Warren Commission (02 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (02 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. RANKIN. What do you base your statement on that the car stopped,
the President's limousine?
Mr. LANE. The statement made by various witnesses, including Mr.
Chaney, a motorcycle policeman, Miss Woodward, who was one of the
closest witnesses to the President at the time that he was shot, and
others. I think that is the--I haven't documented that beyond that,
because that seemed to be so generally conceded by almost everyone,
that the automobile came to--almost came to a complete halt after the
first shot--did not quite stop, but almost did. And, of course, you
have the films, I assume, of the assassination and know more about that
than I do, certainly.
Now, in reference to the rifle, there is on file--I assume that you
have it or copies of it--in the Dallas district attorney's office or
the police office in Dallas, an affidavit sworn to by Officer Weitzman,
in which he indicates that he discovered the rifle on the sixth floor
of the Book Depository Building at, I believe, 1:22 p.m., on November
22, 1963.
Now, in this affidavit, Officer Weitzman swore that the murder
weapon--that the weapon which he found on the sixth floor was a
7.65 Mauser, which he then went on to describe in some detail, with
reference to the color of the strap, et cetera.
Now, the prosecuting attorney, of course, took exactly the same
position, and for hours insisted that the rifle discovered on the sixth
floor was a German Mauser, adding the nationality. A German Mauser is
nothing at all like an Italian carbine. I think almost any rifle expert
will indicate that that is so.
I have been informed that almost every Mauser--and I am not able to
document this, unfortunately, but I am sure that you have easy access
to rifle experts--that almost every German Mauser has stamped upon it
the caliber, as does almost every Italian carbine.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know the difference between the two?
Mr. LANE. Do I know the difference?
Mr. RANKIN. Yes.
Mr. LANE. I know the difference between an Army M-l and an American
carbine--those are the only two weapons I fired--during the war. No, I
don't know anything about rifles, other than those two rifles, which I
used at one time.
I think it is most interesting to note that when Oswald was arrested
we were informed immediately that he had an alias--his last name was
Lee in that alias--as well as a great deal of material about his
political background and activities on behalf of the Fair Play for Cuba
Committee, and his defection to the Soviet Union, et cetera. But the
alias was raised immediately.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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