the "second assassination" from the right - i.e. the use of
scandal to stamp out Kennedy's reputation and legacy. That
something was the Church Committee. Belated revelations about the
CIA's role in Watergate, and later of the CIA's illegal domestic
operations created a critical firestorm demanding a full-scale
investigation of the CIA. The fallout from Watergate had produced
large Democratic majorities in both houses of congress via the
1974 elections. This majority, combined with some of the moderate
Republicans, managed to form special congressional committees.

The committee in the Senate was headed by Idaho's Frank Church.
Other leading lights on that committee were Minnesota's Walter
Mondale, Colorado's Gary Hart, Tennessee's Howard Baker, and
Pennsylvania's Richard Schweiker.

As writers Kate Olmsted and Loch Johnson have shown, the Church
Committee was obstructed by two of the CIA's most potent allies:
the major media and friendly public figures. In the latter
category, Olmsted especially highlights the deadly role of Henry
Kissinger. But as Victor Marchetti revealed to me, there was also
something else at work behind the scenes. In an interview in his
son's office in 1993, Marchetti told me that he never really
thought