(404-10796-10000) - }OY- 101% = loo a | PAZ 2 May 1975 MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Chief, Operations Staff | SUBJECT | 4 Review of Agency Holdings regarding - : : Photograph of Unidentified ETndivicual . in Mexico City published by the Warren Commission Mr. David W. Belin, Executive Director of the Commission on CIA Activities . within the United States, to Mr. §., Henry Knoche (copy attached to 1 | | | | REFERENCE st Letter dated 15 April ‘1975 by i accompanying report) 1. This. is further to, and in completion of, my inter.m memorandum of a few weeks ago. 2. The attachment is a detailed review in narrative, chronological order =- together with appropriate comnent- ary - of our extensive holdings.on the OSWALD case that have a bearing on the matter of photographs taken by Mexico City Station on(h, (4-and 15 October 1583 of an Unidentified Individual. As a eecnsequence of a combina- tion of analytical error, misjudgement and under the stress of an-urgent desire to contribute to the develop- -. ment of the investigation of the assassinaticn, a cropped version of one of the photographs of the Unidentified Individual was introduced into the chain of evidence in the OSWALD case on 23 November 1963 by an ; FBI representative in Dallas. The successive vicissi- tudes which have now made this event a cause celebre right down to the present moment are detaiied in the narrative. e SECRET a Ewen ey SE AES ES OE LETT TEE On Re ET RBS YC - een aon ne geet ~ iad =e whee «ae 2 OTE EE ee ~ ° 72 PRATER AL, 6 EH MPS A ae POROUS Sa See SCREEN pacar 2
14-00000 SECRET 3. The attached report is not intended to be an ‘answer to the Fensterwald/0' Toole article which Mr. Belin “attaches to his memorandum. (I have prepared a paragraph= by- paragraph réfutation and comment on that article, — which I. believe is more Tenceaad be handled by a sep St phe! to rate memorandum to Mr. Belin, Iwill Prepare this’ as Ne a i a weinorandum if that is_ desired, d. pe OT sae ; Me ‘ wer “* ott ‘4. The point of the referenced ‘memorandum is that’ ‘ et consideration should be given now to ‘whether or not the nae wb fe ft entiréxmatter can be fully disclosed at this time:* This subinission is designed. to make it \possible for you, the IG and 6thers whom you may- desire to consult to make this. . décision.. The narrative=- interpretive. sunmary has been.’ put: together in such a way that it discloses no cyptonyns, . pseudonyms. or other CIA jargon. ‘However. “its contents ao well beyond what has been released to the public thus far in the Warren Commission doéumentation. 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 marratiye is backed up by ‘copies of actual documentation from our files. It scéms to’ me nécessary, in reply to Mr. Belin, that he 6r his representative review the documentation that backs up the nartative. The documentation has not been keyed into the narrative presentation, but it follaws the chronologi- cal order of° presentation from 9 October into the latest — developments in/the matter, and there is an overall index -, ‘L* -ta- facilitate reference to individual items. [NB: There a ce is only one copy of this collection; this is itv} . ~~ wer eye) e nad 5; ‘As noted above, oné.of. the photographs taken in ‘1+ ¥ ; Mexico City on, 4 October 1963 was introducéd into the 20‘ ya‘ pe" . Warren Commission public record. However, it was intro- oY eth duced into that record in two cropped versions. The cope Warren Commission and its staff were made fully aware in * L . the course of their inquiry at Headquarters and in’ er see Mexico City of the origins of the photograph, the fact f alg? that we had additional photographs of the same individual oie 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. ‘ . sa . Seaton mitt lc RA I mae Me aOR + oe te — ences - woe ' . . . ar : . 8 + teenth - 6. In fact, we actually hold twelve different photo- -graphs of the Unidentified Individual. Each of these are+— ; reproduced in the collected documentation backing up the narrative report {see Items 25 - 27). Chief, LA Division, 2 SECRET
EER THE EY POE LRN” SP TOE TE Hh EOE ORO NE FO tapers RL ED AN A * STR EE, TTR TEN. EET LL A REA ay SnereteMentine: etme meee SECRET . had. indicated in writing to Chief, CIOPs, that he has no objection for Mr. Belin to do whatever is desired with these photographs at this time. It should be noted that Mr. Fensterwald in 1971 + 1972 was actually shown, by | - Mr. Houston during.a visit to the Agency, two of the . tweive* ‘photographs, other than the one alréady published in the ‘Warren Commissicn report. (It is these two that he has published in The Néw York Review of Books article which Mr. Belin attaches to his memorandum, } 2 It. seems to me that: whoever: makes’ a decision on “whether the entire matter can be fully disclosed at this. time’ Should bear “in mind that a subsidiary: decision must “also. be’ madé, i. Cee whether | ‘to crop or otherwise fuzz up ' the? bay Kground of the ‘photographs or,. alternatively, to publish * ‘the entire run of the photographs for the first ime. without: ‘taking. out ‘the background. Obviously, none OE “these questions:-"apply to the pdssage. of this material to Mr.-Belin andthe "Rocke féller ‘Commission itself. I ‘think they. should. see the entire documentation as’ it stands. Perhaps after that, the question ' of what could could be ‘taken up with Mr. Belin himself. My personal recommendation is’ that. the more we can say about this matter in a fully. ‘Open and final manner, the better off we will be’ as.an Agency. But it is my understanding that, there are still sensitive aspects deriving: ‘from the fact: ‘that the operation which produced thé photographs " was and-as @ consequence publication at this time would create additional problems - at that level in México. ' Also, it should be noted that ‘the Ambassador, according to Win Scott's memorandum to J.C: King on 22.November 1963 (see Item 8 in the backup documentation)‘, allegedly played a direct role in the «decision to put the photographs -into the hands of the FBI in Dallas laterally from the Field. As far as I know, there has not been anything published about this aspect 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: as stated SECRET nn. "ir
14-00000 2 May 1975 SUBJECT :° The Photo of ah-Unidentified. Individual -in the Warren : Commission Report: A Factual Chronological Survey’ REFERENCE: Memorandum by David W. Belin to Nr. &. Harry Knoche, , > 15 April 1975 (Attachment A) nn e 1 Reference memorandum suggests it would be ‘appropriate to reconsider full disclosure at this time of the circumstances and factual data relative to the Subject. ‘The purpose of this survey. is to permit a realistic evaluation of. the suggestion. Background: — oe , . ‘ ; ; 2. This examination and summary of the record concérns' ‘a crooved photograph considered by the President's Camission on the’ Assassination ; of President Kennedy (hereinafter cited as the Warren Commission) and foo : Lee _ oe 1 nos, ; : introduced into evidence as Qdum Exhibit No. 1. — The photograph (together with othérs of. the same individual) originated fron a highly 1 See Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (hereinafter cited as Hearings). Vol. XX, p. 691. ji SECRET
14-00000 - Embassies in Mexico City. sensitive intelligence operation being conducted in October 1963 by the cat «sd against the Soviet and Cuban + 3. Under the extraordinary press of effort to develop infornatton "on the assassin and’ the assassination + copies of the photograph were _made avai lable by CIA" s Mexico Station chief on the afternoon of ye. 22 November to the local FBI representative, and: later that day, asserted ly on the decision. of the Anbassador , copies were conveyed by” an FBI representative by a special flight. carried out by the U.S. Naval “Attache to the Dallas: office of: the FBI for poss ible use in the ongoing. Anvestigation. . One photograph, cropped by the FBI, was shown to, --Mrs. Marguérité OSWALD (Lee Harvey OSWALD's mother) in Dallas on the: evening of 23 November 1963 by FBI Agent Bardwe!1 D. ODUM. - 4. The Warren Commission's report describes the sequence of events at pp. 364- 365 and 667 (Attachnent B) which ultimately resulted in Mrs. Marguerite OSWALD" 's allegation that she had been shown a cropped photo of -Jack RUBY the day before he murdered her son. (A further complication compounding this erroneous conc lusfon was the fact that when she had been shown a copy of the same photograph in her appearance before the Commission, it had been cropped by. the FBI in Washington in a slightly different manner.) §. No detail in the Warren Cannission report illustrates more vividly than this one the difficulties that besct simple truth in the SECRET
14-00000 1 : PIPL Gee LEGON INT, RTT Oa ER tO ops t " Lee Harvey OSWALD - Reporting on Nevico City Stay Mexico City from the morning of a September 1963 to the morning of ef Books, a copy of which is attached to reference (‘tachment fs rey 7 a] ry “4 ae hae Boliticteed, rigidly deterministic interpretive climes that has been rurtured by the media over the past decade about’ the Kerrecy Assassina- _tion, The photograph, acknowledged mow not to be RUSY, Bus continued to preoccupy “specialists” and has becare the centerziece of another hypothesis that holds OSWALD to have deen “Frained” by ‘the’ use of a” double in his activity in Mexico city.?. 6. Although in“no way related to Lee: Harvey’ OSKRE or his stay in. = a / 2 October 1963, at least one set of photographs of the ul identified man originated during OSWALD's. stay there. It is important, therefore, to an understanding of .the acquisiti on. and handling of tre photograntis by the Mexico Station to review what the station ascertained and: did with the information it deve loped about OSRALD In Nexico city, together: with . Headquarters action on that information. 7. From all credible evidence known to this time (none, incidentally, added since the exhaustively unique work of the Warren Commission); Lee Harvey OSWALD spent four (4) full days and two (2) sartial days-- about 116 hours in all--in Mexico City from about 10:02 a.m. 27 September @ This is the thrust of the article "The CIA and the Mae who Was Not Oswald" by Bernard Fensterwald and George O'Toole in tte New_York Review jive “SECRET
14-00000 SECRET ae ae ry 183 to about 2:30 a.m. 2 Ucteter 1963. His place of residence was a small comercial traveler hotel, not frequented by "gringos"=-the Hotel Commercio--where he was registered under alfas. Exhaustive and. detailed interviews and interrogdtion by ‘the Mexican authorities and- : the FBl, after the assassination, established that inthe recollection of . all hotel personne] -he left early and returned late each day of his Stay. 8. “Resuming. ‘and allowing for the fact of late arrival and early departure , that he ‘slept one-third of the. ‘time of his stay (38 or 39 hours), there remain some 78 hours of activity to be accounted for. “Overall, CIA‘s information can account solely for very brief periods | during 27, 28 September and 1 October. All coverage by CIA during the ‘entire period was technical.. The Station had no Hve source (living "9, It should be noted that OSWALD was in no sense “under investi- _ ‘gation.” Hone of ‘the facts, of his defection and stay in the USSR and a return to the U.S., 1959 - 1962, were known to Mexico Station Files. So, Before 10 October 1963, when. the bare bonés of his biography were | nn forwarded by Headquarters in response to a Station cabled report of 8 October which had forwarded, on @ routine basis, what appeared to be a contact by an American for a visa to Cuba in transit to the USSR. This was indicated and deduced from technically acqutred information on , 1 October, which was the first and only occasion in which OSWALD identified himself (partially) by true name. SECRET
14-00000 am Pag usd ¥ oral ear a8 we ory oy Mw ry «de a 10. “At no tice during his stay Ia Mevico City did the CIA acquire a photo of OSKALO. A careful review of all coverace, voice intercept, as well as photographic, of both the Soviet and Cuban Embassies was conducted by the Station on 22 and 23 Novenber 1963 after the assassina- _ a | ‘tion, going back to materials from August 1963. It is, therefore, firm DG Sy that there was no CIA photo coverage of OSWALD at anv time during his, , Mexico trip or stay in Mexico City. Moreover, although it had made a ; ° . . \ cabled request on 15 October, the Mexico Station had no photo of OSWALD © - in its records, nor did it receive one from Headquarters --which did not have one elther--before 22 November 1963. Q VW. brotha This intensive review of voice intercept transcripts - by the monitor and other personnel on the basis of the 1 October inter- cept--which had been reported to Headquarters and disseminated to the ; interested members of the intelligence community (as an ex-Marine OSWALD was a Navy and FSI case under the Delimitations Agreement, and potentially of interest to the Department of State)--turned up matches based on ae ; 7 Lo content with materials intercepted on.27 and 28 Septenber 1963. These matches were reperted to Headquarters on 23 November 1963. Analysis based on voice canparison. (except for what could be recalled by the monitor--and this was not an insignificant element because of the hemorably poor Russian spoke by OSWALD) could not be made because the tapes, in accordance with the normal practice, had been erased and re-used. SECRET
14-00000 oh Lee OSWALD based on its 1 ‘October voice intercepts: ft coupled the SECRET te It must be stressed that the voice intercept and photographic coverage was not (and normally {2 not) processed in “real time.” The means of acquisition and’ the volume of the tnformation precludes anything but the spot reporting of item: judged by the mont tor. to be of more than ordinary interest ‘and, therefore, noted ‘in surmary logs. Full texts of $e lected items require consultation of the tape and either a full tran-_ . . . scription: or full translation or both. " Photo. - coverage tends to became available in quanti ty lots which requires scanning and: Sélection on a : rapid and accelerated: basis in four or . five day “peaks. * One of the "triggers" that normal ly: operates. to focus and accelerate more speedy _ ‘yeview and reporting of, this Kind of raw intelligence isthe ‘mention of ct - “ ‘a name. This wis precisely what occurred in the second of two conversa- tions on 7 October with the Susfet Embassy, during which the- speaker, said he was “Lee oswinio. “It was this” information reported by the Statton to Headquarters in its” firs t indication on OSWALD cn & October 1963. 13. The Mexico Station did one more thing in its 8 October report data with descriptive 4nformation ft had acquired fron a sensitive - collateral source--a photograph of a male individual, apparently an - Anerican, who was observed entering the Soviet Embassy on 1 October. The Station reported this detail on the 8th as a matter of coincident fact. The Station did not assert or suggest that the data deduced fran the photo was in fact OSWALD, or indeed, was in any way related to OSWALD. SECRET 4
B SECRE FE Lee Harvey OSWALD - + CTA Coverage of His Mexico City Cay V4, 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 FRI Agent ‘Bardwell coum: what was the totality of CIA Mexico’ 's. coverage of OSWALD! $ activity as of the after- noon of the. 2rd when, al ‘dvailable. ‘coverage had been checked? 15. The totality of Hexice Station < coverage on, or reasonably inferable to be OSWALD, consisted of five (5) voice intercepts: as .- Folows: a. 27 September 1963 (Friday), 1605 hour's Mexico Cit time. ‘Silvia DURAN, a Mexican national, a local eanployee of the Cuban Embassy, Consular’ section, a receptionist, Speaks with an unknown male at the Soviet Embassy. Silvia DURAN tells the, man that the American citizen was, theré, the one who wants a visa for Cuba on. his way to the Soviet union, and he wants to know with whom he was talking there because she (Silvia DURAN) had. ‘sent him to the Soviet - fmbassy saying that 1f they accepted him and: gave him a visa, then the Cubans (Embassy) would also give him a visa without further paper work, only advising Immigration in Cuba. The American, she says, wants to know with whom he had talked there because he says he was told there would be no problem. The man in the Soviet Embassy says to wait a moment. A different Soviet speaks, and SECRET ery SPITE tance
14-00000 ‘ . er nig RET Silvia DURAN explains the sae thing to him, This man says to. leave a name and telephone muaiber and says he will call back. Silvia DURAN gives the telephone 11-28-47 (Cuban Consulate). She also takes advantage of the conversation and states she has moved and wants to advise the Soviet Embassy of her change of ‘address $0 that she can recelve the Soviet Embassy's Bulletin. ; The man says to call KOURHARENKO to give her new address, then he asks the name of the Consul or Cultural Attache. Silvia DURAN says the name 4s Teresa ‘PROENZA and the telephone number is 14-13-26. The man. Says thanks. b. 27 Septender 1963 (Friday), 1626 hours Nexico City time, re ‘An unidentified male, a Soviet, calls ‘the -Cuban Consulate, asks . Silvia DURAN {f the Amertcan had been there. Silvia DURAN says he is there now. The Soviet Says the Anerican showed papers from the Consulate in Washington, that he wants to go to the Soviet Union and be there for a Tong time with his wife, who is Russian, but the answer has -not come fram Washington in respect to this problem, and according to this procedure it takes four or five months, but without having permission fran the Soviet Union they should ask, or” better said, they cannot issue a visa there without asking Washing- ton. However, according to this man, he showed a leiter indicating he.was a member of an organization fn favor of Cuba and that the Cubans said that they cannot issue a visa without his having a visa SECRET
SECRET for the Soviet Union, and now he (the Soviet) does not know what to do with him (the Amertcan), because they have to wait for an answer ~ fron Washington, - Says he cannot give a letter or reconmendation either because he a . ; \ 3 Silvia DURAN agrees the same problem exists with the Cubans, "that. the problem with him (the Anerican) is that he does not know ~ anyone in Cuba and therefore if that fs true it will be difficult for him to get a visa for Cuba, bécause he was thinking of proces- - Sing his visa (for the Soviet Union), because he kriew it would require waiting a long time for his visa to the Soviet Union while in Cuba, and from there go to the Soviet Unions The Soviet said the. thing is that if his wife right now were -in' Washington she would receive her. visa right now, or permission, fron the Soviet Union, to return to her country; she is going to receive her visa in Washington but having this visa, she could communicate to any place this permission, for example here or. any place she could receive it (visa or permission), but’ right’ now they do not have them. Silvia OURAN says certainly and-they cannot-give a letter“efther ~ because they do not know if the visa will be approved. The Soviet . does not know him (the American) and asks to be excused for bothering her. Silvia DURAN says that is all right and many thanks. ; ; . i c. 28 September 1963 (Saturday), 1151. hours Mexico City time. Silvia DURAN calls the USSR Embassy and talks to an unidentified : SECRET if be : ye
14-00000 SECRET Soviet. She says that in the Cuban Embassy there is a North American who was at the Soviet Embassy. The Soviet says wait a “minute. Silvia DURAN speaks English with somedne--and comments in’ . Spanish that they -gave APARICIO telephone 14-12-99 and to take the. “number” down--Silvia DURAN ‘then Says the American citizen is going” to taik with you, Te. . ‘the Soviet. The Averican’ first speaks . Russian and the | Soviet: speaks English. They continue in English.” . The Anerican talks broken Russian and says Twas in your Enbassy and. -“ o» spoke* ‘tayo your Consul. Just a minute. A Soviet takes “the phone and. - asks, the American in English.what does he want?. The American says please speak Russian. The Soviet says what else do you want? ‘The ~ Ané rican says I was just now at your Embassy and they took my — ‘address, The Soviet says I know that. The fmerican, in hardly’ recognizable Russian, says I did not know it then. T went to the ‘Cuban Embassy to ask them ‘for my address, because they have it... - The Soviet says why don't you come again and leave your address . with us, it is not far from the Cuban Embassy. The American says 1' 1] .be there right away. d. 1 October 1963 (Tuesday), 1031 hours. Mexico City time. An unkriown male, (Anerican) calls the Soviet Embassy, the Military Attache's number, 15-69-87, and says to an unidentified Soviet respondent: I was at your place last Saturday and talked to your Consul. They said that they would send a telegram to Washington, SECRET . ; eee a eect coment 1 eine — a
14-00000 % 6 SECRET and T wanted to ask you if there is anything new? The Soviet says [would Tike to ask you to call another phone number? Please write it down: "15-60-55, and ask for a consul. Thank you. e. LOctober 1963 (Tuesday), 1035 hours Mexico City time. The same person who phoned a day cr’ so ago and spoke in broken. Russiafi speaks to OBYEDKOV (a Soviet Enibassy guard). He says: _ This is Lee OSWALD speaking. I was at your place last Saturday. and ; spoké to a consul, and they said that they would send a telegram to Washington, so I wanted ‘to find out if you have anything new? But I don't remember the name of that consul. OBYEDKOV says: KOSTIKOV. He-is dark (hair or skin - 7). OSWALD says yes. My name is OSWALO. OBYEDKOV says, just a minute, I'l) find out. They say that they have not received anything yet. OSWALD says: Have they done anything? OBYEDKOV says: Yes, they say that a request has been” sent cut, but nothing has been received as yet. OSWALD says, and what ... . 7, OBYEDKOV hangs up. 16. Each of these items, including the texts of the raw intercepts, were read by, discussed with, and examined by Warren Commission staffers - in Headquarters and at the Mexico Station during a stay from 8 - 13 April 1964.3 All were made available promptly to the FBI. 3 The Warren Comission group that visited the Mexico Station consisted of Mr. Coleman, Mr. Slawson, and Mr. Willens. They examined not only the YW SECRET ATTA AER, eS A tem er esteem tn rh ct ne wetness keantnt mrt seer te
stabids . WV. Scrg up. we can state, or by free Yoterpretation: reasonably infer from the intercept evidence, that OSwALO made or could. have made the following contacts with the. Cuban and Soviet official cstablisheerits ‘dn Mexico City. st Septeniber, 19¢ 1963 (Friday). After: aretval and che eck-in te a a his hotel, CSHALD went! first to the, Cuban ‘Embassy where he talked. HS mE , L with Ns. Silvia DURAN. - The ‘tine of his first, Cuban Embassy visit | 4s unknowit The time of. his second Cuban Embassy visit was! cabout ; "1600 ¢ hours (i. ey Just before closing). “Somet inig between the two . oe Cuban’ Extassy visits, at Mrs. ODURAN's, indications he must have: Visited ¢ the Soviet: Embassy. We have no indication who he- talked |. with at the Soviet Embassy. a “ a ; intercepts a-e “above, but others for the 27th and. one for. 3 Octoder s _ that seemed to have. relevance, These have not been included -in this Summary because they appear, on review, to be excludab le fran the OSWALD, - matter on logical or: substantive graunts, or bothy bearing in mind that: a i a the Soviet Enbassy received ‘many calls pertaining to visa matters. an SUE On the 27th at 1037- hours the Saviet Embassy received a- cal Fran ER an unknown individual speak ing Spanish who said he wanted visas to go ‘té 3 Odessa. He was told the Consul was net in and to call ‘back at 1130. " OSWALD. is known to haye arrived at the Flecha Roja bus terminal on bus #516 at circa 100 hours -on.the 27th, It was, therefore, possible for him to have mada this call. But granting this, it ts unreasonable to believe the calls were OSWALD's fer the following reasons: a. The caller wanted visas, and specif ically for Odessa. OSWALD was seeking a visa and never in any context did he specify the Black Sea port of Odessa as 3 destination, Ye SECRET eee eterna APre eae AST SSS aac ear PPR NYE ie Pe: re AUT SRE TARORY ZORA LOND, MPL OMAN RTL TS STOPES TY Tht aoe eeemetnoe conan
14-00000 buss There was no phetouraphic ceverage of OSHALD's entries. into either the Cuban or Soviet Embassies on the 27th. The Tack of © coverage on the Cuban installation-is explainable: “the camera, based on the recollection of officers still im service in Head- quarters, was down on :the 27th because of mechanical malfunction, “a. which was in course of correction. Why OSWALD was missed -in his | probable entry to the Soviet installation’ on the 27th is not yet explained, but no technical operation | of. that kind. is infallible. ° ae ob. 28 September 1963 saturday) ‘[Note: Both’ the Cuban and ° Soviet: Enbassies: were closed to the public. on Saturdays. Phote- ‘graphic coverage was normal ly suspended Saturdays and Sundays -] b. The call was directed to the correct Soviet consular number: 15-60-55. On ) October, OSWALD First called the wrong number, 15-69-87 (the MA's number), and had to redirect his call to. the correct number, 15-60-55. It Seems unlikely he would have made what would have been ‘hi$ initial call, on Friday the 27th, to the correct number, and called the incorrect number on 7) October. ‘ “eo, There is every reason to believe from the’ context of the. intercepts, para 15, a-e above, that OSWALD's first destination after arrival and check-in to his hotel, was a visit to the Cuban Embassy, a The use of the Spanish language would exclude OSWALD unless he made use of an intermediary, which seems unlikely from what is known of his modus operandi. On 3 Octeber at 1539 hours an individual speaking broken Spanish, then English, called the Soviet Embassy and asked for a visa, The Soviet respondent says: Call on the other phone. The requestor says: I'm 3 SECRET
14-00000 ens SECRET ‘ OSWALD, notwithstanding the holiday schedule, went on Saturday morning to the Soviet Embassy {his second visit) where he spoke to a Consul. He apparently could not recall his new Texas address. “At circa 1151 hours he went to the Cuban Embas$y--his third entry-- wher’ he had registered it in his Visa application the day” previously. He secured the address from Mrs. DURAN and she called — ‘the Soviet Consulate presumably to permit him to give them the . address over the phone. Instead, the Soviet with whoi OSWALD spoke - over Mrs. DURAN'S telephone invited OSWALD to come back in person, and he said he would immediately. Presumat ly,‘thereupon OSWALD went back to the Soviet installation (his third entry). s looking for a visa td go.to Russia. The Soviet says: Please cal) on the telephone of the Consul, 15-60555,. The requestor Says: One moment pleases, I'l) have-to get a pencil to write the number down, They issue ‘the visaithere? The Soviet: That depends on your corversation. I don't know about this business. The requestor asks for the number again. The Soviet gives him the number and tells him to ask for the Consul of the Soviet Embassy in Mexico. . ; The relevance of this intercept to OSWALD is: excludable on three grounds: - ‘ a. The use of broken Spanish. OSWALD throughout used broken Russian or English. .He had no competance in Spanish to handle a conversation of this kind, ' b.. The substance of the request indicates a visa request in the first stages of initiation. OSWALD had developed his matter with the Cubans and the Soviets the previous Saturday to a point well beyond the stage indicated by the substance of this call. 14 SECRET
14-00000 ~ c. 29 Septenber 1963 (Sunday). No activity registered. d. 30 September 1963 (Monday). No activity registered. (it 45 known that osu reserved Space this date on a Mexico City- Loredo. bus., departing 2 October 1962 at 0830 hours.) e. oct October. 1963 ° (Tuesday) . ‘OSWALD made at least’ two calls, at 1031 and 1045. hours, to the Soviet Embassy. -He identified himself twice during the second call when he talked. with OBYEDKOV-~a guard--- and referred to his talk ‘on Saturday, probably with KOSTIKOV. There was no photographic coverage of OSWALD:on 1° October; if the follow- ing réasoning is correct, that was as it should ‘be. From the context — ~ of the two calls, ‘there would have been no. reason for him to go to the Embassy. ‘His case had clearly been placed at the sufferance of the USSR Embassy in Washington. His two calis on 1 October were ‘ concerned with whether’ any ‘reply: had been received. fron Washington. i - Under. those circumstances , it is unreasonable to belfeve OSWALD would” ‘have gone to~the- Soviet: Embassy on that date. 18. The camera at about mid-day registered the entry into the Soviet Embassy of a white-shirted individual who, jn the opinion of the c. OSWALD had left Mexico City, based on all the credible evidence, the early morning of the previous day, 2 October, and ‘could’ not have made this local call. ; , SECRET
14-00000 ie oo Station, amon; ail the persons photoirarhwd that day. appeared to be the only person--3 nen-Latin, and possibly an Anerican--who entered the Soviet installation, On the chance there could be an association between the . “tdentification data derived from the voice intercept und the descriptive data derived fran the photograph, the Station reported: the two elements as separate facts in its.cable to Headquarters én 8 October. 19, The Station's action was not unusual and really amounted to an analytic “quantum leap," justifted by the primitive and initiatory status - of the OSWALD idéntification, Many examoles of a’simflar kind of thing *- can be found in the day-to-day record of Station-Headquarters correspon- ' dence and reporting. Developments fran 8 October - 22 Novembsr 1963 20. Mexico Station reported to Headquarters on & October (received in Headquarters 9. October) the following initial information on OSWALD.4 (1) Qn 1 October 1963, an Americar’ male who spoke - broken Russian and said his name Lee OSWALD (phonetic), stated he was at SevEimb on: 28’ September when he spoke ° 4 Cablese has been rendered here, and throughout, into readable English, without substantive changes or omissions. Cryptonyms and pseudonyms have been omitted or put into clear text. 16 SECRET es! De.
14-00000 SECRET with a consul whan he believed to be Valerty Vladimirovich KOSTIKOV. Subject asked the Soviet - guard [Ivan] OSYECKOY, who answered, if there was anything new regarding a telegram to Kashington. - ; , OBYECKOV upon checking said nothing had been received yet, but the request had been sent. - (2) Mexico Station Said ft had photos of a male “who appeared to be an Anerican_entering the Soviet ase - Embassy at 1216 hours, leaving 1222 on 1 October, Apparent age 35, athletic build, circa 6 feet, receding hairline, balding top. Wore khakis and | sport shirt. (3) No local dissemination was being made by the Station. 21. On 10 October 1963 at 2012Z time the WH Division responsible for action disseminated this report to the Department of State, the FBI, and the Navy Department by routine electrical transmission, adding some collateral details drawn fran a preliminary file review: (1) On 1 October 1963 a reliable and sensitive source in Mexico reported that an Anerican male, who identified himself as Lee OSWALD, contacted the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City inquiring 7 7 SECRET SW eE NMR ET ITY Um mtn SR oN, ALE RIEI OTE SUN RE TE So TONNER SENET Ty ad cooperate 2 att SCREENS TTS YP 2 SANIT ORR Rete eT fot 7 a 4 as ? a ye
22, whether the Embassy hae received any news con- cerning a telegran which had been sent to Washington. The Acerican was described as |. approximately 35 years ald. with an athteti¢ build, about 6 feet tall, with a “receding” hairline. , (2) It is believed that OSKALD may be identical. to Lee Henry [sic] OSKALD, born’ on 18 October’ '1939 in New Orleans, Louisiana, a former U.S. Marine who defected to the Soviet Union in October 1959 and later made arrangements through the United ‘States Embassy in Moscow to return to the United States with his Russian-born wife, Marina Nikolaevna PUSAKOVA [sic] and their child. (3) The information in paragraph. (1) is being disseminated to your representatives in Mextco City: - Any further information received on this subject will be furnished you. This information is being made avai lable to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Although the reactien of the Headquarters desk was “by the book" and in good time, there were a number of errars in this advisory to the departments which, on the record, were concerned with the OSWALD case: 13 - SECRET
yet SETRET a, USWALD's middle nace mas misgiven: “Henry” for Harvey. The reason for this mistake is simplicity itself. The sheet opening the file on OSWALD on 9 Decexder 1960-had been erroneous ly inscrited "CSWALD, Lee Henry.” That sheet--unchanged except for the hotation of ‘the error--is still the first sheet in the OSWALD file. b. His wife's maiden name was misspelled: "PUSAKOVA" for PRUSAKOVA. Neither of these errors are significant (though they persist in the Headquarters cohmunicati ons throughout.the month). More important was: c. Paragraph (2) of the Mexico Station's. report, which dealt’ with © a ‘concurrent, but separate, phenomenon, the description of an individual observed going into and out of the Soviet Embassy, had been locked on to Lee OSWALD as an alleged descriptive fact. The Station's qualification, “appeared to be an American," was transformed in the flat designation of the unidentified individual as "The American." | There can be no question that this misreading of the Mexico Station report was an analyst's error which escaped detection in the coordination before release: the descriptive details attributed to OSWALD were so far off the mark as to be inmediately recognizable as such by the recipients in Head- quarters, among whom both the Navy and FBI had photos of OSWALD. (In partial explanation, if not exculpation, be it recalled that as of that moment CIA had no photograph of OSWALD in Headquarters or in Mexico City to refer to.) 23. Confirmation of this judgment is provided by the contents of the cable composed by the same analyst and sent as of 220927 time (two hours Tater) to Mexico Station, referencing its & October cable: 19 SECRET _¥
14-00000 SECRET ° — (1) Lee OSKALD who called Sevfnd 71 tctuber probably identical Lee Henry [sic] OSKALG bern 18 October 1939, New Orleans, Louisiana, former radar operator in United States Marines who defected to USSR in October 1959. OSWALD 1 five feet ten inches, one hundred sixty fiye pounds, light brown wavy hair, blue eyes. (2) On 31 October 1959 he attempted to’ renurce | his-United States citfzenship to the United States Embassy: in Moscow, indicating he had applied ‘for *, a . ' Soviet citizenship. On 13 February the. US Enibassy Moscow received an undated ietter fran OSWALD postmarked Minsk on 5 February 1961 in which sub- ject indicated he desfred return of his US passport as he wished to return to USA ff “we could come : . to some agreement concerning the dropping of any - . . legal.proceedings.against,me."...0n 8 July on his : ' own initiative he appeared at the Embassy with his wife to see about his return to States. a . Subject stated that he actually had never applied for Soviet citizenship and that his application at that time had been to remain in USSR and for a temporary extension of his tourist-visa pending _ outcome of his request. This application, according to OSWALD, contained no reference to Soviet 20 SECRET
14-00000 Seta citizensnip. OSWALD state’ that he had been employed since 13 Janvary 1860 in be lerussian radio aml ty factory in Minsk where he worked as a metal worker in research shoo, OSWALD was ‘married on 30 Apri] 1861 to Naring Nikolaevna - PUSAKOVA [ste], a dental technician born V7 July "1941, USSR. No Headquarters traces. He attempted to arrange for his wife to join him in Moscow so she could appear at Exbassy for visa *- interview. His American passoert was returned to him, US Embassy Moscow stated twenty montis of realities of life in Soviet Union had clearly had a maturing effect on OSWALD. (3) (Latest Headquarters infermation was an FBI report dated May 1962 saying the FBI had deter- mined OSWALD fs still a US citizen and both he and his Soviet wife have exit permits and Department of State had given approval for their travel with their infant child to USA. (4) The Station should pass the information of reference [its 8 October cable} and paragraph (1) above to the Embassy, the FSi, the Navy. and 1&NS locally. The information given above as SECRET
14-00000 ~ Segre T ban parsdraphs (2) and (3) oriqinated with tte FOE. (5) ‘Reference and poss ible ident {ficatice ‘be ing disséninated to Headquarters of FSI, State, Me 7 en Navy, “ind TSNS: Please keep Headquarters’ advised on any. further contacts ‘or pesitive identification of OSWALD. 24, Headquarters feedback to Mexico City, of CSKALD's correct description should have been sufficient, in view ef thé incongrufties . "with the details deduced fron the photo. of the unidentified male, to . “keep these two matters apart as investigative facts. “But ‘things did not ---) =. =: work out that ‘way. 25. Mexico Station on 15 October 1963 asked Headquarters to “please pouch a photo of OSWALD." Headquarters: eiectrical ly delivered to the Department of the Navy the following messace en 24 October 1963. “Lee Henry [sic] OSWALD... “It is requested that you forward to this office as $00n as possible two copies of the mes recent photograph you have of subject. We will forward them to our representative in Mexico, whe will attempt to determine ff thé Lee OSWALD ta Nexico City and subject are the same individua?.” 22 SECRET TEs = RE TE BRETT SEA ION NOR ATE IT 682 OPES WIRY BO RENT LAC ARN ELEN EE MOSES FE DD SOT SESS STIS SPOOR ISS ETT a
14-00000 oe) Nea photo had been received oy CLA by ¢2 November fes3, é 26. Within its limitations and capabilities. Yexico Station had Se done all it. could to canip ly with Headquarters instructions: a. Headquarters had been alerted and in turn those agencies , es with an Snvestigative or policy interest Im C8sALD as an American - - ° in the united States had been alerted, both tr Washington and in the field. , ; b. Mexico Station had no further contacts by OSWALD to report decause--as it was ultimately ascertained--he -had left Mexico City on 2 October. c. OSWALD. was not an Agency investigative responsibility, In any case. Even with a photograph, it would have taken very special efforts, triggered by the other interested U.S. agencies, to have made a positive identification in view of OSWAL0's hotel registra- tion under allas. : . . . od There the matter rested until] mid-day 22 November 1963. The Insertion of the Photo of the- Unidentified Inzividual into the Chain of Evidence 27. On 22 November 1963 the Mexico Station ca>led Headquarters at 22292 time after learning of the arrest of Lee H. USeALO. age 24, '23 SECRET oY swe
14-00000 SERRE T RoE possibly in connection with the assassination, and referenced its earlier messages of 8-9 and 15 October and Headquarters’ reply of — . 10 October. - The Station requested by: ~ " ' - “priority pouch a photo of OSWALD so. that Station a _, tan check. all recent coverage for OSWALD. Forward= -{ng soonest copies of only visitor to Soviet Embassy on 1 October who could be fdent ical with OSWALD.” 28: It is clear that Mexico Station had forgotten that according | to its own communication the unidentified ‘male in the photo was of “apparent age 35" and that the accurate description of OSWALD forwarded “ey by Headquarters: on 10 October prec luded the identity with QSWALD of the person whom they regarded as the “only visftor to the Soviet Embassy on 1 October who could be identical.” - - 29. The Station meanwhtle-had begun an exhaustive’ and accelerated review of all its technical and photographic intelligence. A dispatch . was’ prepared in accordance with the indication given in the cable of 22 November, cited in paragraph 25 above. The dispatch noted that Cr a a nS photo coverage of the unidentified individual had turned up on 4 and 15 October at the Soviet and Cuban Embassies, respectively. The text of the 22 November 1963 pouched dispatch read: "]. Attached are copies of the only photographs obtained . . . on 1 October 1963 which appeared 24 SECRET RORY EMO Y LUN OTERO TPT RES v2 PETER ERY I EE Tl AD Te INTR ip PENIS Cyeirens tara oy
14-00000 SECRET ad to be an Amcrican. This same man visited the Soviet Eribassy on 4 October 1963. ‘ . "2. Copies of these photographs were shown to’ the U.S. Ambassador on 22 November 1963 and a copy of each of the two photographs was given.to Chief FBI, Mexico, on that date cee 7 "P.S: Photographs dated 15 October 1963' were inserted after typing. of dispatch. These were taken as [the] person entered the Cuban Embassy.” Attached were eight photographs: four (of which two were marked 1 October ‘on reverse) showing the individual in a white shirt, and four (unmarked on reverse) showing the individual ina black shirt. It would seem to be logical that the word “sets" was probably anitted from paragraph two of ‘the dispatch between the words “two” and “photographs. " 30. That the Station. was working under forced draft is clea¥ty9 © ~~ 7 ee a apparent fron the text of the. dispatch, which tacked on a material fact as a postscript. That fact was reported simultaneously by cable to Headquarters at 00832 time, 23 November: "]. Mexico Station has photos same unidentified American type who 1s possibly OSWALD entering , Cuban Embassy on 15 October. Searching for SECRET ae ERR + Per EY EEE ROT PE IE ORO SA PLLA TY LOC PY mt . ; : Sees : Ae EE a SS eaavs ~— peat 53 PETE OEE AMEE NR BS 6° “SLSR ae Jesper a a le ns een ee ee €: e MAS ST ORAS PT ‘ : 29 ELIT ST COREL OL Ee ee REE,
14-00000 SFCRET possibility photo- documented entry Cuban Embassy other days. “2, Also attempting establish OSWALD entry and “ departure Mexico.” 31. Headquarters, at 01362 time, 23 tlovember 1963, asked Mexico Station to send a staff member with all photographs to Headquarters on the next avaflable flight. mo : oye. Concurrently ‘with or before the foregoing cables to Headquarters, ’ the Chief of Station, Mexico City, had spoken directly by double-talk telephone with the Western Hemisphere Chief of Division, Mr. J. C. KING, and secured permission to give copies of the photographs of the uniden- tified individual to the Legal Attache and to make then known to the Anbassador. “ . . oe, ; ae 33. What happened next 1s best reflected in a personal note by the ' Chief.of Station to the WH Division Chief, mailed-to the latter from Dallas, together with copies of the photographs, by the Legal Attaches representative who delivered thein to the FBI in thet city. "22 flovember 1963: "Dear J.C. [KING]: “Reference 1s made to our conversation of 22 November. . 26 | SECRET teem $f Oey sae aa or are serene ene ee ee EE EHCP eon USER SP TR PE NE TON EAI MONAT NECN EPI SMT TI ETE 0 = Pitmtsaey
14-90000 zg im which | requested permission to give the Legal Attache ceptes of photographs of a certain person who is known to you. . *Attached™sre copies of each of the photographs | we have with the dates of the visits stamped on the back, “At 6-p.m. Mexico time on 22 November, The Ambas« . sador decided that this was important enough-to ‘have a member of.the Legal Attache's office take cepies of these pictures to Dallas, Texas. The Naval Attache is making a special Flight from Mexico City for this purpose. The Legal Attache's atficer who is going to Dallas has promised to mail this material to you for me. “Coptes of these photographs are also being sent by pouch which will leave Mexico City on the night of 22 November 1963. “Bast wishes. “Win (SCOTT]* According toe & sidelined comment on this letter, the Legal Attache's officer was Eldon RUDD. | ; | ; ; 27 SECRET
14-00000 34, The decision to remit the photographs to the FEI in Dallas had been made by the Anbassador, according to the Chief of Station; who simu Itaneous ly: with the FOI agent's departure reported ‘to Keadquatters | . by cable (02447 time, 23 November): a “FBI agent left here 2000 local time with two copies a aa ' each of six photos of a person suspected to be ‘ OSWALD, ona special flight for Dallas:. He is So, carrying envelope with one copy each photo for ie ; in ae airmail special from Dallas to J. C. KING at , home as per telephone conversation with SCOTT. * One copy of each of these photos plus a copy of each of the photos showing the same person exiting the Cuban Embassy forwarded by memorandum leaving by regular pouch tonight. In view of above does Hqs stil} want a staffer with additional photo(s)?" oo, 35. Headquarters responded two hours later, 04222 time, 23 November 1963, cancelling its request: "1,'-No need send staffer with photos. We have asked Navy for photos again, but Mexico can see OSWALD's picture soonest on the press wire. "2. Have just re-emphasized to FBI Headquarters the sensitivity of photos you are’ sending and also 28 SECRET
14-00000 SECRET relaying names ‘of travelers with similar names. Note radio says OSWALO lived under alias of O. H. LEE.® ° 36. On the 23rd at 17292 time, Headquarters advised Mexico City: _ oe “The FBI sdys that the photos of ‘the man . entering the Soviet Embassy which Mexico ; Station.sent to Dallas were not of Lee OSWALD. | oT Presume Mexico Station has doub le-checked dates of these photos and is also checking all “ : pertinent photos for possible shots of OSWALD." . 37. And at this. point, 20482 time, 23 November, Mexico Station finally agreec: "Saw photos of Lee OSWALD on television night of 22 November and it obvious photos sent to Dallas were not identical with Lee OSWALD Held {i DaTIa$? ~ Dates are as given on photos. "Mexico Station is reviewing all avatlable photos of persons entering Soviet and Cuban Embassies.” 38. Two hours later (2254Z time, 23 November 1963) the Station had reported the results of its effort to review al] available coverage: 29 SECRET
14-00000 hE GR ET "Compiete rechect of photos of afl visitors to Cuban Embassy from August through first half of Noverber against yood press photos shows no evidence of OSWALD visit. Simflar blank against all Soviet Embassy photos from | Seotenber. Note, only visit we know he made to Cuban Embassy 28 Septenbder, Saturday, on which Embassy closed and we had not’ had coverage ..-. .* . 39, “yen this communication the matter of the “unidentified individual” reaches the end of Phase I, the key element of which is the conviction, at- first latent, then expressed, that the photographed individual might be identical with OSWALD. This applies especially to the Station, thaigh at a certain point even Headquarters moved no rebuttal despite the hard fact that the deseriptton of CSWALD. and the unidentified individual were quite disparate. - 40. . This review, has at tempted to.deal even-handedly with all itens in the case record that have a bearing on what happened. The operational zeal, innovativeness , and the high committment of all involved, especially in Mexico City, speaks for itself. Equally apparent-- because of the 20/20 advantage of hindsight--is the evidence of non-performance. I[t was a critical failure, for example, that no phete of OSWALD was made avai lable--though it was expressly requested both at Headquarters and by the field--or that it was not more aggressively 30 SECRET
Sk CRE T souuht by CLA. defore 22 November. A photograph of OSWALD would have obviated--in a sey the mere possession of a correct physical descriptian evidently could mot--the whole successive deterforation of what began in Mexico City as-8n izpressionistic selection of the photograph on T October 1963 into a cause celebre today. 40. It shalld te clear from this factual survey that never Rad - there been a cause celsbre with less intrinsic merit. It 4s equally clear from the facts thenselves that there was nothing contrived or conspired in what happened, unless we have now descended to that point in-human values achieved under STALIN fn the. USSR and under HITLER in Germany, where just a plain’mistake {s per se evidence of conspiracy. The Genesis‘and Development of Odum Exhibit No. i and Commission Exhibit 237 41. Special Agent of the FBI, Bardwell D. ODUM, on 23 November’ 1963 showed one of the: six photos flown up fran Mexico City the previous day to OSBALD's rother, Marguerite OSWALD. OOUM himself had trimmed off the background by straight cuts. "Mrs. OSWALD had no recognition of the image in the photograph. ODUM’s own detailed account may be found in Hearings, op cit. Vol. XX, p. 268. 42. The photograph shows the unidentified individual in a black shirt. It was one of the five photos taken of him in front of the Soviet 31 SECRET
14-00000 ~ oy tinbassy In Mexico City on 4 Coteter W6}, two days after OSWALD had left the city. 43, At this point, for the record, the total available photo. coverage of the unidentified individual numbers twelve (12) photographs: a» Five (5) taken on 1 October 1963, entering and exiting the -- Soviet Embassy. “He is garbed in a white shirt and light-colored (khaki-2) trousers. . ‘b.. Five’ (5) taken on 4 October 1963 in front of the Soviet Embassy. - He is-yarbed in a dark, open, button-down shirt with a. high-neckline undershirt showing and dark trousers. c. Two (2) taken on 18 October 1963 in front of the Cuban Embassy. He is wearing a dark, collarless T-shirt or Vight sweater, The negatives of a1] of these are extent and are now held in Headquarters as integral parts of. the OSWALO and related file holdings. 44. The result of ODUM's display of the photograph=-to repeat, a cropped version of one of those noted under paragraph 43b, above--was Mrs. Marguerite OSWALD's allegation that she had been shown a picture of her son's killer, Jack RUBY, a day before he perpetuated the deed! Again the Warren Commission Report (pp. 364-365, 367) exhaustive ly disposes of this erroneous charge and requires no repetition here. A complica- ting fact developed along the way was Mrs. OSWALD's (correct) observation, 32 SECRET
14-00000 .of a useful and continuing U.S. intelligence ‘operation, and the opera-— when she finally admitted before the Conwission that the ODUM photograph was not RUBY, was that the photo had deen cropped differently from ‘the’ . _ one she had been stiown in Datlas. Inspector MALLEY's cropped version of " the ODUM photograph ‘Became Commission Exhibit 237 (see Hearings, Oa Vol. XVI, p. 638). 45. The net effect of the developments in the hearings of the Commission was to require the admission of the cropped photograph {nto “evidence in a chain of depositionsbeginning with ODUM, including the FBI Inspector, James R. MALLEY (who had trimmed the photograph used by the Commission fn Washington), and Richard HELMS, ‘who deposed for the. originator. These documents speak for themselves and will be found in the Hearings, Vol. XI, pp. 468-470. 46. Mexico Station and other senior Agency officers strongly. advised against the publication of .the photograph in any form on the grounds that the Soviets would be inmediately alerted to the existence “tion would go down the drain. There were repeated cables exchanged on this point between Headquarters and Mexico Station during the summer of 1964, in particular fran 23 Septenber’ to 15 October 1964 when the Station had plans underway to abandon the operation. 47. In acceding to the Ceonmission's request for a deposition, Mr. HELMS, then the Deputy Director for Plans, replied affirmatively to 33 SECRET
14-00000 additional observation: F - | Mr. RANKIN by memorandum of 23 June 1964 which included ‘the follaving . a \ "The Central Intelligence “Agency reconmends that ‘ this photograph not be reproduced in the Commis - -Sion's report because it would jeopardize a most confidential and productive operation. In addition, it could be anbarrass ing to the indivi- dual involved, who as far as the Agency is aware had -no connection with Lee Harvey OSWALD. or the assass ination of President KENNEDY." " 48. In this instance the needs of the Commission prevailed over the OCI's statutory obligation to ‘protect sources and methods. The “Unidentified Individual" remains to this day unidentified and there is no credible evidence up to this time to rebut the assertion made by Mr, HELMS in the ‘concluding sentence: of: his. memorandum.to Mr... RANKIN on 23 June 1964. And the operation did, as predicted, go down the drain. Within a week of the public appearance of the Oduia Exhibit No. 1? and Commission Exhibit 237, members of the Soviet Embassy began systematic efforts to survey the surrcunding buildings, ostensibly for rental space, but clearly their inquiries were directed to spotting possible camera sites. The operation was continued in any case, Within a year it had become almost totally unproductive in coverage on Americans in ; contact with the Embassy--a clear sign that this category of visitor was being warned away by the Soviets themselves. 34 SECRET
14-00000 StCRET Phase Uli: The “Unidentified Man” Photoyraphs, 1964 = 1975 83. AS could be foreseen, there has been persistent pressure by critics of the Warren Commission Report to exploit Odum Exhibit No. 1 and Commission Exhibit. No. 237 for partisan interpretive purposes. A cons ider able‘ correspondence has accumulated since the end of 1964 in which the Agency has attempted to be responsive to these requests and. Stins}taneously, has tried to satisfy what “has been its sole interest from the inception of the matter: to protect .the method of acquisition — of the photograph and the which made the acquisition possible. . — - 50. Following are highlights fron the correspondence during the current phase. a. On 16 May 1967, over the signature of the General Counsel of the Agency, Lawrence R. HOUSTON , CIA voluntarily submitted a statement about the photograph to Judge. BAGERT of the Criminal District Court for’ the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana. The response dealt affirmatively with the contents of the subpoena that nad been delivered to the United States Marshall in the District of Columbia, despite the fact that the subpoena could not be executed because of the lack of jurisdiction. Mr. HOUSTON proferred on Agency behalf categoric assur-~ ances to the court regarding the inaccuracy of statements and 35 SECRET. & ERP Oe TT SP OLIN AE ths 0 a ~ ae ae OS RE ERE NE SE TERT, EEE EAT Se CTA ETE TONNE f EAM OETA Unf MA SS WTEC RESTROOM ARIST
inferences mate by Mr. Stee iS@i in New Orleans about the photograph of the unident fied incivitzal. The following 1$ eatracted from Mr. HOUSTON'S memorandum. “Because of the padlicity which has surrounded the Orleans Parish Grand Jury proceedings, we have recently carried ‘at an exhaustive search of the - files of the Central Intelligence Agency for any picture of Lee Harvey OSKALD taken i Mexico.As a result of this. search, I can state categorically that the files of ‘this Agency do not contain, and never have contained. any such picture of ‘Lee Harvey OSWALD taien in Mexico and that we have no information whatscever that any such photograph ever existed.. To the best of our knowledge and ~~ Ynformation, therefere, there is no such photograph. _ Furthermore, the pactegraph which is printed in the Warren Coumission Severt, Exhibit No. 237 in Volume XVI, never containaé more than one figure, and the figure in the photograph depicts an individual who, to our knowledge, Bas not been identified. The circumstances of tee filing of this photograph with the Warren Commission are set forth tn affidavits on pages 468 and 23 of Volume XI, Hearings Before the President's tomnission on the Assassination of 36 SECRET
14-00000 President Kennedy. Consequently, we have no record of any photcqraph that answérs in any way the description of the one. we understand was requested \ in thé subpoena. ; : “I Wope you will accept this information in this form in the spirit of cooperation in which it is a proferred." a . ‘ be The Agency has repeatedly serviced requests about the identify of ‘the unknown individual fron Mr. Emory L. BROWN, Ur, Route #4, Box’ ‘82, Squankum Road, Farmingdale, New Jersey. The Yast exchange of correspondence in our record covered the pertod 4- 17 Aprit 1970.0 © i c. Detailed inquiries on the unidentified individual were received on 1 and 24 November 1971, to which the Agency responded an.15 November and 14 December, respectively, from Mr. Paul L. HOCH, 1735 Highland Place #2, Berkeley, California. d. The most extensive effort to pursue the unidentified individual was and is being made by Bernard FENSTERWALD, Jr., who is now Executive Director of a Committee to Investigate Assassina- tions, 927 55th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., beginning on 22-March 1971, shortly after the Agency declassified Commission Document No. 674, and extending through 11 October 1972, after the 37 SECRET
.on this occasion Mr; FENSTERWALO, who was accompanted by his “partner, Mr. William OHLHAUSEN, told Mr. HCUSTON and another FRI's declassification of Camsissian Docurent No. 556. On 2 April 1971, Mr. FENSTERWALD was invited to the agency for a discussion with the General Counsel, Mr. HOUSTON, of his question about the photograph of the unknown individual. Two other photographs of the unidentified individual, in addition to the photograph depicted in:the. two Commission exhibits, were shown to him’at that tine. It is a matter of more than ordinary interest to note that tigeeshaet gous ee SSB ASRS te representative of the Agency in attendance that he knew who the. unidentified man was. The following is extracted from ME. HQUSTON's Memorandum of Record, 8 April 1971: "3. Mr. FENSTERWALD came to my office this morning with his partner, William a. OHLHAUSEN, Yooked at the other photographs, and told us he did know who the man was. He satd he is presently serving a prison term somewhere in the United States and admitted that he had known OSWALD, but Mr. FENSTERWALD said there was nothing .to indicate any connection between the man in the photographs and the assassination of President KENNEDY. Mr. FENSTERWALD did not give us the man's name at this time, as he said enouch people had suffered unnecessarily from allegations that they were SECRET