Though the committee aimed to allay “fears, theories, suspicions, and rumors” surrounding the two assassinations, by 1979 it concluded that conspiracies might have been responsible for both. Ruling out federal or foreign government involvement, the committee cited failings of the Department of Justice, intelligence agencies, and Secret Service. The investigation, criticized for accepting some faulty evidence, left many questions unanswered.
Law Library of Congress, Library of Congress
Report, Together with Additional and Supplemental Views, of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1976
The Kennedy and King Assassinations
The assassinations of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 galvanized the nation. A 1964 presidential commission report on the Kennedy murder failed to satisfy the public, and questions lingered about the King assassination. To bring closure to these tragedies, Representatives Thomas Downing of Virginia and Henry B. González of Texas, along with the Congressional Black Caucus, pressed for new investigations of both assassinations. In 1976 the House established the Select Committee on Assassinations.
Assassination is more than a deadly assault: It is an attack on the foundations of democracy . . . ; it undermines the political system . . . ; it produces fear among the citizenry
House Select Committee on Assassinations, Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, 1979
Though the committee aimed to allay “fears, theories, suspicions, and rumors” surrounding the two assassinations, by 1979 it concluded that conspiracies might have been responsible for both. Ruling out federal or foreign government involvement, the committee cited failings of the Department of Justice, intelligence agencies, and Secret Service. The investigation, criticized for accepting some faulty evidence, left many questions unanswered.
Law Library of Congress, Library of Congress
