A new documentary alleges that a Secret Serviceagent was the second (and accidental) shooter in the assassination of JohnF. Kennedy.
At the TelevisionCriticsAssociation presstour in Los Angeleson Sunday, producersand investigatorsbehind Reelz Channel's new documentary "JFK: TheSmoking Gun" made theclaim that George Hickey, a Secret Service agent riding inthe car behind Kennedy, accidentally shot the president on Nov. 22, 1963. The filmfollowsveteran police detective Colin McLaren in hisfour-year investigation of the assassination and pointsat Hickey, who died two yearsago.
McLaren's research built on the work of Howard Donahue, who spent 20 yearsstudying the assassinationand had hisfindings documented in Bonar Menninger’s book Mortal Error: The Shot That Killed JFK. McLaren and Menninger wereon hand Sunday to take questionsabout their film, which the network billed in pressnotesas a "docudrama."
Addressing thecrowd, McLaren claimed that Hickey and other Secret Serviceagentswere out partying the night beforeKennedy's fatal motorcade drive through Dallas. Based onhis painstaking investigation, McLaren said, evidence suggestsHickey wasnot qualified to use the weapon he was holdingthe morning of the shooting.
"It washisfirst timein thefollow car, his first time holding the assault weapon he was using," McLaren said. Producerssaid the film's theory is that shotsrangout, and Hickey grabbed his weapon to return fire. When hiscar stopped suddenly, Hickey accidentally discharged hisweapon -- making him the second shooter, the film's investigatorsand producers alleged.
McLaren said he believesthat Hickey's weapon had hollow-point rounds -- different fromthe ammunition for the weaponused by Lee Harvey Oswald, whom the Warren Commission declared in 1964 was thelone gunmanin the case. Menninger and McLarensaid that based on their review of the forensicsin the case, they believe that Kennedy was also struck by a hollow-point round.
Oswald waskilled before he could stand trial, but the case has continued to inspirevarious theoriesaround just how the tragedy occurred. Booksand films have advanced different ideas--including a second shooter theory.
"We're not saying thiswas intentional," Menninger said Sunday. "Thiswasa tragic accident in the heat of themoment."
"We don't suggest he was in any way involved in a conspiracy," Menninger added.
Donahuewroteabout his theory decadesago, but McLaren said it's taken decades-- and therelease of thousands of JFK-related documentsduring the Clinton administration -- for a proper review of all the evidence and information related to the case. The authorsacknowledged Sunday that there aremany other booksand filmson theassassination, but said theirsisunique because it is based on a new review of the documents released during the 1990s.
McLaren and Menninger also alleged that the government --including Robert F. Kennedy --covered up the involvement of the Secret Serviceand Hickey.
Theproducerswere pressed on how the alleged involvement of the Secret Servicecould becovered up for 50 years.
"Nobody wasgoing to gain" from having thisout there, Menninger said.
"We're not here to blackenthe name" of Hickey or any other individual, or the modern-day Secret Service, McLaren said.
Menninger discussed the fact that hewassued by Hickey in the1990s, but noted that despitea settlement, his publisher never removed his book from the shelves.
"I'msurethat [Hickey] suffered greatly from this," Menninger said. "The fact that hepassed on--maybe it'stime to talk about it."
"Our documentary isgoing to be the only onethat hasopened the case forensically and looked at the evidence fromthe beginning and examined everything that happened that day in Dealey Plaza," Michael Prupas, thefilm's executive director, said.
Reelz Channel gained notice two yearsago for airing the miniseries "The Kennedys," whichsome historical experts criticized as an unflattering portrayal of thefamily.
"No other network will touch these things," Reelz's CEO Stanley E. Hubbard said Sunday.
Thedocumentary is set to air on Nov. 3, 2013, according to a press release.
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