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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. V - Page 128« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Richard M. Helms)

Mr. Rankin.
Mr. McCone, when you said that supplying all of the information about U.S. citizens who went abroad and came back to the country would not be a profitable exercise, did that comment include the thought that such an intrusion upon all citizens would be questionable?
Mr. Mccone.
Such an intrusion?
Mr. Rankin.
Upon their right to travel.
Mr. Mccone.
Well, I think this would have a bearing on it. I did not have that particular matter in mind when I made that statement, however. I was just thinking of the----
Mr. Rankin.
Burden?
Mr. Mccone.
Of the burden of vast numbers involved.
Mr. Rankin.
Do you have any thought in regard to whether it would be an intrusion upon their rights?
Mr. Mccone.
Well, that would be a matter of how it was handled. Certainly, if it was handled in a way that the counterpart of providing the information was to impose restrictions on them, then it would be an intrusion on their rights.
Mr. Rankin.
Yes.
Senator COOPER. May I inquire?
The Chairman.
Senator Cooper.
Senator COOPER. I missed the first part of Mr. McCone's testimony; I went to answer a quorum call. Perhaps the question has been asked. It has been brought into evidence that a number of people in the Embassy talked to Oswald when he first defected and the various communications with the Embassy and, of course, when he left to come back to the United States. Have we been able to ascertain the names of officials in the Embassy or employees with whom Oswald talked on these various occasions?
Mr. Mccone.
I am not familiar with them; no.
Mr. Helms.
Neither am I, sir.
Mr. Mccone.
I presume that the Department's inquires have covered it.
Senator COOPER Is it possible to ascertain the names of those employees?
Mr. Rankin.
Senator Cooper, I can answer that. We have inquired of the State Department for that information, and are in the process of obtaining it all.
Senator COOPER Taking into consideration your answers to the previous question, would it have been possible in your judgment to have secured more comprehensive information about the activities of Oswald in Russia?
Mr. Mccone.
It would not have been possible for the Central Intelligence Agency to have secured such information because we do not have the resources to gain such information.
The Chairman.
Anything more? Congressman Ford?
Representative Ford.
Did the Central Intelligence Agency investigate any aspects of Oswald's trip to Mexico?
Mr. Mccone.
Yes; we did.
Representative Ford.
Can you give us any information on that?
Mr. Mccone.
Yes; we were aware that Oswald did make a trip to Mexico City and it was our judgment that he was there in the interest of insuring transit privileges and that he made contact with the Cuban Embassy while he was there.
We do not know the precise results of his effort, but we assumed, because he returned to the United States, he was unsuccessful. We have examined to every extent we can and using all resources available to us every aspect of his activity and we could not verify that he was there for any other purpose or that his trip to Mexico was in any way related to his later action in assassinating President Kennedy.
Representative Ford.
Did the Central Intelligence Agency make any investigation of any alleged connection between Oswald and the Castro government?
Mr. Mccone.
Yes; we investigated that in considerable detail, because information came to us through a third party that he had carried on a rather odd discussion with Cuban officials in the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City. The allegation was that he had received under rather odd circumstances a substantial amount of money in the Cuban Embassy, and the statement was made by one who claimed to have seen this transaction take place. After a very thorough
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