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

Mr. Oswald. No, sir, my wife did not advise me that she made any type of statement to Mr. Fain of that effect. So, I certainly did not advise her to what we would do or convey to the FBI when we did have knowledge of it.

Mr. Jenner. To the best of your recollection then there was no discussion on that particular phase of your brother's presence in Russia on the occasion you are now testifying about?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Now, you adverted to two occasions when the FBI interviewed your wife. Was the second one June 26, 1962, or thereabouts?

In other words, approximately five weeks later?

Mr. Oswald. The date was June 26, 1962, sir?

Mr. Jenner. Yes, sir.

Mr. Oswald. I believe that would be correct, sir, or approximately correct.

Mr. Jenner. Did you have a conversation with Mrs. Vada Oswald on that subject and did she make a report to you of any kind?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, I believe this is the occasion that either Mr. Fain or some other agent called the house in Fort Worth, Tex., and requested my wife to pass on to Lee Harvey Oswald that they would like to see him at their office in Fort Worth, Tex., for an interview.

This is the only other time my wife ever conveyed to me that the FBI had called the home and spoke to her, nothing else was said about it.

Mr. Dulles. This was about a month after his return, wasn't it?

Mr. Oswald. Approximately 2 weeks.

Mr. Jenner. Was there any discussion on this particular occasion between you and your wife on the subject of her not advising the FBI of your brother's arrival in the United States?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir, there was not.

Mr. Jenner. No discussion on that subject at all?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir, not at all.

Mr. Jenner. Did she report to you that she had stated to Mr. Fain that your brother Lee and his wife Marina and their child had come to Fort Worth and were living with you and with her?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; she did not state that to me.

Mr. Jenner. Would you give again the full conversation?

Mr. Oswald. On that date of June 26, 1962?

Mr. Jenner. Yes, between yourself and your wife Vada.

Mr. McKenzie. To the best of your recollection.

Mr. Jenner. Yes.

Mr. Oswald. To the best of my recollection, the full text of my conversation with my wife was that Mr. Fain or some other member of the FBI Bureau in Fort Worth, Tex., had called and spoke to her and requested that she pass on to Lee Harvey Oswald that they would like to speak to him at their office in Fort Worth, Tex. I would not say this was part of the conversation, I would assume at that time, as I would assume now, that perhaps he asked her was Lee and his family there.

If you know my wife, she didn't lie to Mr. Fain or any other FBI agent, and she said he was, and perhaps this prompted the request. I might say this, sir. If they did not know that Lee Harvey Oswald had returned in June, until June 26, 1962, somebody was asleep on the job.

Mr. Jenner. I would perhaps be inclined to agree with that, sir. But as far as your conversation with your wife Vada is concerned, she said nothing that she had advised the FBI that—she had discussed with Mr. Fain the fact that she had not advised the FBI of your brother Lee's return.

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Now, do you recall an interview with the FBI, or they with you, on August 14, 1962 or thereabouts in Fort Worth?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, and I recall that this was by telephone at the general office of the Acme Brick Company and outside of my office as I was leaving the office to go to lunch that day.

The telephone call came through and I took it in another office and spoke to Mr. Fain briefly. He inquired——

Mr. Jenner. He identified himself as Mr. Fain?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.

Mr. Jenner. Had you become acquainted with his telephone voice at least by that time?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, I had.

Mr. Jenner. And that voice was the voice that you identified at that time as that of Mr. Fain?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. All right.

What did he say and what did you say?

Mr. Oswald. He inquired as to where Lee was living at at that time and to the best of my recollection my reply to him was that I did not know the house number. I knew the street not by name but by locale and I gave him this location.

Mr. Jenner. Would you please tell me what you said to him?

Mr. Oswald. That to the best of my recollection, that this duplex was located across the street from the side of Montgomery Ward located on West 7th Street in Fort Worth, Tex., approximately three or four blocks from West 7th Street.

Mr. McKenzie. Mr. Chairman, you have greatly inconvenienced yourself this evening and accommodated both myself and Mr. Oswald for which we thank you.

However, it is now 16 or 17 minutes of 8 o'clock in the evening, and Mr. Oswald has been testifying here for, to the best way I can——

Mr. Dulles. It will be 12 hours pretty soon, 11 hours.

Mr. McKenzie. Approximately 11 hours and by the same token Mr. Jenner has been questioning him for a like period of time, with the exception of the few questions you have asked and the few questions I have asked, and I submit maybe we should start again in the morning.

And I likewise say that he is perfectly willing to go forward but I do know that you have plans and if we can meet——

Mr. Dulles. We will have to do it tomorrow.

Mr. McKenzie. We can be here at 8:30, if it will suit the Commission's——

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. Dulles. 9:30 tomorrow morning.

And we will adjourn at 11 o'clock, come hell or high water.

(Whereupon, at 7:45 p.m., the President's Commission recessed.)

Table of Contents

The President's Commission met at 10 a.m. on February 22, 1964, at 200 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D.C.

Present was Allen W. Dulles, member.

Also present were Albert Jenner, assistant counsel; and William McKenzie, attorney for Robert Edward Lee Oswald.

Mr. Dulles. The Commission will come to order.

We will continue the hearing of Mr. Robert Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. Thank you, sir.

Have you now recited for us all of the occasions on which any agent of the FBI called or visited with you prior to November 22, 1963?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I have.

Mr. Dulles. And your answer would include any other Government investigatory bodies, would it? I mean you didn't have the Secret Service at this time?

Mr. McKenzie. In answer to your question, Mr. Jenner, and to Mr. Dulles' further question, Robert has told me there was one other agency that he does recall at this time.

Mr. Jenner. Why don't we have him recite it, and then see if it is pertinent.

Or, may I suggest, Mr. Chairman, we might go off the record and see what it was.

Mr. McKenzie. It was Immigration and Naturalization.

Mr. Jenner. Fix the date, please.

Excuse me.

There was one other Government agency that interviewed you?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. Jenner. Would you give the time, please?

Mr. Oswald. To the best of my recollection, this was approximately January or February of 1962, at my residence in Fort Worth, Tex., approximately 7 o'clock or 7:30 p.m. The gentleman had called my home from Dallas, Tex.

Mr. Jenner. Had he called you?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; he had called my home, and my wife had talked to him, and he asked if it was satisfactory if he came over to ask us some questions and some background information in regard to Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. Was this a week day or a Sunday?

Mr. Oswald. This was a week day, sir.