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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. V - Page 617« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald Resumed)

Mr. Rankin.
Did your husband say anything about when he learned that he might be able to stay in Russia, how he learned it?
*Mrs. OSWALD. No; he did not. He, Lee, took part in radio broadcasts, propaganda in favor of the Soviet Union, which he felt helped him to get permission to stay in the Soviet Union.
Mr. Rankin.
Did he say when he did that?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. That was before my time.
Mr. Rankin.
How did you learn about it?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. He told me about it. Lee told me that the Soviet Union offered him Soviet citizenship, but he turned it down. He told me that he turned it down. At the same time, other developments as I recall, left the impression with me that he actually wanted to become a Soviet citizen, but I didn't connect the two. There is a discrepancy between the two, but at the time, I couldn't reconcile these apparent differences in what he said.
Mr. Rankin.
You know he told the reporters that he talked to in Moscow in November, that the Government was going to let him stay, but his diary says he didn't get that word until January the 4th of the following year. Now, do you know anything about that, how that happened?
Mrs. Oswald.
1960?
Mr. Rankin.
1959 in November is when he told the reporters, and it was January 4, 1960, that he actually put it in his diary that he had the first learning of it?*
Mrs. Oswald.
That they would let him stay in the Soviet Union?
Mr. Rankin.
Yes.
Mrs. Oswald.
Newspaper reporters?
Mr. Rankin.
Yes; newspaper reporters--Miss Johnson and Miss Mosby.*
*Mrs. OSWALD. He made the entry into his diary, I think, at a later date, and they may not be correct or precise-- just one.
Mr. Gregory.
I think she's a little tired. She's saying many words, but I can't connect them. She says, "To be brief, I don't believe I know."
Mr. Rankin.
We will soon be through, Mrs. Oswald. There are just a few more questions.*
When your husband said that he had spoken over the radio and he thought that helped him, did he tell you what he said over the radio? **
Mrs. Oswald.
He spoke over the radio of how everything--how wonderful everything was in the Soviet Union, or what he thought they liked to hear.
Mr. Rankin.
And did you understand that he spoke that in Moscow while he was there?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. Yes; while he was in Moscow.
Mr. Rankin.
That was during the period after he had first come to the country and before he came to Minsk, is that right?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Mr. Rankin.
Now, do you recall any more than you have told us about the time you had the interview with the MVD about your visa--what they said to you and what you said to them?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. First of all, Colonel Aksenov asked me why I wanted to go to America, "Is it so bad here that you want to leave?" And I replied that I wanted to go to America with my husband and that I believe that I have that right.
Mr. Rankin.
What did they say to that?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. Then he said, "You will simply have to wait because you are not the only one who wants to leave. You will have to wait your turn."
Mr. Rankin.
Do you recall anything else that was said at that time?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. At that time I was pregnant and Colonel Aksenov suggested that may be it would be better for me to wait until the baby came.
Mr. Rankin.
What did you say to that?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. I told him that I would prefer to leave as soon as possible.
Mr. Rankin.
Is that all you remember of the conversation?*
Mrs. Oswald.
Nothing of importance.
Mr. Rankin.
Where did this conversation occur?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. In the MVD building in Minsk.
Mr. Rankin.
And who was present besides you and Colonel Aksenov?*
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