</s>104-10066-10005 CA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASE IN FULL JFK ACT CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO NEWS RELEASE DECLASSIFICATION AND/OR RELEASE OF CIA INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT RELEASE IN THIS RECEIPT IOMAS N. DOWNING 1st DISTRICT, VINCINIA FOR RELEASE UPON RECEipt WASHINGTON, D.C ., Oct. 4 - Rep. Thomas N. Downing (D-Va.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, announced today that Philadelphia attorney Richard A. Sprague has received (CELN) N.A.M.A.) the position of acting. counsel and director of the committee which will re-investigate the assassinations of President. John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The appointment of Sprague, who was responsible for a murder conviction against former United Mine Workers president W. A. "Tony" Boyle in the Yablonski murder cases, is temporary until the full committee can act at its Nov. 15 meeting. "I am extremely gratified that Mr. Sprage has accepted this challenge." Downing said. "I have every confidence in his ability to get at the truth. His tenacity in following through an investigation is well known and highly respected, and I believe the American people are fortunate to have his services in this matter. As chairman of the select committee, I shall do everything within my power to make his difficult task less difficult." Sprague, now in the private practice of law in Philadelphia, was formerly first assistant district attorney of Philadelphia, County and served as special assistant attorney of the U.S. Attorney General County as served as specialist assistant to the U .S. attorney General for the federal prosecution of Boyle in 1969. -MORE-

Summary  
Rep. Thomas N. Downing (D-Va.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, announced the appointment of Richard A. Sprague as acting counsel and director of the committee. Sprague, a Philadelphia attorney with experience in criminal prosecutions, including his role as chief prosecutor in the Yablonski murder case involving former United Mine Workers president W. A. "Tony" Boyle, was selected to lead the re-investigation of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The appointment is temporary until the full committee convenes on November 15. Downing emphasized Sprague's qualifications, including his tenure as first assistant district attorney of Philadelphia County and his work as a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General in the Boyle case. Sprague holds law degrees from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is a member of the bar associations of the U.S. Supreme Court, the American Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association.  

Key People  
- Rep. Thomas N. Downing (D-Va.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations  
- Richard A. Sprague, appointed acting counsel and director of the committee  
- W. A. "Tony" Boyle, former United Mine Workers president convicted in the Yablonski murder case  
- Joseph A. Yablonski, UMW rival murdered in 1969  

Key Locations  
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Sprague's legal practice and prior roles)  
- Washington, D.C. (Downing's congressional district and committee headquarters)  

Key Events  
- Appointment of Richard A. Sprague as acting counsel for the House Select Committee on Assassinations  
- Re-investigation of assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  
- Sprague's role as chief prosecutor in the Yablonski murder case (1969)  
- Committee's planned substantive effort to re-examine the deaths of JFK and MLK, with a meeting scheduled for November 15  

Key Organizations  
- House Select Committee on Assassinations  
- United Mine Workers (UMW)  
- U.S. Attorney General's office (Sprague's prior role)  
- American Bar Association  
- Pennsylvania Bar Association  
- U.S. Supreme Court bar association

MLK Declassified Files

00451066_hsca_news_release_104-10066-10005.pdf

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