249 CONFIDENTIAL leaving London was a FinAir flight that would have arrived they in Helsinki at 11:30, a time that would not have permitted a Oswald to have cleared customs and made the trip to the iz | hotel. . 5 | This has been an issue that has received some attention ; " | 4 | recently. I am wondering whether the Agency was ever able | a fully to resolve this question. | : | Mr. Rocca. As far as I know, they were not. They 3 | gave up -- there was a time schedule worked out and passed | to this Commission. This was a report done by Mr. Murphy's people, that Mr. Wigren, who I mentioned yesterday, worked VAL UIGTON , ta) on. I cannot..judge its relevance without reading it. But I do agree that there is a -- he did move fairly fast. WT EDING ’ w But that may be just traveller's luck. | I (Pause) = ul * is | Mr. Rocca. I can add nothing to this. 7 7 | ‘Mr. Goldsmith. Was the Agency ever able to resolve. z 8 | the question of how Oswald was able to obtain a visa-to enter | ua i } = FI the Soviet Union as quickly as he did? 5 aan Mr. Rocca. This, too, was a matter prepared by | ee the appropriate component. I cannot recall its specific | details.or really judge it in terms of its definitive @ / +2 a quality. I think probably we did the best job we could on it. You see, on the memo that you have just shown me, cONPITDENTIAL SON REPORTING COMPANY, INC. DocId: 32263409 Paie 252 ALZERSON
CONFIDENTIAL 250 which 2137, Duncan was the researcher in SB Division. who ts f | worked on the problem and prepared the memorandum. fo | I certainly am not qualified to challenge conclusions j 4e they reached. o | v | Mr. Goldsmith. I am not asking you to challenge their : A . | wt 9° -~ | conclusions. = i = 74 ~ | I am asking you whether any additional information x | ever came to your attention pertaining to this issue. < i Mr. Rocca. Ah, that's another matter. I'm sorry, I = 10 | = | didn't understand that. a i No. > ye ‘fi Mr. Goldsmith... According to CIA number 2047, which = 24 © = I will read to you in relevant part, it indicates that an = taf een Pa : Agency source stated that there was no record that there was & is 5 = | any request for a U.S.S.R. visa processed through normal = 16 | = | channels for Oswald at any time during 1959, and the source “ 7 = | indicated it was difficult to explain how Oswald might have a || xeceived his visa in two days without going through normal = 1S ! = "4 . ' channels. "The only conclusion which can be drawn is that S 20 | Oswald must have received his visa directly from the Soviet Embassy in Stockholm, which occasionally has done special cases." But the source has no evidence to confirm this assumption. Do you know whether the Agency was ever able to resolve the question of how Oswald was able to obtain his , CONPIDENTIAL ALDERSCON SEPCRTING COMPANY. INC. Doclda: 32263409 Page 253
ro) ta | | | i Mr. Rocca, be Mr. Rocca. CONFIDENTIAL 251 visa so expeditiously? No. I do not believe that they were able to do that. This is, however, one of the open questions that should be worked on. If all of the provisions that were -- and r “CON PIDENTIAL i : 7 ‘Mr. Goldsmith. Does that suggest in your mind that ; ‘| Oswald may have had an intelligence connection of some kind? vy Mr. Rocca. Indeed. : 7 Let me -- strike that. It would suggest that if * | indeed it turns out that he did have facilitation in his visa = Io of that kind~-in other words, that visa facilitation would : i tend to suggest that and not the other way around, as I : a originally indicated. = i! @ = "3 Mr. Goldsmith. Would Mr. Hartman's investigation Py ‘| : a into the question of whether Oswald was connected with the : '- Agency also have led him to determine whether Oswald was an : S| agent d@ some other U.S. intelligence agency? ; i : “| Mr. Rocca. I think probably not. z “| Mr. Goldsmith. You mentioned earlier that -- = aa Mr. Rocca. Though I reserve, If he mentions in his e 4 ; = % memorandum the Inter-Agency Source Defector List, which I ne think he should have checked, there should have been a eet | ry yey reference there. . 234 | Mr. Goldsmith. Would that conclusively indicate * whether Oswald was an agent of another agency? a Docld: 32763409 Page 2454 =-= - me mA - ALDSRSON REPORTING COMFANY, INC.
CONFIDENTIAL 252 | misstated the list -- this is the Inter-Agency Source | | , Register, not the Inter-Agency Defector List -- the Inter-Agency i > ‘Source Register -- and I believe he did check it. If the ' | provisions governing coordinating had been carried out, | ! = ~ j there would have been a drop card in there. 5, il | “ ° So, the answer to your question would be yes, at least | eS 7 || aS a start. u | & s | . = | Mr. Goldsmith. Do you recall whether the Warren < 7 | Commission was at all particularly concerned with regard to | = ie the question of whether Oswald was an agent of the CIA? | eid Mr. Rocca. No questions of that kind, as far as I 4 Sy. it | i an can recall, were directed through this working level association = ! @ qe 3 that I had with Slawson and Coleman and others. on this ~  * ! point, as far as I know. zi 3 Mr. Goldsmith. Although apparently there was a meeting: z | 7 Is | with Mr. Dulles that you attended where Dulles indicated to ” | you that the Warren Commission had asked him to investigate this. = i question... -. -.. = 19! . i & § Mr. Rocca. The meeting with Mr. Dulles, as you kindly that in as a matter of collateral, reading the memorandun, as he tended to do, of course, This was a matter that had f : ‘ | ! noted yesterday, was for another purpose, and he simply brought | | | | come up. i So, there was, apparently, an interest to the extent : that Rankin talked to him about it. i cUN FPIDENTIAL i “ ALEERSON REPORTING COMPANY. INC. Docld: 32263409 Page 255
253 ‘But I was not brought in on that phase. wa Mr. Goldsmith. Why was Mr. Dulles disinclined to “get involved in this issue? re Mr. Rocca. I think it was -- I'm simply guessing, 2 5 now --. I would say that it would involve a whole matter of t i = 3 | conflict of interest; that is, as a member of the Commission, | z 7 he should be objective in these matters, That would be my | s € | guess. : ; 7 Mr. Goldsmith. How would you evaluate the significance : 10 | of Oswald's early discharge and relatively expeditious | = i | : Ho discharge fromthe military? ! = } = a! Mr. Rocca. I think it shows palpable and manifest | 5 a bad faith on his part and I can't go beyond that because i I don't know any more facts. Mr. Goldsmith... Bad faith in the sense that he was REPORTERS WUTEDIENS , intelligence associations of some kind? Is getting a hardship discharge and then took off for the Soviet | “17 | Union? - 4 = Mr. Rocca. That's right. <7 : } E Fl Yes. Is that the correct word to use, when a person a - gives an excuse that is not. sustained by his subsequent. ! “a: HH i zee *' | actions? BO an | i e ry Mr. Goldsmith. Well, does the fact that he obtained oar this early discharge suggest to you that Oswald may have had i 24 | ! Mr. Rocca. Not necessarily. People would have. te H oO ty 2 | H =] t? Cc Ook F Docld:32263409 Page 256 ALD ERSS