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

Mrs. Oswald. I think that the FBI agents knew that I was afraid that after everything that had happened I could not remain to live in this country, and they somewhat exploited that for their own purposes, in a very polite form, so that you could not say anything after that. They cannot be accused of anything. They approached it in a very clever, contrived way.

Mr. Rankin. Was there anyone else of the law enforcement officials that you felt treated you in that manner?

Mrs. Oswald. No. As for the rest, I was quite content. Everyone was very attentive towards me.

Mr. Rankin. Where were you on the morning of November 24th when your husband was killed?

Mrs. Oswald. The night from the 23d to the 24th I spent at a hotel in Dallas, together with the mother. She wanted to make sure that the Life reporters who had taken this room would pay for it, as they had promised. But they disappeared. Then she telephoned Robert, it seems to me, and Gregory—no, Mr. Gregory. And I know that he came with Robert, and Robert paid for the room. And, after that, after we left the hotel, we met with the Secret Service agents. I wanted to see Lee, and we were supposed to go to the police station to see him.

Mr. Rankin. That was on November 24th, on Sunday?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. And then what happened?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't remember whether we went to Ruth to take my things or perhaps—in general, I remember that en route, in the car, Mike Howard or Charley Kunkel said that Lee had been shot today.

At first he said that it wasn't serious—perhaps just not to frighten me. I was told that he had been taken to a hospital, and then I was told that he had been seriously wounded.

Then they had to telephone somewhere. They stopped at the house of the chief of police, Curry. From there, I telephone Ruth to tell her that I wanted to take several things which I needed with me and asked her to prepare them. And that there was a wallet with money and Lee's ring.

Soon after that—Robert was no longer with me, but Gregory was there, and the mother, and the Secret Service agents. They said that Lee had died.

After that, we went to the Motel Inn, the Six Flags Inn, where I stayed for several days—perhaps two weeks—I don't know.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall what time of the day you heard that your husband had been shot?

Mrs. Oswald. Two o'clock in the afternoon, I think.

Mr. Rankin. And where were you at that time?

Mrs. Oswald. I was in a car.

Mr. Rankin. Just riding around, or at some particular place?

Mrs. Oswald. No, not at two o'clock—earlier. Lee was shot at 11 o'clock. It was probably close to 12 o'clock. He died at one.

Mr. Rankin. And where was the car that you were in at that time?

Mrs. Oswald. We were on the way to Chief Curry, en route from the hotel.

Mr. Rankin. What did you do after you went to the motel?

Mrs. Oswald. I left with Robert and we prepared for the funeral.

Then Ruth Paine sent my things to me via the agent.

Mr. Gopadze. She would like a recess for a little while. She has a headache.

The Chairman. Yes, we will recess.

(Brief recess)

The Chairman. The Commission will be in order. Do you feel refreshed now, Mrs. Oswald, ready to proceed?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, thank you.

The Chairman. Very well.

Mr. Rankin?

Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, I asked you if you asked your husband about his efforts to escape, why he did that. I will ask you now whether in light of what you said about his seeking notoriety in connection with the assassination, in your opinion how you explain his efforts to escape, which would presumably not give him that notoriety.

Mrs. Oswald. When he did that, he probably did it with the intention of becoming notorious. But after that, it is probably a normal reaction of a man to try and escape.

Mr. Rankin. You will recall that in the interviews, after the assassination, you first said that you thought your husband didn't do it, do you?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't remember it, but quite possibly I did say that.

You must understand that now I only speak the truth.

Mr. Rankin. Recently you said that you thought your husband did kill President Kennedy.

Mrs. Oswald. I now have enough facts to say that.

Mr. Rankin. Can you give us or the Commission an idea generally about when you came to this latter conclusion, that he did kill President Kennedy?

Mrs. Oswald. Perhaps a week after it all happened, perhaps a little more. The more facts came out, the more convinced I was.

Mr. Rankin. You have stated in some of your interviews that your husband would get on his knees and cry and say that he was lost. Do you recall when this happened?

Mrs. Oswald. That was in New Orleans.

Mr. Rankin. Was it more than one occasion?

Mrs. Oswald. When he said that, that was only once.

Mr. Rankin. And do you know what caused him to say that?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't know.

Mr. Rankin. You don't know whether there was some occasion or some happening that caused it?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Did your mother-in-law ever indicate that she had some particular evidence, either oral or documentary, that would decide this case?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, she always said that she has a pile of papers and many acquaintances.

Mr. Rankin. Did you ever ask her to tell you what it was that would be so decisive about the case?

Mrs. Oswald. I would have liked to ask her, but I didn't speak any English. And then I didn't believe her. What documents could she have when she had not seen Lee for one year, and she didn't even know we lived in New Orleans?

I think that is just simply idle talk, that she didn't have anything.

Perhaps she does have something.

But I think that it is only she who considers that she has something that might reveal, uncover this.

Mr. Rankin. Has there been any time that you wanted to see your mother-in-law that you have been prevented from doing so?

Mrs. Oswald. Never.

I don't want to see her, I didn't want to.

Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, I am going to ask you about differences between you and your mother-in-law, not for the purpose of embarrassing you in any way, but since we are going to ask her to testify it might be helpful to the Commission to know that background.

I hope you will bear with us.

Have you had some differences with your mother-in-law?

Mrs. Oswald. I am sorry that you will devote your time to questioning her, because you will only be tired and very sick after talking to her. I am very much ashamed to have this kind of relationship to my mother-in-law. I would like to be closer to her and to be on better terms with her. But when you get to know her, you will understand why. I don't think that she can help you.

But if it is a formality, then, of course.

Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, can you describe for the Commission your differences so the Commission will be able to evaluate those differences?

Mrs. Oswald. Well, she asserts, for example, that I don't know anything, that I am being forced to say that Lee is guilty in everything, that she knows more.

This is what our differences are.

Mr. Rankin. And have you responded to her when she said those things?

Mrs. Oswald. She said this by means of newspapers and television.

I haven't seen her.

I would like to tell her that, but it is impossible to tell her that, because she would scratch my eyes out.

Mr. Rankin. Are there any other differences between you and your mother-in-law that you have not described?

Mrs. Oswald. No, there are no more.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know of any time that your husband had money in excess of what he obtained from the jobs he was working on?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. He had his unemployment insurance when he was out of work. Is that right?