The Enduring Allure of Document Dumps: From JFK to Epstein
This article delves into the origins of citizen-led fact-checking, beginning with Sylvia Meagher, a 44-year-old employee of the WHO who memorized the 26 volumes of evidence from the Warren Commission during the 1960s. In 1967, she published "Accessories After the Fact," creating the first index for the extensive 18,000-page report. Her efforts motivated critics such as Harold Weisberg, who kept JFK documents at his farm in Maryland, and Mary Ferrell, whose collection in Dallas evolved into an online archive. The author shares findings from the National Archives, revealing links like Paul Krassner's communication with Jeffrey Epstein until 2019. The piece posits that critics of the Warren Report were the pioneers of document mining, a practice still relevant today, especially in light of Trump's declassification promises and the redactions in Epstein's files.
Key facts
- Sylvia Meagher was 44 in 1965, lived in West Village with cat Allegra, worked at WHO.
- She purchased the 26-volume Warren Commission Report from the Government Printing Office.
- Meagher created an index for the 18,000-page report and wrote 'Accessories After the Fact' (1967).
- Her papers are archived at Hood College in Maryland.
- Harold Weisberg stored JFK documents at his chicken farm in Maryland.
- Mary Ferrell's Dallas collection became an online depository.
- Paul Krassner corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein until May 2019.
- Trump released JFK files in his second term, revealing mostly Social Security numbers.
- The Epstein file release by the Justice Department had mysterious redactions.
- The National Archives at College Park has two-story windows and was closed for a tornado warning.
Entities
Artists
- Sylvia Meagher
- Alexander Dobkin
- Allegra Kent
- Leo Sauvage
- Lee Harvey Oswald
- Jack Ruby
- Dorothy Kilgallen
- Paul Krassner
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- John F. Kennedy
- Shirley Martin
- Edwin Walker
- Richard Popkin
- Don DeLillo
- Joan Didion
- Norman Mailer
- G. Gordon Liddy
- James Grady
- Edward Jay Epstein
- Marguerite Oswald
- Guillermo Novo
- Ignacio Novo
- Che Guevara
- Robert F. Kennedy
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- George Wallace
- Harold Weisberg
- Mary Ferrell
- Mark Fenster
- Donald Trump
- Jeffrey Epstein
- Blake Lively
- Justin Baldoni
- Hunter Biden
- Lenny Bruce
- Kaitlyn Tiffany
- Jeffrey Goldberg
Institutions
- World Health Organization
- United Nations
- Warren Commission
- Government Printing Office
- National Archives at College Park
- FBI
- CIA
- House Select Committee on Assassinations
- Life magazine
- New York Review of Books
- The New Yorker
- Hood College
- University of California San Diego
- University of Florida
- Justice Department
- The Atlantic
Locations
- West Village
- New York City
- United States
- College Park
- Maryland
- Pennsylvania Avenue
- Washington, D.C.
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Pulaski
- Virginia
- Montreal
- Canada
- Dallas
- Texas
- Upper East Side
- Manhattan
- Southern California