Mr. BELIN. What did he say to you and what did you say to him?
Mr. BRENNAN. Well, he asked me--he said, "You said you couldn't make a
positive identification."
He said, "Did you do that for security reasons personally, or couldn't
you?"
And I told him I could with all honesty, but I did it more or less for
security reasons--my family and myself.
Mr. BELIN. What do you mean by security reasons for your family and
yourself?
Mr. BRENNAN. I believe at that time, and I still believe it was a
Communist activity, and I felt like there hadn't been more than one
eyewitness, and if it got to be a known fact that I was an eyewitness,
my family or I, either one, might not be safe.
Mr. BELIN. Well, if you wouldn't have identified him, might he not have
been released by the police?
Mr. BRENNAN. Beg pardon?
Mr. BELIN. If you would not have identified that man positively, might
he not have been released by the police?
Mr. BRENNAN. No. That had a great contributing factor--greater
contributing factor than my personal reasons was that I already knew
they had the man for murder, and I knew he would not be released.
Mr. BELIN. The murder of whom?
Mr. BRENNAN. Of Officer Tippit.
Mr. BELIN. Well, what happened in between to change your mind that you
later decided to come forth and tell them you could identify him?
Mr. BRENNAN. After Oswald was killed, I was relieved quite a bit that
as far as pressure on myself of somebody not wanting me to identify
anybody, there was no longer that immediate danger.
Mr. BELIN. What is the fact as to whether or not your having seen
Oswald on television would have affected your identification of him one
way or the other?
Mr. BRENNAN. That is something I do not know.
Mr. BELIN. Mr. Brennan, could you tell us now whether you can or cannot
positively identify the man you saw on the sixth floor window as the
same man that you saw in the police station?
Mr. BRENNAN. I could at that time--I could, with all sincerity,
identify him as being the same man.
Mr. BELIN. Was the man that you saw in the window firing the rifle the
same man that you had seen earlier in the window, you said at least a
couple of times, first stepping up and then going back?
Mr. BRENNAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. About how far were you away from that window at the time you
saw him, Mr. Brennan?
Mr. BRENNAN. Well, at that time, I calculated 110-foot at an angle. But
closer surveillance I believe it will run close to 122 to 126 feet at
an angle.
Mr. BELIN. I believe that on Friday we paced the distance between the
place where you were sitting and the front door of the Texas School
Book Depository Building, and it ran about----
Mr. BRENNAN. 93-foot.
Representative FORD. This doesn't have to be now, but I think some time
he ought to step by step on a diagram trace his movements from the
restaurant until he left the scene of the shooting.
Mr. BELIN. On that particular diagram, Congressman Ford, which is
Exhibit No. 361, the intersection of Main and Houston, and of Record
and Main is not shown. It would be a little bit to the south.
Representative FORD. But he might be able to show the direction from
which he came to get on to the scene.
Mr. BELIN. Yes; that he can do.
Representative FORD. And then his movements from there on until he left
the area. I think it would be very helpful to tie down the precise
places he was from time to time.
Mr. BELIN. I think he might do that right now.
Mr. Brennan, I place in front of you Exhibit 361, and I call to your
attention that the top appears to be south rather than north, and the
arrow north is pointed towards the bottom. And you will notice at the
top here, running in what would be an east-west direction, is Elm
Street. And you can see running in a north-south direction Houston
Street, with the Texas School Book Depository Building noted here in
black.
Do you see that?
Mr. BRENNAN. It should be here.
Mr. BELIN. I will turn the map around to show you north and south; we
can keep it upside down for the moment.
This is Elm Street. To the north is Pacific. Main would be down here
off the bottom of the map. And here is Record Street right here. And
I believe you said you were at lunch at Record and Main, and then you
walked to the south.
I wonder if you might take this pen and kind of, off the street
markings, you might start maybe down here at the bottom as to where you
had your lunch.
Mr. BRENNAN. This is Main here.
Mr. BELIN. Main would be running there, yes.
If you would, put a "D" at that point.
Now, if you would kind of on a line trace your course that you took
that day.
All right.
Mr. BRENNAN. I didn't go to the corner.
Mr. BELIN. You didn't go to the corner of Elm and Houston. That would
be the southeast corner?
Mr. BRENNAN. I noticed this man having a fit. And I came across at this
corner.
Mr. BELIN. Now, would you put the letter "E" where you ended up
sitting. This is on Exhibit No. 361.
Mr. BRENNAN. "E"?
Mr. BELIN. Yes.
Mr. BRENNAN. I believe that would be just about where the retainer wall
is.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
So you have put on Exhibit 361 the letter "E" where you were sitting
facing the School Book Depository Building.
Representative FORD. I think that it might be helpful to trace it where
he went subsequent to that.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Subsequent to the time of the shooting, would you put a line from your
point at point "E" to where you went to talk to the police officers and
the Secret Service officers?
Mr. BRENNAN. The retaining wall come around here and straight across
here.
Mr. BELIN. Will you put an "F" where you talked to him?
Mr. BRENNAN. The car was sitting here. That is where I talked to him.
This is where I contacted the officer.
Mr. BELIN. You contacted the officer at "F".
Mr. BRENNAN. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. And then you went over to a car.
Mr. BRENNAN. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Would you put your direction to the car and put a "G" on
there?
Mr. BRENNAN. I walked down the street hereaways with this officer.
Mr. BELIN. All right, the point from "F" where you walked down the
street, that would be walking north on Houston?
Mr. BRENNAN. I don't know; however, we walked down this way, but I do
remember going in that direction with the officer.
Mr. BELIN. You went to the north on Houston?