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(NewsNation) — New John F. Kennedy files show that a former intelligence agent who allegedly performed special assignments for the Central Intelligence Agency claimed the CIA was “responsible” for the former president’s death.
A document released by President Donald Trump and his administration said that the day after the death of Kennedy, former agent Gary Underhill traveled to New Jersey from Washington, D.C., to confide in friends.
He told his friends that “a small clique within the CIA was responsible for the assassination” of Kennedy. The documents also show that Underhill said he was in fear for his life. Six months later, Underhill was found dead in his apartment, and it was ruled a suicide.
None of the accusations mentioned in this specific JFK file have been proven, but he has been part of many conspiracies over the years, according to Newsweek.
Who was Gary Underhill?
According to the file, Gary Underhill’s full name was John Garrett Underhill. He worked in military intelligence during World War II before he became one of the CIA’s “un-people.” This means he performed “special assignments” for the CIA.
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He was also a photojournalist for Life magazine from 1938 to 1942.
Asher Brynes, Underhill’s writing collaborator at The New Republic, found Underhill dead on May 8, 1964, according to the file. Underhill had a bullet on the left side of his head, which Brynes found suspicious because he claimed that Underhill was right-handed.
Some TikTok users say that Underhill couldn’t have died by suicide since the file states that he was right-handed, but he was shot behind the left ear.
Gary Underhill’s accusations back in the spotlight
The accusations made by Underhill have been talked about in books and papers before. Some researchers hoped these documents would give them a better understanding of Kennedy’s death and whether he was truly killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. However, it only brought more attention to Underhill’s accusations.
This file, dated July 19, 1967, did include more information on Samuel George Cummings, who was the operator of Interarms, the weapons company that Underhill believed was connected to the murder. The file states that the CIA owned Interarms before Cummings bought it in 1958.
Gary Underhill’s relationship with CIA officials
Underhill was allegedly “on intimate terms with a number of high-ranking CIA officials,” according to the file. He said that the former president’s death was done by a “CIA clique” that was “carrying on a lucrative racket in gun-running, narcotics, and other contraband and manipulating political intrigue to serve its own ends.”
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Underhill also claimed that Kennedy found out about this but was killed before he could say anything.
Gary Underhill’s friends say he was ‘sober but badly shook’
The file also included information about Underhill from after Kennedy was killed. They claimed Underhill was “sober but badly shook.” They said that he had always been “perfectly rational and objective,” but they didn’t take him seriously at first because they “couldn’t believe that the CIA could contain a corrupt element every bit as ruthless – and more efficient – as the mafia.”
The file also stated that Cummings sold arms to the CIA and to “Klein’s Sporting Goods of Chicago,” where it is claimed that Oswald purchased the rifle from. This was also stated in the 2021 memo that former President Joe Biden released, according to Newsweek.
This memo did contain new information: the fact that Interarms and Interarmco were first owned by the agency, which hired Cummings as a chief agent before he took control over the two companies, Newsweek reported.
The memo states, “On 17 August 1954 Cummings became the principal agent of the CIA-owned companies known as International Armament Corporation and Interarmco Lt… in 1958 Cummings assumed sole ownership of International Armament Corp, of and Interarmco.”
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/jfk-files-what-learned/
The Warren Commission found that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, and that he did so alone.
