[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

oth Gonzalez and Sprague resigned, and Democrat Louis Stokes of Ohio took over the
chairmanship, with Blakey as chief counsel.
To the Warren Commission critics who believed the CIA or other government
entities were responsible for the assassination, the selection of a mafia expert predisposed
the House committee to find the mob responsible. In its final report, the Committee
rejected any notion that the CIA, FBI, Secret Service, Fidel Castro, the Soviet Union or
even anti-Castro Cuban groups and the national syndicate of the mob were responsible
for the assassination. But, the congressional probe looked at Oswald’s short but
complex life and decided Oswald was probably a pawn of individual mobsters and
perhaps anti-Castro Cubans
Unlike the Warren Commissioners, who based their case largely on Oswald's life,
the House Committee relied primarily on the scientific evidence, believing, as the chief
counsel Blakey explained, that it was more reliable and valuable than official documents
and witness testimony. The Committee accepted many of the Warren Commission's
forensic findings, including the “single-bullet” theory or what the critics called “magic
bullet theory” that one shot by Oswald passed through President Kennedy and caused
Governor Connally’s wounds. In fact, the forensic panel voted 8-1 in support of the
Warren Commission’s findings, with only Allegheny County, Pa. coroner Dr. Cyril
Wecht – a leading opponent of the “magic bullet theory,” in opposition. 413 The
Committee also rejected allegations that any of the autopsy materials or photographic
evidence was faked as part of a high-level cover-up.
413 House Report, 34.
184