Harvey and Lee vs. Richard Case Nagell

[Peter Lemkin]

First, assuming that Nagell was supposed to get wind of the plot as part of the plot is correct.
I would argue that this could have happened only as a counter intelligence strategy to:
a. To connect Oswald to a fake assassination threat against Kennedy (something different from the plot to kill JFK) in order to blame FPCC by assossiation with Oswald for the possible murder of the US President on orders from USSR and Cuba.
b. To force out KGB and Cuban agents to make themselves known
c. To create confusion and a false sense of reality so the Soviets and Cubans would think
that Oswald was a Pro Castro Communist trying to get JFK instead of Castro. That was Harvey
who was Lee's cover to hide the plan of assassinating Castro, a cover. If somebody got word that an Oswald was involved in a plot to kill Castro, they would have dismissed the idea since their agents would have reported that Oswald was aiming at JFK instead.
Nagell knew of plan that would occur near Washington, not Dallas and to me this indicate that it was an anti-FPCC operation to prove how dangerous they were to National Security.
The question is what would have happened if Nagell had actually killed Oswald, then the plot to assassinate JFK would have lost its patsy.

Well, you post has some interesting thoughts, but consider.....
- how much of what Nagell actually knew he felt he could tell Russell. I'd guess much, but NOT all...he told Russell that, in fact.
- how much of what Nagell's multiple controllers knew they felt they could tell or let Nagell discover...and what they knew of each other...how much of this was a game to find out what alternate intel agencies or alternate groupings within the US Intel agencies knew of one another's plans to kill JFK.
- alternate patsies were already groomed, if the prime one [Oswald] was somehow lost, IMHO.
- Nagell might have seen both Lee's real role and his 'legend/patsy' role - and told some of his handlers one or the other...or he might have only seen one of the two rolls...but I suspect he saw both and realized something was very very 'rotten in Denmark'. IMHO, had he really believed Oswald was about to kill JFK or was part of such a plot, he would have reported that [he may have with no effect] or stopped Oswald somehow. Instead he bowed out of the whole mess...realizing it couldn't be stopped by himself.
- IMO it is clear that Nagell smelled a big fat dirty 'rat'....that he either thought that Oswald was not who he was portrayed to be and/or his controllers were not wearing the white hats and so he 'bowed out' by shooting up the bank ceiling and sitting down, waiting to be put in prison to sit out the events of 11/22/63...as he knew: 1] he too was being set up by someone! 2] following out his orders were contrary to the National Interest and his standing orders prior to the mission. 3] Nothing he did would change the course of events...which were too far along and had alternate ways of achieving its aims...