buy
this theory as the person said they "have a visa and I could not tell
you who was in front of me or behind me" either. However, this is NOT
the same as you or I going to the Consulate looking for a visa when we
see the background of William Gaudet. Sadly for this person and all
of the WC defenders the incident involving Mr. Gaudet is much more
shady.

Gaudet began working for the State Department in 1942 when he was
assigned to the office of Inter-American Affairs, and in his new
position he was directly responsible to Nelson Rockefeller (keep this
in mind). [FBI 64-23999-2-5.8.43] The FBI was monitoring this group
and A.J. Weberman wrote this about their investigation.

"In 1942 the FBI received several reports that the members of Nelson
Rockefeller's Regional Committee were 'securing and coordinating
information of an intelligence nature, and had been reporting same to
U.S. Consulate'."

In the late 1940's Gaudet moved to editing a magazine called the
"Latin American Report" and he would do this throughout the 1950's and
into the 1960's and this magazine was based in New Orleans. How was
this funded? According to the A.J. Weberman it was funded by the CIA,
The United Fruit Company (A CIA backed company), Chase Manhattan Bank
and by several dictators in Central America (no doubt working with the
CIA). Gaudet used this magazine as cover for his Latin America
operations.

According to Weberman this magazine came to the attention of the CIA
in 1948 and they would contact Gaudet 16 times that year. In 1949 the
contacts went up to over 30 times. Here are some more numbers:

In 1950 Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 33 times.

In 1951, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 22 times.

In 1952, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 29 times.

In 1953, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 19 times.

In 1954, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 22 times. [CIA 17581 -index
cards]

In 1955 Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 17 times. On December 2,
1955, the FBI generated a highly deleted document based on information
supplied by Gaudet on "Foreign Political Matters - Costa Rica and
Nicaragua." On December 8, 1955, the FBI generated a Memorandum titled
"Alleged Revolution in Costa Rica and Nicaragua - Foreign Political
Matters - Costa Rica and Nicaragua." This information was disseminated
to the CIA, Office of Naval Intelligence, Director of Security of the
State Department, Army Intelligence, the Inspector General of the Air
Force and the United States Customs Service. [FBI 109-12-222-11 cc
Branigan; FBI 109-12-222-16]

In 1956, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 9 times. On April 25, 1956
Gaudet was mentioned in a document that dealt with Teodoro Picado, a
leader of the opposition against Jose Figueres of Costa Rica. Teodoro
Picado had moved to the United States. [FBI 97-3236-24 pgs. 4 thru 8 w/
h]

In 1957, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 3 times.

In 1959, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 2 times.

In 1960 Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 2 times.

In 1961, Gaudet was interviewed by the CIA 4 times. William Gaudet
claimed he unwittingly played a role in the Bay of Pigs invasion: "I
never played a role in the Bay of Pigs, though I unknowingly helped
set up alternate air bases in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, for
use by the planes to protect the Cuban invasion." [Sun Daily Herald
11.22.80 Biloxi, Miss. 11.22.80]

On March 5, 1961, William Gaudet wrote to Louisiana Congressman Hale
Boggs and offered his services in President John F. Kennedy's Latin
American Peace Corps.

So we see a long history of contact with the CIA here, so Gaudet was
NO average person. [color=red][b]This still does NOT explain him
saying he did NOT see LHO there that day though does it? [/b][/color]
Before we go there, let's explore a good idea that this person has
NEVER thought to bring up himself. The idea goes like this: say LHO
came in around 10:00 AM and even though Gaudet had the next number for
a visa perhaps he came in around 11:00 or so. The point is supposed
to be that we don't know when they came in to get their visas
according to those who mention this scenario.

There are some questions though with this scenario however. I admit
it could happen, but we have a corroborating witness that shows it did
NOT happen. Firstly, why would Gaudet even need a visa in the first
place since he had been traveling thought central America for many
years? Wouldn't he have a passport for this? So this brings up the
question of why was he even there in the first place when he got the
visa? Secondly, we come to [color=red][b]Mrs. Farrington. She was a
witness to the person who applied for the visa that was issued BEFORE
Gaudet's and she said it was NOT LHO.[/b][/color] She said the man
made a point of asking if you could take firearms into Mexico (an
obvious tell that they were setting up LHO as he would have been
smarter than this) and when she commented on something else he asked
he was not happy about it. The FBI tracked her down in record time
after the assassination and she said it was NOT LHO when asked. I
believe her sister was with her and confirmed this, but I don't have
the Garrison book with me to be sure. So we see that the only witness
we have beyond Gaudet, [color=red][u][b]Mrs. Farrington, is on record
saying it was NOT LHO that she saw.[/b][/u][/color]

This is what Gaudet said about his tourist card:

"[color=red][b]There were six or seven persons waiting to pick up
permits and to the best of his recollection, [u]LEE HARVEY OSWALD was
not one of them[/u].[/b][/color]"

Gaudet stated repeatedly for many years that he never saw LHO at the
Consulate when he went there on 9/17/63. He told the FBI it was a
"coincidence" that he would have gotten the card numbered just before
LHO's. Perhaps it was, but the idea that he was a CIA asset for many
years can't be excluded either. He told the FBI he did NOT see LHO in
his travels to Mexico because he flew, and Weberman describes his
trip:

"William Gaudet told the FBI he flew to Merida, Mexico, where he
changed planes then went on to other South and Central American
countries. He did not enter Mexico. FBI S.A. Regis Kennedy obtained
the flight manifest - Gaudet's named appeared as a passenger." [WCD
15?; FBI NO 44-2064, NO 89-69 11.27.63; Sanders interview with Gaudet
1.19.78]

The other obvious question would be this, would he even know LHO from
Adam? Yes, is the answer.[color=red][b] He told the FBI he had seen
LHO in New Orleans on other occasions[/b][/color]. Research over the
years has shown [color=red][b]there is a connection between Gaudet and
Banister, and that Gaudet's offices were in the Trade Mart, the same
place Clay Shaw ran for a company called PERMINDEX[/b][/color]. This
what Gaudet said about Banister:

"I knew Banister but I didn't know him well...now Ronnie Caire knew
Banister much better than I did. Banister knew OSWALD. Ferrie was a
friend of a lot of queers...I think he did know OSWALD...but I don't
think either one of them is capable of planning a conspiracy like
this...I was closely related with Ed Butler because one of the prime
sponsors of the Information Council of the Americas in New Orleans was
a very close personal friend of mine and an investor in my company,
Alton Ochsner. The Information Council had a big, big banquet down
here, a money raising thing, at which time they prevailed upon Nelson
Rockefeller to come down and be one of the speakers, and that's the
last time I personally saw Nelson Rockefeller...I feel certain the
Rockefeller Commission will not call me as a witness." [Interview with
Alan Stone WRR Dallas 5.7.75; ARA file interview with Gaudet]

He told another interviewer in 1978:

"I knew OSWALD because he was in at the International Trade Mart for
quite a few days. That's where I had my office, which was on Camp and
Common in New Orleans. And he was there distributing pamphlets for the
Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Who the Fair Play for Cuba Committee
was, I don't know. [color=red][b]I do know I saw him [OSWALD] one time
with a former...I think he was an FBI agent and a man by the name of
Guy Banister, and Guy of course is now dead. [/b][/color]What Guy's
role was in all this I...I really don't know, but I did see him
discussing various things with Banister at the time and I think
Banister knew a whole lot of what was going on...I never met OSWALD
and I never talked to him personally."

He said this when asked if it was a coincidence that his name is right
next to LHO's on the list:

"I would say so, yes, I know it's hard to believe because this word
keeps cropping up in everything that I seem to do that er...I'm just
loaded down with coincidence..." [Sanders interview with Gaudet
1.19.78]

I am NOT stating he was assigned to provide surveillance on LHO as
according to his CIA file and other things he was not in the business
of clandestine operations. The HSCA said this:

We "did not find a basis for concluding that William Gaudet had
contacted OSWALD on behalf of the CIA. Although there was a conflict
between William Gaudet's testimony and his CIA file concerning the
duration of his Agency contacts, as well as the performance of
errands, there was no indication from his file or testimony that
William Gaudet's cooperation involved clandestine activity. Again, it
should be stressed that the Domestic Contacts Division, which was the
Agency component that was in touch with William Gaudet, was not
involved in clandestine operations."

So perhaps he was simply told to go there at a specific time to pick
up a tourist card that had been arranged for him and then the person
who would impersonating LHO would be there at that time. I can't say
what they were hoping to get out of this per se, but my thoughts would
be they would expect Gaudet to play along since he got the majority of
the funding for his magazine through the CIA. Thus, they expected he
would say he saw LHO at the Consulate then, but for some reason he has
NEVER said that. There is NO reasonable reason why he would say he
did NOT see LHO there IF in fact he was there to me. Some may say it
was to keep cover on a CIA mission, but IF that was the case the WC
would have never discussed this matter at all. NO, there is NO reason
why he would lie and say he did NOT see LHO if in fact LHO was there
in my mind.

I have even read that Gaudet was supposed to be on the bus with LHO
going into Mexico, but of course this is pure nonsense since he
provided evidence to the FBI that he flew into the country. He was
supposed to be providing "tight surveillance" for the CIA, but as we
have seen this was NOT his area of expertise so it is highly unlikely
the CIA would use him for this kind of work. Since he NEVER met or
was introduced to LHO the idea he was a "friend" and decided to travel
with LHO is out the door as well.


This once again illustrates a claim of the WC's is NOT supported by an
ounce of evidence.