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

John Henry Branch

William Glenn Duncan, Jr.

Garnett Claud Hallmark

Alfred Douglas Hodge

David L. Johnston

Stanley M. Kaufman

Danny Patrick McCurdy

John Wilkins Newnam

Robert L. Norton

Roy A. Pryor

Arthur William Watherwax

Billy A. Rea

Richard L. Saunders

Thayer Waldo

Clyde Franklin Goodson

Ronald Lee Jenkins

Speedy Johnson

Roy E. Standifer

Roger C. Warner

Lawrence V. Meyers

William Kline

Oran Pugh

J. E. Curry

Bruce Ray Carlin

Mrs. Bruce Carlin

Ralph Paul

Harry Tasker

Lyndal L. Shaneyfelt

Paul Morgan Stombaugh

L. J. Lewis

Alwyn Cole

Revilo Pendleton Oliver

B. M. Patterson

Arthur Mandella

John F. Gallagher

Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Letter of Transmittal

Foreword

Chapter I. Summary and Conclusions

Chapter II. The Assassination

Chapter III. The Shots From the Texas School Book Depository

Chapter IV. The Assassin

Chapter V. Detention and Death of Oswald

Chapter VI. Investigation of Possible Conspiracy

Chapter VII. Lee Harvey Oswald: Background and Possible Motives

Chapter VIII. The Protection of the President

Appendix I. Executive Order No. 11130

Appendix II. White House Release

Appendix III. Senate Joint Resolution 137

Appendix IV. Biographical Information and Acknowledgments

Appendix V. List of Witnesses

Appendix VI. Commission Procedures for the Taking of Testimony

Appendix VII. A Brief History of Presidential Protection

Appendix VIII. Medical Reports From Doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Tex.

Appendix IX. Autopsy Report and Supplemental Report

Appendix X. Expert Testimony

Appendix XI. Reports Relating to the Interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald at the Dallas Police Department

Appendix XII. Speculations and Rumors

Appendix XIII. Biography of Lee Harvey Oswald

Appendix XIV. Analysis of Lee Harvey Oswald’s Finances From June 13, 1962, Through November 22, 1963

Appendix XV. Transactions Between Lee Harvey Oswald and Marina Oswald, and the U.S. Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Justice

Appendix XVI. A Biography of Jack Ruby

Appendix XVII. Polygraph Examination of Jack Ruby

Table of Contents

Pursuant To Executive Order 11130, an Executive order creating a Commission to ascertain, evaluate, and report upon the facts relating to the assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy and the subsequent violent death of the man charged with the assassination and S.J. Res. 137, 88th Congress, a concurrent resolution conferring upon the Commission the power to administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses, receive evidence, and issue subpenas

Table of Contents

Chief Justice Earl Warren, Chairman

Senator Richard B. Russell

Senator John Sherman Cooper

Representative Hale Boggs

Representative Gerald R. Ford

Mr. Allen W. Dulles

Mr. John J. McCloy

J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel

Assistant Counsel

Francis W. H. Adams

Joseph A. Ball

David W. Belin

William T. Coleman, Jr.

Melvin Aron Eisenberg

Burt W. Griffin

Leon D. Hubert, Jr.

Albert E. Jenner, Jr.

Wesley J. Liebeler

Norman Redlich

W. David Slawson

Arlen Specter

Samuel A. Stern

Howard P. Willens 1

Staff Members

Phillip Barson

Edward A. Conroy

John Hart Ely

Alfred Goldberg

Murray J. Laulicht

Arthur Marmor

Richard M. Mosk

John J. O'Brien

Stuart Pollak

Alfredda Scobey

Charles N. Shaffer, Jr.

Biographical information on the Commissioners and the staff can be found in the Commission's Report .

1.Mr. Willens also acted as liaison between the Commission and the Department of Justice.

Table of Contents

On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order No. 11130, creating a Commission "to ascertain, evaluate and report upon the facts relating to the assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy and the subsequent violent death of the man charged with the assassination." By the same Executive order, the President appointed seven Commissioners: Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States; Richard B. Russell, Democratic Senator from Georgia; John Sherman Cooper, Republican Senator from Kentucky; Hale Boggs, Democratic Congressman from Louisiana and House Majority Whip; Gerald R. Ford, Republican Congressman from Michigan; Allen W. Dulles, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and John J. McCloy, former High Commissioner of Germany. The President designated Chief Justice Warren as the Commission's Chairman. The findings of the Commission, based on an examination of all the facts, are set forth in the separate volume entitled "Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy."

An essential part of the investigation conducted by this Commission has been the securing of sworn testimony from witnesses possessing information relevant to the inquiry. This testimony has been taken under the authority of Senate Joint Resolution 137 (88th Cong., 1st sess.), enacted by Congress on December 13, 1963, which conferred upon the Commission the power to administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses, receive evidence, and issue subpenas. Under the procedures adopted by the Commission, some witnesses have appeared before members of the Commission, others have been questioned under oath on depositions by members of the staff, and others have provided affidavits to the Commission. Beginning with its first witness on February 3, 1964, the Commission under these procedures took the testimony of approximately 550 witnesses and received more than 3,100 exhibits into evidence.

The testimony and exhibits obtained by the Commission are printed in this and the succeeding volumes, organized in the following order:

(1) Testimony before members of the Commission, in the order in which it was taken.

(2) Testimony by sworn deposition or affidavit, grouped into four general subject categories; the medical attention given to the President and the Governor, identification of the assassin of President Kennedy, the background of Lee Harvey Oswald, and the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack L. Ruby on November 24, 1963.

(3) Exhibits introduced in connection with the testimony before the Commission in numerical order.

(4) Exhibits introduced in connection with sworn depositions and affidavits, grouped alphabetically by name of witness.

(5) Other exhibits introduced before the Commission in numerical order.

The transcripts of this testimony, prepared by qualified court reporters, were reviewed by members of the Commission staff and, in most instances, by the witness concerned. Editing of the transcript prior to printing in these volumes was confined to correction of stenographic errors and punctuation, and minor changes designed to improve the clarity and accuracy of the testimony. In the few cases indicated, brief deletions have been made of material which might be considered in poor taste and is clearly irrelevant to any facet of the Commission's investigation. All the original transcripts prepared by the court reporters, of course, have been preserved and will be available for inspection under the same rules and regulations which will apply to all records of this Commission.