Mr. BELMONT. No, sir.
Mr. DULLES. Except to furnish names and suspects, as you have indicated.
Mr. BELMONT. That is correct. We have no function there. That is a
primary responsibility and function of Secret Service.
Now, we do have what we have considered our responsibility, to furnish
to Secret Service any indication of a threat to the President, and that
we have done religiously.
After the assassination the President ordered us into an investigation
of the assassination which changed the picture as far as this
particular case was concerned.
Mr. DULLES. You mean President Johnson, immediately after the
assassination?
Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir.
Mr. DULLES. And there was a period there, there was a period though,
after the assassination and before President Johnson took the oath of
office--did this order come to you during that period or after he had
taken the oath of office?
Mr. BELMONT. It was very rapid, probably within a day.
Mr. DULLES. I see. It wasn't immediately after.
Mr. BELMONT. No.
Mr. DULLES. It wasn't this period I am speaking of.
Mr. BELMONT. You see, Mr. Dulles, the Federal Government still has no
jurisdiction over the assassination of the President. That was a murder
and was within the province of the local police who immediately took
hold of it and started the investigation.
Mr. DULLES. I realize that.
Mr. BELMONT. And started the investigation and it was theirs.
Mr. DULLES. You were only in there by courtesy. What you did was by
courtesy of the local authorities.
Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir; we went to the Dallas Police Department and
immediately went into action because of what had happened, and there
was no time for us to stand on priorities. But we felt we should be
of the utmost assistance, and we sent men to the police department to
assist in the interview and do anything else we could. This wasn't a
time, of course, to sit back and say, "This isn't our job."
Mr. DULLES. I understand.
Mr. BELMONT. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Belmont, just one question. Do you know of any
legislation in recent years that might have been introduced in the
Congress to make an attack upon the President a Federal offense?
Mr. BELMONT. I do know that there is legislation presently pending.
The CHAIRMAN. Since the assassination?
Mr. BELMONT. Since the assassination.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes. But had it been considered in recent years? I know
it had at the time of other assassinations, but so far as you know were
there any recent legislation to that effect?
Mr. BELMONT. Mr. Chairman, I must plead ignorance. I haven't done
research on it, and I just don't know.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Well, we can find that out very easily.
Representative FORD. Mr. Chairman, just the other day in the House of
Representatives a bill was approved giving Federal officials the right
to take certain action when a chief of state from a foreign country was
within the United States; a broadening of their authority when they had
a suspicion or they had some reason to believe that an attack was being
made on a foreign dignitary.
At the time it went through the House I thought of the same question
you just raised, and I wondered whether there were any specific
legislative matters pending before any committee on this particular
point.
Mr. BELMONT. I am sure there is a pending bill because my recollection
is that it was called to our attention--I cannot pinpoint it for
you--but I think there is pending legislation now in this matter.
Mr. McCLOY. I noticed in some Law Review article recently reference to
the fact that previous bills had been introduced but had gone into the
wastebasket.
The CHAIRMAN. That is true.
Mr. McCLOY. In respect of other incidents.
The CHAIRMAN. When the emotion died down.
Mr. McCLOY. When the emotion died down, that is true.