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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. V - Page 31« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Alan H. Belmont)

Mr. Dulles.
I believe, Mr. Belmont, that you probably have furnished us already with information with regard to any contacts that Oswald might have had, individuals whom he knew, persons who might have been accused of being accomplices of his, but if there is anybody there or any persons in your file whom Oswald knew who have not been communicated to us, we would certainly like to have them to be sure we have looked into that field exhaustively, anybody who, according to your records, Oswald knew.
Mr. Belmont.
I am sure we have explored that fully, and we have reported it to the Commission fully.
Mr. Dulles.
All right; good.
Mr. Belmont.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Dulles.
In view of your deep study of the case, have you reached any views of your own or are there any views of the Bureau, as to Oswald's motivation in the act that he committed?
Mr. Belmont.
Again I don't feel competent to give you an answer. There is an indication from the exploration of his background that he wanted to be somebody. He wanted to be known as someone. Whether this caused him to do this terrible thing I don't know. I think if it were possible to peer into Oswald's mind, that would really be the only way you could get your question answered.
Mr. Dulles.
Have you and the Bureau made any comparative study of the various assassination attempts and assassinations of other Presidents and people in high authority in this Government to see whether any pattern at all runs through these various attempts other than attempts where there is clearly a plot, as in the case of the attack on President Truman, and probably also in the case of President Lincoln? I am thinking chiefly of the assassination of President McKinley and the attempted assassination of President-elect Roosevelt in 1933.
Mr. Belmont.
No, sir; we have not made a study of that nature. I would imagine that Secret Service has made a study.
Mr. Dulles.
They have made a study. I didn't know whether you had made one also.
Mr. Belmont.
No, sir; we have not.
Mr. Dulles.
That is all I have, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman.
Mr. Belmont, I have here in my hand a sheet that appeared on the newsstands over the weekend. It is supposed to be the National Enquirer. I believe it is out of New York, and it contains a page and a third about the assassination of the President and certain actions of the FBI, and so forth, and for the record I should like to read a portion of it and merely ask you if, in your opinion ----
Mr. Belmont.
All right, sir.
The Chairman.
And with your knowledge there is any truth to any part of it. You, of course, are acquainted with that paper.
Mr. Belmont.
No, sir; I am not. In fact, someone told me it was, it came from, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and I was shocked that something like that would be in that paper. I found it was not the Philadelphia Inquirer.
(Discussion off the record.)
The Chairman.
I think, in view of the relationship you have had in this whole matter, I would like to have your testimony in the record on it.
Mr. Belmont.
Very good, sir.
The Chairman.
There is no date on this paper, and I am told it appeared in three different days in three different formats with different headlines, but the same item. It is said to be by John Henshaw, Enquirer Washington Bureau Chief.
"Washington--The hottest story making the rounds here is that the U.S. Justice Department prevented the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby BEFORE the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Oswald and the man who killed him, Ruby, were suspected of being partners in crime 7 months before the President's

death.
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