FBI RESPONSE TO HSCA REQUEST TO DECLASSIFY DOCUMENTS.
Originator: CIA
Document date: 1979-01-08 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

# DOCID-32370072

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Date: 02/22/05

JEK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD NUMBER : 104-10147-10010

RECORD SERIES

: JFK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER

80T01357A

DOCUMENT. INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : FBI

FROM

TO

TITLE

DATE

PAGES

FBI RESPONSE TO HSCA REQUEST TO DECLASSIFY DOCUMENTS.

01/08/1979

SUBJECTS :

ASCA REQUEST

FBI RESPONSE

DOCUMENT TYPE

: PAPER

CLASSIFICATION

CONFIDENTIAL

RESTRICTIONS

÷ LA

CURRENT STATUS : RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

: 07/22/93

COMMENTS : JFK60 : F2 : 1993.07.22.15:25:09:000280

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of

1992 (44 USC 2107 Note). Case#:NW

55924 Date: 10-26-2021

[R]

- ITEM IS RESTRICTED

104-10147-10010

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UNCLASSIFIED

INTERNAL

USE ONLY

ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET

SUBJECT: (Optional)

Dir/FBI Response Re Nosenko Interrogatories

FROM:

EXTENSION

R.S. Gabrielson OLC/HSCA

6D5317

1385

1046

TO: (Officer designation, room number, and

DATE

building)

OFFICER'S

INITIALS

RECEIVED

FORWARDED

"Ray Reardon O/Security

4E13

2.

Russ

2D11

Holmes

OLC

3. M.

Sednaoui: DDO/CI

2B1405

4Ed Andrews: DDO/SE

4D10

SR. Rininger

OGC

7D07

6.

7.

8.

9.

CONFIDENTIAL

SECRET

OLC /Dily

HSCA

NO.

DATE

OLC 79/0205/1

20

January 1979

COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom

to whom.

Draw a line across column after each comment.)

NOTE:

The attached received

from FBI.

I bring it to your

attention for any thoughts

you might have on its

substance:

Please call me with

your comments.

Rodger

1046 (R)

1385 (R)

Att.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

21539

15.

NW,65924 (b8d:52370072 PageRCRET

CONFIDENTIAL

INTERNAL

USE ONLY

UNCLASSIFIED

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DEFICE ON THE DIRECTOR

office of Legislative

Counsel - FXI

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

01G # 19-6 205

WASHINGTON. D.C. 20535

January 8, 1979

HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS

U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (HSCA)

This responds in full to a December 18,

1978, letter to the Attorney General signed by G. Robert

BlaKey, Chief Counsel and Director, HSCA, which askea

that the FBI declassify, in toto, a Secret, September

Yuri. Ivanovich Nosenko which were propounded by the

1978, response made to 16 interrogatories pertaining to;

Committee in its letter of September 5, 1978.

Declassification of the September 14, 1978,

response required coordination with the Office of Legis

Lative Counsel, CIA, which interposed no objection to

declassifying certain portions of that response.

The Committee's attention is invited to the

fact that CIA did suggest, with regard to the response

to interrogatory number "g"

, that the FBI "... may wish

to correct the dates on which the FBI did not have direct

access to Mr. Nosenko, to read 3 April 1961 until 8 December

1968."

For the convenience of the Committee,

following declassified, verbatim reiteration of the

September 14, 1978, response is provided.

181:

10210111

FUl/D.

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House Select Committee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (ISCA)

This responds in full to the following enumerated

interrogatories submitted for consideration in a letter,

dated Soptember 5, 1978, to the Attorney General ane signed

by G. Robert Blakey, Chief Counscl and Director, HSCA.

"I. On what dates and for how long was Nosenko

questioned by the FBI about Lice Harvey Oswald-

from 1964 to present?"

The files of the FBI indicate that Yuri Ivanovich

Nosenko was interviewed regarding Oswald and/oï the assassi-

nation of President John F. Kennedy on February 26 and 27;

1964, and on barch 3, 4 and 6, 1264.

The FBI files do not

recora the specisic duration in whole or in part as to

topical aiscussions, of those five intervions; however,

summary communications indicate the February 21, 1904 inter-

view was conducted on the afternoon of that date and the

March 4, 1954 discussion of Oswald occurred at the outset

of an afternoon intervier on that date.

12. When Nosenko was questioned by the FBI about

Lee Harvey Oswald, ho did the questioning?"

The FBI interviews of Nosenko, during which he was

questioned about Oswald and/or. the assassination of President

Kennedy, were conducted by Special Agents (SAs) Alekso

Poptanich, Maurice A. Taylor and Donald E. Balter on

February 26 and 27, 1954; by SAs Poptanich and W. Marvin

Gheesling on March

3 and 4, 1954; and by SAs Poptanich,

Taylor and Walter on March 6, 1964.

= 2 -

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House Select Committee on Assassihations

U.S. House of Representatives (ASCA)

3. What background, if any, did the interro

gator have in interrogations? What inowledge

did the interrogator have with respect to Oswald's

background?"

There are no retrievable FBI statistics upon which

to base a quantification of the interrogatory experiences of

the SA personnel who interviewed Nosenko on the five pertinent

Suffice it to say, the techniques of cooperative

and hostile interrogations are integral aspects of the training

and almost daily duties of SA personnel: In that regard, it

is noted that during the February and March, 1964 interviews

SA Poptanich had almost 13 years of SA experience; SA Taylor

had over 31 years of SA experience; SA Walter had completca

almost 17 years of SA experience; and SA Gheesling had over

13 years of SA experience.

Further, their respective personnel

files disclose the following:

SA Poptanich was then fluent in the Russian language

(Nosenko's native tongue).

The Annual Report of Perfornance

Rating, dated March 31, 1962, noted that SA Poptanich, during

the previous twelve months, had participated in the interio-

gation of a Soviet defector and his knowledge of the Russian

language and nores of the Russian people proved most helpful

relative thereto.

SA Taylor, on September 11, 1962, received an incen-

tive award in recognition of the superior fashion his responsi-

bilities were discharged over an extended period of time.

The

Special Agent in Chaige (SAC) of the Washington Field Office,

in submitting a recommendation for the incentive award,

connented that SA Taylor had demonstrated exceptional ability

in the interrogation and debricfing of three Soviet defectors,

all of won were intelligence officers.

SA Taylor's Perfor-

mance Rating for the period April 1, 1963--March 31, 1954,

noted he lias recognized

as the finest interrogator

on the

Soviet espionage squad in the Washington Field Office, which

accounted for his assignments to interview Soviet defectors.

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House Select Committee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (HISCA)

SA Walter was the recipient of a personal letter of

conmendation,

dated October

3, 1963, from the Director FBI,

for his superior work in the handling of a very sensitive,

case, successful interrogation being the key aspect of that

investigation.

SA Gheesling, at the time of the pertinent Nosenko

interviews, served as a Supervisor at FBI Headquarters and

had considerable experience in espionage, intelligence and

counterintelligence investigations.

SA Gheesling supervised

the field investigation of Oswald (from the latter's return to

the United States on June 13, 1962 until September, 1962, and

from November 22, 1963 through mid-1964). He was assigned

exclusively to supervisory responsibilities relative to the

assassination of President Kennedy.

While the specific knowledge of Oswald's background,

possessed by these SAs at the time of the Nosenko interviews,

can be answered only by the SAs themselves, SA Gheesling's

prior assignuent to supervision of the Oswald investigation

would tend to indicate that he,

at least, was quite knowledge-

able of data contained in FBI

files concerning Oswald.

"4. On the cates that Nosenko was questioned about

Oswald, does there now exist or did there ever exist:

a. & tape of the questions asked and Nosenko's

answers;

Do a transcript of the questions asked and

Nosenko's diswers;

c. a summary of the questions asked and.

Nosenio's answers?"

As noted in FBI menorandom dated June 19, 1979,

captioned as above, and which was prepared in response to HSCA

letter, dated Jue 15, 1978, to the Attorney General, FBI

records searches have not located any extant tape recordings

- 4=

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Ticuse Select Conmitice on Assassinations

U.S. House of Representatives (ESCA)

or verbatin transcripts of FBI interviews with Nosenko that

concerned Oswald and/or the assassination of President Kennedy.

A_docuient has been located wich indicates that FBI personcl

did record the February 36 and 27, 1954, interviews of Nosenko,

among others. Since no recordings or transcripts have been

located, it can be assumed that the recordings were used by

the interviewing SAs to check the accuracy of their notes

prior to dictating the results of the interviews. It is

further assumed that, upon verifying the accuracy of sumnary

reportings of the interviers, the recordings were disposed of

since they had served the purpose for which they were made,

although no record of such disposition can be found.

Sunnary

reportings of the five pertinent interviews are extant, and

were delivered to the HSCA on March 21, 1978.

*5. What criteria, if any, was used to determine:

a. what subjects to question Nosenko about;

b. how much time to devote to each subject!"

FBI files do not contain a specific enumeration of

criteria used to determine the particular subjects Nosenko

was to be questioned about nor the amount of time to be devoted

to each subject in the questioning.

"G. What significance - with respect to possible

foreign involvement in the assassination as Fell

as to the issue of Nosenko's bonafides (sic)-did

the FBI attach during the years 1981-1968 to Nosenko's

statements about Oswald?"

The FBI, during the years 1964-1968, considered

Nosenko's statements about Oswald to be very significant elements

of his initial reportings, the veracity of which nad to be

assessed in relation to the totality of information furnished

by him.

depending upon a subsequent, definitive resolution of Nosenio's

bona fides, to be the most authoritative infornation available

indicative of a lack of Soviet governmental involvement in tho

assassination of President Kennedy.

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¡louse Seleci comittee on Assassinations

U.S. House of Representatives (FiSCA)

17. What significance - with respect to possible

foreign involvement in the assassination as well as

to the issue of Nosenko's bonafides (sic)-does

the FBI attach today to Nosenko's statements about

Oswald?"

The FBI does not perceive any significant evidence of

foreign involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy,

nor does the FBI perceive any credible evidence that Nosenko's

defection was a Soviet ploy to mask Soviet governmental

involvement in the assassination. Therefore, the FBI is

satisfied that Nosenko reported the facts about Oswald as he

knew them.

ng. If the answer to question & is eifferent from

the response to question 7, when did the change

occur and why?"

The FBI had no direct accoss to Nosenko from

April 3, 1964 until April 3,

1969, and therefore was not in

a position to make an objective assessment of his bona fides

nor of the veracity of information furnished by him.

Thus,

infornation provided by him, in early 1964, was accepted at

face value and qualified in

terms of the source and the

conditions under which it was received. On October 1, 1968,

the FBI advised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

that,

based upon a review of material provided by CIA, the FBI

found no substantial basis to conclude that Nosenko was noê

a bona fide defector; however, cue FBI did not reach any

overall, definitive conclusions regarding his bona fides

because of a lack of access to Nosenko and all collateral

conca 05

infornation pertinent to such an assessment. Effective

May 11, 1977, the CIA and FBI concurred that Nosenko was a

bona fide defectoï, based upon an assessment of the

totality of information furnished by him.

F9. What was the FBI's position from 1964 to

1958 on the question of whether Nosenko is

bonafide (sic)?"

.-6

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House

Salect Committee on Assassinations

U. S- House of Representatives (ASCA)

The FBI, from 1964 to 1968, characterized Nosenko

as a Soviet defector whose bona fides had not been establised.

*10. What is the FBI's position today on the

question of whether Nosenko is bonefide (sic)?"

The FBI currently characterizes Nosenko as a former

Soviet Committee for Staie Security (KGB) officer who has

furnished reliable infornation in the past, and considers

Nosenko to be a bona fide Soviet defector.

"I. If the ansiver to question 2 is different from

the response to question 10, when did the change

occur and why?"

The answer to question 8 is considered responsive

to question 11.

*12. What sas the RBI's position from 1964 to

1968 on whether Nosenko was telling the truth in

the statements he made to the FBI about Oswald?"

the FBI did not take a position, from 1964 to 1908,

on whether Nosenko was telling

the truth in the statements

he made to the FBI about Oswald. The statements were accopted

at face value and qualified in terms of the source and the

conditions under which they were received.

"I3. What is the FBI's position today as to

whether Nosenko was telling the truth in the

statements he made to the FBI about Oswald?"

The FBI is satisfied that Nosenko truthfully

reported the facts about Oswald

as he knew them.

*14. If the answer to question 12 is different

from the response to question 13, when lad the

change ocour and why?"

7

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House Seleci Connittee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (HSCA)

As indicated in the responses to questions 7 and &

the FBI, as of October 1, 1968, found no substantial basis to

¿ conclude Nosenko was not a bona fide defector; as of lay 1l,

1977, accepted a CIA assessment that Nosenko was a bona fide

defector;

and has not perceived any significant evidence,

fron 196s to date, that Nosenko reported other than the faces

about Oswald as he knew them.

"I5. Did either the ?BI or the CIA have primery

responsibility for investigating Nosenko's state-

ments about Oswald? If neither had primery

responsibility, was there any civision of

responsibility?"

The FBI had primary responsibility for investigating

Nosenko's statements about Oswald that pertained to his

(Oswald's) activities in the United States, including the

assassination of President Kennedy. The CIA had primary

responsibility for investigating Nosenko's statements about

Oswald's activities abroad.

"16. What communication, if any, existed between

the FBI and CIA with respect to evaluating end/or

investigating Nosanko's statements about Oswald?"

The FBI forwarded a letter, dated March 6, 1964,

from

the Director, FBI, to the Director, CIA, enclosing

memoranca dated February 28, 1964, and March 4, 1964, cap-

tioned "Lee Harvey Oswald," which summarized the results of

FBI interviews of Nosenko regarding Oswald on February 26

Nosenko on January

April 28, 1954.

These particular pieces of correspondence,

while not setting forth any specific requests or investiga-

tive leads, were

furnished for purposes of evaluation.

Where information is not provided, it is either

not retrievable from FBI Headquarters files or is not being

furnished pursuant to the Memorandun of Understanding.

-8.

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