New Information on How John Surratt Escaped Punishment?

[L Verge]

(04-01-2019 04:17 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  I have never heard of this, and my initial reaction is to be skeptical. I can understand how the attorneys and judge might know of such a thing, but how would the jurors know? And the war was over in 1867 - what could be so valuable among Confederate records that the outcome of a trial would somehow be directly effected?

My first thoughts were: Why didn't John use those supposed documents to assist his mother and himself in 1865, when he was dealing with a military tribunal (and Holt and Stanton) who might be more willing to haggle? And, in 1867, how do you haggle with a civilian jury?

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(04-01-2019 07:00 AM)Rsmyth Wrote:  Don't know about Surratt but wish I could attend the Booth's women seminar!

Next best thing is to buy Ernie's book...

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(04-01-2019 10:10 AM)Gene C Wrote:  My unreliable sources indicate John B Jones (author of A Rebel War Clerk's Diary) downloaded several emails and incriminating documents on a thumb drive before deleting everything on his and Judah Benjamin's computer's server. Concerned that they might fall into the wrong hands, and hounded by Lafayette Baker's spies, he hid them in neighbor Charlie Brown's pumpkin patch in his back yard garden.

According to undisclosed sources, they were uncovered by former spy team and member of the secret society Knights of the Silver Triangle, Andrew Porter and Chambers Whittacker. To avoid detection, they were rewritten in secret code in the form of an unpublished trashy novel titled, 40 Shades of Confederate Gray. Sold to the Surratt team of lawyers, their secret chief counsel , Attorney P. Mason Matlock, advised them to not use the information in Surratt's trial.

Years later John Surratt sold the papers to an Oklahoma painter named David George. George, a retired actor living under an assumed name hoped to turn the book into a play. After editing the book for the theater, he rented the Enid Opra House with his production now titled, The Spy Who Loved Me, only to die from an apparent suicide. The play forgotten until recently discovered in a box of old dishes at a weekend flea market in West Virgina.

Here's where it gets interesting..... Hate to stop now, this is running a bit long, and there is a suspicious looking black Chevy Suburban driving up and down my street.
More to come,

Love it, Gene! And I think Ed Steers may be writing a sequel to your work. I floated this theory to some of the Baker Street Irregulars, and Ed's response was:

Dear Laurie,

These alleged documents are obviously stashed away in the Neff-Gutteridge Collection at ISU, and exist only as typescript copies of the originals, which were then destroyed because pigeons roosted on them. As you can see, there is an answer for every mystery.

Ed

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If we are lucky enough to see light at the end of the Mueller Report tunnel, and if another report will finally get done on those missing emails of Hillary's, maybe we can convince the team of Pelosi and Schumer to call for a belated investigation of these claims? Since it seems that the media will pick up on anything these days, maybe we can milk a little publicity out of this. Gene, insert your favorite emoji here - I just can't bring myself to do it after all these years...