'Treason doth never prosper,' wrote an English poet, 'What's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.' The American public has yet to see the Zapruder film. Why? The American public has yet to see the real X-rays and photographs of the autopsy. Why? There are hundreds of documents that could help prove this conspiracy. Why are they being withheld or burned by the government? Each time my office or you the people have asked those questions, demanded crucial evidence, the answer from on high has always been 'national security.' What kind of national security do we have when we've been robbed of our leaders? What national security permits the removal of fundamental power from the hands of the American people and validates the ascendancy of an invisible government in the United States? That kind of national security, gentlemen of the jury, is when it smells like it, feels like it, and looks like it, you call it what it is: Fascism!
Most scenes together: Jim Garrison & Bill Broussard (6), Jim Garrison & Lou Ivon (4), Jim Garrison & X (3)
JFK quotes
Page 1 of 4This is Louisiana, chief! I mean, how do you know who your daddy is? Because your mama told you so? You're way out there, boss, taking a crap in the wind, and I for one am not going along on this ride!
**** Kennedy is doing all kinds of deals with that bastard Khrushchev. Licking his ass. An inspired act of God should happen here and put a Texan in the White House!
Lee Bowers At the time of the shooting there seemed to be some commotion... I just am unable to describe - a flash of light or smoke or something which caused me to feel that something out of the ordinary had occurred there on the embankment...
I don't buy it, Chief. Why would the FBI cover it up? A telex that disappears from every single FBI office in this country?
There's a word, Bill. Orders.
Susie Cox Or a cover up. Jesus, Bill. Don't you have enough proof of the FBI's complicity yet?
I respect this country's institutions, like you do, Susie! How the hell can you keep a conspiracy going between the mob, the CIA, the FBI, the Army Intelligence, and who the hell knows what else when you can't keep a secret in this room between 12 people? I mean, we got leaks everywhere. We are going to trial, y'all! What the hell do we really got? Oswald, Ruby, Bannister and Ferrie are dead. Shaw? Maybe he's an agent, I don't know. But, as a covert operator in my book, he is wide open for blackmail because of his homosexuality.
Shaw's our toehold, Bill. I don't know exactly what he is or where he fits, and I don't really care. But I do know he's lying through his teeth and I'm not gonna let go of him.
And that's why, for those reasons, you're going to trial against Clay Shaw, chief? Well, you're gonna lose! Let's investigate our Mafia leads here in New Orleans. Now, I can buy that a hell of a lot easier than I can the government. Ruby's all mob, knows Oswald, sets him up. Hoffa, Trafficante, Marcello, they hire some guns and they do Kennedy. And, uh, the government doesn't want to open up a whole can of worms because it used the mob to try to get to Castro. Castro assassinated by the mob, by us, sounds pretty wild to John Q. Citizen. So they close the book on JFK. Makes perfect sense to me.
I don't doubt their involvement, Bill, but at a low level. Could the mob change the parade route? Or eliminate the protection for the President? Could the mob send Oswald to Russia and get him back? Could the mob get the FBI, the CIA, and the Dallas Police to make a mess of the investigation? I mean, could the mob get the Warren Commission appointed to cover it up? Could the mob wreck the autopsy? Could the mob influence the national media to go to sleep? And since when has the mob used anything but .38s for hits up close? The mob wouldn't have the guts or the power for something of this magnitude. Assassins need payrolls, schedules, times, orders. This was a military style ambush from star to finish. A coup d'etat with Lyndon Johnson waiting in the wings.
OK. So now you're saying Lyndon Johnson was involved? The President of the United States?
I know this, Bill. Lyndon Johnson got $1 billion dollars for his Texas friends, Brown and Root, to dredge Cam Ranh Bay for the military in Vietnam.
Boss...
That's just for openers...
If I'm so far from the truth, why is the FBI bugging our offices? Huh? Why are our witnesses being bought off and murdered? And why are the federal agencies blocking our extraditions and subpoenas like we were never before?
I don't know. I don't know. Maybe there's some rogue element in the government or something, but you're not...
With a full-blown conspiracy to cover it up? You ever read Shakespeare, Bill?
Yeah, I do.
Julius Caesar? "Brutus and Cassius, they, too, are honorable men." Who killed Caesar? Ten or twelve senators. All it takes is one Judas, Bill. A few people on the inside. Pentagon, CIA, you name it.
This is Louisiana, chief. How the hell do you know who your daddy is? 'Cause your mama told ya so. You are taking a crap in the wind, boss. And I, for one, am not going along on this one.
Boss, I've had my doubts all along about Bill. He's been fighting us all along.
Well, we need him back.
Al Oser Boss, Broussard wasted a whole damn month trying to prove that mob boys like Jack Ruby and Brady are kind of hooked up with Hunt Oil.
I don't trust this guy.
I will not hear this, gentlemen. Now, I value Bill as much as any person here. It's time we all made room for someone else's ideas, including me. Maybe Oswald is what everybody says he is and I'm just plain dumb about it.
Al Oser I've seen him copying files, leaving here late at night.
I just don't trust him.
Didn't you two hear what I said?! I said I will not tolerate infighting among the staff!
Then I'm afraid I cannot work with Bill Broussard anymore.
Is this an ultimatum you're giving me, Lou?
What?!
Are you giving me an ultimatum?
Well, if that's what you want to call it. I never thought it would come to this. [sighs] I guess I am.
Well, then I won't have any more ultimatums put to me, Lou. I'll accept your resignation.
Well, you sure got it. You are one stubborn son of a bitch. And you... are making a very big mistake.
Susie Cox Boss, aren't you being a little hard?
No, I don't think I am, Susie. Anyone else?
Frank, you're wasting your time here. Big Jim gave strict orders. No FBI.
FBI Agent Frank It's you I want to talk to.
Boss'd fry me in hog fat if he knew I talked to you.
FBI Agent Frank Boss's got a problem. Real serious. We know what's going on at your office.
I guess you do.
FBI Agent Frank You got nothing. I'm a friend. You're riding on the Titanic. Time to jump off before you get destroyed, too.
Enough!
FBI Agent Frank We're talking about your career. You're young. You're working on the Castro thing.
No, I'm not.
FBI Agent Frank You are. We know Oswald didn't pull that trigger. Castro did. If it comes out, there'll be a war. Millions of people will die. That's more important than Jim Garrison. Look at me when I talk to you! You're too selfish!
Shut up!
FBI Agent Frank If you got a brain in your thick skull, listen to me. Listen real hard. Get in the car.
I'm lost. What are we saying?
That when Oswald went to Russia, he was not a real defector. He was an intelligence agent for our government and remained one till he died.
So, because Oswald pulled the trigger the intelligence community murdered the President?
I'll go you one better. Maybe Oswald didn't pull the trigger. Nitrate tests indicate he hadn't fired a rifle on November 22. And they didn't bother to see if the rifle'd been fired that day.
His palm print was on it.
It went to the FBI. FBI didn't find a goddamn thing. It comes back a week later and a Dallas policeman suddenly finds a palm print? It could've been taken at the morgue. There's no chain of evidence.
Al Oser I can't figure out why he orders a traceable weapon to a P.O. box, when he can go into any store in Texas give a phony name and walk out with an untraceable rifle.
Susie Cox To frame him, obviously!
A lot of smoke, but some fire.
We're talking about our government!
We're talking about a crime. You must think on a different level, like the CIA does. We're through the looking glass. White is black. And black is white. Maybe Oswald is just what he said he was. A patsy.
None of their testimony is gonna hold up in court, Chief. Hell all three of them have reputations as low as crocodile piss.
That bother you, Bill? I always wonder why it is in court if a woman's a prostitute she has to have bad eyesight. Find Clay Bertrand. Start by checking around the Quarter.
The six of us, with almost no budget and in secret will solve a case the Warren Commission couldn't?
I didn't pick you for your legal skills.
Thanks, boss.
You're a fighter. I like a man who's not afraid of bad odds.
Hey, Willie. I want you to meet Leon Oswald.
Hey, man! How you doin'?
Lee Harvey Oswald What the ****'s he doin' here?
Well, **** you, mother****er!
Leon's in a bad mood. Don't get excited.
I will kill! In the White House! Stab him in the heart! Somebody must get rid of him!
You won't get that son of a bitch!
It won't be long. That ****er will get what he deserves. It could be blamed on Castro, the country will want to invade Cuba. We just need to get him in the open.
Clay Shaw Always some harebrained scheme. Let's have some more champagne, shall we?
What about the Secret Service? The cops?
If it's planned right, no problem. They got close to De Gaulle. Eisenhower always rode in open top. We need three mechanics in three different locations. An office building, a high-powered rifle. Triangulation of crossfire, that's the key. That's the key. A diversionary shot gets the Secret Service looking one way. Boom! Get the kill shot. One man has to be sacrificed. In the commotion, the job gets done. The others leave the country.
Clay Shaw Let's drop this subject. It's one thing to banter with these kids but this sort of thing could be so easily misunderstood.
Guy Bannister Who'd have ever thought that goofy Oswald kid would pull a stunt like an assassination? Goes to show you can never know about some people. Am I right, Jack? Am I right, Jack? [pause] Well, bless my soul. All these years, I thought you were on my team.
Jack Martin Are you kidding?
Guy Bannister I couldn't be more serious, Jack. Your little red eyes have me wondering about your loyalty. Who's been going through my files? You've been looking through my files, you little weasel!
Jack Martin You're starting to get paranoid. Really!
Guy Bannister You went through all my files! You're a goddamn spy!
Jack Martin Why would I want to look through your files? I've seen enough here this summer to write a book.
Guy Bannister I always lock my files! You're the only one here today. What do you mean, you bastard? You're going to write a book?
Jack Martin You know what I mean. I've seen a lot of strange things here. Strange people.
Guy Bannister You didn't see a goddamn thing! Not a goddamn thing!
Jack Ruby Mr. Chief Justice, do you understand that I can't tell the truth in Dallas? There are people here who do not want me to tell the truth. Who don't want me to have a retrial?
Earl Warren Why don't you just tell us now?
Jack Ruby My life is in danger! If you request that I go to Washington.... That is, if you want to hear further testimony from me. Can you take me with you?
Earl Warren No. It can't be done. There would be no safe place for you. We're not law-enforcement officers.
Jack Ruby There's a great deal at stake in this matter. If I'm eliminated there won't be any way of knowing any bit of truth pertaining to my situation. Consequently, a whole new form of government will take over. And I won't live to see you some other time. I want to tell the truth. And then leave this world.
I don't, I can't... I can't believe they killed him because he wanted to change things. In our time. In our country.
Well they've been doing it all through history. Kings are killed, Mr. Garrison, politics is power, nothing more! Oh, don't take my word for it, don't believe me. Do your own work, your own thinking.
I can't. The size of this is... beyond me. Testify?
Me?
Testify.
Ha ha. No chance in hell. No, I'd be arrested and gagged, maybe sent to an institution, maybe worse, you too. No, I can give you the background, but you have to find the foreground, the little things. Keep digging. Remember, you're the only person to bring a trial in the murder of John Kennedy. That's important, it's historic.
I haven't yet. I don't have much of a case.
You don't have a choice anymore. You've become a significant threat to the national security structure. They would have killed you already but you got a lot of light on you. Instead they're trying to destroy your credibility. They already have in many circles in this town. Be honest, your only chance is to come up with a case. Something, anything. Make arrests, stir the shit storm, hope to reach a point of critical mass that'll start a chain reaction of people coming forward, then the government will crack. Remember, fundamentally, people are suckers for the truth - and the truth is on your side, Bubba. I just hope you get a break.
I never realized Kennedy was so dangerous to the establishment. Is that why?
Well that's the real question, isn't it? Why? The how and the who is just scenery for the public. Oswald, Ruby, Cuba, the Mafia. Keeps 'em guessing like some kind of parlor game, prevents 'em from asking the most important question, why? Why was Kennedy killed? Who benefited? Who has the power to cover it up? Who?
Mr. Shaw, have you ever been a contract agent with the Central Intelligence Agency?
Clay Shaw And if I was, Mr. Garrison... do you think I would be here today... talking to somebody like you?
People like you don't have to.
Clay Shaw May I go?
People like you walk between the raindrops.
Clay Shaw May I go?
Yes.
Clay Shaw Regardless of what you may think of me, I am a patriot first and foremost. I've spent half my life in the military defending my country.
You're the first person I've met who considers it an act of patriotism to kill his own President.