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Senior British Barrister Claims CIA Murdered JFK Over UFO Disclosure Plans

Reality Check with Ross Coulthart · Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check · June 18, 2026
Senior British Barrister Claims CIA Murdered JFK Over UFO Disclosure Plans
Reality Check with Ross Coulthart
Reality Check with Ross Coulthart
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check
"Frank Sturgis, a CIA contractor, confessed to Jim Rothstein that he was one of the gunmen. I believe that Hunt was involved. And I believe that Hunt's explanation for the reason is something that is very likely to be true."
Jonathan Kaplan KC, a top-tier British barrister with over 50 years' experience, stated he believes CIA contractor Frank Sturgis confessed to NYPD detective Jim Rothstein that he was a gunman on the grassy knoll in the JFK assassination. Kaplan cited Howard Hunt's deathbed claim to his lawyer Douglas Caddy that Kennedy was killed 'because he was about to reveal the alien presence.' Kaplan connected this to a leaked Majestic 12 document suggesting MJ-12 members authorized Kennedy's assassination because his inquiries into UFOs threatened the group's continuance.

About this episode

Host Ross Coulthart interviewed Jonathan Kaplan KC, a senior British barrister with over 50 years' experience in high-profile fraud and intelligence cases, about his newly published book on UFOs and the Majestic 12 documents. Kaplan, who served on the editorial board of Flying Saucer Review and personally delivered copies to Prince Philip's equerry at Buckingham Palace, applied his forensic legal skills to authenticate leaked government UFO documents. The conversation centered on previously undisclosed Majestic 12 documents retrieved from the late Timothy Cooper's archive, including a July 1949 Blair House meeting memo showing Truman and Eisenhower discussing atomic weapons production for potential space war against alien craft, and a 1953 CIA letter ordering secrecy around an alleged alien contact meeting at Holloman Air Force Base. Kaplan presented evidence he believes links the JFK assassination directly to Kennedy's intention to disclose UFO secrets, citing CIA contractor Frank Sturgis's alleged confession to NYPD detective Jim Rothstein that he was a grassy knoll gunman, and Howard Hunt's deathbed statement that Kennedy was killed 'because he was about to reveal the alien presence.' Kaplan authenticated documents through corroboration with presidential diaries, Atomic Energy Commission records, and contemporary sources unavailable when documents first surfaced in the 1980s. He disclosed Prince Philip's active UFO interest and Sir Peter Townsley's witness interviews at Buckingham Palace, including Townsley's account of meeting a mind-reading being seeking introduction to the Duke. Kaplan expressed skepticism about imminent disclosure under Trump, arguing intelligence agencies will never admit to murders, crashed craft retrievals, or contact with non-human intelligence, settling instead for acknowledging anomalous phenomena only.

Key takeaways

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