13-00000 SECRET. ” 3S ‘the attached’ ‘report is not ‘intended | to ‘be an oats ” answer to. the. Fensterwald/o' Toole article which Mr. Belin attaches to his” ‘memorandum. (I have prepared a werent = - by-paragraph . x¥efutation: and comment on that article, which I believe:is more ‘appropriately handled by a sepan se Yate memorandum” to: Mr. : Belin, and qT will Prepare . this: as. a memorandum: hat. is ‘desired. y Cte cae As “The point of. ‘the’ referenced ‘memorandum. is. ‘that * consideration’ should be given now: ta: “whether or not the. entire matter’ can.be: “fully disclosed ‘at this time.". This. submission‘is. “designed to ‘make it possible. ‘for you, | ‘the. IG and others whom: you may desire to consult te make this decision. The’ narrative-interpretive summary has been’. - put together. in’ such .a:way that it discloses no syptonme, ‘pseudonyms. or. ‘other CIA ‘jargon. | However, its: contents qo. ' well beyond:. ‘what . has. been released to. the public thus. far. in the Warren: Commission documentation. °© This point must . be borne in mind in: «Making a decision on Mr. Belin's question. To remove any. question. ‘in. anybody's mind about our good, faith’ ‘in-this matter, the narrative is backed: UP. by copies. -o£ ‘actual ‘documentation from our. files. It. seems to me necessary,. in. reply to Mr. Belin,. that he or | his representative. xeview the documentation that backs up © the narrative..° The documentation has not been keyed into: the. narrative presentation, but it follows the. ctlomisgi-. cal order of presentation from 9 October into the latest developments in the matter, and there is an- overall | index’ to facilitate reference to individual items: .[NB: . There. oe “ais only one copy” of this collection; this is it-T. Be As. noted: “above,” ‘one of the: photographs taken. in ane Mexico City on 4 October 1963. was introduced inte the. ‘Warren Commission public record. However, it.was intro= duced into that record in two cropped versions... The Warren Commission and its staff were made fully aware in. a the course of their inguiry at Headquarters and in Mexico City of the origins of the photograph, the fact that we had additional photographs of the same individual © taken at different times in Mexico City and on the basis of full knowledge of these facts reached their own con- =: * clusions regarding the irrelevance of the photograph - to — OSWALD and the. assassination. |. be, : 6. In fact, we actually hold twelve different photo- 7 graphs of the Unidentified Individual. Each of these seater 15 reproduced in the. collected documentation backing up the = |. ‘ narrative report (see Items 25 -. 27) 6 Chief, TA. Division, -. s E CRE TO
13-00000 _ think they should see the entire documentation -as it. . Stands. |: Perhaps... after. ‘that, the. question of what could: ~ gould’ be taken. up: ‘with: Mx. Belin himself. My personal’ » recommendation. is. “that” the more we can say about this 9°.) ' that there are: still sensitive aspects deriving from. the at shairde Tata MGREeO. Also, it. should. -be noted that. the Ambassador,:according to Win Scott's memorandum to. _ documentation), allegedly played a direct role in the. . twelve photographs,. other than the one already published che has published .in The New York Review of Books en ae of these: questions. apply to the passage of this material © a SECR a had indicated’: in | writing to Dc/ors Staff, that he has na. - objection for Mr.).Belin to do whatever is desired with. °° these photographs. at this time. “It should be noted that - Mr. Fenstérwald.-in'1971 ~- 1972 was actually shown, by = ~~ Mr. Houston during a ‘visit to the Agency, two of thea _ in the Warren’ Commission report. (It is these two that .- which. Mr. Belin. attaches, to Ais memorandum. ye Fe It ‘Seems: ‘to. me that whoever. makes’ a ‘decision: ono whether the entire:matter can be fully disclosed at this 2-00 time should. bearin’mind that. a subsidiary decision must... also be. made,:-i-e., whether to crop. or otherwise fuzz ‘up:: the background: of. the: photographs or, alternatively, .to- Je publish the. entire run of the photographs for ‘the first: Sp time without taking” out. the background.” : ‘Obviously, none. to Mr. Belin: and -the. ‘Rockefeller Commission itself. - re be discussed ‘and. ‘the question of "how?"- and "how much?*-. matter in a fully Open ‘and - final. manner, the better off. we will. be as an Agency. But it. is my understanding‘. fact that’ the operation. which 1 produced the photographs was. joi ney Fane eh 3.C. King on°22:November 1963 (see Item’ 8 in the backup © '. decision to put: the photographs into the hands of the FBI.” ne ' there has not been anything published about this aspect: o> as stated. in Dallas laterally. from the Field. As far as I know, ©. at any time in the past: nor have we had any discussions.” * with the State Department about that aspect of the matter. ', Raymond G. Rocca .- Attachments: __
13-00000 “SuBJECT i. ‘Review. of “Agency Holdings. ‘Regarding Photograph | of a 7 we Unidentified individual: in’ the. Warren Commission Report an : — REFERENCE: ‘Memorandum ‘from David We. Belin to. BE “Henry Knoche, oe fated 2 15  Aprat. 1975_ Se ahs oe “tn accordance with reference ‘request, “we: have ‘examined | and summarized the. record concerning . a, . cropped photograph that. was considered: ‘by’ ‘the Warren’ Commission in ‘the course. of its. investi- gation. — ‘The photograph. (together. with others of the same ee individual) originated from ‘an intelligence operation conducted in, October 1963, “The ‘photograph is. ‘of an individual who ‘to this’ day remains s unidentified. “Intelligence. did not. provide a ee graph. of Lee. Harvey | Oswald ‘during his brief stay in Mexico, City | that month. 2. Under ‘the ‘extraoraifary press of effort to develop ‘infor- ‘mation. on ‘the assassin and the. assassination, copies of the fe photo- graph 1 were made available by CIA's” Mexico representative on ‘the be afternoon of. 22 ‘November ‘to the local FBI representative. — ‘Later that day, assertedly on ‘the decision of the Ambassador, copies 7 . were conveyed by an FBI. representative on a special U. S. ‘Naval - Attache flight to the Dallas office of the FBI for possibie use in the ongoing. investigation. One photograph, “cropped by the | a a FBI, was. shown to Mrs. Marguerite OSWALD (Leé Harvey OSWALD’ s , ) mother) in Dallas. on the. evening of 23 ‘November 1963 by. an BI aoe agent. oe | , a a 7 co | 3. ‘The Warren Commission" s ‘report. ‘describes the sequence of | : | | events that ultimately resulted in Mrs. Marguerite OSWALD! s nen
13-00000 allegation” that’ eo had been ‘shown. a 1 cropped, oto of Jack | RUBY the day before he murdered her son. A further complication —_ “compounding this ‘erroneous ‘conclusion, was the fact that, when she had deen shown a copy of the same photograph im her, ‘appearance before the: ‘Coitmission, it had been cropped by the FBI in. ‘Washing ton in a slightly different : manner. - oot A Although: in: ‘no. way related to Lee. Harvey OSWALD or: his = stay in Mexico city from the morning of 27 Septenber 1963 ‘to the: morning’ ‘of, 2 ‘October 1963, at least: one set of. photographs of the ‘unidentified man originated during. OSWALD! 5" stay there. It. is - important ,, 'thérefore,. to ‘an: understanding of: ‘the acquisition and. . handling of. ‘the. “photographs by. the CIA's. Mexico, representative mes to review ‘what he ascertained and ‘did with the. information "developed abe quarters action. on that, ‘information. ae 5. From, all credible evidence’ ‘known to this time! (none, incidentally, added since: the exhaustive work: of the Warren Com _-mission) ,~ Lee: ‘Harvey: oswaLD “spent four, ‘(ay full days and two a partial days ++ about. 116 hours” in’ ‘all “sin Mexico > city: from | about ‘10: 00: a. mi. 27 ‘September 1963 to about 8: 30. a. me 2 October 7 1963. . ‘His place, of. residence was a small. ‘commercial ‘traveler | hotel, “not frequented by "gringos" -- the Hotel, ‘Comercio -- where ‘he was: ‘registered under alias. “Exhaustive and detailed. interviews a and interrogation by the Mexican authorities. and the FBI. after: the assassination ‘established that, in. the recollection of ‘all. hotel personnel, “he left and returned late each day | of his stay. t OSWALD in Mexico, city, together with CIA Heads |
13-00000 Se Allowing Cor ¢ the fact of. late ce artivls and early departure, and assuming that he. slept « one- “third: ‘of. the ‘time. of his” stay GB or 39 hours), ‘there remain. some. 78 hours of ‘activity to. be oe accounted for Overall, ‘CIAts information’ can “account only : for ae - investigation None’ of the facts of his defection ‘and stay in — “the ‘USSR and. ‘return to the U. ‘s., 1959- 1962, were ‘known. to CIA's | Mexico represent: ti e before 10 October 1963. “On. that date, the bare bones: of Osivald's: biography | were. forwarded by Headquarters in response, to a cabled - report of 8 October which had forwarded, “on” a routine basis, what appeared to be: a contact by : an American for. a visa. to ‘cuba in t transit to. ‘the ussR. This: was indicated and deduced from information acquired « on: 1 October, which: was. ‘the first and only oécasion’o on: that visit in, which OSWALD was. recorded as” a . identifying himself. (partially) by. true emame, 8. At. no: time ‘during his stay. in ‘Mexico City did the, IA . acquire” a photo. of ‘OSWALD: OA careful, review. of all coverage ves Conducted. on: 22. and 23 November 1963" ‘after the assassination, ; ~ ancluding m materials back to ‘August 1963. This confirmed that there eo " was. no CIA photo coverage of OSWALD at any ‘time during his Mexico | trip or stay in Mexico City. Moreover, although it. had nade. a | | cabled request on 15 October, the CIA's Mexico representative had 7 no photo of. OSWALD . in his records, nor dia he receive one from, - Headquarters -- which did not. have one either -- before 22 2 Novenber 1963.
13-00000 9. at must th stressed that what inforhation t there was “had not been ana normally is not) processed in "real time. " The means of acquisition ‘and the volume of the information oie preclude a anything but ‘the spot reporting of ‘items judged - to a be of: more. than ordinary interest and, therefore, “noted. in | summary logs. Photo. coverage tended to become available in quantity, lots which ; requires ‘scanning and selection on | a rapid» and: accelerated basis” in. foun ‘or five day. “peaks.” ‘one. of the “triggers” that normally” operates to focus and accelerate more speedy review nd reporting of this kind of raw. intelligence 3 is — the identification of : a person! s name. ‘This 3 was precisely what occurred on: me October. It was this information reported” to Head ; quarters in in its first reference | on. OSWALD on. 8 October 1963. lo. ‘The ‘CIA's Mexico representative dia one more ‘thing 4 in. his & ‘October report on. Lee ‘OSWALD based on the r. ‘October a mation: ‘he’ ‘coupl the. data with descriptive ‘inférmation sequred a from a sensitive source =~ a photograph of, an male individual, | apparently | an ‘American, who was: observed entering an » Embassy | on’ 1 October. This detail was “reported on ‘the. 8th as a ‘matter Of ‘coincident | fact. cIAts. Mexico representative did not. assert or | suggest that: the. data led to any. deduction that the photo 5 was ain: ‘fact: OSWALD or, ‘indeed, was ‘in any, ‘way ‘related to, OSWALD. ee — dn. One additional ‘element of background must be stipulated | . now as the final precondition to understanding, the relevance ‘(or _ irrelevance) of the ‘photo of the. unknown, individual placed in ‘the | chain of evidence on 23 November in Dallas by the. FBI agent: . what. was the: totality ¢ of CIA Mexico! s “coverage of OSWALD! s activity 4 art
13-00000 ae. of the afternoon of the 23rd when’ all available coverage had been’ checked? —_ me “42. ‘The ‘totality of ‘this coverage. on or ; reasonably inferable to. be OSWALD - was. read. by, discussed with, -and.. examined by W ren Compission staffers in. | Headquarters: and in) ; Mexico city: ‘during a stay from ‘8- 13 April 1964. “ALL were made Boles 7 available ‘promptly to, the. ‘FBI. . 13. At abou mid-day « on. 1 October, the camera, registered ‘the entry into: ‘an Embassy of a white-shirted ‘individual. In. the oop opinion: of cIats: Mexico’ ‘representative, among all ‘the persons photographed ‘that day,” he: appeared. to: ‘be the ‘only non-Latin: and. | possibly American. who. ‘entered. ‘On the chance that there could be an association between ‘the. identification data derived fron | coverage. and ‘the: descriptive data. derived from the photograph, . the two: ‘elements, were. ‘reported as’ “separate | facts in, the cable to: Headquarters on. 8 October. ae This action, was, not unusual and | really amounted” to: an ms “analytic. "quantum. ‘Teap," i in terms- of. ‘the primitive: status of the OSWALD. LD identification. Many examples of 2 ‘similar Kind of. thing can be found in the. day-to- day record: of, Mexico City - Headquarters correspondence and reporting. mo oe BS . 15. On. 22 November 1963 CIA's Mexico. representative. cabled. “Headquarters ; at 22292 time after learning of the. arrest of. Lee He OSWALD,. age. 24, possibly ; in connection with the assassination, and referenced its earlier messages ‘of 8- 9 and ‘15 October and ce Headquarters’. reply | of 10 October. This. cable - requested by gan aoe