(Members present at this point: Chief Justice Earl Warren.)
The CHAIRMAN. The Commission will come to order.
Chief, it is our procedure to read a little statement as to the purpose
of the meeting, for the benefit of the witness.
Chief Rowley will be asked to testify with respect to the protective
measures taken by the Secret Service in Dallas, changes in such
measures made as a result of the Dallas experience, and with regard to
the investigation of the assassination and any information he may have
respecting the assassination of the President.
Would you raise your right hand and be sworn?
You solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give before the
Commission will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
Mr. ROWLEY. I do.
The CHAIRMAN. Will you be seated, please. Mr. Rankin will conduct the
examination.
Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Chief Justice, before starting the examination, I would
like to make a brief statement for your benefit and for the benefit of
the Commission, of the problems that are probably going to develop in
this area with regard to the security of the country, and a suggestion
about how we might handle them as we proceed with the witness.
I have suggested to Chief Rowley that as he moves along in his
testimony he might have various matters that he would think should
not be on the record because of the security of the country, and
if he would just suggest that, when he came to that point, and say
specifically that it did involve the security of the country, then
we would proceed to go off the record, if it was satisfactory to the
Commission, and consider those questions off the record. And then
return to the record as soon as we had completed those security matters.
Would that be satisfactory?
The CHAIRMAN. I think that is an appropriate way to proceed.
Mr. RANKIN. Chief Rowley, will you state your name and address for the
record, please?
Mr. ROWLEY. James J. Rowley, 3501 Rittenhouse Street NW., Washington,
D.C.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you have an official position with the Government?
Mr. ROWLEY. I have, as Chief of the U.S. Secret Service.
Mr. RANKIN. How long have you occupied that position?
Mr. ROWLEY. Since September 1, 1961.
Mr. RANKIN. What is the nature of the duties of that position?
Mr. ROWLEY. The nature of the duties is the general overall supervision
of the activities of the Secret Service.
Mr. RANKIN. And, in a general way, what is the official responsibility
under the statutes of the United States of the Secret Service?
Mr. ROWLEY. Well, we are responsible under title 18, section 3056,
to investigate all violations that affect the currency, securities,
and coinage of the United States. That involves Government bonds,
Government checks, and such other functions and duties as are
authorized by law, subject to the direction of the Secretary of the
Treasury.
In addition, we have the responsibility of the protection of the
President, members of his immediate family, the Vice President,
President-elect, Vice President-elect, and the former President for a
reasonable period of time as he leaves office.
Mr. RANKIN. Will you please tell us what experience you had with the
Secret Service prior to the time that you became chief.
Mr. ROWLEY. I was in charge of the White House detail from 1946 to 1961.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, will you tell us briefly the training that you had in
regard to Government Service?
Mr. ROWLEY. I first entered the Government as a member of the FBI
in 1937, and spent a year with the FBI, after which I went back to
New York for a period of 9 months. I entered the Secret Service on
September 12, 1938. I spent time in criminal investigation in the New
York City office, and the Utica office of Secret Service and in April
of 1939, I was assigned to Washington, eventually to the White House
detail.
(At this point, Mr. Dulles entered the hearing room.)
Mr. ROWLEY. I served as a member of the White House detail, as an agent
on a shift, as an assistant agent in charge, agent in charge of the
shift, and advance man, in preparing for Presidential visits, both
domestically and abroad.
Mr. RANKIN. What educational training did you have?
Mr. ROWLEY. I had 2 years of college toward a B.S., then I was
graduated from law school, and secured a master's degree in law.
Mr. RANKIN. Was one of the duties of your position as chief of the
Service to have general supervision over the trip of President Kennedy
and Vice President Johnson to Dallas around November 22, 1963?
Mr. ROWLEY. Well, that would be part of my job--the general supervision
of the trip. The actual direct supervision would have been under the
jurisdiction of Mr. Behn, who was in charge of the White House detail.
Mr. RANKIN. Could you describe briefly the nature of Mr. Behn's
responsibilities in that work?
Mr. ROWLEY. Well, it would have been, as mine was in the period I was
there, that he was responsible for developing all arrangements with
the members of the White House staff, designating the members of the
detail to develop advance work, assigning agents to the various shifts,
directing their training as it applied to the White House detail,
and participating in any event that he thought would be necessary in
connection with his work at the White House.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you become familiar with what did happen on that trip,
in your position as chief?
Mr. ROWLEY. Yes; I was first informed while addressing a graduating
class of our Secret Service school on that day. I was summoned by Mr.
Behn to the White House, at which time he told me that the President
had been shot. He was then at the hospital, and subsequently we were
notified that the President had died; that the Vice President would
take the oath of office in the airplane at Love Field.
In the meantime, I asked my deputy, who was in his office while I
was at the White House, to arrange with the Immigration Service to
close the border, Texas being in close proximity to the border. There
might have been a conspiracy or something, we didn't want to take
any chances. And then I immediately dispatched an inspector from my
staff to the Capitol to protect the Speaker, and directed the other
activities as we got the information from Dallas.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you learn in connection with the trip when the
assassination occurred that certain of the Secret Service agents had
been in the press club and what is called the Cellar, at Fort Worth,
the night before?
Mr. ROWLEY. Well, that came to my attention through a broadcast that
Mr. Pearson made, that the agents were inebriated the night before at
the Fort Worth Press Club. I immediately dispatched Inspector McCann to
Fort Worth to investigate the report, and to interview the agents.
Mr. RANKIN. What did you learn?
Mr. ROWLEY. I learned that there were nine agents involved at the Press
Club. And I might say this--the agents on duty throughout that day
had no opportunity to eat. When they arrived at Fort Worth, they were
informed that there was a buffet to be served at the Fort Worth Club.
This is what I ascertained in personal interviews. Upon going over
there, they learned there was no buffet, and some of them stayed for
a drink. Three, I think, had one Scotch, and others had two or three
beers. They were in and out--from the time they arrived, I would say
roughly around 12:30, until the place closed at 2 o'clock.
Now, after that some of them went to the Cellar. This is a place that
does not serve alcoholic beverages. They went there primarily, I think,
out of curiosity, because this was some kind of a beatnik place where
someone gets up and recites, or plays the guitar.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you learn whether or not there were any violations of
the regulations of the Secret Service by these men?
Mr. ROWLEY. Yes; there was a violation. At that time there was a
section in our manual in effect that said that during----
Mr. RANKIN. Will you give us first the number?
Mr. ROWLEY. Section 10.
Mr. RANKIN. Is that chapter 1, page 7?
Mr. ROWLEY. Chapter 1, page 7; yes, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, will you tell the Commission about what the regulation
was?
Mr. ROWLEY. "The use of liquor. Employees are strictly enjoined to
refrain from the use of intoxicating liquor during the hours they are
officially employed at their post of duty or when they may reasonably
expect that they may be called upon to perform an official duty."
The one that applies here--"However, all members of the White House
detail and special agents cooperating with them on presidential and
similar protective assignments are considered to be subject to call for
official duty at any time while in travel status. Therefore, the use of
intoxicating liquor of any kind, including beer and wine, by members
of the White House detail and special agents cooperating with them or
by special agents on similar assignments, while they are in a travel
status, is prohibited."
Mr. RANKIN. Can you tell the Commission how many men were involved in
these trips to the Press Club and the Cellar, where these things were
done?
Mr. ROWLEY. There were 9 men involved at the Press Club, and there were
10 men involved at the Cellar.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, how many men, of those 10 men, were in the
Presidential motorcade on the day of the assassination?
Mr. ROWLEY. Four--four men were in the followup car.
The CHAIRMAN. Who were they?
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know their names?
Mr. ROWLEY. Yes; Landis, Hill, Ready, and Bennett.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you make any investigation to determine whether or not
their violation of the Secret Service regulations had anything to do
with the assassination of the President?
Mr. ROWLEY. Yes. They performed their duties from the time they
departed in the followup car from Love Field until the point of the
tragedy in a most satisfactory manner. There was nothing deficient in
their actions or their alertness. They went through the heaviest part
of downtown Dallas, through the crowds, and performed in an exemplary
manner.
Mr. RANKIN. How do you know that?
Mr. ROWLEY. From the reports that I got from their superiors.
Mr. RANKIN. In the work that you did with the White House detail before
you became Chief of the Secret Service, did you know the various
responsibilities of the members of the White House detail?
Mr. ROWLEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ever participate in such motorcades yourself?
Mr. ROWLEY. I have; yes, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. How much?
Mr. ROWLEY. Well, I have participated, in rough numbers, over a period
of 22 years--roughly, maybe, a thousand or more.
Mr. RANKIN. Will you briefly describe the functions of the Secret
Service agents in connection with the President's car?
The CHAIRMAN. Have you finished this other matter?