Mr. DULLES. Could we have some indication of what that letter is, for
the record.
The CHAIRMAN. Referring back to Exhibit No. 912, where I was acting
apparently under some misapprehension I read the first three lines and
it said "Nov. 3, 1959. I, Lee Harvey Oswald, do hereby request that my
present United States citizenship be revoked." Well, that is consistent
with what was said.
Representative FORD. I think that is a pretty categorical statement.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes; it is.
Representative FORD. He subsequently, in Exhibit No. 912, makes a
protest about the fact that he was not accorded that right previously.
But I don't see how we could come to any other conclusion but the first
three lines are a specific request for the right to revoke his American
citizenship.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes; but I had misread that first sentence, and I had
asked if it wasn't a revocation of his original request. I was in error
when I said that. You are correct, absolutely, on your interpretation
of it.
Mr. COLEMAN. As a result of receiving Commission Exhibit No. 912, you
wrote Mr. Oswald a letter which has been--a copy of which has been
marked and identified as Commission Exhibit No. 919, is that correct?
Mr. SNYDER. Yes, sir.
Mr. COLEMAN. Earlier in your testimony, when asked about what a citizen
has to do to renounce his citizenship, you referred to section 349(a)
(6).
I would like to call your attention to the fact there is also another
provision--section 349(a) (2)--which provides that an American citizen
shall lose his nationality by "taking an oath or making an affirmation
or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state or a
political subdivision thereof."
Did you consider whether the Oswald letter, marked as Commission
Exhibit No. 912, was such an affirmation or other formal declaration?
Mr. SNYDER. There is a considerable body of law, I believe,
interpreting this provision of law as to what constitutes an
affirmation or other formal declaration. I believe that I was quite
aware at the time that a mere statement did not constitute a formal
declaration within the meaning of the law.