Miss KNIGHT. This one looks as though it was initialed by me because it
has the type of a "K" that I make.
Mr. COLEMAN. That document indicates that it was prepared by Miss B.
Waterman, is that correct?
Miss KNIGHT. There is no indication here, sir. It was prepared in the
foreign division of the Passport Office, but there is no indication on
this communication as to the individual who prepared it.
Mr. COLEMAN. Would you be kind enough to read what is on the memorandum
into the record, please?
Miss KNIGHT. Yes, sir; the memorandum is addressed to "SY," Mr. William
O. Boswell from PPT--Frances G. Knight, subject "Lee Harvey Oswald."
"We refer to the Office Memorandum of July 27, 1961, from SY which
stated that the subject 'renounced United States citizenship'. Mr.
Oswald attempted to renounce United States citizenship but did not,
in fact, renounce United States citizenship. Our determination on the
basis of the information and evidence presently of record is that Mr.
Oswald did not expatriate himself, and remains a citizen of the United
States."
The blue file copy would indicate who prepared this memorandum in the
Passport Office and who signed it.
Mr. COLEMAN. Do you have the file copy?
Miss KNIGHT. I don't think we have it with us, do we? [Note: The file
copy was shown to Miss Knight.] The memorandum was prepared by Mr. H.
F. Kupiec, who is in the Foreign Operations Division of the Passport
Office. It was signed for me by Mr. Hickey, who is the deputy.
Mr. COLEMAN. You have no independent recollection of ever having seen
that document prior to the assassination?
Miss KNIGHT. No, sir.
Mr. COLEMAN. Did you ever participate or make any decision as to
whether Lee Harvey Oswald lost his citizenship?
Miss KNIGHT. No.
Mr. COLEMAN. In 1959?
Miss KNIGHT. No.
Mr. COLEMAN. Did you ever make any personal decision or participate in
any decision as to whether he should be reissued a passport in July
1961?
Miss KNIGHT. No.
Mr. COLEMAN. I, therefore, take it you personally had nothing or you
can't recall anything that you had to do with Lee Harvey Oswald up to
the time of the assassination?
Miss KNIGHT. No; I had nothing to do with the papers that were involved
at that time.
Mr. COLEMAN. But the decision that he had not renounced his citizenship
was made in your department?
Miss KNIGHT. It was made in the Passport Office by the citizenship
lawyers. The two persons who were primarily involved were members of
the staff, of long-standing service and with a great deal of experience
in citizenship law and in expatriation.
Mr. COLEMAN. Could you state the names, their names for the record?
Miss KNIGHT. Yes; Miss Bernice Waterman, and Mr. John T. White.
Both of those employees have now retired from the Passport Office.
Mr. COLEMAN. You said both were lawyers?
Miss KNIGHT. Miss Waterman was not a lawyer but she worked directly
under Mr. John T. White who was a lawyer in charge of the Foreign
Operations Division.
Mr. COLEMAN. Well, since the assassination of President Kennedy, have
you had occasion to review the passport file.
Miss KNIGHT. Well, the first time that I actually had an opportunity to
look through the passport file was last Saturday.
Mr. COLEMAN. Did you get a chance to read each document in the file?
Miss KNIGHT. I read through the file; yes.
Mr. COLEMAN. Did you have occasion to form any judgment whether based
upon the information that was in the file you would have reached the
same decision as Waterman and White did with respect to Oswald?
Miss KNIGHT. Yes; I certainly did. From that standpoint, I did go
through the papers carefully. I am convinced that insofar as any
expatriative act is concerned that we made the only decision that we
could. The same decision was reached by the consul who interviewed Mr.
Oswald in Moscow, at the Embassy, and I think, with all the facts on
record, we had to come to the conclusion that Oswald did not perform
any expatriative act.
(At this point, the Chief Justice left the hearing room.)
Miss KNIGHT (continuing). May I ask one question, please?
Mr. COLEMAN. Yes.
Miss KNIGHT. I have a statement here, some notes that I prepared this
morning which are based on the information I read in the file. These
are some comments I would make and I think they may be helpful to you.
Could I refer to them or possibly read them to you?
Would that be all right?
Mr. COLEMAN. That would be fine.