Warren Commission (05 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (05 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
As to the interviews we had with him in which he gave us some
information, some of it was not the truth, but this was not
particularly significant. The interviews we had with him I would not
term as talking with an informant. He was interviewed while under
arrest by the New Orleans police, and then after he had committed this
act of assassination we interviewed him in police headquarters in
Dallas. But they were the only contacts we had, I think four contacts
altogether, and he received no money of any kind, no promise of any
kind, and there was no indication that he was rendering assistance
to the U.S. Government. We looked upon him as a criminal after the
assassination, of course, and prior to that time we looked upon him
as an individual who we suspected might become an agent of the Soviet
government. There was no proof of that, and we checked him carefully.
We knew of his contact with the Soviet Embassy here at Washington, his
contact with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New York, and his
contact with the Worker publication in New York. And none of those
contacts gave any indication of any tendency to commit violence.
There are many people who read the Daily Worker, or what is now the
Worker, and you certainly can't brand them as hazards to the security
of the country or as potential assassins. It is in that area that I
am particularly concerned that we don't become hysterical and go too
far in restricting the citizens of our country from exercising their
civil and constitutional rights. The mere fact a person disagrees with
you in a matter on communism doesn't mean he should be arrested. Many
Communists make very violent speeches, and we know them, but I don't
feel that the time has come that they should be arrested. If they have
violated the laws of the United States, we will, then, proceed with
prosecution, and the cases can then go through the courts. Such cases
last for years before they get to the Supreme Court, and even then such
cases often start over on some legal angle. But, all in all, I think
that the enforcement of security and the enforcement of laws dealing
with subversion ought to be handled in the American manner.
I am criticized by the extreme right for that. They put me in the
category, I guess, along with General Eisenhower. But the extreme
left criticizes me, saying I believe that any person who has on a
red necktie may be addicted to communism, and, therefore, is a great
danger. That is why I say the extremists at both ends are bad, and I
have repeated that several times publicly.
Representative BOGGS. No doubt about the problem being a difficult one.
I remember some years back when these fanatics started shooting up the
House of Representatives.
Mr. HOOVER. I recall that.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account