Presidential X-Files: JFK and the UFO Memorandum
In 2011, a UFO investigator named William Lester unearthed a memo, courtesy of a Freedom of Information Act search, which he suggested provided evidence of a motive for the assassination of John F. Kennedy, one connected to UFOs. The letter was written by President John F Kennedy to the head of the CIA ten days prior to his assassination. In the letter, Kennedy demanded to be shown highly confidential documents about UFOs. The secret memo is one of two letters written by JFK asking for information about the paranormal on November 12 1963.
Author William Lester said that the CIA released the documents to him under the Freedom of Information Act, after he made a request while researching his book entitled ‘A Celebration of Freedom: JFK and the New Frontier.’ According to Lester, Kennedy’s interest in UFOs adds some fuel to conspiracy theories about his assassination. Some ufologists that Lester spoke with say that the documents released to Mr Lester by the CIA, add weight to the suggestion that the president was killed in order to stop him discovering the truth about UFOs. In one of the secret documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, JFK writes to the director asking for the UFO files. In the second memo, sent to the NASA administrator, the president expresses a desire for cooperation with the former Soviet Union on mutual outer space activities.
In an interview with AOL news, Lester said of Kennedy "One of his concerns was that a lot of these UFOs were being seen over the Soviet Union and he was very concerned that the Soviets might misinterpret these UFOs as U.S. aggression, believing that it was some of our technology. I think this is one of the reasons why he wanted to get his hands on this information and get it away from the jurisdiction of NASA so he could say to the Soviets, 'Look, that’s not us, we’re not doing it, we’re not being provocative.'" In the memo, datedNov. 12, 1963, the president ordered the CIA director to organize the agency's intelligence files relating to UFOs, and to debrief him on all "unknowns" by the following February.
Lester used the FOI procedure as part of his research. He said, "The government regularly declassifies documents after a certain amount of time goes by, and then you have to file a request for those documents. When I was in the process of filing, those letters had just become declassified and released to the public. At the time, I think other people were getting them too."
But some archivists have questioned the authenticity of the top secret memo. A research technician at the JFK Library in Boston said that he was unable to find a carbon copy of it in its presidential archive, which holds copies of all of JFK's letters, including his confidential ones. He said, "We did some research into the presidential papers to try to find any evidence of the Nov. 12, 1963 letter to the director of the CIA, John McCone, and in searching through the president's office files -- CIA, NASA and National Security files -- we could find no evidence of this memo or anything like it." He went on to say, "Something is a little odd about it. It is sanitized in very odd places: the director's name, the top heading of the document (which usually distinguishes which agency is generating it) and then the tiny 'top secret' print at the top of letter. Top secret items are usually stamped in large dark ink on the letter."
Lester believes the document to be authentic and claimed that the memo provides the "missing link" in a conspiracy theory surrounding another document, one which many conspiracy theorists argue shows that the CIA killed Kennedy to prevent his involvement in a UFO cover-up. This document, called the "burned memo," was allegedly passed to the some members of the non-mainstream media in 1999 by an anonymous source who claimed to be a former CIA operative. The alleged leaker claimed to have worked for the CIA between 1960 and 1974. He said that he pulled the memo from a fire when the agency was burning some of its most sensitive files. In the "burned memo," the CIA director at the time llegedly wrote: "Lancer [the CIA's codename for JFK] has made some inquiries regarding our activities, which we cannot allow. Please submit your views no later than October. Your action to this matter is critical to the continuance of the group."
Lester argues that the memo he found proves JFK really was probing the CIA about UFO intelligence, and that the CIA might have taken steps to prevent this.
Many historians believe the "burned memo" is a fake. They argue that even if the memo Lester uncovered is real, there are perfectly logical reasons why Kennedy might have written it. Lester cites three reasons why he believes that JFK was interested in UFOs:
1. Kennedy was concerned that UFOs seen by the Soviets would be misinterpreted by them as being U.S. aircraft behaving provocatively. The argument goes that this may be what Kennedy implied when he supposedly wrote, "It is important that we make a distinction between known and unknowns in the event the Soviets try to mistake our extended cooperation as a cover for intelligence gathering of their defense or space programs."
2. Kennedy's inquiry could have been connected to his obvious interest in space travel. At the time of its alleged composition, NASA was a new agency and the whole question of outer space and potential life in outer space something that may people speculated about.
3. There was a natural concern about UFOs at the time due to a spurt of incidents thought to be sightings.
Following is a video clip from the History Channel show "Ancient Aliens" in which the show proposes the possibility that Kennedy was assassinated in order to keep the truth about aliens on Earth from getting out in this clip from Season 12, Episode 9, "The Majestic Twelve".
Author William Lester said that the CIA released the documents to him under the Freedom of Information Act, after he made a request while researching his book entitled ‘A Celebration of Freedom: JFK and the New Frontier.’ According to Lester, Kennedy’s interest in UFOs adds some fuel to conspiracy theories about his assassination. Some ufologists that Lester spoke with say that the documents released to Mr Lester by the CIA, add weight to the suggestion that the president was killed in order to stop him discovering the truth about UFOs. In one of the secret documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, JFK writes to the director asking for the UFO files. In the second memo, sent to the NASA administrator, the president expresses a desire for cooperation with the former Soviet Union on mutual outer space activities.
In an interview with AOL news, Lester said of Kennedy "One of his concerns was that a lot of these UFOs were being seen over the Soviet Union and he was very concerned that the Soviets might misinterpret these UFOs as U.S. aggression, believing that it was some of our technology. I think this is one of the reasons why he wanted to get his hands on this information and get it away from the jurisdiction of NASA so he could say to the Soviets, 'Look, that’s not us, we’re not doing it, we’re not being provocative.'" In the memo, datedNov. 12, 1963, the president ordered the CIA director to organize the agency's intelligence files relating to UFOs, and to debrief him on all "unknowns" by the following February.
Lester used the FOI procedure as part of his research. He said, "The government regularly declassifies documents after a certain amount of time goes by, and then you have to file a request for those documents. When I was in the process of filing, those letters had just become declassified and released to the public. At the time, I think other people were getting them too."
But some archivists have questioned the authenticity of the top secret memo. A research technician at the JFK Library in Boston said that he was unable to find a carbon copy of it in its presidential archive, which holds copies of all of JFK's letters, including his confidential ones. He said, "We did some research into the presidential papers to try to find any evidence of the Nov. 12, 1963 letter to the director of the CIA, John McCone, and in searching through the president's office files -- CIA, NASA and National Security files -- we could find no evidence of this memo or anything like it." He went on to say, "Something is a little odd about it. It is sanitized in very odd places: the director's name, the top heading of the document (which usually distinguishes which agency is generating it) and then the tiny 'top secret' print at the top of letter. Top secret items are usually stamped in large dark ink on the letter."
Lester believes the document to be authentic and claimed that the memo provides the "missing link" in a conspiracy theory surrounding another document, one which many conspiracy theorists argue shows that the CIA killed Kennedy to prevent his involvement in a UFO cover-up. This document, called the "burned memo," was allegedly passed to the some members of the non-mainstream media in 1999 by an anonymous source who claimed to be a former CIA operative. The alleged leaker claimed to have worked for the CIA between 1960 and 1974. He said that he pulled the memo from a fire when the agency was burning some of its most sensitive files. In the "burned memo," the CIA director at the time llegedly wrote: "Lancer [the CIA's codename for JFK] has made some inquiries regarding our activities, which we cannot allow. Please submit your views no later than October. Your action to this matter is critical to the continuance of the group."
Lester argues that the memo he found proves JFK really was probing the CIA about UFO intelligence, and that the CIA might have taken steps to prevent this.
Many historians believe the "burned memo" is a fake. They argue that even if the memo Lester uncovered is real, there are perfectly logical reasons why Kennedy might have written it. Lester cites three reasons why he believes that JFK was interested in UFOs:
1. Kennedy was concerned that UFOs seen by the Soviets would be misinterpreted by them as being U.S. aircraft behaving provocatively. The argument goes that this may be what Kennedy implied when he supposedly wrote, "It is important that we make a distinction between known and unknowns in the event the Soviets try to mistake our extended cooperation as a cover for intelligence gathering of their defense or space programs."
2. Kennedy's inquiry could have been connected to his obvious interest in space travel. At the time of its alleged composition, NASA was a new agency and the whole question of outer space and potential life in outer space something that may people speculated about.
3. There was a natural concern about UFOs at the time due to a spurt of incidents thought to be sightings.
Following is a video clip from the History Channel show "Ancient Aliens" in which the show proposes the possibility that Kennedy was assassinated in order to keep the truth about aliens on Earth from getting out in this clip from Season 12, Episode 9, "The Majestic Twelve".