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
Representative BOGGS. I happened to be there on the occasion and there
were many suggestions that we build a bulletproof glass enclosure
around the Members of Congress and so on. Of course, all of us
rejected those ideas because it would be totally incompatible with our
democratic institutions and this, obviously, becomes a problem in the
security of the President; that is what you are telling us, isn't it?
Mr. HOOVER. That is the great problem. We have participated in the
protection of the President since the assassination. The Secret
Service indicates how many agents it needs when the President is
traveling somewhere or going somewhere in Washington, and then I assign
that number of agents to the Secret Service. They are not under my
direction. They are under the direction of the Secret Service because
under law they are charged with the protection of the President. We
have never done that before, but I felt that it was something we must
do if the Secret Service desired it. Sometimes, such as at the funeral
of the late President Kennedy, the procession walked up Connecticut
Avenue, which created a very, very grave security problem because they
were walking with these tall building on either side. As I recall,
we had the responsibility for the Cathedral, and we had 43 agents in
the Cathedral during the services. I was more concerned about these
tall buildings, because all the small buildings have been torn down
along Connecticut Avenue, and there were about six or seven blocks to
walk. Not only the high officials of this Government, including the
President, but the Queen of Greece, General de Gaulle, Emperor Haile
Selassie, and many Prime Ministers were present. They were a perfect
target for someone in some window.
Now, you can't empty these buildings. It is impossible to do that,
because you can't go to the Mayflower Hotel and say all front rooms
must be vacated. Other office buildings are there, even taller than
the Mayflower, and you can't make them keep everybody out of the front
offices because then you get into a police state.
The Secret Service does try to check to find out who have these various
offices. We also check so if there is anything in our files on those
individuals the Secret Service is at once advised. When the President
goes to a banquet or a social occasion, all of the employees in the
hotel, the cooks, waiters, and busboys, and so forth, are all checked
by Secret Service to be certain there is no one with a background
that would indicate a hazard to the President. But that is as far as
I think you can go. You can't put in a whole new staff of waiters and
you can't make people move out. People going to a Presidential function
are generally invited by card or by list, and that is very carefully
checked at the entrance by the Secret Service.
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