Warren Commission

The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as The Warren Commission, was established on November 29, 1963 by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of the U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Creation of the Commission

After Lee Harvey Oswald was shot to death, the new president, Lyndon Johnson, consulted with various government officials, many of them by telephone, regarding having some form of investigation into the assassination. On November 26, 1963, The Washington Post published an editorial advocating the formation of an investigative commission.

Related Topics:
Lee Harvey Oswald - Lyndon Johnson - November 26 - 1963 - The Washington Post

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After many consultations throughout the week, LBJ, by executive order on November 29, 1963 created an investigatory commission to be headed by Earl Warren. He also called on the following members and told them that they would be members of the commission:

Related Topics:
Executive order - November 29 - 1963 - Earl Warren

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• Representative Hale Boggs (Democrat - Louisiana)
• Senator John Sherman Cooper (Republican - Kentucky)
• Former CIA Director Allen Dulles
• Representative Gerald Ford (Republican - Michigan), a future Vice-President and US President
• Former World Bank President and diplomat John J. McCloy
• Senator Richard Russell, Jr. (Democrat - Georgia)

Future Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter worked as a staff attorney for the Commission.

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During its investigation the commission heard testimony from 552 witnesses and the reports of 10 federal agencies, including the Secret Service, the FBI, the Department of State, the CIA, and military intelligence. The hearings were closed to the public unless the person giving testimony requested otherwise; only two witnesses made that request. Some of the witnesses gave sworn affidavits, two witnesses gave just written statements. On September 27 1964, after a 10 month investigation (and about 5 weeks before the presidential election), the Warren Commission Report was published.

Related Topics:
Secret Service - FBI - Department of State - CIA - Military intelligence - Testimony - September 27 - 1964

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