JFK Assassination Witness Tells Adam Carolla what he saw in Dealey Plaza
Via the Adam Carolla Show:
Adam Carolla recently sat down with Robert “Tosh” Plumlee and bestselling author Ralph Pezzullo for a wide-ranging conversation about their new book, Deep Cover, Shallow Graves, Plumlee’s decades-long history with U.S. intelligence operations, and his extraordinary account of what he says he witnessed surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The July 2 episode of The Adam Carolla Show devoted much of its first hour to Plumlee’s story, with Pezzullo providing context from the years of research that went into documenting it.
Pezzullo explained that Plumlee’s story is unusual even within the world of intelligence operations because, according to Pezzullo, Plumlee functioned as a CIA “cutout.” Rather than receiving a conventional CIA paycheck or appearing in official CIA personnel records, Plumlee allegedly worked through intermediary companies, including airlines, allowing him to maintain a legitimate civilian identity while remaining available for covert assignments. Pezzullo said that arrangement was central to understanding Plumlee’s career and the world of compartmentalized intelligence operations described in Deep Cover, Shallow Graves.
Plumlee then recounted a remarkable version of his early life. He said he ran away from home as a teenager, forged a birth certificate and joined the Texas National Guard at just 14 years old. He described learning to operate a Sherman tank before eventually entering the regular Army. According to Plumlee, his military experiences ultimately opened the door to his involvement in covert aviation and intelligence operations. The book traces what he describes as roughly 35 years of connections to CIA-linked operations, including missions involving Cuba, Latin America and other Cold War theaters.
Carolla Talks JFK
The conversation became particularly compelling when Carolla asked Plumlee about November 22, 1963. Plumlee said his involvement began after military cryptologist Eugene Dinkin reportedly intercepted information suggesting that an assassination plot involving Dallas was being discussed. Plumlee said a team was subsequently assembled to go to Dallas and “abort” a potential assassination attempt.
Plumlee described himself as the co-pilot of the aircraft transporting the team. He emphasized that he did not initially understand the full nature of the mission. Among those Plumlee identified as being associated with the operation were anti-Castro Cubans, mob figure Johnny Roselli and CIA operative E. Howard Hunt. According to Plumlee, the group arrived in Dallas on the morning of Kennedy’s visit.
Plumlee also described his position in Dealey Plaza and what he says he observed as Kennedy’s motorcade approached. He recalled waiting with members of the team near what he called the “fork tree,” a location he said appears in the famous Cancellare photograph. He described the atmosphere as initially relaxed, saying the group believed the operation could have been another drill. His account then turned to the arrival of the presidential limousine and the events that followed.
The discussion expanded into Plumlee’s broader allegations about what happened after the assassination. He claimed that members of another team were captured while attempting to leave the area and made an extraordinary allegation that two men were subsequently killed and buried near the Trinity River. Plumlee connected that story to the later discovery of human remains, while acknowledging that much of the material remains disputed and controversial.
Throughout the interview, Pezzullo emphasized that Deep Cover, Shallow Graves is intended to preserve Plumlee’s story and place it within the larger history of Cold War intelligence operations. The discussion ultimately presented the JFK assassination not as an isolated event, but as one episode in the much larger world of covert operations, anti-Castro activities, organized crime, intelligence networks and government secrecy that Plumlee says he encountered during his career.
For Carolla, the conversation offered an unusual firsthand perspective from a man who claims he was physically present in Dallas as part of an intelligence-linked abort mission. For Plumlee and Pezzullo, the interview provided an opportunity to put the story behind Deep Cover, Shallow Graves before a large audience and revisit some of the most controversial unanswered questions surrounding the Kennedy assassination more than six decades later.
