MEMO: NO EVIDENCE OF CONTACT BETWEEN LEE HARVEY OSWALD AND THE CIA'S OFFICE OF OPERATIONS
Originator: CIA
From: MICHELLE COMBS
To: LAURA DENK
Document date: 1998-09-25 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

# DOCID-32404115

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JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD NUMBER : 104-10330-10130

RECORD SERIES

AGENCY FILE NUMBER : PRO

PROJFILES-CORRESPONDENCE

DOCUMENT

INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : ARR

FROM

: MICHELLE COMBS

TO

TITLE : LAURA DENK

MEMO: NO EVIDENCE OF CONTACT BETWEEN LEE HARVEY OSWALD

AND THE CIA'S OFFICE OF OPERATIONS

DATE:

09/25/1998

PAGES

2

SUBJECTS : OPERATIONS

CONTACT

JFK ASSASSINATION

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPEE

CLASSIFICATION : UNCLASSIFIEI

RESTRICTIONS : 1A

CURRENT STATUS : RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

: 03/06/03

COMMENTS: JFK-M-15: F5: 2000.02.08.07:54:11:43703:

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of

992 (44 USC 2107 Note]. Case#:NW

55990 Date: 11-01-2021

[R]

ITEM

IS

RESTRICTED

104-10330-10130

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Was-

...

MEMORANDUM

September 25, 1998

To:

Laura Denk

Executive Director

CC:

Bob Skwirot

CIA Team Leader

From:

Michelle Combs

Associate Director for Research and Review

Subject:

No Evidence of Contact Between Lee Harvey Oswald and the CIA's Office of

Operations

One of the enigmas that has surrounded Lee Harvey Oswald's defection and re-defection is the

question of whether the CIA's Office of Operations (later the Domestic Contacts Division)

interviewed or took note of Oswald either before his trip or upon his return from the Soviet

Union. The available evidence is somewhat contradictory. The CIA has long claimed that

Oswald was never a source, asset, or employee of the CIA. Yet, a November 25, 1963

memorandum discusses the recollections of a CIA staff officer that the Agency considered

interviewing Oswald. Further, another former CIA officer, Donald E. Deneselya, has stated that

he recalls reading an OQ debriefing report in the summer of 1962 from a former Marine re-

defector who had worked at the Minsk Radio Factory. The Review Board could not corroborate

the recollections of the two former CIA officers with additional records or information.

In an effort to clarify the mystery, the Review Board searched for records that might confirm or

deny any contact between Oswald and the CIA before or after his time in the Soviet Union. In

the early 1960's, the Office of Operations (OO) was a part of the Directorate of Intelligence.

This office, which interviews American citizens who might have come into contact with

information or individuals of intelligence interest overseas, later became the Domestic Contacts

Division (DCD) of the Directorate of Operations. This office normally only contacts individuals

after receiving questions or requirements from intelligence community customers looking for

particular types of information.

The Review Board staff examined 0O records and operational histories to gain an understanding

of 00 practices in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The Review Board staff could find no

evidence of contact between Oswald and OO either before or after his time in the Soviet Union.

Had Oswald departed for his trip to the Soviet Union through New York City, as did most

travelers, he possibly might have come to the attention of OO. The Review Board staff did not

locate any reference or record to Oswald's departure from New Orleans via freighter that

predates the assassination. The Review Board staff also could not locate any information to

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document an OO interest in Oswald upon his return from the Soviet Union. While 0O was

interested in interviewing tourists to the Soviet Union for general information in the 1950's, by

1962 only travelers with special access, knowledge, or skills were of intelligence interest. 0O

had no specific policy covering contacts with returning defectors although a local field office

could initiate a contact if justified by a particular situation. According to the records located,

0O only made contact with three of twenty-three defectors in the 1954-1962 time period. No

records or reporting showing any OO contact with Oswald could be located. The Office of

Operations did interview re-defector Robert Edward Webster in June 1962 on his work at the

Plastics Institute of Leningrad

While a DCD "A" file on Oswald does exist in the CIA's sequestered collection, most of the

documents in the file are from the mid-1970's, none predate the assassination, and the file

appears to have been created as DCD personnel attempted to locate any evidence of contacts

with Oswald in response to various congressional investigative bodies. This file has been

processed for inclusion in the JFK Collection at the National Archives.

encombstded wu waet

File 4.50 (Wrap Up Memos)

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