Nov. 25, 1963 - The U.S. Government moved tonight to give the public all the facts on President Kennedy’s assassination and the slaying of the man accused as the assassin. The White House announced a broad inquiry into the events of the last few days. The announcement said: “The people of the nation may be sure that all of the facts will be made public.” President Johnson, the statement said, ordered the Justice Department “to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the brutal assassination of President Kennedy and the murder of his alleged assassin.” The FBI, which is the Justice Department’s investigating arm, will do the field work. The statement said the President had “directed all Federal agencies to cooperate.” The move was clearly designed to end any doubts in this country or abroad about the identity of the assassin and to try to make amends for the tragic mishandling of the suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald. There was also some feeling that President Johnson preferred to have the inquiry and public presentation of the facts handled by Federal authorities rather than state and local officials in Texas.
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