Mr. RANKIN. Do you know who was talking that?
Mr. WADE. I don't know. I have been up here once before, and some of
the press were--I don't remember, some of the press mentioned that
they had two voucher numbers in his book there that indicated he was
working for the FBI or the CIA. I know nothing about them, don't think
anybody in my office does. I think maybe Alexander mentioned it some,
but Alexander is not a great lover of the FBI. They fuss all the time
openly, so I don't know. I know nothing about it myself because I never
have seen the book and I don't know whether they have even got any
numbers in there but they were supposed to have two numbers in there as
a voucher number of $200 from some Government agency but like I say,
supposed to.
I never saw it and heard it, talk, but I am sure you all know more
about it than I do.
Mr. DULLES. By voucher you mean an entry or something of that kind,
what kind of a voucher?
Mr. WADE. I think it was called a voucher number, it was voucher 209,
which doesn't make sense. I believe it was a low number. It doesn't
make sense for a government to have a voucher number that low.
Mr. RANKIN. What book are you referring to?
Mr. WADE. The little black book that Oswald had in his possession at
the time he was arrested.
Mr. RANKIN. That was his memorandum book, in which he had a list of
numbers of various people and addresses and so forth, is that what you
referring to?
Mr. WADE. Yes; and I never have seen the book myself. As a matter of
fact, I am trying to get some photos of it, trying to but I haven't
gotten them yet.
Mr. RANKIN. Now what agency was it rumored he was a member of?
Mr. WADE. It was rumored he worked first for the FBI and then for the
CIA.
Mr. RANKIN. Is that all you have heard?
Mr. WADE. As a matter of fact, I don't think I had ever heard that
until Waggoner Carr called me and told me--I don't think I ever heard
that. I did check into it a little, and they were talking it some, and
they have actually written it up in the newspapers by rumors or a story
or two--rumors of the thing.
Mr. RANKIN. Is that the report by the reporter Hudkins?
Mr. WADE. I believe it is. On the Houston paper, Hudkins. I believe we
got that introduced in the Ruby trial on the change of venue motion.
Mr. RANKIN. Is there anything more that you know about that matter?
Mr. WADE. I know absolutely nothing about it. I might say, I was under
the impression, I think when I talked to you and the Chief Justice
before, that, you see I was in the FBI, and I was under the impression
and I think maybe I told you all that we didn't list our informant
by name. The FBI have been kind enough to send down some of my old
vouchers on paying informants back in, down in South America, and I
see that we did list them by name which I--probably may, if I said
otherwise it was just my recollection on the thing but in that case I
was listing informants from South America that we were paying when I
was there.
Mr. RANKIN. There was one other report by Goulden, reporter of the
Philadelphia Inquirer. Did that ever come to your attention in regard
to this matter?
Mr. WADE. No; but I know him. He used to be a reporter in Dallas, but I
don't know what it was, if you will tell me about it.
Mr. RANKIN. Apparently it was the same thing.
Mr. WADE. Different angle.
Mr. RANKIN. From Hudkins' report that had been picked up.
Mr. WADE. He is more reliable than Hudkins but I know absolutely
nothing about that. Like I say, I have heard rumors and conversation
and I will even put it further, I don't think Alexander knows anything
about it, my assistant, although he doesn't fully admit all that. I
think he would like to talk a little about it but I don't think he
knows anything of his own knowledge.
Mr. RANKIN. Have you inquired of him?
Mr. WADE. I have asked him about it and he gives me nothing in the way
of evidence.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you prepare the complaint in regard to Jack Ruby
yourself?
Mr. WADE. I don't believe I did. I don't believe I had anything to do
with it. If I did, my name will show on it but I don't think I had
anything to do with it.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you give any information to the press about what you
had in regard to that prosecution, and the nature of the evidence?
Mr. WADE. No; not that I know of. Of course, they all saw it on
television, you know. We have got in--to bring you through the whole
story, I said practically nothing about this thing for about 3 weeks or
a month, but we had a lawyer on the other side who came into town and
every time he was met at the airport he would make statements.
Mr. RANKIN. Who was that?
Mr. WADE. Mr. Melvin Belli, and he had his psychiatrist on the
television, all his witnesses, said what he was going to prove and it
got to a situation where I had to do a little talking in self-defense,
and so we did later on have some statements more or less in answer to
his. It was entirely too much trying of that in the newspapers but a
situation where we couldn't let his psychiatrist go on there and prove
he had been insane on the jury without at least our saying we had some
evidence that he was sane.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you have anything to do with the preparation of the
case for trial?
Mr. WADE. Yes, to some extent. You see I had four assistants to assist
me in the trial.
Mr. RANKIN. Who were they?
Mr. WADE. Jim Bowie, Frank Watt, and Bill Alexander. I read most of the
reports on it. I mean I had most of what I did was read things on it
because my main job in the trial as we started out was for me to pick
the jury, which I did, I think I have some ability along that line, and
do a great deal of the cross examination and the final argument. That
is what I do in the cases I participate in usually.
Mr. RANKIN. Yes.
Mr. WADE. Alexander spent the 2 weeks we were picking a jury in viewing
the witnesses. I never talked to any of the witnesses. After the
first half a day of testimony I was very disappointed in the way the
witnesses were being put on the stand; if this is of interest to you.
Mr. RANKIN. Tell us what happened.
Mr WADE. I told him, I said, on this case we are going on this theory,
I want everybody who saw Ruby from the time of the assassination of
President Kennedy down to the time he killed Oswald, I want to prove
where he was every minute of the time that I can and then we will take
it from there and put the films on there and show what happened there
and then afterward. We are going on the theory that he is a glory
seeker and a hero because I was convinced that was the motive of the
killing.
I put on seven witnesses, and about six of them testified against us, I
think, or made poor witnesses saying if they saw him down in the Dallas
News where he was 2 minutes in a stare that never made any sense.
Some of them said they thought there was something wrong with him and
none of them were the type of witnesses that I wanted testifying for
the State.
Mr. RANKIN. Who were they?
Mr. WADE. Well, you can check the first seven witnesses in the case.
You had three from the Dallas News who testified, and so during that
noon hour, I was convinced, whether right or wrong that Alexander had
been more interested in talking to the press.
In my office our biggest problem was keeping the press out of the
office, and so I just would have to bar them from my office, I mean
personal property. He wouldn't do it. He liked to talk to them.
So, I said, "Get all these witnesses in during the noon hour and let me
talk to them."
I put all the witnesses on the next morning. I talked to all the
officers, I talked to Officers Dean, McMillon, Archer, King never had
talked with them about the case before and I talked with them then and
I put all of them on next morning.
Mr. RANKIN. Tell us what starting with--which one did you talk to
first, Archer, Dean, or McMillon.
Mr. WADE. I think I talked to all of them at first in a body. I talked
to----
Mr. RANKIN. I see.
Mr. WADE. I had them all in there and said "Now what do you know about
the case?" because a lot of them I didn't know what they knew.
Mr. RANKIN. What did they say?
Mr. WADE. As a matter of fact, I wasn't familiar with Dean's testimony
until he told me right there a day before he testified. Then he showed
me the memorandum that he had made on the thing. I talked with him
there and I put Archer on the next morning and McMillon on, who stayed
all day. They cross-examined him from 11:30 until 5:30. Then I put King
on, and then Dean, I believe the next morning, and we rested. But they
told me just what they testified to in the trial which I don't know
whether I can give all of it but I can tell you roughly that McMillon
and Archer were partners and heard Ruby say some things, "I hope I
killed the sonofabitch."
Mr. RANKIN. When?
Mr. WADE. Within about a few seconds after the killing and then
upstairs then, "I meant to shoot three times but you all got me before
I did."
Incidentally, you may not know it but their psychiatrist corroborated
that statement.
Mr. RANKIN. Who was that?
Mr. WADE. Dr. Guttmacher on cross-examination. We asked Dr. Guttmacher,
"Well, didn't Ruby tell you that he meant to shoot three times?"