Geraldo Rivera on Airing the Zapruder Film and JFK Assassination Theories

Procuring the Zapruder Film

• 💡 Geraldo Rivera recounts how entertainer Dick Gregory connected him with Robert Groden to obtain the Zapruder film.
• 🎯 The film, showing the murder of President John F. Kennedy, was astounding and horrifying to witness.
• 🔑 A significant challenge was Time-Life's copyright on the film, which prevented its immediate use.
• ⚠️ Rivera ultimately signed a document with ABC accepting personal legal responsibility for the one-time airing of the film.

CIA Incompetence and Redactions

• 🔍 The Mexico City documents suggest the CIA had opportunities to track Oswald's activities but failed to do so effectively.
• 💥 The Bay of Pigs invasion is cited as a prime example of CIA incompetence, with false assurances given to Cuban exiles.
• 🎭 Rivera questions the extensive redactions in CIA documents, suggesting they were used to protect the agency from repercussions of its own incompetence, methods, and agent identities.

Enduring Fascination with the JFK Assassination

• 🌟 Despite being 60 years later, public interest in the JFK assassination remains exceptionally high.
• 🇺🇸 Rivera believes the fascination stems from John F. Kennedy's image as a saintly, energetic, and embodying the American spirit figure.
• 💔 The vast contrast between the perceived purity of Kennedy and the character of the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, makes it difficult for people to accept that such a figure could end the era of Camelot.