## Page 1

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Agency Information

Date:

12/6/201

AGENCY : FBI

RECORD NUMBER : 124-10188-10394

RECORD SERIES : NK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

100-57235-27, 28

Released under the John

Assassination Records

Collection Act of 1992

i44 USC 2107 Notel .

Casef:NW 55509 Date:

Document Information

ORIGINATOR :

FROM:

TO :

TITLE :

DATE :

PAGES :

SUBJECTS :

00/00/0000

0

NAR

DOCUMENT TYPE :

CLASSIFICATION :

Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS:

Not Assassination Related

CURRENT STATUS : Withhold

DATE OF LAST REVIEW :

08/01/1994

OPENING CRITERIA : INDEFINITE

COMMENTS :

v9.1

NW 55509 DocId: 32177310

Page 1

1

---

## Page 2

F12-350 (4ev. 11-1.1-757

(Mount Clipping in Spoce Below)

Justice Agency Upholds Inquiry

By F.B.I. Into Murder of Dr. King

By ANTHONY MARRO

Special to The New York Times.

WASHINGTON Feb. 18-A major te- curity concerns—-that resulted in the bu-

view by the Justice Department has con-

reau's "determination to

cluded that the Federal Bureau of Investi- King."

discredit Dr.

gation's inquiry into the murder of the

The: Justice Department investigation

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was

was ordered last April by then Attorney

"thoroughly, honestly and successfully"

General Edward H. Levi after the Senate

conducted, and that the best available

Select Committee on Intelligence dis-

evidence suggests that James Earl Ray,

closed that the bureau had engaged in

the convicted murderer, acted alone.

a six-year surveillance of Dr. King that

Yet the report made no effort to offer

had included the use of wiretaps, elec-

conclusive_evidence. on that point. "Proof

tronic bugs and paid informants, and that

that others were not involved is here

it had attempted to discredit the civil

rights leader by circulating stories about

Excerpts from the report, page 11.

his personal life.

In light of these disclosures, Mr. Levi

as elusive and difficult as it has uni-

ordered an investigation to

determine

versally been In criminal law," it says.

whether the bureau might have been in

The Justice Department investigators,

any way involved in Dr. King's assassina-

who made-an eight month review of the

tion, whether its investigation of the mur.

F.B.I.'s handling of the case, also conclud-

der had been "thorough and honest," and

ed that the bureau, might have had

whether there was any new evidence that

grounds for starting a security investiga-

might warrant reopening the case.

tion of Dr.

King, but that its six-year

Although not specifically charged with

surveillance was clearly unwarranted.

seeking evidence of a conspiracy, the in-

The • investigators said in a report

released today that the bureau never de-

veloped evidence that Dr. King had any

its investigation.

affiliation with the Communist Party, and

After sorting

through

that it was a personal feud between him

200,000

documents

and

more thai

interviewing

and the late J. Edgar Hoover, Director about 40 witnesses, a group of lawyer-in-|

ot the F.B.I.-not legitimate, national se-

SAC

¡ SAC

CASAC

C:1

10÷2

C0=8

C6E4

C6=5

r0*6

"Ca?

008

ISe1.

maicin De

SWigbt_ Supervisor==

SAGE I---

NY TIMES

LATE JERSEY EDITION

Date: 2/19/77

Edition:

Author:

EdiloA.M. ROSENTHAL

Title:

Chiracter:

or

Classification:

Submitting Ofice NEWARK, NJ

C Bring Investigated

LiCHED_

100-51235-281

-INDEXE

ERIALIZED.

JAFILED_

FEB 2 7 1977

FBI-NEWARK

AN 55509 DocId:32177310 Page 2

---

## Page 3

vestigators headed by Michael E. Shaheen

Today, however, Andrew Young,

attorney, con-

United States delegate to the United Na-

No Backing or Payment

cluded that although the F.B.I.'s surveil-i

who is a former House member

As for a motive, the report relies heavi-

lance of Dr. King had become

and aide to Dr. King and who was himself

ly on testimony from

former prison in-

the bureau's subsequent investigation of

under surveillance

F.B.I. at the

mates that Mr. Ray was strongly biased

his murder had been a "credible and thor-

same time as Dr. King, said that the re-

against blacks and had suggested repeat-

port left some questions unanswered and

edly that he would be willing to kill Dr.

In a statement issued today after the

hoped that it would not cause the House

King, particularly if someone would pay

release of the 201-page report, Clarence

to abandon its investigation of the assas-

M. Kelley, the F.B.I.

The report's conclusion, however, is that

noted with great satisfaction the conclu-

sions of the task force that the F.B.I.'s

group tolvestigation by Mr. Shaheen's the best available evidence is that Mr.

an earlier, less extensive F

assassination probe of the Dr. Martin Lu-

investigation by the Justice Department's

Ray killed Dr. King on his own, withöut

ther King slaying was 'credible and thor-

civil rights division,

the backing of or payment by others.

ough'; that there was

no evidence of a

dered in November 1975.

conspiracy, and that the report clearly

The report released today says that one

"We acknowledge that the proof...that

others were not involved is here as elu

indicates no complicity on the part on

recommendation that resulted from the

the F.B.I. in this assassination."

consideration should be dives to a direct fiven in lifical as it he report said.

"But the sum of all of the evidence

that Mr. Ray was only one

payment to Dr. King's family or to the of Ray's guilt points to him so exclusively

figure in a broader conspiracy to kill Dr.

King Foundation as compensation fof the that it most effectively makes the point

King.

For one thing, the Justice Depart-

that no one else was involved," the report

ment investigators concede that it is stilli

violation of Dr. King's civil rights.

continued.

"Of course,

someone could

not known where Mr. Ray obtained the

The reason for this,

the report said,

conceivably have provided him with lo-

money he needed to purchase the expen-

was that the statute of limitations proba-

gistics, or even paid him to commit the

sive equipment he bought and to do the

extensive traveling he did before the as-

bly barred any criminal prosecutions, and

crime. However, we have found no com-

sassination and in

the months between

that for the King family to file a civil

petent evidence upon which to base such

suit might "be more embarrassing than

a theory."

the murder and his arrest.

heloful,"

presumably because of the na-

Although the report

concluded that

Arrested 2 Months Later

ture of the material in the F.B.I. files.

some of the F.B.I. surveillance of Dr. King

Dr. King was shot on a motel balcony

A Justice Department spokesman said

-which included illegal break-ins, unau-

in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

Mr. Ray,

today that he did not know what, if any-

thorized buggings and the leaking of de-

who escaped from the Missouri State

thing, might come of this recommenda-

rogatory information about his sex life

was "very probably..felonious," it said

Penitentiary in 1967 while serving a 20-

also said he was not certain

year sentence for armed robbery, was ar-

whether the department would follow a

no agents who took part should be pun-

rested at London Airport on June 8, 1968,

recommendation of the Shaheen group

65 days after the King assassination. He

that Congress be asked to pass a bill

The report said that the persons who

ordered the activities were either dead

pleaded guilty to Dr. King's murder and

ordering the destruction of the derogato

a 99-vear sentence in Brushy

ry material on Dr. King still in F.B.I. files.

or retired from the bureau, and that the

few agents still in the bureau who plaged

Mountain Prison in Petros, Tenn.

The investigation by Mr. Shaheen's

Na role in Dr. King's surveillance were in-

Attorney General Griffin B. Bell said group cost an estimated $200,000 and in-

on a television news show last Sunday

volved a review not only of the so-called

that the report left some questions unan-

"Murkin file" ("Murkin" is an acronym

derlings "far removed from decision te

"I think that if you read the re-

for "murder of King"), but also of F.B.I.

sponsibility."

you could lean to either side of

port, a said. "You could say that there's

records in 15 cities. It concluded that

The report released today is a rewrit-:

there were several weak spots in the bu-

ten, condensed version of the report given

no evidence of a

conspiracy, but you

could still wonder..if there happened to

enough to challenge its conclusions that to Mr. Levi before he left office last

be a conspiracy."

Mr. Ray killed Dr. King.

'month. John Wilson ,a Justice Department

Moreover, the release of the report at

The report said that the F.B.I. should spokesman, said, however, that no

this time could further cloud the future f

House committee

changes had been made in the group's

lished to investigate the deaths of Presi-

Have worked harder to obtain information

findings, and that it simply had been edit-

dent Kennedy and Dr. King, since oppo-

about Mr. Ray from members of his fami-

nents of that investigation are likely

to! It who may have been in touch with him

Ed so delete what he termed "salacious

bersonal material" and certain olassitied

study of the King

after Dr. King's murder. And it agrees i information from the F.B.I.'s files.

assassination is likely to be duplicative

with some critics of the investigation that

and unnecessary.

the question of where Mr. Ray obtained

According to a number of House mem-i

the money he needed to travel to Europe

bers of both parties, the continued exist-

after the killing is still not fully an-

ince of the select committee has been

seriously threatened in recent days ry

The F.B.I. was able to show that Mr.

the outbreak of an open battle between

1967, when he was employed as a dish-

Sonzalez,

washer and cook's helper

in Winnetka,

chief counsel, Richard A. Sprague.

Ill. But the only explanation it has come

an with for his having money for travel

probably committed several robberies or

NN 55509 DocId:32177310 Page 3

---

## Page 4

FD-300 (120v. 11-11-76)

C

(Mount Clipping in Spoce Below)

Excerpts From Justice Department Report on

WASZINGTON, Feb. 18-The follow-

ing are excerpts from the report of the

Justice Department Task Force that re-

viewed the assassination of the Rev. Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Critical Evaluation of the

Assassination Investigation

First, the task force has concluded

that the investigation by the F.B.I. to

ascertain and capture the murderer of

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was thor-

oughly, honestly.

and successful con-

ducted. We submit that the minute de-

tails compacted in this report amply

support this conclusion.

At the very outset of the investiga-

tion, telegrams went to all field offices

of the Bureau instructing the Special

Agents

in Charge to take personal

supervision of

the

investigation,

check out all leads in 24 hours, and

noting that they would be held person-

ally responsible. (HQ-44-38861-153).

The files we reviewed show that this

directive was conscientiously followed.

The Bureau sought first to identify and

locate the murderer using the obvious

leads.

They

checked

out

aliases,

tracked the traces left under the Galt

alias and used the known fingerprints

from the murder weapon and the con-

tents of the blue zipper bag left on

•South

Main Street [in Memphis] to

eliminate suspects.

This backtracking ended in Atlanta.

At this point the

Bureau initiated a

check

of the

crime site fingerprints

against the white male

"wanted fugi-

tive"

print file.

This produced the al-

most

"instant"

discovery

that

the

wanted man,

Galt was James Earl Ray,

an escapee from Missouri State Prison.

In fact the

"instant" discovery whs

* tedious hand search started in a file

Dr. King Assassination

It was possible for the task force

to create a well documented history of

James Earl Ray from the moment

his escape to his capture in England,

using the investigation reports in the

F.B.I. files and to corroborate and fill

in essential

details

with Ray's own

statements (admissions)

in his letters

to author William Bradford Huie.

From this chronology, from the labo

ratory proof, and from

Ray's judicial

admissions it was concluded that he

was the assassin, and that he acted

alone.

We saw

no credible evidence

probative of the possibility that Ray

and any co-conspirator were together

at the scene of the assassination. Ray's

assertions that someone else pulled the

trigger are so patently self-serving and

so varied as to be wholly unbelievable.

They become, in fact, a

part of the

vidence of his guilt by self-refutation

Third, we found that conspiracy leads

(aliunde Ray's versions) had been con-

scientiously run down by

the

F.B.I.

even though they had no possible rela-

tion to Ray's stories or to the known

facts..

The results were negative.

We found no evidence of any

Pice Department or of the Memphis po-

nigative,

i.e., proof that others were

is here as

difficult as it has universally been in

criminal law. But the sum of all of

the evidence of Ray's guilt points to

him so exclusively that it most effec-

tively makes the point that no one else

of some 20,000 prints. That it took onty

Awo hours to make a match is saic

by the

Bureau experts to be largely

sheer luck; it could have taken days.

We accept the explanation that the fin-

gerprint search was a normal next re-

sort after normal lead procedures were

exhausted.

Second, the task force views the evit

Lean e point ine man whi put hased:

the murder gun and who fired the fatal

shot to be conclusive

theory.

C.

C

3

C

s...?

$.?

5-3-

Nisht Su

Indicate page name or -

newspaper, city and state.)

PAGE 11

NY TIMES

LATE JERSEY EDITION

Date: 2/19/77

Fdition:

Author:

Editor: A.M. ROSENTHAL

Tille:

Character:

or

Classification:

Submitting Orrice NEWARK, NJ

→ Boing Investigated

700-5723577

CHED_..

INDEXED A

ERIALIZED

FEB 1? 1977

FBI-NEWARK

NN 55509 DocId:32177310 Page 4

---

## Page 5

__.--

Critical Evalution of the

Security Inrestigation

In the area of domestic intelligence,

the mandate of the F.B.I. has been both

broadly and vaguely defined.

this charter and the history

of the sometimes overpowering

ence of the views of the late Director

J. Edgar Hoover on his

on successive Attorneys General,

it was understandable that a security

investigation should be initiated into

this very lengthy investigative concen-

or privately erom ver commitment ly

onviolence and did not advocate th

verthrow of the government of th

were reported to be Communist Party

members by sources relied upon by the

The security investigation continued

for almost six years until Dr. King's

leath. It verified

in our view, that one

alleged Communist was a very influen-

ial adviser to Dr. King (and hence the

Southern Christian Leadership Confer-

ence) on the strategy and tactics of

King's leadership

of

the

black

civil

rights movement of the early and mid-

King was no

failed adequately to

rights movement. Thus the linch pin of

the security investigation of Dr. King

had pulled himself out.

We think the security investigation,

which included both physical and tech

nical surveillance,

should have been

terminated on the basis of what was

earned in 1963. That it was intensifie

and augmented by a COINTELPRO typ

ampaign against Dr. King was unwa

he COINTELPRO type can

paign, moreover, was ultra vires and

very probably in violation of 18 U.S.C.

241 (and 242), i.e. Felonious.

internal

failed badly in what should have beet

firm supervision of the F.B.I.'s interna

security activities.

HH 55509

DocId: 32177310

Page 5

---