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• 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

SEGMEI

SO 0. Ma NO. 10

UNITED STATES GOVe. NMENT

Memorandum

TO

: Files

DATE: 29 January 1964

FROM :

SUBJECT: THE LHE HARVEY OSWALD CASE

#351164

I. According to a newspaper column of "Allen and Scott" in the

Chicago American of 6 December 1963, on the OSWALD Case, Abram CHAYES,

Legal Officer of the State Department, was one of two persons im-

mediately responsible for OSWALD's being permitted to return to the

United States from the Soviet Union in June 1962. The other individual

named was Ilewellyn THOMPSON, the then Ambassador to Russia. Another .

said to have been involved in the hanaling of OSWALD's case was Samuel

WISE, Counsel of the American Embassy in Moscow.

2. Abram CHAYES, #352234, who as of 16 February 1961 was described

as "the new Counsel in State"

', was granted Security approval for liaison

contact with J. Foster COLLINS (in the office of the Chief of the Covert

Action Staff) on 6 March 1961. The request for CHAYES' clearance was a

"Blanket" request to permit discussion with him of NSC 5412/2 matters on

a need-to-know basis.

3.

In September 1901 there was a White House namecheck request on

CHAYES' wife Antonia (Toni) Leigh CHAYES, nee: HANDLER.

4. In March 1962, CHAYES was granted a renewal of his liaison

contact clearance with C/CA on a continuing basis. This time his contact

was Archibala ROOSEVHIT, Jr.

5. On 10 February 1962, HUMAN EVENIS reported as follows with

reference to CHAYES:

"SOFT ON COMMUNISM: Representative Francis E. Walter (R.-Pa.),

Chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, has

scored the new State Department regulations on passports, claim-

ing they would allow Reds denied passports to "rifle freely the

confidential files of the FBI, the CIA and other investigative

The man behind the new regulations, which Walter

claims violate the Internal Security Act of 1950, is reportedly

State's chief legal officer, Abram Chayes: Chayes, a Kennedy

appointee, is an ex-Harvard professor who was Chester Bowles'

top legal adviser when Bowles was Governor of Connecticut.

Walter has introduced legislation to remedy the new passport

regulations."

SECRET

CROUP 1

Excluded from autematic

desagrading and

declassification

Document Number

1271-1029

for FOlA Review on

FEB 1977

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Toscate

6. Samuel WISE, "Counsel in the American Embassy in Moscow" who

is referred to above, may well be samuel Griffin WISE Jr, #04574

SD & SSD, who apparently was once a contract employee on a

The State Department reviewed WISE's file on 2 June 1954; and as of

Department that it appeared that Bruce Frederick DAVIS, #352267, who

defected from the United States Army in Germany on 10 August 1960, had

not expatriated himself. DAVIS' case is very similar to that of

OSWALD; and he, like OSWALD, lived in the Soviet Union for two years

after his defection and prior to making application for return to the

United States I

7. WISE was an applicant for CIA employment in early 1953 and

was security approved subject to polygraph on 1l August 1953. He did

not enter on duty and in September 1953 the office which had been

interested in him was "no longer interested". On 13 November 1953,

WISE was granted a CSA to permit his use as a contract employee on

ANVi in New York City. His CSA was cancelled on 24 March 1958.

8. WISE was named as a friend of William Orville MUNSHLI, #61693-DL,

during an investigation of the latter for possible CIA employment in 1952.

WISE, according to MUNSFUL's landlady and social acquaintance in Washington,

D.C. during the period of about a year which ended in April 1952, was the

only person she knew by name with whom MUNSELL was friendly. According

to the informant, WISE was a student at Columbia University whose address

was 423 Furnald Hall. MUNSHII was Security disapproved for CIA employment

in June 1952 because of his close association on a professional and social

basis, while attending Denver University from 1946 to 1951, with persons

of questionable loyality. In November 1954, MUNSILL was of interest to

project wAnt with reference to assignment to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia;

however, the interested office withdrew their request on him, after

Security advised of the derogatory information regarding him.

9. WISE from 1951 to 1954 attended Scarsdale High School in Scarsdale,

New York, which was attacked by a Citizen's Group, which alleged Communist

influence in the school system. He had several questionable associates in

addition to MUNSELL.

SconcT

CROAK 1

Excluded trom antomatic

compareding and

dect. cci tection

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