Conspiracy buffs weaving
theories at Hunt libel trial
By STEPHEN K. DOIG
Herold Staff Writer
Richard MacaJoon walked ea-
gerly into Miami federal court
last week
with dark
glasses over
his eyes, a spy
novel tucked
under his arm
and conspira- ~ ·
cy racing ..
through his
brain.
Macaloon is
a self-de-
scribed stu-
dent of the
swirl of dark
theories about
the assassination of John F.
Kennedy. He. and several others
like him, were in court to watch
American conspiracy buffs'
dream confrontation.
In one corner ls attorney Mark
Lane, the controversial author of
the most widely read critique of
the Investigation into Kennedy's
death.
In the other is convicted
Watergate figure E. Howard
Hunt, whose notoriety and one-
time CIA career has made him a
prime target of opportunity for
conspiracy theorists.
Hunt Is suing Lane's client, the
ultra-conservative Liberty Lob-
by, for publishing a 1978 article
suggesting that Hunt was about
to be linked to Kennedy's mur-
der.
But as far as the small cadre of
conspiracy hobbyists watching
In the gallery are concerned, It is
Hunt who is on trial now.
"It's a vertigo of horror,"
Macaloon says of what he bas
heard over the years about
Kennedy's death.
For instance, he says, "not
very many people know" that
then-Vice President Lyndon
Johnson also was shot in Texas
that day by the conspirators, but
that Johnson's wound was kept
secret. Nor do people know, he
says, that someone has altered
most microfilm copies of the first
New York Times stories about
the assassination.
Bob Morrissette, a square-
jawed ex-Marine and Fort Lau-
derdale police detective sergeant.
is less credulous but equally
fascinated by Hunt and Lane.
When he beard about the trial
last weekend, Morrissette imme-
diately took vacation to go watch
the first week of the trial.
"At home I have 68 books on
the Kennedys, and 31 on the
assassination," Morrissette says.
He brought with him a couple of
Hunt's spy novels, which Hunt
autographed for him during a
court recess. . Hatcher demands. "They're be-
Morrissette won't say whether
be suspects Hunt. But he Is
convinced there was a plot
Involving the combined efforts of
the CIA, organized crime and
•
anti-Castro Cubans. The clues, be
says, are "uncanny, mind-bog-
gling."
"You know, Hunt Is really an
interesting man," Morrissette
adds. "If he confessed on the
stand in there, I wouldn't hold it
against him now. It's been so
long."
Jim Hatcher, however, is less
forgiving.
Hatcher, a longtime subscriber
to Liberty Lobby's Spotlight
tabloid, says heatedly that Spot-
light and Lane are the only ones
in America telling the truth.
"The CIA is handling Hunt's
defense here," Hatcher insists,
apparently forgetting that Hunt
is the one who sued. "They're
crooks and thieves just trying to
destroy Liberty Lobby."
Through much of the trial,
Hatcher and a companion mutter
in stage whispers whenever U.S.
District Judge Jame Kehoe over-
rules an objection from Lane.
"It's a kangaroo court," Hatcher
complained outside. "The judge
is intimidating the jury."
Each day, the small gallery has
been largely empty, other than
the handful of buffs and a few
reporters and courtroom artists.
"Where are the people?"
ing kept away by the CIA."
He dismisses the idea that. 21
years after the fact. only Hunt,
Lane and a few conspiracy
hobbyists really care anymore.
 Watergate figure enies JFK murd
By STEPHEN K. DOIG
Herald Staff Writer
Conspiracy author and attorney Mark Lane
entered a Miami courtroom Monday to prove
that Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt and the
CIA assassinated John F. Kennedy.
Lane's star witness swears that she and
other conspirators met Hunt in Dallas the day
before Kennedy was shot.
But she won't come to Miami to testify.
Lane's key piece of evidence Is a CIA memo
that suggests that Hunt was in Dallas and
involved In the murder.
But he doesn't have the fabled memo.
• The trial before U.S. District Judge James
Kehoe is Hunt's libel suit against the ultra-right
Liberty Lobby In 1978, the group's "Spot-
light" tabloid printed an article Implying that
Hunt was an active participant in Kennedy's
t
murder when he was a CIA agent.
ln 1981, Hunt won a $650,000 verdict
against Liberty Lobby, but the judgment was
overturned on a legal technicality. He is back
in court this week to try again, with Lane
representing the defense.
"
As the first witne s, Hunt spent his first day Though Lane's own credibility
on the stand in a t down memory lane. questioned over the years, he
He reminisced calldldly about the burglary Monday to link Hunt to the murder.
of the Watergate office complex for President says grew out of the failure of the
Nixon. He talked about rifling the files of invasion of Cuba.
Daniel Ellsberg's p[chiatrist. He mentioned
covert "black bag' break-Ins at foreign "The whole CIA blamed John
embassies for the Cl He blandly described his Lane told the six-member jury. "Ke
plan to put cyani e In columnist Jack (CIA director) Allen Dulles, and th
Anderson's aspirin bdttle. was killed.h
But he resolutely denied having any part in Despite Hunt's denials, various au
any conspiracy to asSflSsinate Kennedy. claimed that Hunt and fellow
"Venomous libel,'~ Hunt says acidly of burglar Frank Sturgis were t
claims that he played a role in Kennedy's never-identified "three bums" ph
death. near where Kennedy was shot.
He testified that he was in Washington that
day, buying Chinese fQod with his wife, when ' Lane has a sworn deposition f
he heard of the tragedy in Dallas. And unlike Lorenz, a onetime mistress of Fidel
Lane. Hunt's lawyers say, they will offer later a CIA agent. Lorenz claims th
witnesses and evidence to prove their case. to from Miami to Dallas with
Lane is perhaps the nation's most notorious several Cubans the day before K
conspiracy buff. His best-selling Rush To shot. She says they met Hunt ther
Judgment criticized the Warren Commission's
conclusion that Kennedy was shot by a lone But Lorenz's story won't be tol
assassin. "She is afraid to come to Miami,
 •
Ex-CIA officials testify on Hunt
.... Two former directors of the CLA
testified in depositions. read
Thursday in Miami federal court,
that they had no knowledge of a
purported 1966 CIA memo linking
Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt
with the assassination of John F.
Kennedy.
Hunt, a former CIA agent, is
suing the Liberty Lobby for pub-
lishing a 1978 article suggesting
that the CIA was about to provide
evidence that Hunt was involved
in a plot to kill Kennedy.
Former CIA directors Richard
f!elms and Stansfield Turner both
testified in depositions last year
that they had no knowledge of a
1966 internal CLA memo which
supposedly stated: "Someday. we
will have to explain Howard
Hunt's presence in Dallas on Nov.
22, 1963."
The article, published by the
Liberty Lobby's Spotlight tabloid,
bad a headline that said "CIA to
nail Hunt for Kennedy killing;"
and said the memo had been given
to a House committee investigat-
ing the murder. The committee
reported later that no such memo
was produced and that there was
no evidence to show that Hunt
was in Dallas or part of a plot.
Ia another deposition read
Thursday, Liberty Lobby president
Willis Carto testified that "every-
thing in The Spotlight is true."
 20 The Miami Herald I Tue. day, February .;, 1!JSS F-2
Castro's
By STEPHEN K. DOIG
Herald Staff Writer
In a deposition read Monday in Miami
federal court, Fidel Castro's one-time mis·
•
tress claimed that she and Lee Harvey
Oswald, and seven anti-Castro Cubans,
drove with weapons in two cars from
Miami to Dallas just before John F. Kennedy
was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1'963.
While in Dallas, she say~. she met
then-CIA agent E. Howard Hunt, who later
would become infamous as ~ne of the
Watergate conspirators.
The testimony by Marita Lorenz, now
living in New York City, was roughly the
same story she has been telling publicly
since at least the mid-1970s, to widespread
disbelief.
Lorenz told the story to the House Select
•
was Ill Dallas
CIA-sponsored anti-Castro operation.
o's ex-mistress, in a depositio , claims she knew "He wanted to be part of the mission,"
she said, calling Oswald "Ozzie."
Lee Harv Oswald and drove with him to Dallas along with Lorenz said that in late November 1963.
anti-Cast Cubans in a car loaded with weapons just before Frank Sturgis, who along with Hunt would
become a Watergate figure a decade later,
John F. nnedy was assassinated. told her to come with him and Oswald to
Dallas to act as a decoy.
Lorenz said that Hunt came to their
Committee on ssassinations in 1977; the Lorenz di4n't give her testimony in Dallas motel, the name or location of which
committee's fi I report ignored her ac- person Monda~. Attorney Mark Lane, who she couldn't recall, to give Sturgis an
count and dism sed any involvement by the is defending the Liberty Lobby's Spotlight envelope full of cash. Sturgis and other
CIA or Hunt. tabloid against Hunt's suit, says that Lorenz supposed conspirators named by Lorenz
Hunt, who i ear the end of his libel suit is "afraid to dome to Miami." also have denied her story.
against a tabl that suggested he was In her deposition, taken early last month, Lane rested his defense late Monday
about to be link to Kennedy's murder, has Lorenz said she first met Oswald in Miami afternoon. Both sides are expected to give
denied being i Dallas and has produced in the early 1960s while working for ~he their final arguments to the six-member
witnesses to ba his story. "Forty Group," which she indicated was a jury this morning.
t.
 •
Ex-CIA chief wrong, Hunt testifies :
Former CIA director Richard
Helms was mistaken when he said
in a deposition last year that "to
the best of my recollection" Wa-
tergate burglar Frank Sturgis once
was a contract agent with the
CIA, fellow Watergate figure E.
Howard Hunt testified Wednesday
in Miami federal court.
Attorney Mark Lane, who is
trying to link Hunt and Sturgis to
the assassination of John F. Ken-
nedy as the defense in a libel suit
brought by Hunt, read Helms'
deposition to the six-member jury.
Lane says be intends to present
testimony later that Hunt, a for-
mer CIA agent, and Sturgis were
in Dallas, probably as part of a
CIA plot, the day before Kennedy
died.
But Hunt, who finished bis
second full day on the witness
stand, stated flatly that Sturgis
never worked with the CIA "Mr.
Helms ls a truthful man, but be is
not infallible," Hunt said. "His
recollection is faulty."
Hunt pointed out that a 1978
House investigation of Kennedy's
murder also concluded that Sturgis
never was an agent, and that there
was no evidence that either Hunt
or the CIA was involved in a
conspiracy to kill Kennedy.
The trial will continue this
morning before U.S. District Judge
James Kehoe. I, J 1 / ~ {'
 Liberty Lobby Appeals Verdict
By William Carmichael
Having had all post-trial motions
denied by the trial judge, Liberty
Lobby will appeal the libel verdict
brought against the institution on
December 17, 1981. In the Miami,
Florida trial, presided over by Judge
J. W. Kehoe, Liberty Lobby was
found guilty of "damaging" Water-
J gate figure E. Howard Hunt Jr· and
--ordered- to pay $100,000 in- actual
damages and $550,000 in punitive
damages .
In a decision without comment, Judge
Kehoe denied all of Liberty Lobby's
post-trial motions which were: to dis-
miss for lack of jurisdiction, to amend
the judgment , for judgment notwith-
standing the verdict and for a new trial.
" Nothing ... persuades the court to
alter or amend the judgment in any
way," wrote Judge Kehoe in denying the
motions. Kehoe's expected denial was
filed on February 18 and received by
Liberty Lobby on February 25.
"This isn 't the end of the post trial
process ," Liberty Lobby General
Counsel Fleming Lee explained. "The
next step is the appeal."
Liberty Lobby is curr_e_n-.
tl-y......i_n_t.-
h_e _p-ro
- -- --=
cess of filing an appeaJ with the l lth
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in
Atlanta, Georgia.
A notice of appeal is being filed in
Miami, the site of the trial. A supporting
brief (explanation and argument) will be
fi led by Liberty Lobby at the appellate
court. Attorneys for Hunt will be given
an opportunily to file a brief arguing
against Liberty Lobby 's position, and
Liberty Lobby will answer Hunt's at-
torneys.
According to Lee, some of Lhe things
Liberty Lobby will point out in its ap-
peaJ include the argument that the ver-
dict was not in acco rdance with libel law
as interpreted by the Supreme Court.
Liberty Lobby will argue that the case
should never have gone to the jury in the
first place.
The basis of the suit by Hunt was a
story authored by Victo r Marchetti, a
former CIA operative, which was pub-
lished by The SPOTLIGHT. The story
alleged that the C IA planned to im-
plicace Hunt in the assassination of John
F. Kennedy.
There was absolutely no evidence that had never been accused of not telling the
Liberty Lobby knew or even thought truth. Instead, he was accused of telling
that the article was false . There was an too much of the truth."
equal lack of evidence that anyone at When the story had been published
Liberty Lobby had any doubts as to the and Hunt complained about it through
truth of the article. his attorney, Liberty Lobby wanted to
Liberty Lobby, in publishing the arti- be eminently fair, so it offered Hunt as
cle, accepted the word of its author, a much space in The SPOTLIGHT as he
high -ranking, 15-year veteran of the needed in order to tell his side of the
CIA who was nationally known for his story . He refused and elected to sue.
published works on the subject. While According to Lee, the appeals process
E. Howard Hunt testified in Miami that is often a long o ne, and he does not ex-- -
he had previously lied under oath, the peel an immediate answer from the
author of The SPOTLIGHT article court.
stood in high repute and had never been "Whatever decision is made by the
charged with anything other than blow- Appeals Court," Lee explained, "it will
ing the whistle on improper practices be based on the law, the facts as pre-
within the C IA. sented in the Miami trial and the de-
"As I argued in Miami," Lee said, cisions handed down by the jury and
"the author of The SPOTLIGHT a rticle Judge Kehoe." ~
...
•
I
I
HERALD Wednesday, May 7, 1980
Hunt Sues, Claims He's 'B(!in 'Fraffted'
By MARY VOBORIL
Herald Slaff Wrller
Saying the "eight-year agony of Water-
gate" is enough for any man to endure, Wa·
tergate burglar E. Howard Hunt filed a
multi-million dollar libel s uit Tuesday against
a "CIA renegade" he claims linked him to the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Hunt said Victor Marchetti, best known
for the book The CIA and Lite Cu/L of /11Lelli
gence. libeled him in the Aug. 14, 1978 issue
or Spotlight, a Washington weekly news-
ppper with a circulation of more tha n
200,000. . In a prepared statement, he said he "had
Marchetti's freelance 11tory was promoted
1
by a Page I banner headline that said, "CIA
to Nail Hunt for Kennedy Killing." A second
headline said, "CIA to 'Admit' Hunt Involve-
ment in Kennedy Slaying."
Marchetti's co-defendant is Llbnty Lobby.
which circulates Spotlight.
The suit asks for $3.5 million damages. It
was filed in U.S. District Coui·t in Miami.
"IT'S BECOME an article of faith that I
had some role in the Kennedy assassination,"
Hunt said during a news conference Tuesday.
•Assassination buffs, Nixon haters and others
"erected a frame and set me in it."
nothing whatsoever to do with and wus not
~
invo lved in any v a~ with any ullegPd co
sp1racy" to kill Kennedy or cover up t
crime .
"To prolong th eight-year agony of W
lergate" by plugg ng him into Kennedy co
spiracy theories " is unbearable." he said.
The former Cl careerist now Is trying
make a living by lecturing and writing. I
said he has suffered "a serious loss of
come" because of the allegations.
"Circulation of libels aod slanders c
cerning me have damaged me economica
by closing many doors m the publishing 1-
dustry and lecture circuit," Hunt said.
"NOBODY in hls right mind would w 1\t
to gi ve emplo)"ment to u man who might in
the least degree have had anything to do
with the assas~lnation of John F. Kennedy."
A related $2.5 million libel suit is pending
In Miami fede ral court before U S District
Judge Edward; Davis. The second suit names
different def1,>ndants, but the charges are •
similar: that lunt took part in what Ellis
Rubin, Hunt's attorney, calls "the mosr hei-
nous crime in he 20th Century."
Hunt said h won a JUdgment in yet a third
libel suit against Nationul rattler, a now-de-
funct tablqid, In a related Baltimore case. He
nt>ver colljJcted his money. He couldn't recall
how larf~ the judgment was. ( .
 · Watergate burglar de. ies assassination role
By ALICE KLEMENT
H"ald Staff Wrttl'r
Tales of clandestine CIA missions
unwound in Miami federal court
Tuesday as Watergate burglar E.
Howard Hunt attacked the publish-
ers of a weekly tabloid that he says
linked him to the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy.
Hunt, 63, is seeking $3.5 million
from Liberty Lobby for an allegedly
libelous 1978 article in its news-
• paper The Spotlight, under the
heaGllne "CIA to Nail Hunt for Ken-
nedy Killing."
In several hours or testimony
Tuesday, Hunt admitted his part in
the 1972 Watergate break-in that
toppled the Nixon presidency. But
he repeatedly denied any role in the
1963 Kennedy murder.
"'Just because he pleaded guilty
to Watergate doesn't give publish-
ers the license to accuse him of the
most heinous murder of the centu-
ry," Hunt's attorney. Ellis Rubin• which was investigating conspiracy ring him from wnung anything
told the jury in his opening slate• theories. about the agency without first
ment. Marchetti wrote that Hunt - clearing it with CIA officials. The
"We're not going to prove Hunt who has written 56 books, many of agency never exercised its censor·
was involved in a conspiracy to kill them about covert escapades - ship rights in the Spotlight article,
Kennedy. There is no question he was to be offered up as a scapegoat according to Liberty Lobby attor·
was not involved," countered Liber- to protect CIA clandestine efforts. neys.
ty Lobby's Miami attorney, Miles The target of Hunt's libel suit is Hunt's testimony Tuesday mark·
McGrane. "What the article said is Liberty Lobby, described by its ed his first court appearance since
he was going to be made a scape- lawyers in court as a "supporter of he pleaded guilty to Watergate-re-
goat by the CIA." patriotic causes," but previously lated charges in January 1973.
In a twist as bizarre as a spy characterized by the Anti-Defama- Now semi·retired in Miami, Hunt
novel. the legal dispute pits an ex- tion League as anti·Semitic and rac· served 33 months for his role in
CIA agent against another ex-CIA ist. wiretapping and burglarizing Dem·
agent over an alleged CIA plot. Filed in 1979, the suit alleges the ocratic National Headquarters in
The writer of the allegedly libel- CIA story was "flagrantly false and June 1972. He was released in early
ous article is Victor Marchetti, a maliciously written." Liberty 1977.
14-year CIA veteran who draws on Lobby published the article either '"P"!"!"'!!l!'li!lllll!l!~ll!l'!~-....-ml!I--.
his experience to write books and knowing the assertions were false
freelance stories. or recklessly disregarding whether
In his 1978 article, Marchetti they were true or false, according
claimed the CIA was going to link to the suit.
Hunt to the Kennedy assassination A book Marchetti wrote in the
in testimony before the House Se- mid· l970s prompted the CIA to go
lect Committee on Assassinations. to court and win an injunction bar·
Yal day dishes, ·dishes, and
,
Federal jury continues
Hunt libel deliberations·
By STEPHEN K. DOIG
Herald Slaff Writer
A Miami federal jury will con-
tinue this morning trying to decide
whether Watergate figure E.
Howard Hunt was libeled in 1978
by a Washington tabloid that
claimed Hunt was about to be
linked to the assassination of John
F. Kennedy.
The slx jury members deliberat·
ed for two hours Tuesday after-
noon before U.S. District Judge
James Kehoe sent them home to
start fresh in the morning.
Controversial defense attorney
Mark Lane, a vocal critic of the
various investigations into Kenne-
dy's murder, was at his thunder-
ous best in his final argument,
calling the jury a "people's com-
mission" investigating the assassi-
nation.
..You are going to tell your
grandchildren about this one,"
Lane told the jury. "You are a
piece of American history."
Lane reiterated the stream of
charges be had raised during the
seven-day trial: The investigations
were flawed, imponant facts were
covered up, Hunt is a confessed
perjurer, Hunt and the CIA hated
Kennedy, Hunt can't prove where
be was that day, Hunt's alibi
witnesses were CIA liars, and so
on.
"Why can't be leave us alone?"
Lane said loudly, pointing at Hunt.
"I don't mean my client. I mean Mark Lane: Calls jury a
us!" 'people's commiuion.'
After proclaiming the truth of
the article, printed ln the ultra- of Baltimore, in turn recalled the
conservative Liberty Lobby's testimony of ex-CIA employee
Spotlight tabloid, Lane hedged bis Victor Marchetti, who wrote the
bets by arguing that it was only article and who admitted on the
the author's opinion and predic· stand that his source was a
lions and hence not libelous even if Washington rumor told by a
utterly false. Penthouse columnist - who since
Hunt's lawyer, William Snyder has denied telling it to Marchetti.
•
 'Hunt-JFK article 'trash'
hut not libelous, jury finds
By STEPHEN K. DOIG
Herald S taff \Vriter
A 1978 tabloid article that
linked Watergate figure E. How-
ard Hunt to the murder of John F.
Kennedy was "sloppy" and
"trash" - but not libelous because
it was published without malice,
two of the jurors :ho decided
against Hunt said Wednesday.
"We were very disgusted and
felt it was trash," explained
Suzanne Reach, one of the six
jurors on the panel, about the
article in the ultra-conservative
Liberty Lobby's Spotlight tabloid.
"The paper published material
that was sloppy - but it wasn't
malicious.··
United Press fnternatiional
Hunt lost his case, according to
E. Howard Hunt leaves courthouse with bis Reach and a second juror who
attorney's secretary, Barbara Henler. refused to be identified, because
.' .
t
Hunt didn't demonstrate by clear
and convincing evidence that Lib-
erty Lobby president Willis Carto
had published the story with
"reckless disregard for the truth."
That legal standard for malice
must be met for a public figure
like Hunt to prove libel. U.S.
District Judgl! James Kehoe cold
the jurors before they began their
three-hour deUberation .
" It's a very high standard,"
Kevin Dunne, one of Hunt's attor-
neys, said afterwards.
Dunne said he will have to
confer with Hunt before decidi ng
whether to appeal the verdict.
A visibly dismayed Hunt refused
to comment and left the Miami
federal courthouse immediately
Please tum to HUNT I lOA
 Jury: Article linking
Hunt to JFK death
'trash,' not libelous
HUNT I from I A
after the verdict. ' .. . there's no doubt
Much of the seven-day trial was
spent on defense claims that Hunt,
in my mind that the
then a CIA agent, actually was in CIA was involved. And
Dallas and involved In a plot to kill
Kennedy. Hunt was a CIA
But Reach said the conspiracy agent.'
theories offered by defense attor-
ney Mark Lane were "absolutely Lawyer Mark Lane,
not" the reason for the verdict. on Kennedy assaSBination
"We were worried that our
verdict might give the wrong
Impression to the public," Reach
said. verdict against Liberty Lobby by
The second juror called the using largely the same evidence.
conspiracy theories "so much ex- But on appeal, the case was sent
traneous matter," but added that back for a new trial because of a
the trial was "a good lesson in faulty jury instruction.
American history." In the earlier trial. Liberty
A third juror refused to com- Lobby's first attorney had agreed
ment; the other three couldn't be that Hunt was in Washington.
reached. This time, Lane forced Hunt to try
Hunt sued Spotlight in 1980 for to prove that he wasn't in Dallas,
pdntlng the article, written by 21 years after the fact.
ex·CIA employee Victor Marchel· Through the second trial, Lane
ti. The article stated that the CIA defended Marchetti's article as
was about to "nail" Hunt for true. Afterwards, he backed off
involvement in Kennedy's murder only slightly from his strong
and that House investigators bad a closing-argument claims that Hunt
1966 internal CIA memo saying was involved in a plot.
that Hunt was in Dallas Nov. 22, "I don't know," Lane said when
1963. asked if he really believed that
On the stand, Marchetti admit· Hunt had anything to do with
ted that his lone original source Kennedy's death . "But there's no
for the story was a Washington doubt in my mind that the CIA
rumor he said he heard from was involved. And Hunt was a CIA
Penthouse columnist Bill Corson, agent."
who later denied talking to Mar· Lane, controversial author of a
chetti about the story. best-selling 1966 critique of the
Hunt testified that he was In Warren Commission Investigation
Wuhlngton that day. He produced Into Kennedy's murder, had called
three witnesses, all coworkers at the jury a "people's commission"
Hunt's CIA office, t<> back his to examine the facts behind Ken·
story. Lane, the nation's best· nedy's death. Actually, the jury
known conspiracy theorist, count· was presented only a tiny fraction
--erediJy<lrguing--that-CIA----employ--"-of ire=vohrm tac and
ees are "trained liars." testimony that have been gathered
The special House Assassina· in the two decades since the
tions Committee rejected the theo- assassination .
ry that Hunt or the CIA was part Even Lane, his owo strongest
of a Kennedy conspiracy, and said advocate, conceded that he hadn't
there was no evidence that the proved his theory of Hunt's role in
rumored memo - which wasn't a Kennedy plot.
produced at the Miami trial - "Based on the evidence they
actually existed. saw, he couldn't be convicted,"
In 1981, Hunt won a $650,0IYO Lane said. •
 Hunt den s he was in Dalla when JE
By STEPHEN K. DOIG cle accusing Hunt of being agreed each time Lane would read months in prison for his part In the
Herald Staff Writer olved in the assassination of a passage. White House conspiracy and cov-
In a long day of cross-examina- n F. Kennedy. Hunt was alter- "That was fal&e, and I knew It erup. .. ..
tion, defense attorney Mark Lane ly amused and angered as to be false at the time," Hunt said , The Plumbers were the group
got E. Howard e, author of a book challenging repeatedly Tuesday 1 of men who in 1972 wer~ caught
Hunt to ac- findings of the investigations · breaklng in to Democratic Party
k now ledge Kennedy's murder, rehashed a But Hunt, who now lives in headquarters In the Watergate, the
Tuesday what history that Hunt says Js long Miaml, pointed out that he finally crime that spawned the scandal
the nation has ndhim. recanted the lies, told the truth that forced President Nixon to
known for at wish I had never heard of about his activities with the infa· resign.
least a decade: rgate, and I wish I had never mous "Plumbers," and served 33 "This ls very embarrassing
that Hunt once employed by the White
was a career ," Hunt blurted at one point
• CIA agent and ne pressed him about his
he later took an Setting Iba Record Sbalgbt
active part in e, hoping to undermine
the Watergate s insistence that he knew I
conspiracy. g of the Kennedy snooting, A story in Tuesday's Herald lpcorrectly reported that E. How•d
It was Hunt's much of the day reading Hunt had testified in Miaml federjll court Monday that he once d
second day on anscripts of Hunt's testimo- discussed a plot to poison column~t Jack Anderson. Instead, opp g
the stand in Miami federal court in ng the early investigations lawyer Mark Lane told jurors a ut the poison plot in his op ng

,
his libel trial against the Liberty
Lobby, which published a 1978
e Watergate burglary. Key
rs were perjured, Hunt

~
'
statement. Hunt denles any parti pation In such a plot. The H Id
regrets the error.

;,I( was shot down
listen to that stuff_.'' Hunt said
with a nervous chuckle as Lane
described several "dirty tricks"
schemes proposed to Hunt by
fellow conspirator G. Gordon Lid·
dy.
One of the statements in the
article is that Hunt tried to
blackmail the CIA, with which he
served from 1949 to 1970. After
describing Hunt's demands for
payments from senior Nixon aides,
Lane tried to get Hunt to admit the
statement in the article was true.
But Hunt, though momentarily
flustered, then reminded Lane, and
the jury, that his demands were
made to the White House and not
the CIA.
Hunt also agreed with Lane that
while in the CIA he had conducted
psychological warfate operations
against communist regimes in
_........ • a
•
authnrit.v memhei' Les 'Feldman.
Cuba and Guatemala. Hunt added
that he had no personal knowl·
edge, however, of CIA plots to kill
Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
"You don't doubt that there
were such plans, do you?" Lane
asked. m•
101
Hunt smiled. "WeJI, I would ;,
have hoped there were such Cl
plans.'' on
Late Tuesday, Lane started
questioning Hunt about his activi· ha
ties the day Kennedy was shot.
Hunt testified again that he was in lt ~
Washington, shopping with his lit.I
wife and children, when he heard Je
of the assassination. Hunt's law-
eai
yers say they will offer witnesses
who wiJI testify having seen Hunt s
in Washington that day. nil
The trial, before U.S. District
Judge James Kehoe, is expected to
last through the week.
ia
p "'
res • •Ill!! aa a
 Libel award gave ex-ag_ent
something to cry about
KAREN PAYNE
Mloml Nows Reporter

Watergate conspirator E. How-

ard Hunt broke down and cried yes-
terday after a jury agreed that he
had been libeled by a newspaper ar-
ticle linking him to the assassina-
tion of President John F. Kennedy.
The federal jury awarded Hunt
$650,000 in damages for a 1978 ar-
ticle that appeared In Spotlight, a
weekly newspaper owned by Liber-
ty Lobby .
"I didn 't care if the verdict was
$10 or a million," said Hun t. "Noth·
ing really good, except my mar-
riage, has happened to me in the
last 10 years since Watergate."
The former CIA agent, who Ji ves
in Miami with his w ife, Laura, had
asked for $3.6 million from Liberty
Lobby. His attorney, Ellis Rubin,
said Hunt's income dropped by
$27,000 in the year after publica- E. Howard Hunt
tion of the Aug. 14, 1978 story,
headlined "CIA to Nail Hunt for a stern warnJng to others tempted
Kennedy Killing." to publish further libels against
The article was written for a fee me, " Hunt said.
or $500 by Victor Marchetti , anoth- Rubin said the jury "rejected
ER er former CIA agent. Marchetti was open season on Watergate bur-
not a defendant in the case. glars" and "agreed that Hunt's
Hunt said that by their verdict, name and reputation are just as val-
the jury indicated that " Watergate uable to him as anyone else."
is over" for him, and that he has Of the accusation of involvement
been punished enough for what he with Kennedy's assassination, Hunt
did I 0 years ago. Hunt served 33 said, "It has been a dreadful sen·
months in federal prison for his role tence to live under. standing
in the Watergate break-in. "The
findings or the jury should stand as Pie••• ••• HUNT, 9A I
 H ::\NT
-A!W
1 from 5A
ch~ with no way to prove my
innocence, accused of the murder of
President Kennedy . . . a heinous
crime. Someone not accused of it
can't understand what It was Uke
from day to day." He said when he
heard the verdict "I choked up . • . I
feel a great sense of relief.''
The Marchetti article quoted a
CIA memo as saylng the agency
..wm have to explain Hunt's pres-
ence in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 -
the day Presiden~ Kennedy was
killed."
Hunt testified that he was in
Washington when Kennedy was
shot and that he knew nothlng of
the assassination beforehand.
In closing arguments, Rubin said
the Marchetti article was written
with malice and in reckless disre-
gard of the truth. He sald the pub-
lisher refused to print a retraction
requested by Hunt.
Spotlight, which bas 300,000
subscribers, calls itself in each issue
" the paper you can trust" and
promises to "retract or correct any
meaningful error.''
Miami attorney Miies McGrane,
representing Liberty Lobby, argued
that the Spotlight article was not
written with malice toward Hunt
but rather "in the belief that the
CIA was out to get Mr. Hunt and
make him a sctpegoat." McGrane
said that Hunt "never supplied
(Spotlight) the Information for a
factual retraction."
McGrane said he has told his
clients that an appeal in the case
"would be well-taken" but said no
decision about an appeal has been
made.

•
'. /
9r.F =======COMMITTEE TO DEFEND LIBERTY LOBBY======== -
MARK THI S BALLOT AND RETU RN T O: LIBERTY LOBBY 300 Independence Ave ., SE Wash., 20003
D APPEAL. Take Mr. Hunt and his lawyers to the wall! If LIBERTY LOBBY has lo lake the case to the D
Supreme Court, I will suppo rt your defense 1000/o. To help with your appeal of the Miami verdict, here is my
contribution of:
D $500 D $250 0 $100 D $50 D $25 D OTHER $ _ _ _ __

D DO NOT APPEAL. I believe that LIBERTY LOBBY can find the resources 10 satisfy the Miami verdict. Do
no t risk the existence of LIBERTY LOBBY and the ultimate closing down of The SPOTLIGHT by .wasting
money in a no-win situation .
Please make checks payable to The Committee To Defend Liberty Lobby (COLL).
IF YOU HA VE ALREADY RESPONDED TO
OUR PREVIOUS A PPEAL, OUR SINCERE
MR. DYLAN ARCHIVES THANKS GO OUT TO YOU FOR YOUR
SU PPORT THAT YOU HAVE GI VEN US.
6 BLEECKER THE URGENCY OF OUR SITUATION DID 0
NEW YORK, NY 10012 NOT AFFORD THE T IME TO MAKE A
.....
COMPLETE ACCOUNTING OF ALL THE "'"'
REPLI ES WE HAVE RECE I VED AT THE
TIME T HI S COMM UN ICATION WAS
MAILED. ANY ADDITIONAL GIFT THAT
YOU SEND US WI LL BE APPRECIATED
s AT THIS T IME

WHY HAVEN'T I HEARD FROM YOU, MR . ARCH I VES ?

LIBEL JUDGMENT OF $650,000 RESULTING FROM E. HOWARD HUNT'S
LAWSUIT AGAINST LIBERTY LOBBY/THE SPOTLIGHT UPHELD.
APPEAL UNDER WAY. WILL TAKE CASE TO SUPREME COURT IF WE
HAVE TO.
FIRMLY BELIEVE APPEAL WILL BE SUCCESSFUL. CONFIDENT THIS
DEVASTATING JUDGMENT WILL BE REVERSED, BASED UPON CLEAR
PRECEDENT OF SUPREME COURT.

l~~~~~HT~~~RT~~slRb~8A~A~~p~~~~ ~~o~~~w~~e5HA~bl~l~~5~AL
NEWS. THAT'S WHY ESTABLISHMENT WANTS US SILENCED.

~~~~~E~~ l~s¥t~6~~a~ D~2~~~~Ssr~u~~~i!~~N~S. 0 UR GREAT

URGENTLY NEED YOUR SUPPORT
COMMITTEE TO DEFEND LIBERTY LOBBY FORMED. HUNT SUIT HAS
COST THOUSANDS. APPEAL will COST THOUSANDS MORE.
HONESTLY BELIEXIG~;R~&5Tu&~aro!t~fu~~8~~l uNcoNscioNABLY
FLORIDA DECISION WORST BLOW EVER DEALT LIBERTY LOBBY BY
LIBERAL ESTABllSHMENT. WE CANNOT AFFORD $650,QOO.
--~rt f-frER TY l 0 BB . WOUt:fi ~ B*NKR UP 'f I AiR€-E CtQ-S--Hv.;"
~r+r-------------
SPOT LIGHT.

~u~~c~r~~~G ~8~~o~~~RA~~HLY~~~T~sleB~~ 0 l~bG~~ AMERICAN

PATRIOT, FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS , OUR TIME OF CRISIS.
SHUTTING DOWN OF SPOTLIGHT will BE RESISTED WITH EVERY
EFFORT WE CAN MUSTER. THIS lS__A. LEGAL CHALLENGE Of OUR
BASIC RIGHTS PROTECTED BY THE kUNSTITUTION.
HARD TO BELIEVE CONVICTED CRIMINAL FROM"WATERGATEUMIGHT
BRING OUR INSTITUTION TO A HALT. HE MUST NOT. WITH YOUR
SUPPORT, LIBERTY ~OBBY WILL SURVIVE.
LIBERTY LOBBY STANDS FIRM ON PROTECTING AMERICA'S BORDERS
FROM COMMUNIST AGGRESSION. OUR EFFECTIVE WORK ON CRITICAL
LEGISLATION, INCLUDING STOPPING THE GENOCIDE TREATY, TAX
REFORM, EXPOSING THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM AND TRILATER-
ALI STS WILL END IF WE ARE FORCED TO CLOSE OUR DOORS.

MOST URGENTLY YOURS,

~ 04/ 26/82 ROBERT M. BARTELL
 Writer admits he used JFK ·'rumors'
Author and ex-CIA employee Victor Marchetti
admitted Friday that key parts of his 1978 article
linking E. Howard Hunt With a conspiracy to kill
John F. Kennedy were based almost solely on
Washington rumors Marchetti said he heard from a
Penthouse magazine columnist.
The columnist, Bill Corson, later denied in a sworn
deposition even talking about the rumors with
Marchetti.
''I had no corroboration of Corson's story ... ,"
Marchetti testified, but added that he knew two other
reporters who were checking into the same story.
Hunt is in the middle of a libel suit against the
ultra-conservative Liberty Lobby, publisher of The
•
Spotlight tabloid that printed Marchetti's article.
In an story headlined "CIA to Nail Hunt For
Kennedy Killing," Marchetti wrote that a House
investigations committee had received a 1966 internal
CIA memo discussing Hunt's supposed presence in
Dallas the day Kennedy died.
The committee later reported that no such memo
had been received, and dismissed theories of Hunt's
involvement in a Kennedy plot.
Hunt, who was never called by Marchetti for
comment before the article ran, has denied being in
Dallas then and has produced witnesses who say he
was in Washington that day .
 .... - -- ··----- - -
~ J¥>ward Hunt
:;,?ins $650,000
~: libel verdict
le
'a By ALICE KLEMENT
" Herald Staff Writer
1e After less than two hours' delib·
)f eration, a Miami federal court jury
Thursday awarded a $650,000 libel
IA judgment to Watergate conspirator
E. Howard Hunt.
The jury of four men and two
women found that Liberty Lobby, a
Washington-based political organi·
zation, published an article linking ...'
Hunt to the assassination of Presi·
n dent John Kennedy with reckless
disregard for the truth.
The verdict calls for Liberty
\i...Lobby to pay Hunt $100,000 as
• 'llpensation for damages the 1978
·., caused him, and $550,000 as

~ JP/ease tum to HUNT 127A

I

•
 •

oi Herald I F1iday, Dec. 18, t9Sl ooo• .. . ..

- /

Hullt awarded $651

day Kennedy was shot. "He (Hunt]
BUNT /From lA was not involved," McGrane de-
punishment for having published it. clared.
As the verdict was announced, While admitting that the article
Hunt broke into tears, stood to re- might have been "a little blt glar-
gain his composure, and hugged his ing" and "a little bit blaring," Mc-
attorney, Ellis Rubin. Grane told the jury:
. After several deep breaths, the "The main thrust of the article
63-year-old Miamian would say was to tell readers that the CIA was
only: "It's very appropriate. I'm at it again, and that Hunt was going
pleased. This ends a long struggle to to be a scapegoat."
regain my name." In a pre-trial deposition, Spot-
But Willis Carto, Liberty Lobby light editor Tucker maintained the
treasurer, called the verdict "pre- organization did Hunt a favor by
posterous," and said the organiza- publishing the article to expose
tion would appeal. agency attempts to victimize Hunt,
Its attorney, Miles McGrane, himself a former CIA agenL
r· called the ruling "unexpected," and Hunt's attorney, however, at·
". said he found It "very surprising tacked those claims as "ludicrow
I
.. There are, McGrane said, "amplP.
grounds for any appeal."
1•
that the jury found actual malice." S'lll-----l!ll!P."""°"...,.~
5306115 0
v' ""'
James Tucker, managing e<L. r:·
of The Spotlight, the Liberty Lou I
by's weekly tab-
loid where the '
article appeared,
said he was
"shocked."
"I fail to see
how they found
any malice what-
soever in what I
did," said Tuck·
er.
In his original
filing in 1979,
:J:1~:ught $~~ Hunt
though $3.3 million was mentioned
in his attorney's closing arguments-
- from the self-described "patriot-
ic" organization for an article head·
lined, CIA to Nail Hunt for Kennedy
Killing.
The article, written by ex-CIA
Agent Vincent Marchetti, alleged
the agency was scheming to depict ii:i
Hunt as an assassination conspira· 11
tor before the House Select Com·
mittee on Assassinations.
No such testimony was ever pre-
sented. Hunt claimed the Spotlight
article recklessly linked him to the
assassination.
In closing statements Thursday,
Rubin portrayed Hunt as "an honor-
able man" struggling to come back
from the Watergate incident.
"He's sick and tired of being a
target," Rubin said. "Every time
some publicity like this occurs, he
goes down and down. He's just try-
ing to work his way up again."
Liberty Lobby attorney McGrane
had told the jury he was not out to
Dl'.OVP th:it Hunt Wll~ in n11lfllf; thP

------------------------------------------------------------
- 0,000 libel verdict
and arrogant."
Rubin sought to prove malice on
Spotlight's part by presenting eili-
dence that the publishers failed to
confirm assertions the article made,
refused to retract those claims
when requested, and made changes
in the manuscript without consult-
ing the author.
In asking for $300,000 compensa-
tory damages, Rubin contended that
Hunt's income, largely from lec-
tures, plummeted from $798,000 in
1977 to $21,000 in 1979, after the
article appeared.
McGrane, however, asked jurors
to read the controversial article
carefully. "I can't rant or rave," he
said. "I can't come to tears. But
us
0
]'
•
~~
&~ - -
~
please put on blinders to emotion.
There simply is no evidence of actu-
al malice."
Hunt pleaded guilty to wiretap-
ping and conspiracy charges stem-
ming from the 1972 break-In at the
Democratic National Headquarters
in Washington. He served 33
months in prison, and was released
in 1977.
Hunt has a second libel suit pend-
ing in federal court in Miami. Filed
in 1976, the suit attacks as libelous
a book entitled, Coup d'Etat in
America, and makes many of the
same allegations as The Sp<:rtlight
was held to have made about Hunt's
role In a Kennedy assassination con-
spiracy.
---
 •

Libel trial resurrects JFI( co spi acy theory \

By STEPHEN K. DOIG pressure group that publishes a weekly ennedy died. hey couldn't produce the
Herald Staff Writer tabloid called The Spotlight. emo. And the efended Marchetti's article
Mark Lane, celebrity lawyer and conspir- In 1978, The Spotlight - which bills itself s just a Warnin to Hunt that the CIA was
acy enthusiast, will ask a Miami federal jury as "The Paper You Can Trust" - published ing to make m a scapegoat.
Monday to decide that E. Howard Hunt, an article by former CIA agent Victor The Jury didn buy it and awarded Hunt
formerly of Watergate and CIA fame, was Marchetti, which among other claims cited a 50,000. But appeal, a retrial was
personally involved in the assassination of 1966 CIA memo that purportedly said Hunt o lered because a flawed jury instruction.
President John F. Kennedy in Dallas 21 years was in Dallas that day and suggested he had This time, ib r&y Lobby has hired Lane,
ago a role in Kennedy's mur4er. a or of the l 6 best seller Rush to
Pure twaddle, retort llunt and his law- Hunt, who spent 33 rIJOnt hs in prison for J ·•ment, which lambasted the Warren
yers the Watergate burglaryj sued the Liberty Co mission lnves atlon or Kennedy's mur·
The trial, to be heard this week by U.S. Lobby for libel. de Lane'J e nth lasm for charging the
District Judge James Kehoe, is a replay of At the 1981 trial, Liberty Lobby attorneys go nment with a ariety of unsavory plots
Hunt's 1980 lawsuit against the Washing· conceded that Hunt could present witnesses
Hunt ton-based Liberty Lobby, an ultraright to prove he was in Washington the day lease tum to HUNT I 3B
cr \I\

j • I
.'
 Howard Hunt trial
resurrects JF.(
conspiracy theory
HUNT /from lB
long since has made him a folk
' hero among conspiracy hobbyists.
lo the late 1970s, Lane defended
James Earl Ray, the convicted
killer of Martin Luther King Jr.,
on the theory that King was killed
by the FBI. His allegations were
unproven.
From there, Lane went on in
1978 to represent Jim Jones and
the People's Temple. After the
Guyana tragedy, Lane accused a
variety of government agencies of
conspiring to drive Jones and his
followers to commit mass suicide.
Again, the allegations were un-
proven; . .
Lanes lat.est forum. is the L1ber-
ty Lobby trial. And his defense, he
says. wtl!, be. to ~rov~he truth of
M~ch.etti s story· . vey Oswald and several an - -
. Thts case. will ~~ tned very
~tffer.~ntly t~ts time, Lane prom-
1ses. ~~st time, the d~fense w~s
apologizing f~_r the article. That s
not my style.
It certainly isn't, agree Hunt's
Baltimore- based lawyers, William
Snyder and Kevin Dunne.
Last year, w hen Liberty Lobby
told Kehoe that it wanted Lane to
defend it, Snyder and Dunne
protested on the argument that
Lane would turn the trial into a
"Roman circus" of conspiracy
theories. They attached a sheaf of
newspaper and magazine clippings
criticizing Lane for making spec-
tacular, scattershot accusations
that can't be proved. One 1979
Esquire piece said Lane has only
two motives: profit andneadllnes.
Even so, Kehoe finally agreed
that Liberty L-0bby could hire
whomever it liked to defend it.
And Lane, who underwent a
quintuple heart bypass operation
last summer shortly before the
trial first was scheduled to begin,
now is ready to defend in full
Mark Lane fervor.
-~-----------~~~
"The Kennedy assassination is
an unfinished piece of American
history, and we may have a
conclusion in this case," he says.
"We intend to present evidence
regarding the role of the CIA
relative to the assassination of
Kennedy."
Lane's star testimony, he indi-
cates, will come from Marita
Lorenz, a one-time mistress of
Fidel Castro who later was sent by
the CIA back to Cuba to assassi-
nate him. That plot supposedly
failed because her poison capsules
accidentally dissolved in the cold
cream jar in which they were
hidden.
According to J4me, Lorenz says
she drove from Miami to Dallas
the day before Kennedy's death in
_ a_two-_ca caravan with Lee Har-
.,.·
tro Cubans, including Frank Stur-
gis, who also would later become
a Watergate burglar. In Dallas,
Lorenz supposedly met Hunt that
day
·
Dunne says that Lorenz's story
simply is incredible.
"For instance, she claims she
first met Oswald in 1961 in
Florida before the Bay of Pigs
invasion," Dunne says. "Well, all
the evidence shows that Oswald
was in Russia from 1959 to 1962."
Such contradictions, and the
two-decade history of investiga-
tions that have discounted any CIA
involvement in Kennedy's death,
don't make Lane waver.
"We'll get right in the heart of
the Kennedy assassination," he
says with evident relish.
As for Dunne and Snyder, they
just plan to prove that Marchetti's
memo is mythical and that E.
Howard Hunt was 1.200 miles
away from Dallas the day Kenne-
dy died.
"We'll let the jury decide,"
Dunne says.
--
 •

~.:.til'OTLIGH'I' AulJUlll 14 , 197K

CIA to 'Admit' Hunt InvolveBy Victor Marchetti

A few months ago, in March, there was a meeting at CIA headqu arters in
Langley, Va., the plush home of America 's s uper spooks overlooking the
Potomac River. It was a ttended by severa l high-level clandestine officers
and some form er top officials of the agency.
The topic of discussion was: Wh a t to do a bout recen t revela tions
associating Pres ident Kennedy's accused assassin , Lee 1lurvey Oswald,
with th e s py ~ame played between the Ll.S. an d the LISS lf ! (8 J>OTLJGI IT,
May 8, HJ7~. ) A decision was m adP, a nd a course of action deter mined. Th ey
were cakuln tcd to both fascinate a nc.1 confust• t he pu blic by s taging a clevPr
"limited ha ngo ut" when the House Specia l Comm ittee on Assassin a tions
(llSCA) holds its open hearings, beg-innin g la ter this month .
A " limited hango ut" is spy ja rg on for u fu von tc uncl frequently used
gimmick of the clandestine professiona ls. When thei r veil of secrecy is
shredded a nd they can no longer rely on a phon y cover story to misinform
the public, they resort to a dmitting-sometimes even volunteering-some
of the tr uth wh ile still ma n aging to withho ld the key a nd d a maging facts in
the case. The public, however , is us ua lly so intri g ued by the ne w
informa tion that it never thinks to pursue the m utter further.

<·m·t·r up , allwit a sophis tl l'alt·d on<.',

d t·~ i g 1wd h\' tlw(' I/\ \dth tlwassis tnnt·e
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~~~~---'='~.._~~~~~..-£,,C-.~J.-~~---·~~--l-_..~w..._1...-.-L 1 ~--...-~~~~--~~---·------~~.- --.....__--~~--..
 •
ent in Kennedy Slaying
CIA is out to accomplish through HSCA
with regard io JFK's murder.
THEY'LL HANG H UNT
Chief among those to be exposed by
the new invei:iligation will be K Howard
Hunt, of Watergate fume. llis luck has
run out, and the ( 'JA has decided to
sucrifice him to protect, its clandestine
services. The agenc.v it' furi o us with
I lunt for ha ving dragged it publicly into
the Nixon mess and for having black·
mailed it after he was arrested.
Besides, Hunt is vulnerable-an easy *
-~
.:.
target, as they s uy in the spy business.
His reputation and integrity have been
destroyed. The death of his wife, Dor·
othy, in a mysterious plane crash in
Chicago still disturbs many people,
especially since there were rumors from
informed sources that she was about to
leave him and (11!rhaps even turn on
him.
In addition it is well known that Hunt
hated JFK and blamed him for the Bay
of Pigs disaster. And now, in recent
months, his alibi for his whereabouts on
the day of the shooting has come FRANK STURGIS
unstuck. authors of ··coup d'etat In America,"
ln the public hearings, the CIA will
publis hed pictures of three apparent
"admit'' that Hunt was involved in the
bums who were arrested at Dealy Plaza
conspiracy to kill Kennedy. The CIA
just after President Kennedy's murder,
may go so far as to "admit" that there
but who were strangely released without
were three gunmen shooting at Ken-
any record of the arrest having been
nedy. The FBI, while publicly embrac·
made by the Dallas police. One of the
ing the Warren Commission's "one man,
tramps the authors identified as Hunt.
acting alone" conclusion, has always
Another was Frank Sturgii:;, a long-time
privately known that there were ihree
agent of Hunt's.
gunmen . 'l'he conspiracy involved many
Hunt immediately sued for millions of
more people than the ones who actually
dollars in damages, claiming he could
fired at Kennl:'dy, both agencies may
prove that he had been in Washington,
now admit. l>.C., thatduy-ondutyatClA. ltturned
-----------~--touuu,t>J.l!
however, that this wai; not true. So,
' '
doing household errands, including a
shopping trip to a g rocery store in
Chinatown.
Wehcrman a nd Canfield investigated
the new a libi a nd found that the grocery
s tore where lluntcla imed to be shopping
never exis ted. At this point, Hunt offered
to drop his suit for a token payment of
o n e do ll a r . Hut th e authors wer e
determi ned tu vindicate themselves, und
t hey con tinued to attack Hunt's alibi ,
ultima tely complett•ly s hattering it.
Now, the CIA moved to finger 11 uni
and tie him to lhe JFK assassination.
HSCA un expectedly received an inter-
na l CIA memorandum a few wecki:; ugo
that the agency just happened to
stumble a cross in its old filei:;. It was
dated 1966 and said in essence: Some
day we will have to expla in Hunt's
presence in Dallas on November 22,
1963-the day President Kennedy was
killed. Hunt is going to be hard put to
explain this memo, and other things,
before the TV cameras at the HSCA
hearings.
Hunt's reputation as a strident,
fanatical anti-communist will count
against him. So will his long and
close relation:ship with the anti-Castro
Cuban s, as we ll as his penchant
for clandestine dirty tricks and his
various capers while one of Nixon's
plumbers. K Howard Hunt will be
implicated in the conspiracy, and he will
not dare to speak out-the CIA will see to
that.
In addition to Hunt and Sturgis,
another former CIA agent mnrked for
expm;ure is Gerry Patrick Hemming, a
hu lk of a ma n-six feet ei~ht inches tall
and weighing :Ui() pounds. Like Sturgis,
..a.e:11-.U..o Q nrl J~ l)t'nmin U" n Mt •A U.11\t"L- uf'l f ,...,. f' ~t.•f .., ,
1wo·r1.1mn Ausua& 14, 111111-5
(Victor March c•tti has been in
U.S. intelliJ,fellc'' actiuities for
almost 20 years. J.I years of that
time bein/,f urith the CIA , the last
thrC'e years of u•hwh he was a
::;laff assistant tu Richard Helms.
He is the author of " The CIA and
the Cult uf lrttellixence " and " Th e
Rupe Dancer. "J
CIA double agent, then later surfa<;ed
with the anti-Castro Cubans in vari,bus
attempts to rid Cuba of the communist
dictator. But there are two things in
Hemming's past that the CIA, manip·
ulating HSCA, will be able to use to tie
him to the Jl''K assassination . '
f<'irst, Castro' s former mistrq1:1s,
Marita Lorenz (now an anti-<Jast~oite
herself), has identified Hemming, along
with Oswald and others as beingjartof
the secret squad assign ep 1.o kill
President Kennedy. And secondly,
Hemming was Oswald's~~'ine ser-
geant when he was statio d a t the
CIA's U·2 base in Atsugi, Ju n-where
Oswald supposedly was r uited as a
spy by the Soviets, or was eing traint•d
to be a double agent by tb CIA.
In any event, Hema\ing's Cuban
career and his connectiu'h with Oswald
ma ke the Lorenz story difficult fo r him
to deny. particularly sinae the squad
• 11 1 .,, . .. (0t~ntlnued on na.re 8)
 •

CIA to 'Admit' Hunt Involve

By Victor Marchetti
A few months ago, in March, there was a meeting at CIA headquarters in
Langley, Va., the plush home of America's super spooks overlooking the
Potomac River. It was attended by several high-level clandestine officers
and some former top officials of the age ncy.
The topic of discussion was: What to d o about recent revelations
associaling President Kennedy's accused ussassin , Lee I larvey Os wuld,
with the spy game played between the U.S. and th e USS If? (Sl'OTLIGI IT,
May 8, HJ78.) A decision was mndt', and u eourse of action determined. Th ey
were calculated to both fascin a te a nd confusp th e public by staging a c:lcver
·'limited hangout" wh en the lloui:;c Special Committee on Assass ina tions
(ll8CA) holds its open h earing~ , bcg-inninl{ later lhis mon th.
A "limited hangout" is spy jargon for a favorite and frequentl y used
gimmick of the clandestine professionals. When their veil of secrecy is
shredded and they can no longer rely on a phony cover story to misinform
the public, they resort to admitting-sometimes even volunteering-some
of the truth while still managing to withhold the key and damaging facts in
the ca!:le. The public, however, ii:! usually so intrigued by the new
information that it never thinks to pursue the matter further.

c·ovl•rup, alht·it a ::;ophi:stkatc•d ont:, ul a ted - tlw ( ' h ur<'h ( 'om m1tl ":-; 1 •!:i·
d N.; i ~ lll•d hv t lw C l A \\it h th e uss ist atH"l' ti gn t1o n o lt wo.\ t•a rs ug"o. l'ht l"llll• i1t1cc
But on c e a g;\i n 1hl' g o(ld folk s 11f uf1lw Fiil ;ind llH' bl t•si-in g- o fth l· t'nrt cl" lc·u n wd 11 11thi ng 111on· a lt~ 1ut the• Ht•!;<H-!·
m1rldll· .\nw111·.1 "i ll ht· hrn1d \\ inkc·d 1,,. 0 arl mi 11 is t r;i I ion. si rial ions nl fon·1gn l1•<1cll· rs i 11 H II cl1 u.cr
Llw go\ t'l" ll lll t 111 ,111d 11,.. tl J1t•:-- Il l th 1· Jll"<>,ff.1111>' Ill tlw pc IHll"Hti111i;1111h1 lll\\S
t•:-;1a h li,., h 1111•111 111 \\ ... 1ll 1·rl11 1 I 11 ··w 1, "c• lll<'drn th.111 th• 1 f.\ .tll "' d JI ''
Libel Law's Delicate Balance
HE LIBERTY Lobby is a right-wing,
T Washington-based organization
that publishes an extremist anti-Se-
mitic weekly called The Spotlight. As
distasteful as the publication is, it is as
entitled to First Amendment protection
as any other. What it manifestly is not
entitled to do with impunity is to libel
people.
The Spotlight libeled Watergate figure
E. Howard Hunt by publishing an article
falsely linking him with the assassina:...
rtoe-Of President John F. Kennedy. The
paper failed to verify the article's allega-.
tions, and it refused to priint a retrac-
tion. Mr. Hunt sued. - ~
~ Federal-court jury in Miami proper-
ly has decided that the newspaper thus
exhibited such wanton disregard of the
accepted standards of journalism as to
constitute '.!actual malice," a legal hurdle
that public figures must overcome to
win a libel suit.
Mr. Hunt has been awarded $650,000
in damages. The Liberty Lobby will ap-
peal. A higher court yiay reduce the
monetary award, but it will not likely
diminish the vindication of Mr. Hunt.
The verdict also vindicates the fragile
balance that has been achieved in libel
law. In order to promote vigorous di~
cussion of public issues, courts permit
publications to say things about public
figures that would be libelous if said
about a private person.
As Mr. H-w+Cs. case shows, however,
some recour.se rem · a
not been effectively abolished as it ap-
plies to public figures, as some of the
press's critics· have alleged.
Rather. an exacting standard has been
established under which public figures
who've been libeled can obtain justice.
Such an outcome is salutary. It should
help deflect outright attacks on the First
Amendment by persons who say that
pub1ic officials have no recourse when
libeled. It should remind all who publish
that the law confers on them no special
-
license for character assassination.
 ••
------· --- ··-----

~~ward Hunt
..

nt

:; ·ns S6so,ooo
le
r: libel verdict
'a By ALICE KLEMENT
Herald Scaff Writer

Je After less than two hours' delib.

)f eration, a Miami federal court Jury
Thursday awarded a $650,0oo libel
IA judgment to Watergate conspirator
E. Howard Hunt.
The jury of four men and two
Women found that Liberty Lobby, a
Washington-based political organi-
zation, PUbiished an article linking
Hunt to the assassination of Pres;.
n dent John Kennedy With reckless
disregard for the truth.
\ The verdict calls for Liberty
\fobby to pay Hunt $100,ooo as
y 'llpensation for damages the 1978
· ... caused hirn, and $550,000 as
!'- ,
; ~Please tum to HUNT I 27A
 I ····-.
~ 10,auo...
..., •

I H~ s~s, 1!UR .att, rney afier v~~di~

HUNT I From lA tempts to victimize Hunt, himself a contended that Hunt's income from blinder~ to emotion. There simply is
former CIA agent. lectures and book contracts plum· no evidence of actual malice."
"preposterous" and sald his organi · "We don't want favors. We meted from $79,000 In 1977 to $21,-
zatlon would appeal. want justice," retorted Hunt's attor-~ 000 In 1979, after the article ap- Hunt pleaded guilty to wire-
lts attorney, Miles McGrane ney, as he attacked such claims as ~ peared. tappln~ and conspiracy charges
called the ruling "unexpected," and "ludicrous and arrogant." _ Liberty Lobby may be hard· stemmlpg from the 1972 break-In at

~
said he thought It "very surprising Because he Is a public figure,
that the jury round actuJl! malice." " Hunt had to prove the article was
There are. McGrane i;a1d, "ample If published maliciously. At trial, his
arounds for any appeal." attorney presented evidence that
James Tucker, managing edi· The Spotlight's p~bllshers faHed '°'J
tor of The Spotlight, the Liberty clleck assertlQ!lS in the article, re
Lobby's weekly tabloid where the tusecrfo mrna retraction when re..
article appeared, said he was quested, and made changes In the
pressed to pay the $650,000 total the DeJP.ocratlc National Headquar·
award. Although Rubin claimed the ters in Washington. He served 33
organization reported total J 980 as· months In prison, and was released
sets of $9.6 million, defense attor· in 1977.
ney McGrane placed the group's net ./' He currently has a second libel
000. · t
worth between $400,000 and $500.· suit pending In Miami federal court
Filed In 1976, the suit attacks the
In a brief closing statement, authors of the book Coup d'Etat in
1

"shocked." manuscript without consulting the McGrane asked jurors to read the AmeriC'1 - cited by Marchetti in
"I fail to see how they found , author. . . controversial article carefully. "I The SpQtlight artJcle - for alleged·

~
•
I
I
I any malice whatsoever in what t
did,' said Tucker.

HuntInsought
a complaint filed from
$3.5 million in 1979,
the
self-described "patriotic" organlza·
Rubin asked the JUry for $300,•
000 compensatory damages. H
can't rant or rave," he said. "l can't ly libeling Hunt by linking him to
come to tears. But please put on the 1963 Kennedy assassination .
IRiia!;;zmm~·~m~E$~~!B§s~miiiiii;iiZ!iiiinmii!E~ssii~;:;;:~~~
tion for an article headlined, "CIA
to Nall Hunt for Kenned}I Killing."
In closing arguments, $3.3 million
was mentioned.
The article, written by ex-CIA
agent Victor Marchetti, reported
that "the agency was scheming to

I
depict Hunt as an assassination con·
1 splrator before the House Select
Committee on Assassinations.
Marchetti wrote that the CIA
was planning to treat the congres-
sional probe of the Kennedy murder
to a "limited hangout," described as
"a favorite and frequently used
gimmick" in which "clandestine
professionals" admit "some of the
truth while still managing to with·
hold the key and damaging facts in
the case."
The CIA, the article reported,
"is furious with Hunt fof having
dragged It publicly Into the Nixon 1
mess and for having blackmailed It
after he was arrested."
"1 ~ tb.. nubile J
 .
ACCOHllUi;;l.Y, .
hearing&. the ClA will 'admit' that 1"'111-~

• cy toIn killa Kennedy." =-=

bOOk entitled Coup d'Etal \
in America, Marchetti wrote, pho·
tos appeared of "three apparent

I
bums" arrested near the site of
J Kennedy's shooting after the inci·
'.) 1 dent, one of whom the bOOk's ali·
..J
u... thors identified as Hunt.
, Noting that Hunt was suing
the authors tor libel and claimed he
was in Washington the day Kenne·
dy was shot, Marchetti wrote: "lt
turned out, however. that this was
\ not true."
Referring to "an internal CIA
memorandum," Marchetti wrote:
"lt was dated 1966 and said in
essence:
"Some day we will have to ex·
plain Hunt's presence in Dallas on
Nov. 22, 1963 - the day President
Kennedy was killed. Hunt is going
to be hard put to explain this memo. ·
and other things, before the TV
cameras at the HSCA hearings."
No testunony \ike that predict· I
ed by Marchetti was ever presented
to the assassinations committee.
Hunt claimed The Spotlight article . f
rec~lessly linked him to the assassi·
cos
day. Rubin portrayed Hunt as "an 1
Mnorable man" strugg\ing to come
back from the Watergate incjdent. 1
"He's sick and tired of being a
target," Rubin said. "Every time \
some publicity like this occurs. he
goes down and down. He's just try·
· ing to work his way up again."
Liberty Lobby attorney Mc·
Grane had told the jury he was not
out to prove that Hunt was in Dal·
las the day KennedY was shot. "He
lHunt1 was not involved." McGrane
declared.
While admitting that the arti·
cle might have been "a little bit ·
glaring" and "a little bit blaring,"
McGrane told the jury: •
"The main thrust of the article
was to tell readers that the ClA was
at it again, and that Hunt was going
to be a scapegoat."
1n a deposition read at the tnal,
spo\Ulht eQttor Tucker claimed the I
tabloid did Hunt a favor by publiSh·
ing the article to expose agency at·
l
FBI arrests