The CHAIRMAN. Mr. McCloy.
Mr. McCLOY. I have one or two questions.
Mr. Belmont, you do know the charge has been made by some that Oswald
was what is called a secret agent. Do you have any information whatever
that would cause you to believe that Oswald was or could have been an
agent or an informant of the FBI?
Mr. BELMONT. I have covered that in some considerable detail, Mr.
McCloy, and I will make a positive statement that Oswald was not, never
was, an agent or an informant of the FBI.
Mr. McCLOY. In the course of your investigation do you have any reason
to make you believe that he was an agent of any other country?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir; we have no reason to believe that he was an agent
of any other country.
Mr. McCLOY. Or any other agency of the United States?
Mr. BELMONT. Or any other agency of the United States.
Mr. McCLOY. You said this morning, I believe, or at least I guess Mr.
Hosty said, that the assassination of the President and any leads in
connection with it are still of constant concern to the FBI.
Do you feel there are any areas as of the present time that you feel at
the present time require or justify further investigation other than
routine checkups that have not already been undertaken?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir; frankly, I don't. I will say that from the
requests we have received from the Commission, you have explored
this most thoroughly. We do not have any unexplored areas in this
investigation that should be explored. There are some pending requests
that you have made, and we are running them out as rapidly as we can.
Mr. McCLOY. Maybe this isn't a fair question to ask you, but, after
all, you have had a long record of criminal investigation, and you have
had a long exposure to investigation in this case.
As a result of your investigation do you feel that there is any
credible evidence thus far which would support a conclusion or an
opinion that the death of the President was the result of a conspiracy
or anything other than the act of a single individual?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir; we have no evidence, and I could support no
conclusion that this was other than an act of Oswald.
Mr. McCLOY. Now, the investigation does lead you to the conclusion that
he was the President's assassin?
Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir.
Mr. McCLOY. Did you ever at any time have any connection whatever--you
or the agency--have anything to do with the Walker, General Walker,
case?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir; that was a matter handled by the Dallas police. I
am drawing on my recollection of it now, but, as I recall it, after the
incident, we offered to examine the bullets that were recovered----
Mr. McCLOY. Bullets.
Mr. BELMONT. And the police apparently wanted to retain them, so that
we did not conduct the examination of the bullets until subsequent to
the assassination itself.
Mr. McCLOY. Until recently.
Mr. BELMONT. No; we had no connection with it, with that investigation.
Mr. McCLOY. In your investigation of the President's assassination, did
you have occasion, after the event, to make an investigation of Ruby's
background or Ruby's relationship to Oswald?
Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir; we went into that very thoroughly.
Mr. McCLOY. Have we got all your reports on that?
Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir.
Mr. McCLOY. Have you come to any conclusions or opinions in regard to
Ruby and his connection with Oswald, if any?
Mr. BELMONT. The reports, of course, speak for themselves. But in
summation, we did not come up with anything of a solid nature, that is
anything that would stand up to indicate that there was any association
between Ruby and Oswald. We had numerous allegations which we ran out
extensively and carefully, but there is nothing, no information, that
would stand up to show there was an association between them.
Mr. McCLOY. Maybe this is in the record, but do you--by reason of your
very close association with this investigation, I venture to ask this
question--do you, from your knowledge of the investigation find--was
there any evidence in regard to Ruby's propensity for violence before
this shooting took place in the police headquarters in Dallas?
Mr. BELMONT. Did we have any information of that character and of that
nature?
Mr. McCLOY. Yes; I am not talking before it happened, but as a result
of your investigation did you turn up any other indications of any
violence on the part of Ruby?
Mr. BELMONT. I hesitate to attempt to evaluate the information that we
gathered from hundreds and hundreds of people that we talked to during
the investigation of Ruby after the assassination. I just don't feel
that I am in a position to render a judgment as to his character or his
impulsiveness, the degree of impulsiveness, whether he was capable----
Mr. McCLOY. Whether he was prone to violent action.
Mr. BELMONT. I just don't feel really competent. I have no doubt that
a conclusion can be drawn from reports; of course, that was one of the
basic issues at the trial.
Representative FORD. Was there any evidence that the FBI found to the
effect that Ruby was a Communist?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir.
Representative FORD. None whatsoever?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir.
Representative FORD. Was there any evidence found by the FBI to the
effect that Ruby was connected with in any way whatsoever so-called
rightist groups?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir; I do not recall anything of that nature.
Mr. McCLOY. No association that you know of as a result of the
investigation of Ruby with any foreign government or agency of a
foreign government?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir; you understand, you are asking me questions, and
I am replying on the basis of my best recollection, but I am giving you
an answer from my knowledge of the case.
Mr. McCLOY. That is what we were seeking, no more than that, because
your impressions would be valuable.
Mr. BELMONT. The reason I say that there may be someone we interviewed
who made a statement about Ruby and it was run out, and it was found to
be false. Congressman Ford, you asked me if he was a Communist. I would
say we have no evidence of that.
Mr. McCLOY. Do you feel that in view of the evidence that Oswald was
a defector, that he engaged in this Fair Play for Cuba business, that
he lied in his communications with the FBI, that Mr. Hosty should have
been alerted by locating Oswald in the School Book Depository early
in November, that he should have been alerted to informing the Secret
Service of that?
Mr. BELMONT. No, sir; I do not. You must take this matter in its proper
context. I pointed out to you previously that this man came back from
Russia; he indicated that he had learned his lesson, was disenchanted
with Russia, and had a renewed concept--I am paraphrasing, a renewed
concept--of the American free society.
We talked to him twice. He likewise indicated he was disenchanted with
Russia. We satisfied ourselves that we had met our requirement, namely
to find out whether he had been recruited by Soviet intelligence. The
case was closed.
We again exhibited interest on the basis of these contacts with
The Worker, Fair Play for Cuba Committee, which are relatively
inconsequential.
His activities for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New Orleans, we
knew, were not of real consequence as he was not connected with any
organized activity there.
The interview with him in jail is not significant from the standpoint
of whether he had a propensity for violence.
Mr. McCLOY. That is the Quigley interview you are talking about?
Mr. BELMONT. Yes; it was a self-serving interview.
The visits with the Soviet Embassy were evidently for the purpose of
securing a visa, and he had told us during one of the interviews that
he would probably take his wife back to Soviet Russia some time in the
future. He had come back to Dallas. Hosty had established that he had
a job, he was working, and had told Mrs. Paine that when he got the
money he was going to take an apartment when the baby was old enough,
he was going to take an apartment, and the family would live together.
He gave evidence of settling down. Nowhere during the course of this
investigation or the information that came to us from other agencies
was there any indication of a potential for violence on his part.
Consequently, there was no basis for Hosty to go to Secret Service and
advise them of Oswald's presence. Hosty was alert, as was the Dallas
office, to furnish information to Secret Service on the occasion of the
President's visit.
It is my recollection that Hosty actually participated in delivering
some material to Secret Service himself, and helped prepare a
memorandum on another matter that was sent over there. So that most
certainly the office was alert. The agent in charge had alerted his
agents, even on the morning of the visit, as he had previously done a
week or 10 days before the visit.
So that, in answer to your question, I cannot even through the process
of going back and seeking to apply this against what happened,
justifiably say that Hosty should have given this information under the
existing conditions and with the history of this matter, that he was in
a position to give it to the Secret Service. Now, most certainly----
Mr. McCLOY. We wish he had.
Mr. BELMONT. Of course.
Representative FORD. Mr. Chairman, I have a call from the floor of the
House. I wonder if I could ask Mr. Belmont a question.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes, indeed.
Representative FORD. In response to a question by Mr. McCloy, you
categorically said that Federal Bureau of Investigation under no
circumstances had employed Oswald as an informant, as an agent or in
any other way whatsoever.
Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir.
Representative FORD. You would be in a position to know specifically
that information?
Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir.
Representative FORD. You also said, as I recall, that you had found no
credible information or evidence thus far that Oswald was connected in
any way whatsoever with another country as an agent. Is that about what
you said or do you wish to reaffirm it in another way?
Mr. BELMONT. I will affirm what you said.
Representative FORD. There is a difference, however, between your
knowledge as to whether the FBI had hired Oswald, you can be very
categorical about that.
Mr. BELMONT. That is correct.