President's Commission on the Assassination of - The Warren Commission (Complete Edition)

Mr. Jenner. What did he say and how did he approach it? Reproduce it as best you can, sir.

Mr. Oswald. I believe he moved very close to me. I was turned towards him. He was to my left. I might say at this time that the women at the sink would be on my far right, behind me generally. And he related to me——

Mr. Jenner. What did he say?

Mr. Oswald. This incident, that Marina had told him that on a day still not identified to me, that he, Lee Harvey Oswald, had the intention to shoot Mr. Richard M. Nixon, and that Marina N. Oswald had locked Lee in the bathroom for the entire day. And that was the text to my best remembrance—that was everything that was said from him.

Mr. Jenner. Have you now exhausted your recollection?

Mr. Oswald. Of Mr. Martin's conversation to me?

Mr. Jenner. Yes.

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I have.

Mr. Jenner. Did he say how he had come about this information?

Mr. Oswald. No, other than he had a conversation with Marina N. Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. And he was relating to you a conversation he had had with her?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Did he say that she had reported this to him?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; he did.

Mr. Jenner. Did you inquire of him as to why this had not been disclosed to you before?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.

Mr. Jenner. Did you ask any questions of him in that connection?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.

I might add that my reaction at that time was that I was rather speechless. I believe I just shook my head in utter disbelief to what I was hearing.

Mr. Jenner. Did Mr. Martin relate to you when Marina had told him this story?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; not to my recollection.

Mr. Jenner. Did you question him with respect to that?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.

Mr. Jenner. Did you make any effort to fix the time when the event in question had taken place?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; in my own mind I did.

Mr. Jenner. You didn't question Mr. Martin about it, however?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.

Mr. Dulles. At this time, did you know of the rumors with regard to the attack on General Walker or not?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I did. And I refer, again, to the entry on January 13, 1964, and the statement that Jim advised that Marina told him that Lee wanted to "blank NMR, also." And by that "also" I was aware of the attempt on General Walker's life.

Mr. Jenner. Was anything said during the course of your conversation with Mr. Martin in the den with respect to the information you had that an attempt had been made by your brother on the life of General Walker?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir, not at this conversation, it was not.

Mr. Jenner. Did you ever talk to Mr. Martin at any time subsequent to this, with respect to this event?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir—preceding this day of January 13, 1964, approximately 3 or 4 weeks prior to that——

Mr. Jenner. This particular event, I mean—Mr. Martin's relating to you that Marina had advised him that your brother wanted to shoot Richard M. Nixon, the Vice President of the United States. Did you have a further conversation with Mr. Martin at any time subsequent to that—that is, after January 13, 1964?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.

Mr. Jenner. You have not up to this moment?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I have not.

Mr. Jenner. You did not at any time later that day? You had only this one conversation with Mr. Martin, and none other?

Mr. Oswald. On this subject, yes, sir, that is correct.

Mr. Jenner. On this particular subject, you made no effort to question him further about it?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And you have now exhausted your recollection as to all of your conversation on this occasion with Mr. Martin?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I have.

Mr. Jenner. And you at no time ever pursued it further with him?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.

Mr. Jenner. Did you report or relate this to the Secret Service or the FBI or any other agency of the U.S. Government?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.

Mr. McKenzie. Pardon me just a minute, Mr. Jenner. May I ask a question?

You have, have you not, furnished the FBI a copy of this diary that you have kept since November 22d?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. McKenzie. And likewise you furnished it to this Commission?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. Jenner. When was your diary furnished to the Commission for the first time?

Mr. McKenzie. Yesterday morning.

Mr. Oswald. February 20, 1964.

Mr. Jenner. Yesterday morning when you and your counsel tendered it to me?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. But between the 13th of January 1964 and yesterday morning, when you tendered the diary to me, you made no tender of any written materials nor did you relate orally to any agent or agency of the U.S. Government this particular incident?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I had.

Mr. Jenner. You had?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Please state to whom and when?

Mr. Oswald. This was two FBI agents on the night of—may I have a calendar, please?

On February 18, 1964, I turned over my notebook to two FBI agents at my home in Denton, Tex., at which time they asked me about this particular incident. I referred them to my diary, and turned over the diary, with the advice of my counsel.

Mr. Jenner. Was that incident related by you to them at your instance, or did they come to you with specific reference to it?

Mr. Oswald. They did have a specific reference to it on the night of February 18, 1964.

Mr. Jenner. Who raised it—you or the agents?

Mr. Oswald. The agents did, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Did they state to you as to how they had come to have that information?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; they did not.

Mr. McKenzie. For the sake of the record, Mr. Jenner, I would like to state what I told the agents.

Mr. Jenner. Now, returning to—when did you tell them, Mr. McKenzie?

Mr. McKenzie. Mr. Jenner, the best I recall it was either Monday—it was Monday, February 17th.

Mr. Jenner. Monday of this week?

Mr. McKenzie. Yes, this past Monday.

And I might add that I received the diary myself sometime around 5:15 or 5 o'clock on Saturday, February 15th, and I read the diary Sunday evening, February 16th, and gave the information to the FBI agents on February 17th, at which time I suggested that if they would like to talk to Robert about it they could be free to do so.

Mr. Oswald. May I say something here, Bill?

Mr. McKenzie did not know the exact meaning of this statement on January 13, 1964. He asked me in his office on Monday afternoon, February 17, 1964, to fill in the blanks, and to give the man's name to the initials and what it meant, at which time I did.

Mr. Jenner. But from the 13th of January 1964 to Saturday February 15, 1964, you had not drawn this matter to the attention of any agency of the United States or any agent of the United States, or any other person, is that correct?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; that is not correct. I did not speak to any agent of the U.S. Government.

My wife read my diary, and she asked me what that entry was.

Mr. Jenner. When did you prepare this diary?

Mr. Oswald. I prepared it on the dates noted in the diary. In this particular instance, Sunday, January 13, 1964.

Mr. Jenner. That particular entry, I take it, then, from your testimony, was made contemporaneously with the event itself—that is, on January 13, 1964?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. This news from Mr. Martin startled and upset you, did it not?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; it did.

Mr. Jenner. You mentioned that you had gone to the Martin home, one of the purposes being to take Marina to the cemetery.