For decades, the official Central Intelligence Agency story was that its tentacles were not connected in any way with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
A new document release has shown that claim to be false, according to Axios.
The official verdict of the Warren commission that investigated Kennedy’s Nov. 22, 1963, death in Dallas was that Oswald was responsible. Although no proof has emerged to contradict that finding, there have long been suspicions that American intelligence agencies knew far more about Oswald and his activities than was made public at the time.
A new release of documents has breathed new life into doubts that the America people have been told the truth by indicating that agent George Joannides had in fact been conducting activities the CIA long denied.
Axios wrote that the documents prove “the CIA lied for decades about his role in the Kennedy case before and after the assassination, according to experts on JFK’s slaying.”
A Jan. 17, 1963, memo says that Joannides was ordered to assume the name of Howard Gebler. That contradicts past denials that Joannides was the same person as “Howard,” the CIA contact for a student group opposed to the regime of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
“The cover story for Joannides is officially dead,” Jefferson Morley, an author who has written on JFK’s assassination said.
“This is a big deal. The CIA is changing its tune on Lee Harvey Oswald,” he said.
Joannides was the deputy chief of the CIA’s Miami branch in charge of “all aspects of political action and psychological warfare, which included supporting the anti-Castro student group.”
Do you believe the official narrative of the JFK assassination?
On Aug. 9, 1963, four members of the group scuffled with Oswald in New Orleans, with the news media covering the court hearing.
On Aug. 21 Oswald was on TV debating the students. The group, referred to as the DRE, identified Oswald as a pro-Castro communist after JFK as killed.
The new documents do not provide any new disclosures about Kennedy’s assassination itself.
The Axios report noted that the CIA has a track record of lying to agencies investigating the assassination, including the Warren Commission, the Church Committee, the House Select Committee on Assassinations, and the Assassination Review Board.
Axios said Joannides “played a central role in deceiving the House Select Committee on Assassinations.”
It said he and the CIA “hid the fact that he was involved with DRE and therefore the Kennedy case, slow-walked the CIA’s production of records, and lied.”
Axios’ Marc Caputo: CIA Now Admits They Lied To Congress And The Public For Decades About Lee Harvey Oswaldhttps://t.co/uTXm9NaA66
“I understand—especially considering the CIA’s past behavior—why people are suspicious that this was released so late on the July 4th weekend.” pic.twitter.com/nPujplNMY8
— RCP Video (@rcpvideo) July 7, 2025
In a video posted to X, Axios reporter Marc Caupto noted that skepticism remains in order.
“I can certainly understand — especially considering the CIA’s past behavior—why people are suspicious that this was released so late on the July 4th weekend,” he said.
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