In July 1977, Jim Garrison submitted a memo to the HSCA regarding Fred Crisman and Thomas Beckham. Both men had testified before the New Orleans' grand jury and Garrison believed they were important suspects.
Here is the handwritten memo (a typed version is below). If anybody notices any transcription errors, please let me know.
Here is a transcription of this memo. The first part was taken from the JFK Lancer disk of Crisman/Beckham material; the last part is my transcription.
What a memo! Tomorrow, I will post a list of the exhibits that Garrison forwarded along with some of the exhibits.
Beckham was a pretty important suspect to Garrison. This memo was written after Beckham had testified to the New Orleans Grand Jury. You can read that testimony here. It's pretty funny - and it's hard to believe that Garrison still took Beckham seriously.
As you will see from the exhibits tomorrow, Garrison knew that Beckham was a con man, and yet he still considered him a viable suspect. The idea that Beckham was perhaps set up a patsy when he was sent to the mental institution is more than just a little crazy. It's delusional.
And, of course, Garrison believed that Fred Crisman was one of the three tramps! And that there is film of Beckham in front of the TSBD after the assassination - that somehow has never materialized.
During the first HSCA interviews, Beckham spelled out his role in the assassination - the two HSCA investigators thought they were on to something and arranged for Beckham to deliver sworn testimony before the HSCA.
It didn't take long for the HSCA to realize that Beckham was a con man and that he had nothing of value to contribute.
Stay tuned for further blog posts on Beckham. Next post - the exhibits from this memo.