Robert J. Groden

Robert J. Groden (born November 22, 1945) is an American author and photographer, and a self-proclaimed and widely acknowledged expert on the assassination of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. His books include "JFK: The Case for Conspiracy", "The Killing of a President: The Complete Photographic Record of the JFK Assassination", and "The Search for Lee Harvey Oswald: A Comprehensive Photographic Record". He served as a photographic consultant to the Congressional investigation that concluded the assassination was "probably" a conspiracy.

Groden attended Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York but left in the 11th grade . He joined the Army in 1964 and first became interested in the JFK assassination (1963) that same year . A harsh critic of the Warren Commission, he was one of several photographic consultants to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) and testified at the 1975 United States President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States, sometimes referred to (improperly) as the Rockefeller Commission.

By his own admission [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/groden1.htm at the OJ Simpson civil trial] , Groden is a high school dropout with no formal photography training of any kind. He is not certified by any professional photography organizations and, in fact, does not even know the names of such organizations. He has never taught any photography classes nor has he ever published anything with respect to photography. He was discharged from the Army for "inadaptibility to military life."

Groden achieved his first national exposure when he aired the 22-second home movie taken by Abraham Zapruder of the Kennedy assassination on "Good Night America"--a late-night program hosted by Geraldo Rivera. Groden's narration of the events recorded on film reflected his pro-conspiracy bias, and as a result, this initial airing of the Zapruder film awakened an entire generation of conspiracy advocates in America.

He was a consultant for Oliver Stone's 1991 film "JFK", even appearing in two brief cameo roles--once as a Parkland doctor working on the President and second as the projectionist showing the Zapruder film during the Clay Shaw trial in New Orleans.

As well as his own publications, Groden co-authored with Harrison E. Livingstone the book "High Treason: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy & the Case for Conspiracy".

During the O.J. Simpson civil trial, Groden appeared as an expert witness and testified that a photograph of Simpson wearing Bruno Magli shoes at a 1993 football game was a fake. Even after thirty additional photos by a different photographer surfaced showing Simpson wearing the same clothes, on the same day — including the shoes — surfaced, Groden still maintained that the original photograph in question was a forgery. [Michael Freeman, "New photos purport to link Simpson to suspect shoes", "Chicago Sun-Times", January 6, 1997.]

Groden sued Random House over a 1993 "New York Times" advertisement for Gerald Posner's book "Case Closed" where he was featured along with other conspiracy theorists and declared "guilty of misleading the American public." The U.S. District Court issued a summary judgment and dismissed the case. ["Random prevails in suit over 'Case Closed' ad", "Publishers Weekly", Sept 19, 1994 v241 n38 p9(1)]

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