As classified JFK assassination files are being unsealed, new evidence has emerged implicating George Joannides, a CIA officer specializing in psychological warfare, in covert contacts with Lee Harvey Oswald before President Kennedy’s assassination. According to Axios, this revelation stems from a dossier of 40 documents which suggest the CIA misled the public and investigators for decades about Joannides’ true role.

A January 17, 1963 CIA memo reveals that Joannides was instructed to use the alias “Howard Gebelein,” tied to his covert liaison with the anti-Castro Cuban Student Directorate (DRE). For years, the CIA denied this connection, insisting it had no relationship with the DRE—an exiled student group funded and directed by Joannides to conduct psychological operations.

The DRE’s public clash with Oswald in 1963 (as he handed out pro-Castro pamphlets) helped paint him as a Castro sympathizer, shaping public perception post-assassination. This narrative was used to divert suspicion and reinforce the lone-gunman theory.

Despite this, Joannides later served as the CIA’s liaison to the House Select Committee on Assassinations—while concealing his prior involvement with Oswald and the DRE. Former chief counsel Robert Blakey has since accused him of obstructing justice. Ironically, the CIA awarded Joannides the Intelligence Medal of Merit in 1981; he died in 1990.

Experts now argue the cover-up is officially dead. Journalist Jefferson Morley and Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna assert the CIA has finally, albeit quietly, acknowledged Joannides’ role. Yet the central question—whether Oswald acted alone—remains unanswered.

The CIA claims it has now released all relevant documents in full, fulfilling Trump-era directives under the JFK Records Act. Critics, however, maintain that the agency’s decades of obfuscation have irreparably damaged its credibility.

Recently declassified documents suggest CIA officer George Joannides had prior contact with JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, undermining decades of official denials. His covert role in funding an anti-Castro student group that clashed with Oswald, combined with later obstruction of congressional investigations, points to a long-running CIA cover-up. Though the CIA now claims full transparency, experts remain skeptical.