Mr. STERN. When you entered the room to interrogate him?
Mr. CLEMENTS. I observed a bruise, a bruise in the vicinity of one of
his eyes. I believe minor scratches on his face. I saw no evidence that
he was suffering from any physical pain or anything of that sort.
Mr. STERN. Was he handcuffed?
Mr. CLEMENTS. Yes.
Mr. STERN. With his hands in front or behind?
Mr. CLEMENTS. Hands were in front.
Mr. STERN. Did he seem alert, or otherwise?
Mr. CLEMENTS. He seemed alert.
Mr. STERN. Will you now tell, Mr. Clements, as much as you can recall
of your interrogation of Oswald at that time?
Mr. CLEMENTS. I informed him of the purpose of my interview. He made no
objection. I proceeded to get his name in full. I asked him questions
as to his date and place of birth, height, weight, color of his hair
and eyes, and as to the existence of any permanent scars or marks. As
to the identities of close relatives, their addresses and occupations,
and asked him as to his own occupation, residence, attempting to get
them in chronological order, and asked as to his past occupations.
Mr. STERN. Did you review with him the contents of his wallet and ask
him questions on any of it?
Mr. CLEMENTS. I questioned him as to the fictitious, and obviously
fictitious selective service card, which I found in his wallet.
I recognized it as being fictitious card from the fact that the
photograph was mounted on the card, and that there were obvious
erasures in typing of information on the card itself. The card was in
the name of an Alek James Hidell, but bore the photograph of Oswald.
Mr. STERN. What did he say about that card?
Mr. CLEMENTS. He declined to answer any questions as to the reason of
his possession of it.
Mr. STERN. Were there any other questions you put to him that he
refused to answer?
Mr. CLEMENTS. Toward the conclusion of the interview and after he
had been absent and returned I continued with the questions of past
residence and past occupations. He responded to my questions. At a time
when I asked him as to his present occupation he hesitated and told
me that he thought the obtaining of his description and background
information had become somewhat prolonged. He said that he had refused
to be interviewed by other law enforcement officers previously, and
that he had no intention of being interviewed by me. He continued that
he knew the tactics of the FBI. He stated there was a counterpart or a
similar agency in Russia, that I was using the soft touch, where the
approach of a Russian agency would be different, but the tactics would
be the same.
Mr. STERN. At that point did he stop answering questions?
Mr. CLEMENTS. No; at that point I asked the same question that I had
asked previously, and he answered.
Mr. STERN. Did the interview continue beyond that?
Mr. CLEMENTS. That was substantially the end of the interview.
Mr. STERN. Were there other persons present besides the two Dallas
police officers who were guarding him?
Mr. CLEMENTS. No.
Mr. STERN. At either time, either before or after he had been withdrawn
from the lineup?
Mr. CLEMENTS. No.
Mr. STERN. Did he seem hostile or resentful or irritated by the fact
that you were an FBI agent?
Mr. CLEMENTS. He did not state that, if that were the case. He
was courteous, responsive as to any question. Volunteered little
information.
Mr. STERN. But volunteered very little information. Did he seem a
person in command of himself?
Mr. CLEMENTS. He seemed to be in command of himself both physically
and mentally. He had what appeared to me to be a slightly haughty or
arrogant attitude.
Mr. STERN. Did he complain to you about the treatment he was receiving?
Mr. CLEMENTS. No.
Mr. STERN. Did he say anything to you about obtaining counsel, whether
he had tried to?
Mr. CLEMENTS. He said nothing whatsoever in that regard.
Mr. STERN. Did he say anything about any effort on his part to reach
his family that had been unsuccessful?
Mr. CLEMENTS. No; he did not.
Mr. STERN. At the conclusion of your interview, did you leave the
office in which he was being guarded and leave him behind?
Mr. CLEMENTS. Yes; I did.
Mr. STERN. When you next saw him at this press conference in the
basement, can you describe the conditions in that room? How many people
were present?
Mr. CLEMENTS. The corridor on the third floor was quite crowded, and
when I reached the basement there were, I would estimate, perhaps 50
people, all told, including officers, members of the press, perhaps
others. There was a crowded condition I would say.
Mr. STERN. Quite a great deal of noise?
Mr. CLEMENTS. I don't recall any great amount of noise. Although, I
do recall that members of the press were attempting to get Oswald to
respond to questions.
Mr. STERN. How did he seem at that time?
Mr. CLEMENTS. I saw no difference in his appearance to that at the time
I had talked with him.
Mr. STERN. Did he then seem to you to be in command of himself, and
alert?
Mr. CLEMENTS. Yes; he did.
Mr. STERN. Mr. Clements, did you make a record of your interview with
Oswald?
Mr. CLEMENTS. I did.
Mr. STERN. How soon after the interview did you dictate that memorandum?
Mr. CLEMENTS. The following day, November 23, 1963.
Mr. STERN. And have you reviewed that memorandum to refresh your memory
of what occurred?
Mr. CLEMENTS. I have.
Mr. STERN. And you had no further contact, or didn't observe Oswald,
Mr. Clements, as I understand it, from the time of the press conference
until he was, himself, killed on November 24?
Mr. CLEMENTS. That's correct.
Mr. STERN. Thank you very much.
Mr. CLEMENTS. Yes.
Mr. STERN. The reporter will transcribe your testimony. You can, if
you wish, review a copy of the transcript and sign it, or waive your
signature and the reporter will send it directly to the Commission,
whichever you prefer.
Mr. CLEMENTS. I think I would prefer to review it after it is typed.
Mr. STERN. Fine.
The reporter will get in touch with you and give you an opportunity to
review it.
Thank you very much for coming in.