AGENCY: HSCA RECORD NUMBER:  180-10097-10339 RECORD SERIES: NUMBERED FILES AGENCY FILE NUMBER: 014915 Document Information’ ORIGINATOR: HSCA FROM: MOURY, JOHN E. TO: ; TITLE: DATE: 06/14/1978 PAGES: 7 SUBJECTS : MAURY, JOHN E. INTERVIEW CIA, ADMINISTRATION “DOCUMENT TYPE: SUMMARY CLASSIFICATION: — Unclassified RESTRICTIONS: 3 CURRENT STATUS: Redact DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 09/27/1996 ~ OPENING CRITERIA : Box 287. - COMMENTS : v9.1 : HY S0955 Doctd: 32257281 JFK Assassination System Identification Form Agency Information Page i
KENNEDY INVESTIGATION INTERVIEW SCHEDULE Date ___segune-14, 1978 Place HSCA office . Telephone 703 694 5032 M or. S. Male 7 Spouse ye _ Children — 2. Physical Description: = oo Height oo _ Color Eyes Haix_ ce o Weight ee Special Characteristics _ -o, Ethnic Group. Soa, ca Personal. History: “Present Employment: oa a " nddress ns eae "Telephone | . | cee -°b. Criminal Record 1. Arrests - 2. ~Convictions 4.° additional Personal Information: aA ‘Relative (s) Name Address “b. Area frequented: c. Remarks: _ “Tavest igator SE Date. 50955. Dectd: 32259284 - “Ba en2:
KENNEDY SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS Name _ John E. Maury - Date syne 1A isaeTine _ PM Address, 3708 ‘Farr Avenue _ Place Office of HSCA. ~ “Fairfax, Virginia — ‘Tel: 703 694 5032 _ Interview: On June 14, 1978 Investigator Harold neap and Staff Attorney, Robert Genzman, interviewed John E. Maury, ‘form of Soviet Operations for the CIA, at the HSCA office relative to his knowledge of Lee Harvey Oswald and the CIA response’ following ' the ‘assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Prior to the interview, Mr. Maury was: “presented wit oa letter: dated March 23, 1978 and signed by. Frank Cc Carlicei acting Director of CIA, which released Mr. Maury from ‘hig sbedes " agreenient with the. CTA if the information was. within, tne deoe ~ jurisdiction defined by House Resolution 222. | . . A summary: of Mr. Maury's government career is as*fol] 1940-1946 “Military (Naval Intelligence) | i  Yoae-a948- CIA (Soviet Affairs) “19as-iosa - CIA (Operational Officer at, 195441962 CIA (Chief of: Soviet Operations at Headquarters) "1962+ “1968 CIA (Chief of Station atl ) ~ 1968- 1974 CIA (Congressional Liaison at Headquarters): 1974-1977 Defense Department (Assistant Secretary of Defe 19775 1978 Defense: Departm nt (consultant) Interviewer Signature oo gypea signature _ + Harold Leap Date transcribed | zane 10, 78 nWi50955-_ _Docla: 32257281 Page 3 we we
John E. Maury Interview The significant questions and answers of the interview are as follows: Q. What were your duties and responsibilities as Chief of Soviet Operations with the CIA during the period 1954 until 1962? Responsibility for Soviet operations, programs, policy and personnel. Did you direct all programs within that geographical area? Not entirely. I had knowledge of all programs. How- ever, some were administered by other divisions. An example would be the U-2 program. Did you ever hear the name of Lee Harvey Oswald prior to the assassination of John F. Kennedy? I do not remember hearing or seeing the name prior to the assassination of President Kennedy. However, it is possible as I was usually provided a list of American defectors.” You do not remember seeing the name Lee Harvey Oswald on the defector list. No. Were any Intelligence projects in operation in 1959-62 involving the use of American defectors in the Soviet Union? Not to my knowledge. However, Central Intelligence might have run a deception operation. 50955 Docld: 322572761 Page 4
> John FE, Maury Interview Page three Q. How was information gathered on American defectors in the Soviet Union during that period? Information is obtained, if possible, from sources and assets within the country. What sources did you have within Russia at that time? We only had one or two CIA people at the American Embassy at that time and they were under very deep cover. They did utilize third country nationals as sources..specifically, third country journalists. Did you ever use American journalists or State Depart- ment or Embassy personnel? Not to my recollection. Do you know Priscilla Johnson McMillan? No. Do you know Alexis Davison? No. Who was he? If you could tell me something him, I may recall. Are you familiar with the Penkovsky case? Yes. Was Davison used as a cut-out for communication with Penkovsky? | No, now I remember. He was the Embassy doctor. Davison was not the regular contact. If he was co-opted by the CIA, it was an emergency situation. Was Davison declared persona non grata by the Russian , : . . a) government because of his assistance in the Perkovsky case? Docla: 32257261 Page 5 50955
- John E. Maury Interview Page four IT am not sure. He may have been. I just do not remember. Was Davison co-opted by the CIA to establish contact with Lee Harvey Oswald? No ~ not to my knowledge. Lee Harvey Oswald was not a CIA agent or source. Would you have known it if another Division in CIA was uSing Lee Harvey Oswald? I think I would have been informed. I certainly would have known about it at a later date. There is no way the CIA could have kept something like that a secret for this long a period without the information circu- lating in CIA circles. Was any intelligence ever developed during this period of time about a possible threat to presidents: Kennedy or Eisenhower involving the Soviets? No. However, I do remember hearing about threats to Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs. I placed no evidence to the stories. Do you remember who told you about the threats? No. What type of analysis or evaluation was conducted after Powers' U-2 was shot down in the Soviet Union? I believe that the story Powers told was the truth. 50955 Docld:32257281 Page 6
a John E. Maury Interview Page five The Bartleman Board was established and had hearings , a) on the subject. Penkovsky verified the conclusions of the Board. 0. Would Lee Harvey Oswald have knowledge of the U-2 pro- A6AL8 Le gram as reaio-radar operator at the Naval Base at Atsugi? A. He would not. Q. What was the scope and focus of KGB recruitment of Americans in Moscow during the period of time that LHO was in the Soviet Union? A. Anybody they could get. Q. Did the KGB contact hee Harvey Oswald? A. They probably did. Q. Did the CIA have access to any KGB personnel during 1959-1962? A. We did, but I don't remember their names at this time. ea We had Penkowsky and Popov; however, they were both GRU (Russian Military Intelligence). Q. What conclusions were drawn about damage to the Soviets oa after Golitsgn's defection? - A. Immediately after Golitsyn's defection, he gave us the identity of KGB personnel conducting espionage operations. His information was very valuable. However, the value of his information decreased greatly thereafter. Angleton sincerely believed in Golits‘in's bona fides. We Golitsin was one of the very few Soviet defectors that Angleton did not think was a double agent. 50955 Docld:32257281 Page Fo - ; —
John E. Maury Interview Page six Do. you think Nosenko was a double agent? IT don't know. Just because Nosenko lied about his rank and his involvement with the KGB does not neces- sarily mean he was a double agent. Most defectors lie about the value and amount of information they possess to obtain your support and assistance. Nosenko may not have been aware of KGB activity which may have been conducted by the KGB personnel under the First Secretariat. Nosenko was under the “Second Secretariat which dealt with internal intelligence, but not foreign intelligence. The above questions and answers were paraphrased by the writer and they are not necessarily in the order asked or given. However, the meaning is unchanged. Docld: 32257281 Page 6