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

My wife——

Mr. Jenner. How did you become informed of this?

Mr. Oswald. My wife called me at my office, sir. And she advised the gentleman on the phone unless I said to the contrary it was certainly satisfactory for him to come that night, which he did, at approximately 7 or 7:30 p.m.

Mr. Jenner. And you were there?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I was there, and my wife was present.

Mr. Jenner. Did he give you his name, and do you recall what the name was?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I am sure he did give his name, but I do not recall what his name was.

It was a rather brief meeting and conversation that we had, and it was with regards to the possibility or inquiry into the possibility of having Lee's wife, Mrs. Marina N. Oswald, brought to this country, with Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. As best as you can, would you reconstruct the conversation?

Mr. Oswald. This gentleman did take notes or perhaps he did have a form outlining various questions that he needed answers to. I do not recall any specific questions. However, I did state to him, after three or four questions, in regards to Lee Harvey Oswald being in the Soviet Union, and quite surprised, I do recall, myself that he was not aware of the reasons why—or the reported reasons why Lee had gone to the Soviet Union.

And I suggested to the gentleman at that time that he perhaps contact the FBI and I specifically mentioned Mr. Fain by name—he said he was acquainted with Mr. Fain of the FBI Bureau, and that he would get the background information from Mr. Fain in regards to Lee Harvey Oswald.

I believe, sir, to the best of my remembrance that he stated at that time he was not aware of the situation, and he thought this was just an "ordinary" case of bringing an immigrant in from the Soviet Union to the United States.

Mr. Jenner. And when he said that, what person did you have in mind?

Mr. Oswald. Marina N. Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. That is the person to whom you thought he was referring, was Marina?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. Dulles. And this was after, as I recall, your correspondence showed that they were planning to come back, was it not?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Could you give us a little more of your recollection as to the thrust of his inquiries, the subject matter of his inquiries?

Mr. Oswald. I believe, sir, the best of my recollection on that would be directed to us at that time about Marina N. Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. Of what nature—her age?

Mr. Oswald. I do not recall any specific questions, sir.

Mr. Dulles. Did they inquire about the marriage? That would be one of the things they would inquire about. Because it would be the marriage to an American that would give her the preference. I was wondering if that might have been the subject of the inquiry—whether you had evidence that she was married to your brother.

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I do not recall that specific question, but perhaps this ground was covered. It was just a general background on Marina N. Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. But it did relate to Marina N. Oswald? You recall that much?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; it did.

Mr. Jenner. And the questions were directed toward her and about her specifically?

Mr. Oswald. More so than Lee Harvey Oswald. Some questions were addressed to me by the gentleman in relation to my brother, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. Jenner. And the inquiries of the agent—he inquired of you as to whether you were the brother of Lee Harvey Oswald, did he?

Mr. Oswald. I am sure he did, sir.

Mr. Jenner. I am just trying to reconstruct the scene for you.

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And whether your brother Lee Harvey Oswald was then in Russia, and had been in Russia?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Whether he was married, and married to Marina?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And was he familiar with Marina's name?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; he was.

I might further add, sir, if I may, that the gentleman advised me he assumed that Lee was employed by the Government in some capacity in Russia, and not having any background or apparent background of Lee's reported reasons for going to Russia.

Mr. Jenner. And did you make any response to that, when his conversation was such as to indicate that he was not fully advised of the circumstances under which your brother had entered and remained in Russia?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I did—to the extent as I have already testified.

I believe perhaps at this point, if not this exact point, I referred him to the FBI Bureau and Mr. Fain.

Mr. Jenner. Did he ask you—did he inquire whether you had received correspondence from your brother, or the extent to which you had been in touch with each other?

Mr. Oswald. Not that I recall, sir.

Mr. Jenner. These are horribly leading questions—but I take it then his inquiries were largely directed toward, as a representative of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, obtaining information as to Marina, whom he understood to be the wife of your brother, who, in turn, was about to return to the United States with Marina, then a citizen of Russia?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. Jenner. How long did this interview last?

Mr. Oswald. Approximately 30 minutes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And your mind's eye is that he had a form, or he had some set questions which he was asking from a sheet of paper?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I do.

Mr. Jenner. Rather than the typical FBI or Secret Service inquiry, in which the questions range, as mine have, for example, largely dependent upon what your answers to the previous questions were?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

I believe the gentleman did have some type of set form as to questions he was referring to when he spoke to me.

Mr. Jenner. Did he go into your family background, your own age, your occupation, and that sort of thing?

Mr. Oswald. I believe, sir; he just went into my background, as to the extent of my relation to Lee Harvey and Marina N. Oswald at that particular time.

Mr. Jenner. Would you describe this gentleman, please—his physical appearance?

Mr. McKenzie. If you recall.

Mr. Jenner. Yes, of course.

Mr. Oswald. To the best of my remembrance, I would describe this man to be average build, rather short, approximately 5-foot 9 or 5-foot 10, perhaps in his middle forties or early fifties. I do recall, sir; if I might further add, as the gentleman was leaving the house that night, I requested of him if it was possible for him to notify me when and if Marina's visa would be accepted or not, and he replied to me at that time that he could not do that. And I replied back to him that I guess I would know about it from the extent that if she arrived over here, it was approved.

Mr. Jenner. Have you now exhausted your recollection of this particular incident?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I have.

Mr. Dulles. Could I ask a question there?

Do you recall that at any time the State Department was in touch with you over this general period—that is, the period of your brother's stay in the Soviet Union, or his prospective return here?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; at no time was I aware of any member of the State Department being in contact with me.

And I might further add that at this particular time, after the Immigration and Naturalization agent was there, including my prior testimony as to the contacts with the FBI Bureau, these were the only times prior to his arrival I was in contact with any Government agency.

Mr. Jenner. Any agency of the Government of the United States?

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

Mr. Jenner. Now, were you consciously in contact during any of that period up to November 22, 1963, with any agent or agency of any other government?