News Release

Newsom Fact-Checked on Rejection of Sirhan Parole on RFK Assassination

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Late last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom denied parole for Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted of the killing of Robert F. Kennedy.

A parole board had recommended Sirhan’s discharge.

In his statement rejecting the release, Newsom claimed: “Mr. Sirhan shot Senator Kennedy in front of news cameras, which subjected the Kennedy family and American public to a ubiquitous video loop of Senator Kennedy’s violent death and his wife’s anguish at his side.”

LISA PEASE, lpease2@roadrunner.com, @lisapease
Pease is author of A Lie Too Big to Fail: The Real History of the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which was published in 2018.

She contends there are numerous falsehoods in Newsom’s statement. For example, contrary to Newsom’s claim above, Pease states: “The cameras were NOT on during the shooting — only after.”

She has argued that “Sirhan had been framed. Sirhan was in front of RFK, who was shot from behind.” See a talk by Pease televised by C-SPAN. The Washington Post covered some of Pease’s revelations: “CIA may have used contractor who inspired ‘Mission: Impossible’ to kill RFK, new book alleges.”

See recent IPA news release: “Did Sirhan Sirhan Kill Robert Kennedy?” which featured three people who have investigated the assassination of Robert Kennedy including Pease and Paul Schrade. A close associate of RFK’s, Schrade was with him the night he was assassinated and was also shot. Now in his 90s, he has long charged the Los Angeles police effectively framed Sirhan, who Schrade also states did not kill Kennedy.