The President's Commission met at 9:30 a.m., on February 20, 1964, at
200 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D.C.
Present were Chief Justice Earl Warren, Chairman; Senator John Cooper,
Representative Hale Boggs, Representative Gerald R. Ford, and Allen W.
Dulles, members.
Also present were J. Lee Rankin, general counsel; Albert E. Jenner,
Jr., assistant counsel; Wesley J. Liebeler, assistant counsel; William
McKenzie, attorney for Robert Edward Lee Oswald and Leon Jaworski,
special counsel to the attorney general of Texas.
The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, the Commission will be in order.
I will make a brief statement for the benefit of Mr. McKenzie and Mr.
Oswald, so you will know just what this is about.
On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive
Order No. 11130, appointing 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."
On December 13, 1963, Congress adopted Joint Resolution S.J. 137, which
authorizes the Commission or any member of the Commission or any agent
or agency designated by the Commission for such purpose to administer
oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses, and receive evidence.
On January 21, 1964, the Commission adopted a resolution authorizing
each member of the Commission, and its General Counsel, J. Lee Rankin,
to administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses, and receive
evidence concerning any matters under investigation by the Commission.
The purpose of this hearing is to take the testimony of Mr. Robert
Oswald, the brother of Lee Harvey Oswald, who prior to his death was
charged with the assassination of President Kennedy.
Since the Commission is inquiring fully into the background of Lee
Harvey Oswald and those associated with him, it is the intention of the
Commission to ask Mr. Robert Oswald questions concerning Lee Harvey
Oswald on any and all matters relating to the assassination.
The Commission also intends to ask Mr. Robert Oswald questions relating
to the assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent violent
death of Lee Harvey Oswald. Mr. Robert Oswald has also been furnished
with a copy of this statement and a copy of the rules adopted by the
Commission for the taking of testimony and the production of evidence.
Mr. Robert Oswald has also been furnished with a copy of Executive
Order No. 11130, and Congressional Resolution S.J. No. 137, which set
forth the general scope of the Commission's inquiry and its authority
for examining witnesses and receiving evidence.
That is just for your general information, Mr. Oswald.
You are here with your attorney, Mr. McKenzie.
Would you state your name for the Commission?
Mr. McKENZIE. Mr. Chief Justice and members of the Commission, my name
is William A. McKenzie. Our office is 631 Fidelity Union Life Building,
Dallas, Tex. I am a member of the State Bar of Texas and licensed to
practice before the Supreme Court of that State.
The CHAIRMAN. And you are here to advise and represent Mr. Robert
Oswald?
Mr. McKENZIE. I am here to advise and represent Mr. Oswald. And I
might state, further, that Mr. Oswald will freely give answers to any
questions that the Commission might desire to ask of him.
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.
There are present at the Commission this morning Mr. Allen Dulles,
Commissioner, and myself. I will be leaving fairly shortly to attend a
session of the Supreme Court, but in my absence Mr. Allen Dulles will
conduct the hearing.
Mr. Oswald, would you please rise and be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God, in all of these proceedings
at which you are to testify?
Mr. OSWALD. I do.
Mr. McKENZIE. Mr. Chief Justice, if you may pardon me for just a
second. In coming down to the Commission's hearing room, I left part
of my file in Mr. Jenner's office, and I have asked Mr. Liebeler if he
will step out and get the file.
The CHAIRMAN. You would like to wait for that?
Mr. McKENZIE. If you don't mind.
The CHAIRMAN. I might add, while we are waiting for that to come
back, that Mr. Albert Jenner, one of the associate counsel for the
Commission, will conduct the examination this morning.
Mr. McKENZIE. Yes, sir.
I would like to state for the record that I have furnished to Mr.
Jenner and Mr. Liebeler this morning a letter dated February 17, 1964,
dictated by myself, but signed by Robert L. Oswald and witnessed by
Pete White, Joan Connelly, and Henry Baer, which I would like for the
Commission to have a copy of, and which I furnished to the Commission.
And, further, that I have furnished to Mr. Jenner and Mr. Liebeler,
counsel for the Commission, a letter dated February 18, 1964, signed
by Mrs. Marina N. Oswald and witnessed by Declan P. Ford, Katherine N.
Ford, and Joan Connelly.
The reason that I furnish these letters to the Commission I think will
be obvious from a reading of the letters, and, secondly, will likewise
explain my position to some extent.
And, further, I have furnished to Mr. Jenner and Mr. Liebeler letters
dated February 18, 1964, addressed to Mr. James H. Martin, 11611
Farrar, Dallas, Tex., signed by myself, and likewise signed by Marina
N. Oswald, and witnessed by Katherine Ford, a copy of which I furnished
to Mr. Lee Rankin, counsel for the Commission; and a letter of like
date, February 18, 1964, addressed to Mr. John M. Thorne, Thorne and
Leach, Attorneys and Counselors-at-Law, of Grand Prairie, Tex., signed
by Mrs. Marina N. Oswald, and witnessed by Mrs. Katherine Ford.