THIS RESPONDS IN FULL TO A DEC. 18, 1978, LETTER TO ATTORNEY GEN. SIGNED BY G.ROBERT BLAKEY, CHIEF COUNSEL AND DIRECTOR, HSCA, WHICH ASKED THAT THE FBI DECLASSIFLY, IN TOTO, A SECRET SEPTEMBER 14, 1978 RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORIES TO Y.I. NOSENKO.
Agency: CIA
Originator: FBI
From: FBI
To: CIA, OLC
Document date: 1/8/79
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

1104-10418.10172

UNCLASSIFIED

PERNAL

¿ ONLY

ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET

CON' ENTIAL

SECRET

SUBJECT: (Opiional)

FROM:

R.S.

6D5317

Dir/FBI Response Re Nosenko Interrogatories

EXTENSION

Gabrielson. OLC/HSCA

1385

1046

TO:

(Officer designation, roam number, and

building)

DATE

RECEIVED

OFFICER'S

INITIALS

FORWARDED

"Ray Reardon O/Security

4E13

7 Russ Holmes _OtE CLE

2011

DDO/CI

2B1405

4. EdwAndrews: DDO/SE

4D10

5.p.

Rininger

7D07

OGC

NOLE 79/0205/1

DATE

F9 January 1979

COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom

to whom.

Draw a line across column after each commens.)

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

1.385

(R)

(R)

Att.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14

1S.

FOPM

3-62

610 USE PREVIOUS

EDITIONS.

SECRET

CONFIDENTIAL

INTERNAL

USE

OHLY

UNCLASSIFIED

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13-00000

CEFICE OF TIE DIRECTOR

CIA

iffice of Legislative

Counsel - FYI

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

OLG # 14 €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 asked

that the FBI declassify,

in toto,

a Secret, September 14,

1978, response made to 16

interrogatories

pertaining to

Ivanovich Nosenko which were propounded by the

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

to MI. Nosenko, to read 3 April 1961 until 8 December

For the convenience of the Committee,

following

declassified,

verbatim

reiteration of the

September 14, 1978, response is provided.

NeV.

itse

FOUr

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House Select Committee on Assassinations

U.S. House of Representatives (HSCA).

This responds in full to the following enumerated

interrogatories submitted for consideration in a letter,

dated Soptember 5, 1978

to the Attorney General and signod

by: G. Robert Blakey, Chief Counsel and Director, ESCA.

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

questioned or the FBI about Lee 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,

1904, and on Maich 3, 4 and 6, 1264.

The FBI files do not

record the specific duration in whole or in part as to

topical discussions, of those five interviews; hovever,

summary communications indicate the February 27, 1964 inter

view was conducted on the afternoon of that date

and the

MarCh 4,

1964 discussion of Oswald occurred at the outset

of an aftornoon interview on that date.

#2. When Nosenko was questioned by the FBI about

Lee Harvey Oswald; who 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. Walter on

February 20 and 27, 1964; by

Gheesling on March 3 and 4, 1964; and by SAs Poptanich,

Taylor and Walter on March 6, 1964.

2

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House Select Committee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (ESCA)

"3. What background, if any, did the interro

gator have in interrogations? What knowledge

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

occasions.

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 regaid,

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 completed

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 Performance

Rating,

dated March. l, dool, noted that sa toptanich, during

the previous twelve months, had participated in the interio-

gation of a Soviet defector and his knowledge of tie Russian

language and mores of the Russian people proved most helpful

rolative 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.

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

in submitting a recommendation for the incentive award,

commented that SA Taylor had demonstrated exceptional ability

in the interrogation and debriefing of three Soviet defectors,

all of whom

were intelligence officers.

SA Taylor's Perfor-

mance Rating for the period April 1,

1963--March

31, 1964,

noted he was recognized

as the tinest interrogator

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 (ESCA).

SA Haltor was the recipient of a personal letter of

on another espionage

case, successful interrogation being the key aspect of that

investigation.

SA Gheesling, at the time of the pertinent Nosenko

interviews, served

a Supervisor at FBI Headquarters and

had considerable experience in espionage, intell: gence and

counterintelligence investigations.

Gheesling supervised

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

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

from November 22, 1963 through mid-1964).

He was assigned

exclusively to supervisory

responsibilities iclative to the

assassination of President Kennedy.

While the specific knowledge of Oswald's background,

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

can be answered only by the SAs themselves,

Gheesling's

prior assignment to supervision of the Oswald investigation

would tend to indicate that he,

at least, was quite knowlerge-

able of data contained in FBI files concerning Oswald.

"4. On the dates that Nosenko was questioned about

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

a. a tape of the questions asked and Noserko's

answers,

bo a transcript of the questions asked and

Nosenko's answers;

c. a summary of the questions asked arid.

Nosenko's enswers?".

As noted in FBI memorandum dated June 19, 1979,

captioned

letter,

above,

and which

was prepared in response to HSCA

15, 1973, to

the Attorney General, FBI

records searches have not located any extant tape recordings

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House Select Committee On Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (HSCA)

ol verbatim transcripts of FBl interviews

with Nosenko that

concerned Oswald

andor the assassination

of President Kennedy.

A docent has been located which indicates

that FBI personncl

did record the February 26 and 27, 1964, 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 intorviews. It is

further assumed that, upon verifying the accuracy of

reportings of the interviews, 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.

Summaty

reportings of the five portinent interviews are extant, and

were delivered to the HSCA on March 21, 1973.

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

3. 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.

"6. What significance - with respect to possible

foreign involvement in the assassination as well

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

the FBI attach during the years 1964-1968 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 had to be

assessed in relation to the totality of information

furnished

The FBI perceived Nosenko's statements

about Oswald;

depending upon à subsequent, definitive resolution of Nosenko's

bona fides, to be the most authoritative information available

indicative

of a lack of Soviet governmental involvement in the

assassination of President Kennedy.

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Itouse Select Comnittee on Ascassinations

U.S. House of Representatives

(TiSCA)

"7. What signiticance - with respect to possible

foreign involvement in the essassination as well as

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

the FBI attach today to Ncsenko'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 goverrmental

involvement in the assassination.

Therefore, the FBI is

satisfied that Nosenko reported the facts about Oswald as he

knew then.

"8. If the answer to question 6 is different from

the response to question 7, when did the change

occur and why?"

The FBI had no direct accoss to Nosenko

April 3, 1964 until April 3,

1969,

from

and

tnerefore was not in

a position to make an objective assessment of his bona fides

nor of the veracity of information furnished by him.

Thus,

information provided by him, in early 1904, was accepted at

face value and qualified. in. torms of

the source and the

conditions under which it was reccived.

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 not

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

overall, definitive conclusions regarding his bona fides

because of a lack of access to Nosenko and all collateral

information pertinent to such an assessment.

Effective

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

bona fide defector, based upon an

assessment of the

totality of information furnished

by him.

#9. What was the FBI's position from 1964 to

1988 on the question of whether Nosenko is

bonafide (sic)?"

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House Select Cormittee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (ASCA)

The FBI, from 1964 to 1968,

characterized Nosenko

as a Soviet defector whose bons fides

had not been

established.

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

question of whether Nosenko is bonafide (sic)?"

The FBI currently characterizes Nosenko as a tormei

Soviet Comnittee for State Security (KGB) offices wio has

furnished reliable information in the past, and cons.ders

Nosenko to be a bona fide Soviet defector.

"Il. If the answer to question) is different from

the response to question 10, when did the change

occur and why?"

answer to question 8 is considered responsive

to question 11.

"12. What sias the FBI's position from 1984 to

1988 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 1968,

on whether Nosenko was telling the truth in the statements

he made to the FBI about Oswald.

The statenents were accopted

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

conditions under which they were received.

"13. 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 did the

change occur and why?"

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## Page 9

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House Select Committee on Assassinations

U..S. House of Repiesentatives (ESCA)

As indicated in the responses to questions 7 and 8,

the FBI, as of October 1, 1968,

found no substantial basis to

conclude Nosenko was not

a bona

fide defector;

as of May 11.,

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

defector;

and has not perceived

Any

signiticant evidence,

from 196% to date,

that Nosenko reported other than the facts

about Oswald as he knew them.

"15. Did either the FBI or the CIA have primary

responsibility for investigating Nosenko's state

ments about Oswald? If neither had primary

responsibility, was there any division of

responsibility?"

The

fBl 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 statoments about

Oswald's activities abroad.

"16. What communication, if any, existed between

the FBI and ClA with respect to evaluating and/or

investigating Nosenko's statements about Oswald?"

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

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

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

tioned "Lee Harvey Oswald,"

summarized the results of

FBI interviews of. Nosenko regarding Oswald on February 26

and 27, 1964, and March 3 and 4, 1964.

The results of a CIA

interview of Nosenko on January 23, 1964, regarding Oswald

were furnished to the FBI in a letter from

the CIA dated

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.

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