Secretary of State John Kerry believes there may have been a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy, but it’s unclear where President Obama stands on the issue.
White House press secretary Jay Carney dodged questions Monday about whether the president believes Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone on Nov. 22, 1963, the day Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas.
“I haven’t had a discussion with the president about President Kennedy’s assassination,” Mr. Carney told reporters, also skirting questions about whether the president believes that, 50 years later, classified government documents related to the Kennedy killing should be made public.
“I have not had that conversation with him,” Mr. Carney added.
Skeptics long have argued that Oswald was merely the trigger man in a larger plan, with conspiracies ranging from a second shooter in Dallas to a secret Communist plot to kill Kennedy.
Even more extreme theories center on whether Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon Johnson, or other high-ranking officials within the federal government may have played a role in planning or ordering the assassination.
SEE ALSO: Share your memories of JFK’s assassination 50 years ago
Mr. Kerry recently told NBC News he has never been convinced that Oswald acted alone, joining a chorus of others who have cast doubt on the official version of events.
“To this day, I have serious doubts that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone,” Mr. Kerry said. “I certainly have doubts that he was motivated by himself. I’m not sure if anybody was involved [with the actual assassination]. I don’t go down that road with respect to the grassy knoll theory and all of that. But I have serious questions about whether they got to the bottom of Lee Harvey Oswald’s time and influence from Cuba and Russia.”
A recent Gallup poll found that 61 percent of Americans believe others were involved in the plot.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.