Mr. BALL. Anyway, you were asked to come over here by Mr. Shanklin and
he advised you that your deposition would be taken at that time?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. The deposition taken in the course of an investigation by
the Commission to investigate the facts concerning the circumstances
surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy, and I am a staff
officer. My name is Joseph A. Ball. I am authorized to administer the
oath to you and to ask you certain questions concerning some matters
which you do have knowledge of.
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You are willing to testify, are you not?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. In the course of your investigation, were you called to the
Texas School Book Depository sometimes around the 2d of December 1963?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And who asked you to come down there?
Mr. PINKSTON. I was instructed by one of my supervisors to conduct an
investigation there on that date.
Mr. BALL. On that date?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you see a fellow by the name of Frankie Kaiser?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And Roy Truly?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What did they tell you when you came down there?
Mr. PINKSTON. To the best of my recollection I was there waiting to see
Mr. Truly. He was somewhere else in the building, and I was waiting for
him on the occasion in question. Frankie Kaiser came down the stairs
and said that he had found something on the sixth floor. I didn't--I
then accompanied him back to the sixth floor where he pointed out on
the floor near the entrance to the stair well, a clipboard with some
orders on it, and--pardon me a second, do you want me to testify to
what Kaiser told me, which is hearsay----
Mr. BALL. That is all right, but Kaiser told you that when you were
downstairs, that something--didn't he? When he was--did Kaiser come
downstairs?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes; Kaiser came downstairs and took me back upstairs
with him and pointed out the clipboard which he had left on the floor.
Mr. BALL. Did he say he had left it there?
Mr. PINKSTON. He had seen it there and did not bother it.
Mr. BALL. I see.
Mr. PINKSTON. He did not put it there.
Mr. BALL. I see. Kaiser told you and you went upstairs and Kaiser
pointed out the clipboard?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. First, the location of the clipboard.
Mr. PINKSTON. The clipboard was generally in the northwest corner of
the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. It was on the
floor behind the books, against the wall of the stair well.
Mr. BALL. There were some book cartons in front of it, were there?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Now, did Frankie Kaiser say something? That is hearsay, but I
would like to hear what it was.
Mr. PINKSTON. He told me this clipboard was the one that he had made,
and had given to Oswald when Oswald went to work at the School Book
Depository.
Mr. BALL. Did you examine the clipboard?
Mr. PINKSTON. I did, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did it have anybody's name on it?
Mr. PINKSTON. It had quite a bit of scribbling on it, and I
believe--well, I am not in a position to say right now exactly what it
had on it other than some orders.
Mr. BALL. It did have some orders on it?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And did you examine the orders?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Can you tell me the date of the orders and the general
description of the orders?
Mr. PINKSTON. Three orders on this clipboard. Each order was dated
November 22d. The first was an order from Mrs. Hazel Carroll of the
Reading Clinic, SMU, for one Parliamentary Procedure at $1.40. Was
published by Scott, Foresman & Co.
And this invoice bore No. 2454. The second one was an order from Dallas
Independent School District from Mr. M. J. Morton, purchasing agent, at
the School Administration Building, 3700 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Tex., for
10 ERS, Basic Reading Skills, for high schools, revised, at $1.12, or
total of $11.20. Published by Scott, Foresman & Co.
The Invoice was No. 6057.
The third order was an order to be sent to Mr. M. K. Baker, Junior High
School, Reynosa, New Mex., for one TE Basic Reading Skills. J. H. S.
use. No charge. Sent at the request of Miss Mary Williams. Publisher;
Scott, Foresman & Co., invoice 8291.
Each of these orders, as I say, were dated November 22, 1963.
Mr. BALL. What did you do when you--with the orders after you made
these notations?
Mr. PINKSTON. I turned them over to Mr. Truly. He desired to fill the
orders.
Mr. BALL. What did you do with the clipboard?
Mr. PINKSTON. I returned the clipboard to my office and made an exhibit
of it, as I recall.
Mr. BALL. Is it still an exhibit? It is an FBI exhibit?
Mr. PINKSTON. I believe so.
Mr. BALL. In the possession of the FBI?
Mr. PINKSTON. I haven't seen it since then.
Mr. BALL. Will you try to determine if you still have that as an
exhibit in your office, or in Washington?
Mr. PINKSTON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. All right.
Now, this will be written up and will be submitted to you for your
signature, or you can waive your signature.