Now, we do have what we have considered our responsibility, to furnish to Secret Service any indication of a threat to the President, and that we have done religiously. After the assassination the President ordered us into an investigation of the assassination which changed the picture as far as this particular case was concerned. Mr. DULLES. You mean President Johnson, immediately after the assassination? Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir. Mr. DULLES. And there was a period there, there was a period though, after the assassination and before President Johnson took the oath of office--did this order come to you during that period or after he had taken the oath of office? Mr. BELMONT. It was very rapid, probably within a day. Mr. DULLES. I see. It wasn't immediately after. Mr. BELMONT. No. Mr. DULLES. It wasn't this period I am speaking of. Mr. BELMONT. You see, Mr. Dulles, the Federal Government still has no jurisdiction over the assassination of the President. That was a murder and was within the province of the local police who immediately took hold of it and started the investigation. Mr. DULLES. I realize that. Mr. BELMONT. And started the investigation and it was theirs. Mr. DULLES. You were only in there by courtesy. What you did was by courtesy of the local authorities. Mr. BELMONT. Yes, sir; we went to the Dallas Police Department and immediately went into action because of what had happened, and there was no time for us to stand on priorities. But we felt we should be of the utmost assistance, and we sent men to the police department to assist in the interview and do anything else we could. This wasn't a time, of course, to sit back and say, "This isn't our job." Mr. DULLES. I understand. Mr. BELMONT. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Belmont, just one question. Do you know of any legislation in recent years that might have been introduced in the Congress to make an attack upon the President a Federal offense? Mr. BELMONT. I do know that there is legislation presently pending. The CHAIRMAN. Since the assassination? Mr. BELMONT. Since the assassination. The CHAIRMAN. Yes. But had it been considered in recent years? I know it had at the time of other assassinations, but so far as you know were there any recent legislation to that effect? Mr. BELMONT. Mr. Chairman, I must plead ignorance. I haven't done research on it, and I just don't know. The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Well, we can find that out very easily. Representative FORD. Mr. Chairman, just the other day in the House of Representatives a bill was approved giving Federal officials the right to take certain action when a chief of state from a foreign country was within the United States; a broadening of their authority when they had a suspicion or they had some reason to believe that an attack was being made on a foreign dignitary.