MEMO:BERNARD FENSTERWALD,JR. COM 1976 ISSUE OF "WASHINGTON STAR"
Agency: CIA
Originator: HSCA
From: INSPECTOR GENERAL
To: DIRECTOR,CIA
Document date: 10/28/1976
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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LION GENERAL

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MEMORANDUM FOR:

FROM

SUBJECT

HSCA

27-052

Director of Central Intelligence

John: H. Waller

Inspector General

Bernard Fensterwald; Jr. Comments in 22 October

1976 Issue of Washington Star

Exacutive registry

26-550%;

Oliono

The following is a response to your query to Mr. Seymour Bolten

concerning comments made by Bernard Fensterwald,

2. The comments made by subject in the marked-section of the at-

tached newspaper clipping are partially factual and partially sheer

speculation.

It is true that the Agency has been particularly sensitive

about the entire matter because the photographs in question originated

from a highly sensitive intelligence operation which was conducted in

October 1963 by the Agency and Mexican sécurity authorities against the

Soviet and Cuban Embassies in Mexico City.

However, the material was

not withheld from the Warren Commission.

It should be noted that Oswald

was in no sense "under investigation"

and that at no time during his

stay in Mexico City did the CIA acquire a photograph of Oswald.

3. The Agency has 12 different photographs of an individual, pos-

sibly an American as yet unidentified, who was observed entering the

Soviet Embassy and later the Cuban Embassy.

A cropped photograph was

introduced into the Warren Commission public record.

The Warren

mission and its Staff were made fully aware in the course of their

inquiry at Headquarters and in Mexico City of the origins of the photo-

graph, and the fact that we had additional photographs of the same

individual taken at different times in Mexico City.

At one point our

Chief of Station in Mexico City suggested that the man in the photograph

However, this proved not to be the case.

It should be

noted that Mr. Fensterwald in 1971-1972 was actually shown two of the

12 photographs during a visit to the Agency, other than the one already

published in the Warren Commission report.

It is a matter of more than

SNOWST,

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Logial.

ordinary interest to note that in April 1971 Mr. Fensterwald told Mr.

Lawrence Houston, the General Counsel at that time and another repre-

sentative of the Agency in attendance at the mecting that he knew the

identity of the unidentified man in the photograph and that we will

be furnished his name in due course.

4. All coverage by CIA of Oswald's stay in Mexico City was tech

nical.

The Station had no live source coverage either unilateral ox

from Mexican liaisone, Subsequently, Mexican police interrogated Sylvia

DURAN, a Mexican employee of the Cuban Embassy.. Her testimony gave us

full details on Oswald's trip to Mexcio City,

and was made available

to the Warren Commission.

The lack of coverage on Oswald entering the

Cuban or Soviet Embassies resulted from mechanical malfunction.

Agency provided the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the field in

Mexico City and in Washington all of the information it had acquired.

Waller

Pirate

Attachment: a/s

Distribution:

Original - Addressee w/att.

1 - DDCI. w/att.

2 - ER w/o attr

1 - OGC (Mr. Bolten) w/att.

- IG Subject w/att.

IG Chrono w/o att.

1 - J.L. Leader Chrono w/o att.

OIG/J.L.Leader:aal

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22 UCTOBER 1970

arcand A

US. Integrity

Is at Stake

It's always possible, and there

rable evidence wbich is

ock and key in the Nationa

•Are

today which will remain

classified antil the year 2039 uniess it

i declassified by the various govern

ment'agencies, primarily the FBI

Land the CIA'In addizion to that, were

Jere literally thousands of de

that the CIA dis not give to

Commission and did not

go to tae

In JFK Probe.

National Aschives Which

never

been made public. A nu

dom ofinfonI

on suits

Beriord Fenste

Weshing

ed in declassif

cation of a

of this.

con lbwyer who rep

sented James

material, yel we know from the

radex

HeCord during. Hatergote and Jomes"

they give us that they have a mass of

, corvicted of killing Dr. Martin

material which has nev

see!

a made

Luther King Jr; heods the Committee to

Investigate Assassinations, a group

neis i Am that has restige 2

he slayings'os, President John F._ Kenne.

Sy and others' He

inteviewed bi

Woshington, Ster S

Michael!

setchalla

HatE

O. The. Committee to layestigate

Assassinations bas long been sus

pecied by some people of being some:

ow connected with the Cle and yo:

yourself being labeled possibly a CLA

agent or CLA plant. Are you in fact a

Fat ont

5503

What it

•À: The Committee to investigate

Assassinations has urged through the

years that all of the information wil

respect to the Jolin Kennedy assassi

nation be made public. The official

solution is that Lee Harvey Oswald

was a lone nut killer and that thers

•were

no other people involved and

tbere were no international ramira-

tions::

And therclore, taling Ibat

story as gospel makes il dilficult for

a lawyer to see why they

shoold

cover anything. However; there is

this intense desire on the part of gov.

•emment to keep it secret, and

in any lawsuit: where you have this

sort of mania for locking the evi

dence up you create the suspicion

that there's more there. And I don't

thiok anybody at this time outside the

government know's whet happened to

John-Kennedy. I think the congres

sional commitices in time will find

out. ?:°

Feaster wala: No,

lawyer. Neither I'nor my pa

full-time

bave.ever been affiliated! #

ClA'or worked for tbe CIA'e

with or without pay in-any

shape"or for. I baveno idea wb

Q: Apart from materia

that migbt.

prove distasieful or. hurtiul to tac

Kennedy.family..the JFK autopsy

photographs for example, 5.

there

other evidence or do you feel there's

other material under lock and key

tbar. could shed significant ugat on

the assassirations?

A wen, caftanty from reviewins

the index of the withheld materia

which they have been forced to sup

ply to various district courts, you get

the ixipression that much gery vita

information is being withheid Again,

I say, without knowing what that

information is, it's hard to say where

it's going to point

•Q: Can you hazard a guess as to maat

: Q: It has been

13 years since the

Kennedy assassinabon. Why reopen

his traveler 2s

'A: its not really a question of re

opening his grave. I know the subject

is frequerdy talked about in terms

similar to thar. I think that the integ-

rity of our whole political process is

probably, at stake because whether

the Warren Commission wes right ur

wrong, & tbink that the American peo

ple - and the polls bear sus out

have a great doubt as to Whether Os

wald was properly investigated

•They have a doubt as to wbether Os

wald was a lone nut laller. And until

their doubts can. be salisfied, i think

-A: No; I can't. I'can only tell you

the integrity of the system and ibe

so far as the CIA is concerned a large

credibility of the government is very

part of the withheld testimony in

going back to the early. Sos when'l

volvega trip Lee Harvey Oswalc

worked for the Senate as counsel for

rnade to Mexico just irimediatels

 Why has it taken is years for

one Öf tbeir:commitizes;: I did an

•pror to, the assassination. No one in

Congress to become officially involv

Investigator. on the; CLA₴™&•$€e:

the public kaows what this trip was

ed in this?

theat have represemed z turaber or

all about. But we do know that the

s917.00.8850866245

clients in cares against the CIA to the

CIA bas been particularly sensitive

"As Well, it's a number of reasons

exteat tear it there's any evidence at

with respect to that. We do krow that

One, I think the membership of the

ally it all poiats in the other direction.

there were CIA cameras taking pic-

Varren Commission itsel containe

• 94770-69

, tures of people going in and out of the

so many outstanding people that it i

difficult to believe that for whatever

Q: Is it possible that the CIA or the

Cuban and Soviet embassies no they

FBI has evidence locked away some

look a number of pictures of a. roan

"reason they would not seriously try lo

where. diat could sheg new light on

they. labeled Lee Harvey Oswald.

give the public a full answer. 'Therc's

a great reluctance to disbelieve peo

the investigations into the JFK assas:

From looking at him, he is doviously

ple like Justice Warren and Sen. Rus

sinatioi or perhaps Martin Lutber

not Lee Harvey Oswald, but the CIA

sell. Secondly, I think until Water

Kie's assassination? steel will orient himse c

cate people tended to disbelieve that

: = Q: Wouid it not better serve the

their government could be involved

in anything of this nature. But even

American public to just simply re:

lease this inforrnation and get to the more recently the revelations, the ac-

bottom of the matter once and fors

• counts of the CIA to kill Fidel Castro

* have gotten rid of the last reluctance

all?

thereis...

--0=

- Q. Is it conceivable that the War

ren Commission - in the interests of

a charte gogge

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ad "

a lawyer I tend to believe

iey tds thie best conclusiv

did occur, is really a matter of na-

long jump from that possibility to the

tional concem and transcends th

possiblity that we had anything.in do

could from the eviderce at har.

iVe

. own very understandable interest

with killing. It scems to me that these

know of so much key evidence that

i. I think that the investigation cer-

are questions that cave the congres-

was either withheld or destroyed that

tainly into

President Kennedy"s' sional committee the powers that

you ger a general feeling that they

death can be done in such a way as to: tbey have. I don't really know that

nad only a relatively small part ol

cause minimum grief to the family.

speculating gets anywhere.

the really important marerial. For

And I think there's a very good

example, Lee Harvey Oswald wrote a

chance that this will happen because.

0: Your Coramittee to Investigate

threatening note to an FBl agent

I think the members of the House of

Assassinations, what do you think it

shortly before the assassination. In a

Representatives and the members of

has been able to accomplishit Why

matter of an hour or two before Jack

the Church committee in the Senate.

was itformed? .."

Ruby shot Oswald, the FBI agent

are very well aware of, the problem,

there:""

fiushed it down the toler. Now this

¡ and I can't sea any reason why it

*A: It svas formed for two basic rcar

cannot be done without terribly dis-

sons. One wes to get the crides of the

Commission.

tasteful evidence being trotted out in

Warren Commission to coordinate

ble wno can link Oswald and Ruby,

public. I just don't thin's that's neces..

tbeir efforts. The basic aims of the

and this materal was never passed

to the commission. So I think it's a

sary:

group were to gather information to

keep the subject of John Kennedy's

very harsh judgment to say that this

very distinguished bunch of Ameri

Q::You were the attorney

for.

assassination alive until we could

convince the Congress to reopen their

cans - including the chief justice of

James Earl Ray. Do you feel that' own investigation. Fortunately, J

the Unired Staies - purposely did not

there is evidence that could clear him

reach the proper conclusion.

or alternatively to prove that he was

"think we've been very successiul.

28X3

•The subject has been kept alive. As

not the lone assassin?

3799:

The climate in the country changed,

• Q: How long will it take the Hous

21: •11"

to investigate this affair zad come to

A: It is my own personal belief that

2 the climate in Congress changed, we

some sort of a conclusion.- Will it be

there was a conspiracy. I think that

were able, with, the help of a lot of

gears away, do you feel? =

the question would be resolved if

other people, in persuade them go in

with a fuil-fledged investigation. te

÷ James Earl Ray were given a trial I

A: No. I don't think it wilbe

that

think most of us in the United States,.

intend to turo over all of our investi-

far away. The House of Representa

most of the public certainly, and al-

gation to thera and to give any other

Dires had two basic roads they could

most all of Washington that I know

assistance.

have followed. They could have taken-

were simply amazed when a guilty:

their start members,

people. who

plea was extracted from him and he

Q- There's been an eternal fascina

tion with John F. Kernedy's sourder.

were

horoughly familiar with the

went off to serve a 99-year terra with":

Do you think when or if the House

subject but equally opinionated, or

out a trial: It came as a great shock

investigation reaches its conclusior:

they could start with people who

to most people and I think most peo

were good lawyers and good invest-

ple were rather disappointed in a

that will lay to rest finally she specu

lation? •

gaiors and start with a clean mind

crime of this magnitude a man would

::=

HONOR SA:

and simply go down the same road

not in fact stay for a jury trial. I

- A: I believe that if this Jousr.com-

that others have been going down for

ing to achieve this..

12 yeers. They chose the latter. That

i must contess. I was unsuccessful,

mittee continues to get the support in

the next Congress that they have in

will take somewhat. more time, but

but it is very possible that this inves _ the last months of this Congress, tha!

with the caliber of people that have

tigation of the House of Representa-

been cbosen I can't see that it's going

tives would achieve in a lot sorter :

they will investigate this killing thos

oughly. I think they will call out ti

to take a matter of years. I think it

period than six years what we were leads, I think they will look at all luc

will cake a nunber of months longe

, unable to do in the courts.

ban it would going the other way.

ten ace, hat lists o these stig.

Q: Eunice Shriver, who of course

d. The FBI is now lown to have they conclude that the Warren Com-

hounded Martin Luther King and

"mission was correct, I certainly thin'.

lost two brothers to assassins, 'has

there has been speculation tbat the: that 99.9 percent of the people will be:

said Leat she would prefer the whole

FBI may have some way been involv

satisfied. I must say that in all hones

thing be dropped, that the investiga

tions into JFK and Robert Kennedy's

ed in his death: Do you subserie Iknow of a few people who are

this possibility?

deaths shouldn't be opened. How do

never going to ba satisfied, at leas:

you respond when a family member.

A i have seen no eviderce to that you can never satisfy all of thern be

expresses this kied of a sentimente: le

effect and I have sèen in both the cause they each have a particula:

theory. And these theories are inter-

John F. Kennedy case and the Martin bally inconsistent if nothing else: Bu

:A: Well, I think all of us feel 'a

Lutber King case that öne has to be Ithink that as a practical matter tha

basic sympathy, not only for Mrs.

careful to distinguish. between the

Shriver but also for. Mrs. Rose

crime and the investigation. I think if a congressional commmittee, and i

: not this one, maybe the Senat:

Kennedy and for the remaining

in the Martin Luther.King case that

"committee or maybe both of ther

brother,

Sen. Kennedy. But it's my.

, the FBI because of its animosity for. will attack tbe job they are suppose

Oin feeling that the question of what

Dr. King may not have made what.. to do, I think that most of the douhts

happened to the Kennedy brothers, if

we would consider their best clfort to

if not all of them, will be laid to rest.

something more than meets the eye

investigate it. But we have made &

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