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.
Agency: CIA
Originator: FBI
From: FBI
To: CIA OFC LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL
Document date: 1/8/79
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

1104-10429-10083

CIA HISTORION REVIEW PROGRAM

RELEROL AS SANITIZED

1998

UNCLASSIFIED

"ERNAL

ONLY

CON

ENTIAL

SECRET

ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET

SUBJECT: ¡Orrieral)

Dir/FBI Response Re Nosenko Interrogatories

F:OM:

EXTENSION

R.S.

Gabrielson OLC/HSCA

6D5317

1385

1046

TO: (Officer designalion, room number, and

DATE

burding)

RECEIVED

FORWARDED

*OLC 79/0205/1

DArE

19 January 1979

COMMENTS (Number

to whom.

Draw be octo so column of sh on tree moni

• Ray

Reardon O/Security

4F13

I Russ

2011

NOTE:

Holmes

Mat OLC

The attached received

03

TODO/CI

2B1405

8010

03

JODO/SE

S.R.

Rininger OGC

7007

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

385 /R

7.

8.

Att.

10.

TI.

12.

13.

14.

T5.

SECRET

I CONFIDENTIAL

...

INTERMAL

USE ONLY

UNCLASSIFIED

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CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO

DECLASSIFICATION AND/OR

RELEASE OF THIS DOCUMENT

CUTICE ON THE DINECTOR

CIA

ffice of Legislative

Counsel - FYI

UNITED STATES DEPARIMENT OF JUSTICE

rEPERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

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,

that the ebt declassify.

in toto, a Secret, September 14,

1978, response made to 16 interrogatories

pertaining to

Committee in its letter of September

Ivanovich Nosenko which were propo nild by the

Declassification

of the September 14, 1978,

of Legis

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

For the convenience of the Committee, the

following

declassified, verbatim reiteration of the

September 14, 1978, response is provided.

HSCA Report, Val. 18, pp-563-570

FOI DOJ

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House Select Committee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (liSCA)

this responds in full to the following enumerated

interrogatories submitted tor consideration in a letter,

dated Soptember 5, 1978, to the Attorney

General and signod

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

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

questioned by 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/or the assassi-

The FBI files do not

topical discussions,

of those five interviows; however,

summary communications indicate the February 27, 1964 inter-

view was conducted on the afternoon of that date and the

March 4, 1904 discussion of Oswald occurred at tho outset

of an aftornoon interview on that dato.

"?. When Nosenko was questioned by the FBI about

Lee Harvey Oswald, who did the questioning?"

the FBI interviews of Nosenko,

during which he was

and or the assassination of Presideni

were conducted by Special Agents (SAs) Alekso

Maurice A. Taylor and Donald E. Walter

Poptanichz6 and 27, 1964; by SAs Poptanich and I. Marvin

February

sheesling on March 3 and 4,

Taylor and Waltey on March 6, 19d and by SAs Poptanich,

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House Select Committee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (HSCA)

"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 LBl statistics upon

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 aspocts 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 alnost 13 years of SA

experience; SA Taylor

31 years of SA experience; SA Walter

had completed

almost 17 years of SA experience;

and SA Gheesling had over

13 years of SA experienco.

Further, their respective personnel

disclose the following:

SA Poptanich was then fluent in the Russian language

(Nosenko's native tongue).

The Annual Report

of Performance

Rating, dated March 31,

1962, noted that SA Poptanich, during

the previous

twelve months, had

participated in the interro

gation of a Soviet defector

and his knowledge of the Russiar

language and mores of the Russian people proved most helpful

relative thereto.

SA Taylor,

on September 11, 1962,

received an incen-

cive award in recognition of the suporior fashion his

responsi-

bilities were discharged over an extended period of time.

Special Agent in Charge (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 intolligence officers.

SA Taylor's Perfor-

mance Rating for the period April 1, 1963--Maïch 31, 1964,

noted he was recognized as the finest interrogator on the

Soviet espionage squad in the Washington Field Office, which

accounted for his assignments to interview Sovict defectors.

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House Select Conmittee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (HISCA)

for mendation or to at the landing on or nons ve

on another espionage

successful interrogation being the key aspect of

investigation.

SA Gheesling, at the time of the pertinent Nosenko

interviews, sorved as a Supervisor at FBI Headquarters and

intelligence and

had considerable experience in espionag inoesling supervised

countorintelligence investigations.

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

from November 22, 1963 through mid-1964).

assigned

exclusively to supervisory responsibilities rolative to the

assassination of president Kennedy.

Thile the specific knowledge of Oswald's background,

possessed by thesa SAs at the time of

she Nosenko

interviers,

can be answered only by the SAs themselves,

SA Gheesling's

prior assignment to supervision of the Oswald investigation

able of data contained in Fal files concerning osvala.

at least, was quite knowlerge-

"A. On the dates that Nosenko wes questioned about

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

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

answers;

b. a transcript of the questions asked and

Nosenko's answers;

c. a summary of the questions asked and.

Nosenko's enswers?"

As noted in FBI memorandum dated June 19, 1979,

captioned as above,

and which was prepared

in response to HSCA

Jotter, datod Jue 15, 1978, to the Attorney General, FBI

records scarches have not located any extant taye recordings

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Elouse Select Committee on Assassinations

U. S. House of Reptesentatives (HSCA)

or verdatin transcripts of FBI interviews with Nosenko that

concerned Oswald and/or the assassination

of President Konnedy.

document has been located which indicates that FBl personne.

did record the February 36 and 27, 1964,

interviors of

Nosonko,

among others.

Since no recordings or transcripts have been

Located, it can be assumed that the recordings

wore used by

the interviewing SAs to check the accuracy ot

their notos

prior to dictating the results of the interviews.

It is

further assumed that, upon verifying the accuracy of

sumnary

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.

Sunnary

reportings of the five portinent interviews are extant, and

were delivered to the HSCA on March 21, 1978.

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

8. sihar 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 bonafide: (sic did

the FBI attuch during the years 1964 1968 to Nosenko's

staternents about Oswald?"

The FBI,

during the years 1961-1968, considered

Nosenko's statements about Oswald to be very significant elements

of his initial reportings

by his to it gone ve care ront about won d

about Oswald,

depending upon a subsequent,

definitive resolution of Nosciko's

bona fides, to be the most authoritative information

indicative

available

of a lack

Soviet governmental involvement in the

assassination of President Kennedy.

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House Select Committee on Ascassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (ISCA)

"7. What significance - with respect to possible

foreign involvement in the issassination as well es

to the issue cl Nosenko's bonafides (sic)- docs

the FBI attach today to Nosenko's statements about

Oswald?"

The FBI Hoes not perceive any significant evidence of

coreign involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy,

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

defection was a Soliet ploy to mask Soviet governmental

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 froin

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 thorcfore was not in

a position to make an objective assessment of his bona fidos

nor of the veracity of information furnished by him.

information provided by him, in early 19i4, was acceptod at

faco value and qualified in torms of the source and the

On October

too it advised to cente is receivence Agency beTA 196,.

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

found no substantial basis to conclude that Nosonko 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

Effective

totality of information furnished by him.

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

1968 on the question of whether Nosenko is

bonafide (sic)?"

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House Select Cormittee

on Assassinations

U. S. House of Representatives (ESCA)

from 1964 to 1968, characterized Nosenko

as a Soviet deletor miose bore rides haà not boen established.

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

question pf whether Nosenko is bonafide (sic)?"

The F3l currently characterizes Nosenko as a tormei

Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB) officer who has

furnished reliable information in the past, and considers

Nosenko to be a bona fide Soviet defector.

"Il. If the answer to question 2 is different from

the response to questión 10, when did the change

occur and why?"

The answer to question 8 is considered responsive

to question 11.

"12. What sas the FBI's position from 1964 to

1968 on whether Nosenko ins telling the truth in

the statements he made to the FBI about Oswald?"

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 PBI about Oswald?"

The FBI is satisfied that Nosenko truthfully

reported the facts about Oswald as he knew them.

"14. If the anster to question 12 is different

from thp response to question 13, when did the

change occur and why?"

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House Select Connittee on Assassinations

U. S.

llouse

of Representatives (NSCA)

is indicatod in the responsos to questions 1 and o

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

about Oswald as he knew them.

responsibility, was there any division of

responsibility?"

The Fil had primary responsibility for investigating

Nosenko's statements about Oswald that pertained to his

assassination do ties dent kennedy. State ciA had printye

issassination of President Kennedy.

esponsibility for investigating Nosenko's statoments about

Oswald's activities abroad.

"16. What communication, if any, existed between

the FBl and CLA with respect to evaluating end/or

investigating Nosenko's statements about Oswald?'

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

trom the Director, fil, to the Director, ChA,

enclosing

nemoranda 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

and March 3 and 4, 1964.

and 27, 1964'Nosenko on January 23, 1964, regarding Oswald

The results of a CIA

interview of

were furnished to the FBI in a letter from the CIA dated

April 28,

Maid not setting tore art spler pierequests or anonsense.

tive leads, were furnished for purposes of evaluation.

Where information is not provided, it is either

not retrievable from FBI Headquarters files

o is not being

furnished pursuaht to the Memorandun of Understanding.

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11 4.6989

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