MEETING WITH MR. [DELETE].
Agency: CIA
Originator: CIA
From: BRECKINRIDGE, SCOTT D., OLC
Document date: 11/7/78
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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104-10147-10437

3227

0L6:73-.31.30

7 November 1978

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT:

Meeting with Mr. Herbert Manell

1. Yesterday

afternoon I met with Mr. Manell in the

company of Messrs. Shepanek and Holmes. The purpose of the

meeting was to ascertain Mr. Manell's recollection of cer-

•tain events in Mexico City in connection with the visit of

Lee Harvey Oswald there.

I told Mr. Manell) the question

that had arisen over the memoires of Win Scött.

2.

While Mr. Manell has not read the Scott memoires,

he said that he could offer speculation on how Scott came

to write such

a thing.

exaggeration."

Mr. Scott at times was "prone to

Manell 'said that Oswald's visit came at

the end of the summer.

The summer was a period when lots

of "kooks" came to Mexico and contacted the Soviet Embassy.

this proved to be very time consuming

from the Station's point of view as the Station was obliged

to report to Headquarters and appropriate Embassy components

on these people when they were identified. He considered.,.

this function to be one of "no profit" operationally,

although it was of course a necessary ci responsibility.

3.

When Oswald identified himself in a telephone call

to the Soviets it was viewed by Manell as being a meaning-

less instance of one more probable useless contact to

report; for the station had no record or file on Oswald..

off

on the cable without question.

On the question of photographic coverage he said

there is a practical explanation of why there were no

photographs of Oswald.

He said the work was very boring.

He believes that the Mexicans were simply not photographing

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everyone. He is categorical in saying that neither he nor

his wife

ever

saw a photograph of Lee Oswald.

While neither

he nor his wife reviewed all the photography (a responsibility

of Anne Goodpasture) he would have seen it had it existed.

He feels that Oswald's appearance was

so distinctive that

it would have made an impression

on him. He said that in

meetings with the HSCA he had told them his personal

convictions, which he still holds, that there was "no

worked the Soviet target

and would more than likely have seen all pictures.

In sum,

Manell and wife are convinced that the Station had no

photographs of Oswald; and that the Mexican photo LP

operators are probably alone responsible for not having

taken pictures of Oswald's entries or exists of the Soviet

Embassy.

5. Following the assassination of President Kennedy,

Manell recalls a number of Agency personnel listening

to

radio broadcasts.

When the name of Oswald occurred, his

first reaction was, "My God, that's the man I reported on."

Someone else may have responded similarly but he recalls

that as his reaction. This led to a cable to Headquarters.

Speaking in a rather all-inclusive way he said

that there were no photographs of Oswald there then, so

there were none to burn or destroy afterwards.

7.: Manell mentioned the fact that the HSCA people

pressed him on why Tom Karamessines had signed off on a

communication for a name trace.

it. Holmes told him that the Division Chief had

the cable, which required the next highest person's

release. Manell clearly had not thought of that,

and in

our discussion we observed that the HSCA investigators

were asking him (in the field at the time) what had

happened at Headquarters at the time.

8. He repeated that there was no conspiracy and he

told the HSCA people that they were "barking up the wrong

tree." Manell' said that at the time he testified he did

not know about the statement in Win Scott's memoire so

there was no occasion to comment on it.

Mr. Manell said that he would speak with his

to see if

she had anything to add to what he stated

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above.

He reported later that his wife had nothing addi-

tional to offer.

I told him that I would prepare a

draft

memo of the conversation

and show it to him before putting

it into final form, which was done.

TD, Builis

S. D. Breckinridge

Distribution:

Orig. - OLC/Subject

- OLC/Chrono

1

- Mr. Shepanek

3

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