JFK Assassination System Date: Identification Form Agency Information AGENCY: CIA RECORD NUMBER:  104-10196-10027 RECORD SERIES: JFK AGENCY FILENUMBER: 80T01357A Document Information ORIGINATOR: CIA FROM: HOCH, PAULL. TO: TITLE:  PAPER:CIA ACTIVITIES AND THE WARREN COMMISSION INVESTIGATION DATE: 03/24/1975 PAGES: 30 SUBJECTS: OSWALD, L H HOCH, PAUL L. DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT CLASSIFICATION : RESTRICTIONS : CURRENT STATUS : DATE OF LAST REVIEW : OPENING CRITERIA : COMMENTS : Unclassified Open in Full Release 04/27/2018 JFK64-31 : F16: 1998.05.11.18:27:57:106115 : 5/2/2018
Pe | Ae \ RELEAGE IN FULL 1998, Cla ACTIVITIES AND THE WARREN CONMISSTON ISVESTIGSTION _ SUMMARY There is a nesd to investigate the role of the CIA and the FBI in the investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy, and their relation- ships -with Lee Harvey Oswald. Since several agencies had Files on Oswald which aa be checked against each other, a useful case study of CIA practices is possible, These records should shed light on the interception of mail to Russia, “leza concern about Can <ile-keeping on) domestic political activities, and other gues tionable activities. ee Unresolved questions about the CIA and the assassination include CIA . coverag>” of Oswald and maybe an impostor in Mexico City, reports that he was aa informant, and a contact with a U.S. intelligence operative in Moscow. This eR summarizes the available record and suggests specific inquiries. The CIA misled the FBI about the CIa file on Oswald, and may not have coope rated ‘fully with the Warren Commission (as the FBI and the Defense Depart— ; ment did not). For example, the ClA may not have told the Comission about all - their records on Oswald's wife or his activities in Mexico. This memo specifies | documents and people who could clarify the Warren Commission® s a with the cla _ and’ their investigation of these matters. ; . ] The CIA may have investigated the assassination more thoroughly and longer. i than the Commission. The results of the CIA investigation, and possible actions against Warren Report critics, should be clarified for. the public. “_ 1 te Previously unrepor rted evidence presented here is relevant to the reports that-a CIA attempt to kill Fidel Castro may have backfired against Kennedy. = _ Oswald or an impersonator, in the company of anti-Castro Cubans, visited Cuban . emigree Sylvia Odio in Dallas and was.said to feel that Kennedy should have been ‘shot. These men were apparently friends of Odio's father, who was imprisoned in Cuba because of his role in an assassination attempt against Castro. ‘Even - without Bnowledge of this fact, the Warren Commission staff considered the Odio incideat very important and speculated that it might aave reflected a conspiracy. The Commission’ s investigation was quite inadequate — - for example, in not checking out reports of an Oswald look-alike in Dallas who was affiliated with the same ; snti-Castro group as Odio's father's co-conspirators against Castro, The CIA's role in this particular attempt against Castro, and in the disseniaavion’ of ‘apparently false stories that Robert Kennedy feared that an attempt against oO astro which he had authorized had backfired, must be examined fully. Copyright ©) 1975 2< ' Paul Li Hoch ALL rights reserved aN : 1735 Kizghtand P1., £25 ; _ Berveley, Ca 94709 March 24, L975 en cee ee
~ «CTA ACTIVITIES AND THE WARREN COMMISSION INVESTIGATION ot 7 Pa I. INTRODUCTION — 7, A. . Federal intelligence agencies and the Kennedy assassination: B. The. utility of a study of the records ~ ii. THE CIA AND LEE HARVEY OSWALD ; ae Questions about domestic CIA intelligence gathering l. Government knowledge of letter sent to Oswald in Russia oe we, . 2. CIA attention to Qswald’s political activities Lo my 3... ° Computerized file entries for Oswald and others “ - . Se. ° The $44 Camp. Street connection: -.! “Sal. Allegations that Oswald was a CIA informant ; ° Be Unanswered questions about the CIA and the assassination i. Photographs of possible Oswald impostor in Mexico City _: 2..-_‘ Intercepted conversations by or about Oswald in Nexico - oe oy . 3. Did E. Howard Hunt know of Oswald's activities before the assassination? mt 4 The handling of the story of "D" De. Correlation of various agency files and actioas concerning Oswald . -- 6 Possible unusual CIA interest in defectors 7. Possible CIA contact with Oswald through Alexis Davison . 8. Report of Dallas agent familiar with Oswald - 9. Alleged presence of CIA agent at Parkland Hospital ° 10, Questionable records of Oswald's security clearance ne Sao “Alleged Photo of Hunt and Sturgis in Dallas ‘ Ce. Statement by James Angleton ; Se ta, beet : De “Availability of documentary material Cot a ts IIt.. THE CfA AND THE INVESTIGATION OF THE ASSASSINATION | | 4. Possibility that information was withheld froma the Commission - 5 “Lh. False CIA statement to the FBI on November 22, 1963 _ J 2. Topics on which disclosure may have been Limited | : - Ca) Marina Oswald Z . "y €b)- OSwald*s contacts with Albert Schweitzer. College 1 (c) The unidentified man photographed in Mexico City - - 4 3. CIA assertions of full disclosure : ed B. . Key persons in the CIA - Warren Commission investigation | Cc. _ The CIA's own investigation of the assassination ] - 4. CIA capability for an independent investigation . ot | 2. Unknown CIA conclusions | Cas | 3. CIA activities related to critics of the Warren Report 1 IV. | POSSIBLE LINK BETNEEN ‘rHE KENNEDY SSSASSINATION AND CIA ANTI-CASTRO “ACTIVITIES J aA. Summary of the factual basis for an inquiry. 7 - Be Link between “Oswald” and a plot to Kill Castro | 1. ' Summary of the Sylvia Odio incident a - 2, _ Connection between Odio and an attempr to kill Castro 4} Cc. Press reports interpreting CIA actions against Castro t D. Possible relevant knowledge outside the CIA . 2 , 1. Basis for E. Howard Hunt's blackmail of President Nixon Zz . 2e Hunt and assassination attempts against Castro . y 3. White House concern -  o&. 2 4. The Werren Commission - : : 2 - EL Unanswered questions in this area . 2 Postscript: Warren Comnission staff speculation about the Odio incident | 2 Paul LL. Hoch March 24, 1975
tone i? specific charg e or the, exact nature _of the relationships between Oswald and the sen ee oe ee ee ee ee ee — see te ee ie ae erie ..CI4 ACTIVITIES AND THE WARREN CONMISSION INVESTIGATION Paul L. Hee! - a . > re March -24, 1 . INTRODUCTION De Co, ot , . =) A. FEDERAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES AND THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION i Even .before the disclosures of the Last three months, there were. ample + 4 reasons ‘for an inves tigation of improper activities by the CIA and the FBL in the welt case of Lee Harvey Osx ald, -and of the extent of the cooperation between these _ agencies and the Warr en. Commission. . : a . . . at After the assassin sation, ‘allegations * were promptly made that Oswald had been an informant or employes of some intelligence agency Cand that therefore the : - Secret Service had. not been warned about him). Even though the Warren Commission took’ ‘these reports very seriously, it failed to .Properly investigate either this og EEA, the FBI, and “military intelligence. - , = . ‘The bulk of the Commission's investigation was done ‘through various federal 7 zencies, notably. the FBI. Thus these agencies were in large part responsible for the coverup of much of what the Commission was, supposed to be reporting for. the American people. It is ‘clear, for example, that the FBI misled the Warren Coninission about the ext eat of its files on Oswald, and also in other ways dis— couraged the Commission from examining the implications of ‘some “Of the Bureau’s ts intelligence-gathering methods - @.g., the interception of several of Oswald's -letters to left-wing political groups. Hoover sidetracked the Commission’ Ss. in vestigation of the allegation that Oswald had been an FBI informant, and went pete | . Chrough semantic contortions to deny the fact that Jack kuby had > apparently been a Patential Criminal Informant for the FBI. B.. THE ULILITY OF A STUDY OF THE RECORDS - “ coe, oe es Se ” The Oswald case provides an unusual opportunity te check the practices and. records of one intelligence agency against the files kept by other agencies. A gteat deal of information has been “published by the Warren Commission, made available in the National. Archives, or preserved there but not released. ~ This -? _ includes tre purportedly ¢ complete files | on Oswald of the CIA, the State Department, and the Defense Department (including the Office of Naval Intelligence), as well as a list of the Fel Headquarters file. There is, however, evidence that those files are not complete, and suggestions that sensitive or improper activities, domestic and foreign, were not fully recorded in the appropriate Files. An analysis of the flow of records in this case could provide a “control” study .useful in other cases. This would be particularly helpful if credible allegations of improper CIA activities are not supported by the records nade available cto tie Investigating comnictees.
The availsble evidence on the FBI's relationship with, and files on - an > Oswaid will baa in a bdook I am writing. This memo concentrates on the Cla, with emphasis on specific questions relevant to domestic CIA activities, possible CIA nondisclosure to the Warren Commission, and possible links between . the assassination aad CIA attempts to kill Fidel Castro. , e Copies o£ available documents which are cited can be obtained from me. Wher Q a possible, I have specified known but unavailable records which might be relevant. I have deliberately excluded certain extremely implausible allegations for which the purported evidence is weak. Charges have even been made that the CIs © or the. FBI was responsible for the assassination. Despite the Lack ‘of evidence | or logical support for many of these allegations, they are, I think, a matter of substantial public’ concern... A serious attempt to ansver specific questions which "have been raised seems appropriate. I am concerned that bad evidence tends to -drive out good evidence; the necessary rebuttal of some of the wilder allegations Bust not become an excuse for avoiding more complicated, but more plausible, charges. | . ‘Consideration should be given to the possidi Lity of disinformation being used. by some intelligence agency to focus. attention away from less sensational ‘ But more “serious charges. Within the past year someone has gone to the trouble . of putting together and making available to some Warren Report eritics a false FBI document relating to purported connections between Jack Ruby and the federal | . government! Also, .statements have been made about a purported anti-Kennedy National Security Council memo which Git it exists at all) may well be the result of a disinformation effort. Il.. THE Cla AND LEE HARVEY OSWALD | . Se 7 QUESTIONS ABOUT DOMESTIC cla INTELLIGENCE’ GATHERING . The first three of these quest ions may not be. very significant in the - assassination investigation, but they might lead to new: information about the extent of certain questionable ‘CIA activities, . "1. GOVERNNENT KNOWLEDGE OF LETTER SENT TO OSWALD IN RUSSIA 7. Did the CIA intercept a letter and money order which Oswald's mother sent to him shortly after he defected to Russia? If, as the record suggests, this did happen, why do the FRI and CIA files given to the Commission not fully .reflect this? The first known FBI report relating to Oswald starts with the statement that Mes. Marguerite Oswald "is reported to have purchased "foreign money trans— fer So. 142,633" at the First National bank of Fort Worth, Texes, o2°1/22/60 by means of which she seat the sum of $25 to her son, Lee Harvey Oswald, in care of . s : .
tem ees <a ee ‘Boch | ~3- 326175 Hotel Metropole, Moscou, Russia.>” The FBL told the Warrea Con anission that "we c2termined on January 25, 1960, that Mrs. Marguerite C. Oswald had transmitted tre sum of $25" to Oswald at the. Metropole Hotel; this prompted interviews of tits, Oswald and her other son. 7 - a 7 a - It seems atypical that the contemporary FBI report gives no indication of the origin of that information; that ‘omission may indicate. a particularly sensitive source. The recently disclosed CIA project of “selective” interception oF mail from the U.S, to Russia and China may have been involved. The CIA has ~ claimed that this prograa was in operation in 1960 in only one city.” “It is also quite possible that the FBI (got its information about this private’ transaction from ‘the Dank. The money order was purchased on a Friday, and the , ' EBL earned ef it on Monday - which seems a bit fast for a mail interception. The CIA file on “Oswald given to the Commission contains ro: information on this other than the FBI report.° The relevant. FBI file was not given to or Listed - "for the Commission.” The FBI should be asked specifically about their source | for this report. "24 CEA ATTENTION To CSWALD'S POLITICAL ACTIVITIES = A je In the summer of 1963, Oswald engaged in various [Lega? political activiti S sf “ _in New Orleans on behalf of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. He. distributed literature on the street several times, once being arrested after getting into as ‘scuffle, and participated ‘in a Tadio debate. Se . The FBI sent the CfA copies of six reports entitled "Lee Harvey Oswald” or "Funds Transmitted to Residents of Russia,” including four after his return-ta _? "the U.S." in 1962. This seems proper, since as a former resident of Russia he vas of interest to the CIA. It may be more significant, in terms. of the extent of CIA attention to domestic dissent, that the FBI also semt the CIA a report entitled "Fair Play for Cuba Comaitree — New Orleans Division. " In fact, this report deait only with Oswald and "A. J. Hidell, ” Later determined to be his. alias.® . et a | mo An attempt should be made to understand the dissenination of that report inside the Agancy - that 1s, to see whether it was promessed not only as a report on. Oswald but as a report on a politically active group. That might lead to a better understanding of the CIA’s handling of such information on other groups. ; It should be determined if any CIA personnel (em playees or informants) were aware of Oswald's activities in New Orleans. The Warrem Report says that’ the _CIA “took note of his Fair Play for Cuba Committee actiwities in New Orleans.” Tnere is no footrote for that statemenr; it may refer oily to the presence o£ the FRL report on the FRCC in Osuald’s CIA file, but thit should be’ checked.
wetigch -4- -o + 23/24/75 a 3. COMPUTEXIZED FILE ENXT@LES FOR OSWALD AND OTHERS ° ~ . In the Cis file, the "CS copy" of the FOI report on the Ney Orleans FPCC s stamped "Index, * and handewritten notations indicate that two of the names rar Mentioned were indexed in a standardized (presumably computerized) form. One as Osvald; the other was Carlos Bringutier, aa anti-Castro Cuban citizen Living in New Orleans. ‘Apparently these men were indexed to record their connections with the FPCC © "> “and the DBE (Revoluti ionary Student Directorate, possibly a ClA-supported group). ‘re pectiver . This is 3 ia itself of no particular Sign nificance in ‘coanaction with a tire ‘a: assassination, but an explanation may shed some Light on the CIA" s “File-building procedures. ae i _ : Cte ~ 0.6, ° THE 546 CAMP STREET CONNECTION a a ot. oS -Tha most provocative link between Oswald's activities in New Orleans and the CIA is his use of the address 544 Camp Street on some of his pro-Castro en, Literature. One office in that building had previously been occupied by one of * the tro principal offices of the Cuban Revolutionary Council, a front organization established by the. CIA (reportedly through E. Howard Hunt) in connection with - ” the Bay of Pigs invasion. It is apparently true, as the Warren Report nated, 1 that the CRC had left 544 Camp Street some time earlier, and that Oswald himself . never actually rented an office there. Hovever, at the time of the assassination, "} _ + Janother office. at 544 Camp was occupied by Guy Banister, a former FBI agent wha - ~ wee ee ee {was still active in intelligence work, especially Cuban activities. The Banister sie ceeateaniedaet i - _{ connection Was never pursued by the Warren Commission. : . Ty . e se eo ee a ee oe ee eee The, 544 Camp connection was extensively publicized at the time of Jim Se Carrison’s “investigation.” Numerous veports surfaced of ‘witnesses who could Link Oswald with David Ferrie and others who hung around Banister? s office. Unforrunatel gf these reports come from sources who must be considered unreliable, and fo) might have had Teasons of their own for exaggerating~this link. The most promising source of hard evidence on this matter would be a close study of the pre-assassinatioa FBI and CIA records. _ From a document not‘given to the Warren Commission but released to me under the Freedom of Information Act, it can be firmly established that the FBI Knew before. the assassination about Oswald's use of 544 Camp Street as an address for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. This fact was not ment Loned in the appropciate contemporaneous reports, and was appareatly not checked out at the time, even though FSI field offices had been specifically ‘asked ro be on the alert for FrCC activities, ond the FRI dic check our other simtlor leads €such aS the Pass A Qrfice Box on sone of Oswald's Literature, and the alias A. J. HidelL).
nw oan eat Wee, . -° After the assassination, the FBI hid from the Commission the fact that it had Known about Osvald’s use of 544 Camp Street earlier, and suppressed the Link La ee . oS aw, to Banister by giving his address (531 Lafayett e Street) without indicating that LE was the same corner building as 544 Cap Street. Even the Limited amount of documentary evidence which has not been kept from the Warren Commission and the public strongly suggests that the FBI was keeping hands off Ose rald's activities, guite Plausibly because the Bureau believed that he was not in fact a pro-Castro activist but was working for Banister or for some official intelligence agency. . 5° ALLEGATIONS THaT OSWALD WAS A CIA INFORMANT | ee . The Commission n heard, and was concerned about allegations that Oswald had been a CIA or FBI iagormaar.'? The Commission’ $s rebuttal rested Largely on ; affidavits provided by CIA Director John NeCone and J. _ Edgar Hoover. !3 However, the members of the Commission had been told in secret session by Allen, Dulles that the CIA would generally not admit someone had been an tnfornant or agent, even under oath, except at the Specific direction of the President. ! This FBSE> which was apparently not passed on to the Commission’s working staff, makes” the ee, cra’ s pro forma denial totally worthless. oe _ Co DS sa anne - we . 7 An attempt to resolve this matter now should ‘include interrogation of the. appropriate lower-level CIS personnel. One should also try. to specify and evaluate the specific situations in which Oswald might have been approached by . the CIA. One obvious. possibility was on his return from Russia. From the — ! existing record, he was not debriefed by the CIA, which in itself seems oda. > _ 4 eee, bean another defector who returned at about the same time, Oswald was not -— a Lo oe 6 : questioned by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee. ! (Oswald was met an his return by a case worker for the Travelers Aid Society, who was also an official of an*anti~Bolshevik’ organization with strong intelligence connections. The extent of the CIA*s routine coverage of people returning from Russia is not Known, but it was extensive enough to net a photograph taken by a tourist-in Minsk which (after the assassination) was found to show Oswald. The questioa is, therefore, not just whether the CIA ever contacted Oswald Nout L£ not why not, In 1962, Oswald prepared (and had typed) a manuscript about his life in Russia which was full of the kind of details which might logically be of interest to the Cis. The-Warren Report's brief account avoids the evidence that Oswald did not keep all of the material which was typed for hia. 8 Inquiries should be made to see if the CIA got any of it, perhaps under circumstances which would not have led to it being filed under his name. . Considerable publicity has been given to allegations that Oswatd was a CIA informant for which there is no substantial direct evidence. It should te Moted that it is considerably more Likely that he had an informant telationship Fe ene teenie te ee oe ern e 4)
- Hoch 0 So ~6- | a 3/24/75 ome Mon-official intelligence organization. I have studied in detail how the FBI failed to adequately rebuc the clain that Oswald was an informaat, and how the Warren Comaission responded to Hoover’ S obvious displeasure at being investigated by failing to press for satisfactory explanations. For example, the F3I omitted from their original listing of Oswald’s address book the nane of one of the Bureau's Special Agents; the record strongly suggests that the FSI lied to conceal the fact that the relevant page of that ~- ; Listing was retyped. also, the FAL submitted affidavits denying that. ‘Oswald was an informant from several agents, supposedly all of those, who were, ina position to recruit. him or know of his ser vic2, -Some of the affidavits were revised before being given to the Commission, allegedly with no matertal alter- ation of the substance, but the otiginals. are withheld. Also, no affidavits | 2two New Orleans agents who had the most contact with the Oswald case, b? Aa examination of the circumstances under which these affidavits were prepared might be productive, Another peculiar FBI explaration which the Comission never challenged was Hoover’s statement that the FBI interview of Oswald when he was in custody after the assassination Was not only to gather facts or admissions about tha shooting, but was also aimed at obtaining "any 20 information he might have been able to furnish of. a security nature," _ This Sereneney ‘ cE optic language sugzests that Oswald had been considered, ial Source © 1, -9F inte security information. These examples are by no means the only or jp even the strongest indications that the FBI had something in their relationship / with Oswald which they thought necessary to hide from the Hatren Commission. iB. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CIA. AND THE SSSASSINATION. . ‘This section covers a number of questions about the intelligence agencies | - (primarily the Cla) and the assassination which were not satisfactorily resolved by the Warren Commission. (They are presented here in summary form. Further details and the available Gocumentation, which comes Largely from the Coenission’s “records, can be provided by the author.) Whether or not these questions fall within the mandate of the Rockefeller and Church investigations, they do rsed to be ansvered. There is no doubt that a new investigation of the Kennedy assass- ination should explore these issues, among others. The focus here is on problems ‘where a study of the cocumentary record is likely to be productive, so this memo _§02S into only a small fraction of the defects in the Coitaission's case against Lee Harvey Oswald.
- 2." INTERC EPTED CONVERSATIONS BY OR ABOUT OSWALD IN & EXICO - met eertt ree . ee ee ee ee ont re meen eee ee + gnock -J- ae - 3/24/75 Le PHOTCGRSPHS OF POSSIBLE OSWALD IMPOSTOR IN MEXICO CITY . . . ° _In October 1963 the CIA learned of Oswald's visit to the Russian Embassy : in Mexico City. Several photographs were obtained, presumably from a Mexican police sutveillance camera at the Embassy, of a still-unidentified Embassy pet ae ba VAP visitor who does not physically resemble Oswald. This man was identified as ——— ees hse) . ° . . Oswald in a CIA telegram to the FBL before the assasSination. The explanation Ca of the mixup in ideatitication, if thar is what it was, was not released by the TTS harren Commission.” “Som i CIA. explanation, true or not, is: presumably in the, withheld docuiteats at the Arch ves. It may also be that the unidentified man 2k. . . was an associate o£ Oswald, ot an impostor. Ss ah ie . -. 7 ‘fn FBI report: on Oswald in Mexico strongly suggests that the CIA inter~ cepted “at least two phone calis between the Cuban and Russian Embassies in which — Osuald was discussed. During. one phone call Oswald “was _appatently on the phone. 7 himself. 22 The CIA also had detailed Knowledge of ‘Oswald's ‘conversation with a guard at the Soviet Embassy, including the fact that he spoke broken Russian; this conversation may also have been bugged. 27 A recording of these calls would a be important evidence as to whether an impostor was making some of ‘these contacts’ ha on Oswald's. behalf. - The. cra has declined to tell me -whether any such recor ee conversations now exist, | or to release any relevant records ‘to me. 3. DID E. HO JARD HUNT KNOW OF OSWALD*S ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE ASSASSINATION? ae It has been reported that E. Howard Hunt was the CIA’s acting station chief. ae in } lexico city during august and September 1963, which might overlap with Oswald? "Ss oa visit ” starting in Late September. “4 Hunt has reportedly denied to the Rockefeller 7 Commission that he met Oswald at that time. It should be determined if Hunt had any knowledge of Oswald’s activities, whether or not he’ met him.. This requires an examination of contemporaneous CIA records-relating to Oswald, and an understanding (of the flow of communications within the CIA statior, A number - of the internal CIA communications were turned over to the Warren Commission (and : . 6 : : are still withheld) 3 however, they may not include alk the information needed to determine who in the CIA station had substantial contact with the Oswald case. 4. THE HANDLING OF THE STORY OF “p” — . An atter mot should be made to understand what role Ci4 personnel might have played in building up, disseminating, and then denigrating a report that Oswald hed received maney to kill Kennedy from someone at the Ceban Embassy in Nexico ity. a7 The cireun es sugeest that som with intelligence Connects Ons Wa = ———— ss OQ eizer to push the idea that the Cuban govern ent was bemboad the Kennedy assassi- eR Boerne ih Was Demmad tne Keanedy assassis
. . ot, . . . 29 - . the assassination was a retaliatory act by the Cuban Communists.“~. That Ls, the lone-assassin hypothesis. | 3/26/75 The immediate source of the story was Gilberto Alvarado Ugarte, 3 Nicaraguan who said he was trying to get to Cuba on a penetration mission for tha Nicaraezuan Secret Service. After a few days he reportedly retracted his story, Saying that he had made it up to get the U.S. to take action against Castto; then he withdreyv this recraction. He ultimately took a lie detector test which showed ha was lying; he then said that the lie detector must be correct. This kind of retraction suggests that Alvarado h a told the story as - \e 2 aa agent who later did ‘not Know whose orders to folloy. , oe ~ At Fi est this story was treated with considerable respect. The Cta commun— deations Guhich went to the White House as well as the FBI, the State Department, ang the Secret Serv ice) show that the ag ency was taking the allegation guite ; seriously. Alvar2a do Was said to be of questionable reliability but not wholly Ciscredited; the CIA described him asa "very sevious person who speaks with . 2d ; . a - a _ conviction," ; , . ae . . : . it Ls known that President Johnson was concerned about a Castro plos when h2 set up ‘the Warren Commission, and that he did not accept all the conclusions of the Warren Report; it has been reported chat he specifically believed that the apparent effect of the story of "D" ~ yhich may have been intended -- was 7 to impress upon Preside at Johnson Cand thus ultimately ‘on the Warren Commission) the potential threat of an international incident posed by the reports that Castro was behind the assassination, and (by extension) by any alternative to The Warren Report concluded that Alvarado was Lying about having seen Oswald, but did not explore the possible implications of 4 planted false Story. ee na SE SCOTY ’ It ts plausible that a major conscious or subconscious motivation for a coverup . ———————— was a desire to avoid allegations of conspiracy such as this one. which were thought to be untrue but which night lead to ‘very serious problems, Some observers have recognized a pattern of anti-Castro allegations arising from intelligence-related sources, including Waterzate burglar Fraak Sturgis. >? 5. CORRELATION OF VARIOUS AGENCY FILES Ant ACTIONS CONCERNING OSWALD The ‘files of the FBI, Stute, and Marines on Oswald before the assassination reflect various peculiar actions which might be explained not only by Oswald being an agent of the agency which was acting oddly, but by a belie: that he was working Tor someone else. Such an evaluation, of course, vould probebdly never be written down; it would be detectable only through resulting egency; action 1S OF 5 7 4 . . - as fur as I know, the Warren Commission never did the re quired kind of . ;
vee ee nee nee es ee ee ee wot eae ee . cot cme ere eee cere at an ee . wt - oF oO Q pa 9 fF 75 detailed comparative study of the intelligence agency files. Considerable attention Was piven to the most striking anomalies in the State Department file, notably the Department’ s efforts to facilitate Oswald's return from Russia, and the ease with which he got 2 new passport in late 1963. Even in the case of the State Department, hoyever, the Commission did not get into all the major questions © about: the evaluation of Oswald. For example, the Commission examined the reasuns . why the Passport Offic e did not react to the Cita telegram “about Oswald's visit to the Russian Embassy, but failed: to “explore the reaction ‘of others, primarily | a the Office of Security, for “whom the telegram was more relevant. : one . oe | “The relatively. sparse Cia file does not reflect any. such strikingly ; peculiar actions. However, close study of the Cla file by an- expert might. reveal if they did anything odd in the Oswald case. It is quite possible, for example, . that someone in the CIA ‘recognized that his defection ‘and return might have been _ 3 mission for Ce.g.) military intelligence, and that the Agency therefore kept away From his case, making no_at to question him about his sta be | POSSIBLE UNUSUAL cla INTEREST IN DEFECTORS In 1960, the year aEter Oswald's move to Russia, the CIA and the State “Department exchanged some correspondence relating to defectors in general. The _ putpese of this study, which included compiling statistics and making Lists af Americans who had defected, is not clear.. Although this material was given to . “the Warren Commission, apparently no explanation was asked for or provided. | , There have been rumors that Otto Qtepka, who worked on this project and with Oswald's file while he was. head of the State Department's Office of Security, was Tee! " suspicious of the way the Oswald case was handled. He should be given the ot Opportunity | to present any relevant information ‘he might. have. 7. “POSSIBLE CIA CONTACT WITH OSWALD THROUGH (\LEXTs DavISQy. Oswald’s notebook contained the name and address of a Russian Living in. “Atlanta who was identified as the mother of the U.S, Embassy Doctor, Alexis’. Davison. Davison had routinely examined Oswald's wife when the couple was preparing to return to the U.S. in 1962. Davison gave no persuasive explanation of why he gave his mother's address to the Oswalds, suggesting only an understanding ‘that they could look her up 1€ they happened to be in Atlanta. Davison told thse Secret Service he did not remember tha Oswalds, but Later recalled the congpact quite clearly for the FSI and said he did not recall piving his mother’s address to any other peopte who were going back to the us. 3h . In Decender 1952, Davison was chareed by the USSR with. receiving iaformation from the Anerican-spy Oleg Penkovsky. Evidently, in addition to his
icial duties asa medical -doctor an “engaged in very seasitive intelligence nad any contact wi ith Oswald in thet ca ans agency about bim, “REP George DeMantenschildt, a man wit in his own background + whoa helped theo before doing so he asked one or more o .0) person whom he said he fazPuave asked ; “he. thous sat was an Fal agente’ 3 Moore wa viewed Detiohrenschitde: ac Length in 19 _., Have aa office in a government buildin “ governnent;” the Fat told Detohrenschi The Warren Conaission seems mot t repor rts that the government had indica to be avoided 2” An attempt should be m te what he-knew about Oswald, and what he else. © - : S. ALLEGED PRESENCE OF CIA SCENT AT PARKLAND HOSPITAL “Within an hour of the assassinati to a Secret Service agent at ‘Parkland -10- SL, 826475 | : - * y : 1% > ; do an Assistant Air attacne, Davisan was work. It should be (determined if he, pacity, or Fepocted | to any intelligeace’ AR WITH OSNALD h many t Tatelligence connectidns swald family in Dallas, testified that Ff his “friends if that would be okay. One. about Oswald was] J,. who Walton Moore, Ss probably in fact with. the Cla: he inter _ ny 57 after his trip. to Yugoslavia. He did 3 and was- listed as an “employee e, U.S. idt that Moore was not with the FBI.>2 o have been interested in this or other Ced that Oswald was not someone who had ; ade to identify Noore’s employer, determine “may have told Detiohrenschildt or anyone on, a CLA agent presented his credentials’ Hospital and said that he would be “available. " Ic is not clear what he might have been expected to do. A short ‘time later an unknown FBL agent had to be forcibly restrained from entering the- emergency room.>> Apparently the Commission did not investigate either of these occurrences. AS far as <I know the cla was not asked what action. they may have’ ‘ taken in Dallas or in Washington after Kennedy was shot or on was - by, : arrested, | ? ae ficd bree pip fp prt ypl bow eid lm + "10. QUESTIONABLE PECORDS OF OSHALD'S One of the peculiarities in Osuwal -of an intelligence connection has tod SECURITY cue eaxce d’s military records which is suggestive o with his security clearance. The personnel file which was given to the Corumission by the Marine Corps reflected only that Oswald had been given a Confidential clearance. However, persuasive Cestimony TT indicated that Oswald (like the other ‘heast for eret information. ELON ancy, the Narine Corps said, in effect, he must have had Secret clearance. men in his unit) must have -been cL d at: shen the Commission staff asked about this discrep- that if Oswald was doing Secret wor k thea The Comission appaceatly did not Press for @ proper answer or othertuise resolve this problem,
- " Yoeh | -ll- : —  Bfaay7s Irregularities of this kind at least raise the possibility that Oswald “had been “sheep dipped" ~ that is, that he was formally discharged from the Marines while actu ally continuing government employment for some sort of intelligence work. There is firm evidence that the Department of Defense was mot telling the truth when it claimed that it had given the Warren Commission all of its records on Oswald. His pay records, for example, were subaitted months after that claim. There is solid documentary evidence of other omissions. ‘There are also hints of further Missing records: the FBI was told soon after tne assassination that the CIC and CID files at the California base where Oswald had served in 1959 } had nothing on Oswald; some of thea California Marine Corps files had been forwarded to Washington. >” These files might be expected ta - contain the records of any investigarion for a high-level clearance. , De 11. ALLEGED PHOTO OF HUNT AND STURGIS IN DALLAS : Oo a The Rockefeller Commission is ‘Feportedly checking out and rebutting the - allegation that £. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis (also known as Fiorini) appear in the photographs of several men apparently picked up by the Dallas police immediately after the assassination. These photographs represent an authentic - unresolved mystery, it is trua; however, the men pictured have been “positively - identified” on previous occasions, as other “suspects” in the assassination. ~ Aside from the absence of any striking similarity in appearance, it is : inherently most unlik caly that a professional intelligence operative Like Hunt _ {who got a wig just to interview Dita Beard) would get himself photographed without a disguise at the scene of an assassination 1£ he had anything todo - While such allegations ‘should ‘be seriously checked out, they should not be. allowed to distract attention £rom more playsible but less spectacular evidence . ‘of impropec cia activities in connection with Oswald or the. assassination investigation. To allow that to happen would be to invite disinformation. efforts by the Agency. and its friends. , oe mt The C. STATEMENT BY JAMES ANGLETON ©” oe De It is quite possible that a CIA investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy was among the domestic activities which recently caused concern within the Agency. At the time of his resignation as head of the CIA’ s Counter- “intelligence Division, Janes Angleton was quoted es making tne following reg RATKS wien Seymour flersh asked about alleged CIA wrongcoing and his domestic act ivittes: "4 Gansion hes many rooms and there wete many things going on during the period . . : woe wo of the [ anti-war (NYT ad dditton) | bombings. I’m not Bs ivy to who struck john v7”
‘ . meee vem ee ee -- - wt ee eee --— a eee rem ee me ee Boch - 0 2d 2-, oo . 3/24/75 " From the context of angleton’s statement, it is impossible to decid wnat he may have been referring to. “Who struck John" may be a literary reference or cliche which is not familiar to me. It Iray have been a reference to some other Joha - e.g., Mitchell. Also, it is conceivable that "Who Struck John” was some sort of code nama for a CIA study of the Kennedy assassination, © Angleton should be asked to explain that statement, and whether he is —~ are of any CIA investi gations of Oswald or.the assassination, particularly oa which may have reached conclusions. different from the Warren Commission’ S. Regardless of what Angleton.now says he meant by his comment, an intended s2ems as Likel reference to John Kennedy DL AVAILASILITY OF DOCUMENTARY MATERTAL . racren Commission Document feo} 692 purports to be an exact. copy of the CIA's pre-assassination dossier on Oswald. Of the material predating Oswald's October 1963 trip to Mexico, almost all has been released; most is information ~ from other agencies. A good part of the Mexico material is still withnelad.>” A number of other Commission Documents and internal memoranda d2al with the CIA's pre- and post~assassination investigations. Some of. the withheld - CD's would be very interesting: e.g., CD 935, a Top Secret CIA memo dealing in part with the reaction of the Cuban Intelligence Service to the assassination." Enough of the CISA material submitted to the Commission has been released to Cettainly most of the still withheld material should be released at this time. However, overemphasis on the material at the Archives should be avoided, Erroneous claims are Frequently made that many of the Warren Commission Files : have been locked up for 75 years from the date of the assassination. In fact, there is no such fixed-term withholding. All of the withheld material is ' reviewed every | five yeats, and in addition is subject to. agency and judicial review under the Freédom of Information Act when a request is made by any citizen. ‘Some of the withheld material might even remain withheld for more than 75 years. In fact, an extraordinary amount of investigative material (largely raw data in FBI reports) has been released or published. This was done to some degree over the objection of the F8I. . a / It is probable that the most sensitive material in government Files on Oswald never reached the Warren Commission. I am sure that was the case with the FBI files, only a small Fraction of which were given to the Commission. + In response to my Freedom of Information Act requests, the CIA has told me that they “are argh iy in favor of declassifying everything possible in connection _ with the recores of the Warren Commission. The most convincing motive for us to ee . an as any other ex Lan jon. | , le _ _ provide a basis for the formulation of appropriately specific questions. ; oe
Hoch ~13- + 3/24/75 de this is our firm belief that all the information so declassified would merely go to support the conclusions of the Sarren Commission and dispel any nossible confusion or suspicion that-the continued classification may have . raised.” This motive has been balanced against the protection of classified information and intelligence sources and methods.) I expect that this is a sincere opinion, at least as it epplies to the CIA material in the Archives. (Tne following section examines the indications that the CIA did not make a full disclosure to the Commission.) OF course, even the currently available material invalidates. man of the Commission's conclusions. . ~ Because of these facts, the demand for Telease of the Warren Commission’ S- . records should be only a part of the demand for full disclosure. AL the vary .least, the CIA should be asked about files other than CD 692 ia which there is any reference to Lee Harvey Oswald or to members of his family. IIt. “THE CIA AND THE INVESTIGATION OF THE ASSASSINATION A. POSSIBILITY THAT INFORMATION WAS WITHHELD FROM THE COMMISSION ; 1. FALSE CEA SISTEMENT TO THE FBI ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963. Se a oo ‘On the. day of the assassination, an FBI agent from the Washington field office interviewe Birch D. O'Neal of the CIA for the purpose of ‘obtaining any _ information” in the CIA files on Oswald. According to the FBI's report, he a - “learned there is nothing in CIA file. [sic] regarding Oswald other than material: Furnished to CIA by the FBI and the Department of State. 2 That was certainly . untrue, most conspicuously with regard to the important ClA-originated material about Oswakd"s trio to Mexico.. _ ; o - Se The possidijy tha he FBI misrecorded the CLA ‘statement must be acknow—- ledged. The Bureau's headquarters fil€ included some ClA-created records, so the ee . " . . . : Bureau should have known that the CIA chain was wrong when they reported it to’ ‘the Warren Commission. Whatever O'Neal’s &xact statement about the Cla file was, . it seems clear that the CIA did not want to Wmnediatel reveal to the FBI the full extent of their coverage of Oswald, and Qhe serious problems raised (e.g. 7 - . . a see | by the photographs of the visitor to the kussiak Embassy). The significance of this FBI report is not pkimarily that material was . . withheld from the FBL, since some of it had been tuxned over previously and mor ‘ apparently was forwarded quite soon; it is that at ld@est once the CIA made a False statement about the extent of their Oswald file, _% Ca ee eee te ee re, 2. TOPICS O8 WHICH DISCLOSURE MAY HAVE BEEN LIMITED . (2) Marines Oswari : ° The FL cold the Warren Commission that their case on Lee Harvey Oswald was * * -
* Hoen ot | -1l4- . _— 3/24/75 “betursed to active status in Narch 1963 as a result of information obtained Cuving an investigation relating to hig wife Marina. FBI agent ‘Wosty testified that it was the FBI's practice to interview inmigrants fro; Communist countries "on a selective basis," ead that Marina Oswald had been selected,“ Tne results of this FBI practice would seem naturally and properly to be of interesr y to the CLA. However,. the CIA file on Lee Oswald does not give any indication of CIA interest in Ma rina spe cifically. There is no apparent reference to any effor by or with the FL rel ating to Russian immigrants. (The routine transmittal STips: for the FBI reports ‘on Lee Oswald do not refer to the FBI’ Ss case an ‘Macina. d. The cla should be asked to produce any records it has on Marina ‘Oswald. a en a ‘Phe. Agency should ba ‘asked if the or otherwise, directly or indirectly. She may well have been known to the Cia a a -. ~ URrough RussiansS“MPO8llas, sows of whom had Links to ClA-supported: group : and ve sight s well have been reporting to the CIA on the activities of the Russian atacted her as-a potential informant v: comm ty. (d) Oswald's contacts with Albert Schweitzer College . — When Oswald left the U.S. in 1959, he had indicated on his passport appli~ _ cation that. he intended to attend Albert Schweitzer College. This is a small ’ Unitarian-affiliated school in Switzerland specializing in advanced studies in’ - Philosophy and the liberal arts.> Oswald had indeed been accepted by that school, / despite the apparent absence of the proper references and background. When he ' Failed to show up, an investigation was undertaken by the FBI - through its Legav Attache in Paris, perhaps in part at the request of Oswald's mother through her ~ Congressman. .- Since the relevant FBI records have not, been made available, L “Go not know whether any of them were sent to the CIA, but that would have been @#ppropriate. It should be determined if there was any FBI-CIA liaison on this ™ - matter Cand LE not, why mot); and, if so, why. there is no record of it in the ; an ‘CIA file on Oswald, CD 692. | ne | oe The CIA,.the FBI, and ONT should also be asked if there was any intelligence interest in Schweitzer College, or any direct or indirect Bovernment support. That might explain Oswald's peculiar contacts with the College. Jf the CIA evaluated this matter in documents provided to the Warren Commission, they should be made public. {cs} The unidentified man photographed in Mexico City (See section Bek osu supta. )} I am confident that the CIA ultimately did provide an exola tos of this “mistake” which was good eaaueh to satisfy the Wacren Commission. However, there are strong indications thet the CLA wes mot candid with the Coiwzisslonm at first. The Commission First Learned about che
bo © tt oO og 1 oO tw 4 “4 ip pete er a ‘J =m Tr > {D a) nn s Q. 5 rt © ad a is] ca e m rs me ct fee] Q nn = ou rs & y > o rm t rt a: t en ct fal) ry et oF ree) ti ul wn wu HYowevec, a5 Late as March 12 the Commission was asking the CIA about ate Oswalc’s activities ia Maxico and about the photog raph apparently without keowiag 9 hac these matters vera relate gif? The CIA had apparently not yet replied to a latter which had deen sent a month previously asking, for an explanation of .the photograph. . Se i. : a, — . 3. CIA ASSERTIONS oF FULL DISCLOSURE, ; cra Director MNeCone and Deputy Director Helas testified that che substaace : OF. all relevant pre-assassination information had been supplied to the Commission.” -- CD 692 was described in a covering memo.as "an exact teproduction. of the Agency’s official dossier on Lee Harvey Oswald,” but .it included only a’summary of some of the pre-assassination internal Cia messages about Oswald.” A Comaission staff ~ wpenber went to Langley and saw a computerized printout on Oswald, which he ~ @escribed as including no document which the Commission had not been given in full TE | . : 50 . or in paraphrase. The CIA should be. asked to list (and, if possible, to release) all records er” which men swald. Specifically, since -some not in the "official dossi _ records had Oswald’s middle name "as|PHenry,"\the extent of their search involving _ varignt names should be examined. . ee ee , B. “KEY PERSONS IN THE CIA - WARKEN COMMISSION INVESTIGATION a Raymond Rocea, who recently resigned from the Counterintelligen ice @ Division, “was the CIA's Liaison with the Warren Comaission. Arthur Dooley, who retired in Lot _ 1973, was apparently one of the CIA men most involved in (the investigation. . ool According to a Commission MEMO» Richard Helms was one of the two men at a meeting on March 12, 1954 who would have known if Oswald had been’ a CIA informant. >.” aC ie name of the second man has been vithheld. He should be identified and both . Ss ae hould be questioned. It might be- particularly useful to ask the following people from the Warren -Comaission staff about the issues raised in this meno, and about the degree of CIA cooperation with the Cor mission, oO Vie David Slawson, ‘now at the U.S.C. Law School, was the junior La: “yer who apparently ‘had the most extensive dealings with the CIA. His area of investi wy” gation was Oswald's foreipn activities. The. ew York Times has reported that ne 4 recently said that the investigation should be reopened. . “ “" > wittiam T. Coleman, now Secretary of Transportation, was the senior La wyer in the same area. t. Wesley J. Liebetler, now with the Federal governnent in Weshingtoa, was ’ . » : rapoctedly involvey in the investigutioa of the unide ntified Aaa photo,’ and was
Hoch Lo, -16- . - ° 3/26/75 explanation from the CI4 for their - w Samuel a. Stern, now with Wilmer Cucler and Pickering in Washingtoa, examined the CIS evaluation of Oswald, particularly from the viewpoint of © liaison with the Secret Service end procedures for Presidential protection. He was also involved with investi gating the allegations that Qswald (was an. - FBI or CIA informant. | . THE CIA'S OWN INVESTIGATION OF THE ASSASSINATION enna —_ - 3. CIA CAPABILITY FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION. ‘The CIA, of course, openly worked with the warren Commission in areas | “{nvolving foreign activities. | .In ‘addition, the. Agency was given the ability to. .’ assess much of the evidence in other areas. At the Commission’ s request, the ee F3L sent the CIA not only material with foreign aspects, but also reports on ‘poss ible subversive activities by Oswald in the u. S-5 the FBL also forwarded to ; the CIA all the ma jor investigative reports coming out of the Dallas office. ° ct The Secret Service was also asked “to send the CEA a nuaber of its reports, * 55 - including all interviews of ‘Warina Oswald. . on a aa a On occasion during the li ommission, the CIA actively sug eecceed further investigation. Fo example, one Agency mefto said it was of considerable y portan mce to investigate {the report that Oswald had: attempted suicide in Russia, —— q that if necessary his body should be exhumed.to see if he really aia have a . scar on his wrist. The Warren Commission, constrained by Camong other things) the -need to make ot _@ public report within a tedsonable time, did not even. adequately pursue all the.important leads in the material the FBI did ‘submit. “The CIA was nat’so ©... 0 7S" constrained. 2. UNKNOWN CIA CONCLUSIONS = oo PS . : . The CIA interest in the assassination continued after the Warren Commission | “finished its work. For example, more than two months after the Warren Report ' came out, the Cid asked for a copy of the Zapruder film of the shooting. ‘Accord-— ing to the FBI, it was reques ted "for training purposes.” Presumably this " means for training pnotoanalysts. ee oT . 2s .. The FBI - Commission study of this Film was superficial. Most notably» the darren Report failed to meation, much less explain, the fact that ‘Kennedy was dviven forcafully backwards by the Fatal shor (which, according to the Conmission, came From behind him). Contrary to expectations, a Caurget does sometimes recoil back towards the gun. Li would be interesting to know if the CIA came ia . this explanation. ‘In any case, the agency should revosl what use it nade of, and
he Zapruder film.” a Dt . Mey 1964 that they had found no evidénce causiag to conclude that had been a conspiracy, but that the case would never 4, b2 considered closed. The Cia Should be asked to produce their_internal Yeports. on the assassination, particularly any which reached: conclusions or postdated - ~ ee ee « . the Warren Report. ee Lt ee 3. CIA ACTIVITIES RELATED TO CRITICS OF THE WASREN REPORT’ a oe . “Ee. ‘would be perfec ctly proper if the CIA has inv Nigared charges made by the “eritics alle ging foreiga involvemeat in the assassina tan. Such investigative tepor ts should be nade public, the ic ritics. may have included t ry CIA coveraze o e dissemination of false reports to.draw att encion away from serious question which involved the Agency. Oche © researchers who have been more active in the i est igation than me could no doubt provide details about some of the suspiclou ncidents and persons. Jim Garrison charged that the CIA was involved in the assassination and alsa . hindered his investigation. Since the former charge Gespite Garrison's lack of substaatiacting evidence, has received wide attention, e CIA should be asked to © Lana rison matter. ‘This should ‘explain its links with any of the principals in the include Suspects, peripheral. figures associated ‘with them, investigators, and - some of the witnesses and their attorneys; CIA connections with David Ferrie and . . 61 _ Guy Banister should be given special attention. If it is true, as Victor Marcnetti has reportedly said, that Clay Shaw ‘had, been a CIA contact in conaection with his foreign trade activities: and the CIA was concerned about keeping this ~ .. fect_secrer, that might explain some of the strong opposition to Carrison (although ~ “it would not add to Garrison’ s flimsy case that Shaw conspired to kill Kennedy). The extent of CIA efforts to disseminate derogatory information about thes — critics should be examined. The Agency did give the Warren Commission a1937 ~ Gestapo memo on Joachin Joesten, the author of one of the first critical books on the assassinat no? Information that Joesten had been a member of thé German Communist Party, faken from the same memo, was later introduced into the Congress-— ‘Gonal Record in report Callegedly written by the Cia) which claimed that his suse 63 criticism of th@ Warren Report was part of a "Communist bloc defamation campaign,” The Agency shou}d also be asked if it intercepted the mak) of, or otherwise : interfered with} any of the critics of the Warren Keport, in the United States or abrosd.
. * Hoch BR 3/26/75 ‘ . ; . iy. POSSIBLE LINK SETQEEN THE KENNEDY aASSASS! hatl M AND CLA ANTI-CASTRO SCTIVITLES © a. SUNMARY OF THE FACTUAL BasiS FOR AN TSQuis ; . The considerasle attention recently given to the possibility of a connection Detween the CIA and the Kennedy assassination has been largely based on two : oe very -provocative and undoudcedly Significant facts. The first is that the Cla | tried to kill Fidel Castro, working on occasion through the Mafia. This CfLa the basis for fears that Castro had retaliated against st plot was reportedi: ' Kennedy. The second is one of the major unresolved questions of Watergate: EL . - Hoyard Hunt's apparently sansational knowledze about "the whole Bay of Pigs TD. thing" which led President Nixon to cut off the investigation, Since the basic facts of the Bay of Pigs are hardly secret, and Hunt has admitted proposing the assassination of. Castro in connection with that operation, it is reasonable - to speculate that “the whole Bay of Pigs thing” was a reference to knowledge of such a plot or its consequences, or to the related ‘Howard Hughes mee bi Link, These matters undoubtedly should be given major attention by those whoo are now investigating the CIA. I would like to suggest that they should be studied with che perspective provided by a third fact: a definite Link between a man represe enting himself as "Leon Oswald" (perhaps Lee Harvey Oswald himsel £) and - ne of the assassination attempts against Castro. , te _ B. LINK BETHEEN “OSWALD” AND A PLOT fO KILL CASTRO ee 1. SUMMARY OF THE SYLVIA ODIO INCIDENT Do oe oe 7 _ 7 vos . An episode which caused the Warren Con mission staff a 1 great deal of concern Was reported by Sylvia Odio, a Cuban active in the anti-Castro movement. she. 7 identified Lee Harvey Oswald as one of three men’who had visited her home in Dallas about two months berore the assassination. Odio said that this man was introduced to he ras"Leon Oswald" and was dascribed as an American ex~Marine - “great, kind. of nuts” ~ who thought that President Kennedy should have been shot after the Bay of Pigs “because. he was the one who was holding the Freedom of Cuba, ®4 The men themselves linked attempts against Kennedy and Castro, saying, that Leon Oswald “could do anything Like getting underground in Cuba, like killing Castro."°> ‘hese men said they were seeking Odio’s help in their anti-Castro activities and persuasively claimed to be friends of her father, wno was imprisoned in Cuba. Odio’s «veracity was strengthened by the way her story came out, and by the fact that it tied Oswald to a movement with which she s; epachized (specifically the | relatively moderate JURE group, heeded by henolo Bay), °? ——- — This ineident i VG important whether or not the real Oswald was. invoived,. An attempt to impersonate Ossald in such a situation would establish a conaspiracy bc eee -
+ t * Sie Sot =Lye (ae only against Kennedy but against Oswald. The Commissida staff recozni ce* ie] ed ct N > significance of Odio's story. David Slawson called her " ny a) he most siegaif— a ft : : . . - 68 - 2af witness Linking Oswald to anti-Castro Cudans."” Assistlant Counsel Burt had QO h yore ftin said that “the most reasonable situations under which swald might rm ave had conspirators cee derive from his efforts to ig Cudans and - TO obtain a visa to Cuba"; ‘he Said that the Warren Keport "should — - 69 explore at length tha. allegations made by Sylvia Odio." _ Just ten days before the Warten Report came out, Wesley Liebeler wrote that "Odio. may well bea right” and. that “the Commission will. Look bad if it turns out she is, 4 70- ae - . . te te. oo - | ” Phe Commission’ s investigation never really got beyond a search (reasonably __ . es .-« . -- tw successiul) for evidence that Oswald himself was not one of. Odio's visitor ae - *” Ar the- Last minute, three anti-Castro activists were tentatively identified as” we the y visitors, but Later interviews seem to have: invalidated that hypothesis.” 2 .- 2. CONNECTION BETWEEN obIO AND AN ATTEMPT TO KILL castRo rer ~ wo - oO Sylvia Odio's father with whom her visitors claimed to ba well acquainted, was generally described as a “political prisoner,"?2 The fact is that he was yattested by the Cubdan government because of his involvement in an atterot to SELL Castro. The senior Odios” had harbored one of the assassins after this ~atbtempt on Castro Failed. _ . > - * aw These facts are established by a combination of investigative reports. 4 submitted: to the Warren Commission and press reports which appeared before the - ’ Keanedy assassination. ‘I am not mentioning the name of the man arrested with fc. Odio in this meme, because I think an investigation ‘should be conducted - ce before this material is made public. (L do rot know, anything other Ehaa what _ a ¥ a 7 _ . a, Coe -is in public sources. 3) ot oe - yal ee Because this assassination attempt | occured reasonably close. in tine to the Bay of Pigs, ett is Teasonable to suspec IA was directi volved in - “it, In any case, the conn must have Learned. the details of the plot, if only a ee ‘ : : Lote after it happened, It is clearly important thac Agency records and witnesses ‘be probed to. learn as much as possible about this link between the Kennedy sassassination and an action of the kind the CIA was mounting egalast Castro. Cc. PRESS REPORTS INTERPRETING CIA ACTIONS AGAINST CASTRO Alleged CIA attempts to kill foreign leaders, notably Castro, have received . ; 7% : oy . a great deal of attention Lately. The latest reports make explicit what was “strongly suggested earlier: that the publication of the[stories) about possible ¢. retaliation by Castro was in itsel£ an act with political significsnce end consequences, Given the information in the previous section, it is ispoctant
vities and the Kennedy case Jack Andersaa reported " -20- Se Tepotts while keeping j _attention from this in 1967 thar political H-bomd -— an un 1con£irmed report epptoved an assassination plot which th 75 brother.” ~ anderson said Robert Kennedy was “riding - tole Anderson that for the been taken up with key role in the planning. “with the ‘cia, and a report that Castro “with characteri ccounterplot; , 6 . hoped fot Kennedy’s death,” ‘behavior after the assassinat that. he had helped his: brother! & martytdom." In 1971, Anderson expanded his story, reporting attempts to kill Castro,\occuring between were © Feportedhy Carried out through John Roselli, a man with strong 77 organized crime, n mind the "President that Senate ean possibly b thet a ploc against Castr herd on the Agency" after Kennedy; one source “insisted” that he said that the FI told President Johnso Anderson Suggested that R March 1961 and March (1963 3/26/75 ossibility that the Cta “neem, ohnson is sitting on a Was Considered while e Bay of Pigs. obert xemne y's ayticulaur link between irs ic fury” launched a *morlos Robert Kennedy may hava ckfired against his lere Aaderson also.cited John Kenkedy'* Ss cisillusionment ion might have been due to the “terrible thought that there were six CIA 7 have backfired against Kennedy when Castro Learned of them, 8 - The Anderson columns did not go into the possibility ~ rather,- ‘79 bility - that there were other CIA attempts against Castro. Nor did they raise the possibility that a plot had backfired when the Kennedys or the CIA tried to call it off, and the resentful gunmen. tu version. leck of support in 1982-63, 80 training camp near New Orleans in August 1963 It is known that some anti-Castro Cubans resented President typified by the well publicized raid on an anti : 8 of support for a second invasion around the time of the ilissile Cvisis. tL Castro had decided to reraliate against Kennedy, would have used Oswald Cid and FBI files, and knowa to the public (because of his r fo the anti-Castro Cuban community. the U.S. it is reasona with solid eSsune anti-Castro covers, hat the Whose pro-Castro activities were original an . + - durson reporc c was based ee . . . a by the Cla. “| This conclusion is supported not only Links to ALL six , "Insiders" Plot to "reach the high lev@l it did,” it must have tabert Kennedy played a. that Cuban leaders had er put into motion forces that indirectly may have brought about These columns repeated the suggestion that the plots might the proba- the United States. . here is at least as much political logic to this hypothesis as to the alternate Kennedy's _and by the reported withdraval If. it is most unlikely that he } - amatter of record in adio appearanceg) and Surely the Cuban government had agents in vy -Castra 4 Su
a re ee ne ee oe ~21- ; - 3428475 his citations of "tofofiicials" as sources, but by information provide? ra m2 by moderately reltaore urce\sugsesting that Anderson thought the story hed Deen given to him with the approval of the Director of the CIA. Whoevec Py __; he source, I can only. speculate about his intentions. There may have. been - Gnnice | Lan a d2sire to affect tha strained relationship between President Johnson and. ° Robert Kenneay, or. there m ay have been reasons related to Kennedy" s contiauing passive endorsement of th @ Warren Report in the face of strong public’ concern .aboOur the assassination. Even if the only true part of the 1967 report “was that. - sume elements in the U.S. Government had planned to Kill Castro, Lo may have been Leaked for ‘the purpose of persuading Robert Kennedy to continue his silence 2bout his brother’ 's death.. It should be noted, ‘that the CIA has eppareatly "4 . ot, chosen t i about the anti-Castro assassination attenor which “s Linked to the Odio iasi Oe ae 7 - a Jat has just recently. been revealed that Robert Keaneay was “outraged™ by the. 1987 Anderson column. “He told two of his asSistants that he had Stopped, mot stax cted, the plot against Castro. °? (it appears that he was referring to an attempt using the Mafia, presumably Roselli.) One news report indicated that ona of the Kennedy aides had emphasized that Robert Kennedy L2arned of the . CiA-Mafia link before his brother became President, thus implying that Castro , could Rot, have ‘retaliated against the Kennedys because of it. °? Obviously the . extent and ‘chronology of: all Cla attempts against ‘Castro must be cleared up. a D. POSSIBLE RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE OUTSIDE THE CIA” me ee os 1. BASIS FOR £.-HOWARD HUNT'S BLACKMAIL OF PRESIDENT NIXON 7 Bh - AS many observers have noticed, President Nixon’s reactions to Hunt's : demands for money seem to be based on a fear that he would divulge information | on something even more damaging than. Watergate. On June 23, 1972, Nixon told Haldeman to have the Cla cut off the FBI investigation on the grounds that be” - might open up “the whole Bay of Pigs ‘thing. “That Was presumably related to the long-time CIA links of Huat and some of the men on his team, - | ~ . Of course, many details of the CIA's tavolvenent in the. ‘Bay of Pigs have - been known for years. whether or not Nixon's fear in that area was genuine, "he must have had some reason to believe that the CIA would have | : some idea of what he was referring to. t is quite plausible that “the thole ay of Pigs thing" was a euphemism for Cid tion atterpts azainse e Cz2stro which had grown out. of the Bay of Pigs opegation. It seems essential - to Find out what 211 of the involved parties — N on, Haldeman, Helms, end the FOL - thought (or now think) this meant. .
Hook | | Lo. -22- | ST BFL 75 - 2: HUNT AND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS AGAINST CASTRO mat chose to bring up the matter of assassination attempts against Castro in his book, He said that he had preposed such an attempt in connection with his work on the Bay of Pigs. He recon mended, evidently in writing, that - Castro be killed before-or at the time of the invasion. Hunt was told that his . eS recommendation was “in tne ‘hands of a special group, " Pe rnaps choosing his _ words to conceal ‘or hint.at what he knew, rather than to reveal it, he. urotes . “Se far as i have been able to determine no coherent plan was ever develoged J. -withia a CIA ‘CO assassinate Castro, though it was the- heart”. s desire of many BE - . ote, ee exile groups." - a -- ae oe ay 3. WHITE HOUSE CONCERN ra SoD De US RR “.- In the process of unraveling the stories about the CIA attempts against ++ Castro, it’ might be he toful to explain the White Hause reaction to the 1971 Anderson columns. In the. ‘Senate Watergate Committee hearings, where this was touched on, there is some indication that these columns touched off a minor 85 - flucry of activit 85 Since the purpose of the Watergate break~in has never - been publicly clarified, and there has been much speculation that Larry O'Brien' knowledge of Howard Eughes’ activities was somehow involved, it may be relevant that Anderson did specify that the cla had recruited Roselli. through Rohe ze 8 Haheu, a top Hughes aida 86 4. THE WaRREN COMMISSION re ene: : The CIA apparently never voluateered to the Warren Commission any infor-_ mation about the Odio family’ Link to an assassination attempt against Castro. That Link should have been established the first time the CIA ran the name of - Sylvia Odio through their files. If the link was not noticed within the - government earlier, it may be relevant that shortly after the 1971 Anderson columns appeared I sent him the details in my possession, in the hope that he ‘would pursue the matter; he eventually decided not to, but he may well have checked out some of the details with his CIA contacts. ; : Ic is reasonable to assume that by now the CLA has done an internal investigation of possible Agency links to the Qdio visitors. _Any such report, ‘whether or not it was given to the Warren Commission, -should be made public. E. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS IN THIS ARES a : : As indicated zbove, there are many aspects of the CIA’s actions agaiast Castro which should be examined. One of the Rony possible sources ‘is Victer Harchetti, whase Look contains a Footnote commenting on these CIA activities, a at noting a published report that President Johason thought that Keanedy had
a a ip = CIs information about the Rosalli plots to Jack before bean Killed in retaiiati "3/24/75 on. The related section of the Lexet was deleted by 8 publicsgtion; it should be made public now. Various sources should be asked about the indications that the CIA leaked ROdeTe Kennedy’ s aides Pe tne ‘formal public record. The observations of r Edelman and Adam Walinsky should be made parc of ee, There “are Many aspects of the Odio matter which should be investigated, Many ¥ people named in relevant documents were not thoroughly questioned by tne FEI ar the wW Wacran Report suggested w should be asked to provide any relevant information, 2 2 aoe So ere Odio* s visitors should be closely’ examined; they Warren Commission. First, the activities of - the’ three men who the One of these men, Loran Hall, came to the attention of the FRI on the day after the assassination, when it was reported that he had retrieved a payned trifle; presumably the F8L’s source Suspected Hall of complicity in the death of Kennedy. It is not clear why the FBI then dropped the matter quickly and repoz ted it ta the Warren Commission inadequately and only after a long delay. A friend of. Sylvia Odio insisted that she had told her that anti-Castro Cubans i with the CIA-sponsored Cuban Kevolutionary Council. ' ‘The-most important new topic for investigation is the attempt to kill Castro which The whole story of - Oswald, defended Chicago syne evidence might emerz a New Orleans had warned some Dallas Cubans befare the assassination ° that Oswald was thought to be a double agent trying: to infiltrate anti-Castro. eg 8° Groups; Qdio emphatically denied having said this.® Some of the Ney Orleans hye Cubans who haa encountered Oswald, including Odio! Ss uncle, were associated ; and the assassination is a ed to the arrest of Sylvia Odio's father, sponsorship or knowledge of’ it must bp determined. . re ‘Links betweeg Cuban activities (pro~— and anti-Castro), . ? 2% The degtee of Cla > . t ry ‘ ‘ . eo . 4 . ' qoiplicated one. The most significa ne 2 from some of fhe clues which were too complex ta attract 1D the attention of ‘the Warren Coamisgion. The Qdio incident ana its Camifications “(sone of which were mot Known to the Commission) can properly be explored without a formal recognit work. Hopefully some members of ion of the overall inadequacies of the Commission’s he Commission staff will be wLlling to admit that their work was at least incofplete, and will endorse’ a reo ening of the . ; op A “ertire investigation. Particularly relevaar but which should have Out now). The Firs been e re two examples of leads which vere not obvious d out by the Commission (end should be checked uS a lawyer froma the firm which i mid-1963 (Glancana
e" ooh a 7 -~24- , : 3]241 {75 has Deen one as a Mafia leader who may have aided the CIA in spying againsec i. asir 89) On the day a the assassination, this lawyer sent a telegr bare) Oswald, offering nis ~ocuicer if Oswald had not been able to obtain counsel. Sa se np SSS Ss I am convinced that this gesture was made on proper civil-Libertarian greunds,. re 2 respons? to the apparent violation of Oswald's rights in the absence of an attorney. The law firm involved had a good reputation for civil rights work. al his lawyer should be given the chance to answer for the record any suspicions }. |= ° hat mig he be. raised by his rirm "s prior representation of Giancana. : nr ee The second story “might turn out to be a new and valuable clue to the . See 2 i * . - - ba: aAELEY». purposes, 2ad organizational links of-the men who ‘visited. Sylvia sete! ee ew pee TO a te et ee te » Otto. There. was an aati-Castro Cuban in Dallas. who apparently resembled ‘Oswald " $0 much ‘thac a gas station operator who saw him a few days before the assass—. co coe nation ] late iat told the FBI that he thought he had seen Oswald. The FBI Was role by an.informaat that this man was nyioleacly"” anti-Kennedy; he denied that. He was the presideat of the Dallas branch of the anti-Castro org anization which was, headed: by one of the principals in the attempt on. Castro's life which had “Ted to the arrest of Odio’s parents. The Dallas group held meetings at 3126 Hollandale [Screet ]; the Warren Commission received but did not resolve an . allegation reported to a Dallas Deputy Sheriff that Oswald had attended meetings of a Cuban group at *3L28 flaclendate."” This man is ‘named in ‘several Warren - Commission records, ‘but as far as I know the ‘staff never took note. of the , apparent ‘resemblance to Oswald, and never checked out the possibility that he had been the “Leon Oswald" who visited Sylvia Odio ov that he had otherwise : : oa been involved in a conspiracy. - ot de es - . “oe ee ee ee ee
+. Hoch - =~25- : : an POSTSCRIPT: WAR tREN CHMISS TON STAFE SPE CULATION Dour. THE ODIO INCIDENT after this meno was written, I received from the National Srchives a rh, ry ormerly withheld inctsrnal C Or eo ui fe) cussed at some length. This undated memo was written by William Coleman to the Commission members the evidence pertaining to foreign involvement in the assassination. ‘Tha discussion of the Ofio incident reflects the Kind of on reasonable speculation end intelligent eritical enalysis which is so conspicuously missing from most of the Final report. This analysis souads as if it was written by..one of the more knowledgeable (eritics of the Warren Report. . after sum mmarizing the known facts in the Odio _case, Coleman and Slawson wrote: "The evidence here could lead to an anti-Castro Cuben involvement in the assassination on some sort of basis as this: Oswald could hava become known to the Cubans as being strongly pro-Castro. He made no secret of his sympathies, and so the anti-Castra Cubans must have realized _that the law-enforcement authorities were also aware of Oswald's feelings and that therefore, if he got inta trouble, the public would also leara of them. The anti-Cuban [sic] group may even have believed the fiction . ; . Oswald tried to create that he had organized some sort of large active . Fair Play For Cuba group in New Orleans. Second, someone in the anti- , Castro organization might have been keen enough to sense that Oswald had . # penchant for violence that might edsily be aroused. -This was evident, for example, when he laughed at the Cubans and told them it would be eusy ‘to Kill Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs. On these facts, it is possible that -* some sort. of deception was used to encourage Oswald to “ill the President when he came to Dallas. Perhaps "double agents' were even used to persuade Oswald that pro-Castro Cubans would help in the assassination or in the’ ~ get-away afterwards. The motive on this would of course be the ex- pectation that after the President was killed Oswald would be caught or at least his identity ascertained, the law-enforcement authorities and. aa the public would then blame the assassination on the Castro government, and the call for its forceful overthrow would be irresistable. A "second Bay of Pigs Invasion’ would begin, this time, hopefully, to end successfully. The memo’s next sentence calls for the comment that speculation which seemed "wild" eleven years ago may not he so wild today: 7 “0” : "The foregoing is probably only a wild speculation, but the facts that we already know are certainly sufficient to warrant additional . investigation." : ot The Commission's additional investigation Was not adeauate, and facts known now but not known to Coleman and Slawson in 19564 make additional investigation eVen more necessary.
Hock Footnotes -3- . 3/26/75 65. LLH372. Fo 1 discussion, see WR 321-4 and tieagher, "Accessories After the 7 6-337, . 65. LLH377. 99. Cn, Odio’s veracity, see e.g. Meagher (note 64), p. 380. 67. There were other incidents where someone mignt have beea impersonating Oswald. David SlLawson has said that “the interposition of an impostor, if that appeasd, is. a political acc.” (Ref. 52} See also. p. 7 supra. 63, Hubert and Griffin memo of April 7, 1984 to Rankin. 69. Griffin memo of august .20, 1954 to HWillens. . 70, Liebeler meno of September 14, 1964 to Willens. 7. Meagher (note 64), Pe. 387; compare WR 324 and CD 1553. ‘72. wR 322. a I will be. glad. to send this material to serious investigators, ‘Copies have already been given fo sevetal researchers... 78+, NYT March 10, 1975, p. 1. ee Soo 75. Drew Pearson column of March 3, 1967 in (e.g.) the S.F, Chronicle. Apparently this column did hot appear in the Washington Post except for a very Short version on March 7; 1957. 76, This may be a refererce to CD 1359, a still-withheld Top Secret letter of 6/17/64 froma Hoover to Rankin, re statements by Castro on the assassination, 77, The first two attempts involved poison capsules, and the other four involved _ . teams. with rifles and explosives who were takea to Cuba by Roselli. 78. Jack Anderson columns of Jan. 18, Jan. 19, and Feb. 23, L971. 79, For other attempts against Castro, see Szule, Esquire, Feb. 74, Pp. 90-91, , and Scott, Ramparzs, Nov. "74, p. 14-15,. 54, BS , an Doone 80. New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 1, 1963 « &£eBe, NYT, 4/1 7 De */2L/63, p. 26; 82. MYT, Mar. 10, 1975, p. 1. pte et, 83. This was a national Tv network news report; the text is not available to me now. 84, Hunt, "Give Us This Day," p. 38-39, re > Pe lhe. 85. Senate Watergate Committee Hearings, pp.. 9723, 9749~ 55. 86. Anderson column, Jan. 18, “1971 (Ss. F. Chronicle, p. 39).. a 87. Marchetti & Marks (ref. 63), p. 290 (paperback edition}. - - 8S. CD 1546, p. 179; CE 3147, p. 5. oo oo. 89, NYT, Mar. 10, 19737 p” L. SO | oa 90. 1911534. Oo — Ween ee ee ee ee
“Bech . Footnotes -2- | - 324175 27. wt 307-8; also CO 1034E, section IX. 23. CB 1000. Some passages are still withheld. 23. Time, Feb. 10, 1975, p.°16; "The Vantage Point,” p. 26-7 (paperback edition); Atlantic, July 1973, p. 39, 30. Peter Dale Scott, Kempacts, Nov. 1973, p. 13- 3L. CD 87, SS 559; CD 235; CD 409, p. 3; CD 111L5-XIILI-103; Wise & Ras "Invisible Governzant, *" p. 268 (paperback edition). _ 32. 9235-5; Cv 933, Pe 76. | 79] > "33. ° CO 555, p. 76. . 34. See, e.g., "ithitewash tre by Harold Weisberg, Ch. 6; CD 950. 35. 18H795-6. es ‘36. CE L961; Rankin letter of 5/19/64 to Folsom. , | me ‘37. CD 33, pp. 1-2. _.38, NYT Dec. 25, 1974, p. 1. 39. E.ge, CD 692(g). ; ' 4G. Lists of withheld CO's and CIA CD's are available from the author. :41, Letter of. Dec. 14, (L97l, from -L. kK. White, to the-author. _ - &2.° CD 49, p.. 22.7 43. See p. 7 supra. 44, — 2? : re 45. WRBS8. | _ So “46. “IH213; CD 120, p. 4-5; CE 834, items 13, 15-18, 20. ; i 47. Memo of 3/12/64, Slauwson to the files, P. 7 Calso p. 8); Coleman mero, of 3/26/64, 48. SHL22. . . Loe. ; a 49, Slawson memo of 3/12/64, p. 8. . Oo oe oe Ct 50. Stern memo of 3/27/64 to Rankin; 5H122. 51. Slawson memo of 3/12/64, p. 8. 52. NYT, Feb. 23, 1975, ps 32. | | 93-95 (hard cover edition). > “Inquest,” pp. 54. Bankin letter to Hoover, 1/31/64; Hoover letter to Kankin, Feb. 5S, 1964. “55. Rankin letters to J, Rovley CUSSS); Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, 1964. - 56. Helms memo to Papich (FRI 57. Hoover letter to Rankin, Feb. 4, 196% (Weisberg, "Photographic Whitewash,” p. 143.) .58. This has been confirmed by an experiment I helped another investigator perforn. 59.0 My request for this information under the Freedom of Information Act is pending. 69. 5S%123-4. ; . , . , 51. See, for example, Jin Squires’ article in the Chiceyo Tribune, 3/16/75, p. Ll. 62. Ch 1522, still withheld. | me . 63. Cong. Rec. 9/23/65, p. 23393; Marchetti & Marks, "The Cla and the Cule of Intelligence, "9, 339 (paperback addition).
Eocn : Footnotes. : *. 3/24/75 nis false document says that Ruby was “performing information Functions” or Nixon and HUsC in 1947, In fact, Ruby did try to contact the Xefauver Crime Comittee in that year, possibly to act as an informant; that Was " suppressed by the F3i and noc explored by the Warren Comission. 2. New York Times [hereinafter "syr"'], Feb. 3, 1975, p. 14. ied * th ») 3. -CE [i.e., warren Commission Exhibit | 821 (L7H700 b Sirs Hearings Before the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, Vol. 17, page 7C0}). : ‘- 4. CE 834, question #1 (17H789-790), 5. NYT Jan. £6, 1975, p. 31. In 1960 the CIS intercepted a letter sent to the ' Soviet Union by Bella Abzug in connection with her legal work in aa estace case, (NYT, March 8, 1975, p- 11) ‘ . 6. cD [i-e., Warren Commission Document (in the ‘National Archives) ] 692, fos part (a). (See section II.D infra.) i slog Dg Shee - ‘That is, the file entitled "Funds Transmitted to Residents. of Russia," as - distinguished from the file entitled “Oswald.” : - 8. cb 692, part (a), item 4. ; ; ws ae s. Se WR fi.e., Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of : President Kennedy | 326. is = ae . 19. CD 692, part -(a), item 4, pp. 1-2. ead . 11. WR.408; see also WR 290. en Be ag oR roe Sng Oo ge 12: See, for example, a memo to the Files from General Counsel J. Lee Rankin, undated but approximately January 24-27, 1964, entitled “Rumors that Oswald Was an undercover agent." The reported CJA informant number, 110669, was - apparently not checked out. For the Commission's reaction to these rumors, see "Whitewash IV -— JFK Assassination Transcript,” written and published by Harold Weisberg, : : “ ‘ 13, WR 325-7. . pee Soke ees at en 14. Washington Post, Nov. 22, 1974, p. 3; Commission executive session transcript at for Jan. 27, 1954, p. 153-4 (reprinted in Weisberg book, note 12)... 15. The CIA also denied having interviewed Oswald in Hoscow.. See CD 528. 16. The other defector was Robert Edward Webster, See NYT, 5/25/62, p- 5. 17. WR 713; Peter Dale Scott, Ramparts, November 1973, p. Lis 18. WR 700, but compare 8H330-343 and CE 92. ital ~ ae ae 19, Milton Kaack and Warren C. DeBrueys. Compare CE 825 with CE 826 and CD 692(a)4, (20. CE 835 (171816), ee - 21. See the article by Fenstervald and O’Toole in the New York Review, April 3, 1975, and the Warren Comnission records cited therein. . 22. CD 10840, pp. 4-5. ; ' 23.. Cb 10849, pp. 5-6; also see draft memo of April 1, 1964, by Coleman and Slaiwson, p. 3. ae: te ¢: 24. Tad Szuic, "Compulsive spy,” p.. 96-97. 25. YE Hac. 8, 1975, p. 11. . Sins : . 26. Some are presumably in part (g) of CL 692, for example. = S 3