FENSTERWALD CIVIL ACTION/LIST B/DOCUMENTS RELEASED WITH DELETIONS/THREE DOCUMENTS ATTACHED

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Records Related to the Assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00366701
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 23
• Document Creation Date: June 6, 2025
• Document Release Date: June 12, 2025

v4- uff 3.3-"IUU44 CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASE IN FULL v o feeLEASE iN FULL: ir.fg 1188 - 1000 18 September 1975 � Disposition - This document was released with portions deleted. The deleted portions contain information identifying Agency components and Agency staff emiSloyees, as well as Agency internal filing instructions. Also deleted was information confirming the existence of an Agency station in a specific city abroad. The deletions were made under the authority of exemptions (b) (1) (b)(2) and (b) (3) . u rz-4-44,t CaolgagET44) MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, CI Staff') SUBJECT REFERENCE (Ex- /6q32.1) 18SEP 192a, Allegations of Lee Harvey OSWALD's Connection with the Agency Memorandum of Conversation, Dan Rather/Les Midgley and the DCI, Dated 6 September 1975 15On ISAEL-7�,_ 1. The referent memorandum contains two points6.000 which require comments. The first point concerns allegations that were made shortly after �the assassination of President Kennedy and that have crept up every so often since then. In one form or another, the allegations are that Lee Harvey OSWALD had been connected with the Agency, The allegations are totally unfounded. 2. The facts regarding this matter are as follows: a. On 27 November 1963 I was instructed by Ir. R.G.Rocca) my immediate superior at that time, to 'make a thorough check within the Agency at Headquarters to determine whether Lee Harvey OSWALD had ever been used by the Agency or been connected with it in any conceivable way. He ordered me to make the checks directly and personally to the degree possible and not to accept statements of intermediaries. He alsc ex- plained that he was following instructions from Mr. R. Helms, who was then the DDP and served as one of the Agency's key contact officials with the Warren Commission. b. Althou h I had already checked the Main Index of IP (then RID)) on the night of the assassination, I ,echecked the Main Index and found no record beyond �th4L which I had already obtained before (plus those items which had been integrated into the records system since the assassination). There was nothing in the DDO records which indicated any Agency connection with WJWALD. 1W3 ioc.o !704szii-FOrA Retv- law N� V 1976 ECORD:� Uri C. The next component I checked was DCD: There was no record in their Headquarters files. Arrangements were then made for me to check telephonically with each DCD base in the US. The chiefs of the bases then serached their records and spoke with their officers. I was then advised by each of the chiefs or their designees individ- ually that there had been no contact with OSWALD. d. I then checked with(Division D, SE Division) and(LA Division's Cuban Operations Group(COG)for any Informal desk records. The results were like- wise negative. .of the Office Security I had the security p. Through (P the Security Research Sectior) 5RS))T'riles checked. There was no record of OSWALD. f. Although CRS keeps no records on Americansr I checked their Soviet, Mexican, and Cuban holdings on the remote chance that they may have recorded � something on OSWALD. There was no record in those files. g. In my presence the chief of thet Staff's) Administrative Office called the Office o -Personnel and received the word that there was no record on an employee or an applicant for employment named Lee Harvey OSWALD. h. I also checked the Office of Medical Services and found no record on OSWALD. i. Thetovert Action Staff)also found no record on him. j. Finally, I also checked the records of. the CT Staff's Operational Approval Group (Cl/OA)7with legative results. k. My checks were completed on 4 December 1963 and I then sent a brief informal note tor. Rocca) specifying all the checks I had made and stating that the results showed that Lee Harvey OSWALD had never had any connection whatsoever with the Agency. Eventually a statement to this effect was communicated to the Warren Commission. � 3. Similar checks regarding use or employment of OSWALD had been requested by the foreign divisions of their appropriate stations, I was told, and the results were negative. � 4. I recall very clearly that we were extremely concerned at the time that OSWALD, as an American returning from the USSR, might have been routinely debriefed by DCD, thus having established contact with the Agency. The same point has now, quite understandably, been made by the two CBS newsmen. Having some knowledge of this subject I have personally concluded that there is valid reason for DCD's lack of interest in OSWALD at that time. He would surely have been contacted and debriefed by DCD had he been to the USSR and returned to the US before 1957/1958. Travel to the Soviet Union by Westerners, particularly by Americans, before that time was quite uncommon and we were hungry for eyewitness information in those days. The thaw began in about 1956 and by the end of that decade there were so many persons travelling to and from the Soviet Union that DCD was incapable of talk- ing to all of them. Therefore, a program of selectivity and specific target applicability was instituted. In light of the above, it seems to me that OSWALD-- if he came to DCD's attention at all--would have easily seen by-passed, because he simply did not possess the type of information that DCD was seeking at that time. DCD would surely have used its limited manpower on travellers who had had much greater access in the USSR. 5. It should be added that my above-described search in the Agency file holding produced no record or indLoation that any other US Government agency had -used him Cls a source or had considered him for recruitment. � ( ( ' 6. The second point in the referent memorandum concerns the papers that were available at Headquarters on Oswald befofe the day of the assassination. Specif- ically, there were five documents which had been sent to the Agency before the assassination. Two of the documents had been sent to us by the FBI, two by the Department faf State, and one by the US Navy. A 201 file (201-289248)) had been opened on 9 December 1960 on the basis of the receipt of the first of these five documents. The 201 file contained no records that had been originated by any Agency component. The Mexico(CitY)station's reporting of the monitoring of Oswald's activitfes in Mexico had not as yet been .ncluded in the 201 file. The pertinent cables from Mexico(ity)were held at the Mexico branch at Head- quarters, whi-1 e the data contained in them had been disseminated to the FBI upon receipt. The cables were incorporated into the file following the assassination. ,- and were, of course, made available to all concerned, including the Warren Commission. 7. It should be noted that no particularly great urgency was attached to the handling of the records regarding Oswald before the assassination because Oswaldts name had no particular meaning before that fateful. event. . 8. The facts regarding the re6ords we possessed before the assassination as well as the make up of our computerized records system were explained to Chief Justice Warren, members of his Commission, and a group of the Commission's staff members when they visited Headquarters in about March 1964 for the express purpose. of viewing the methods and controls we employed in our records keeping activities. Our 201 file on Oswald was also shown to them at the time. From all I have heard regarding this visit, the visitors were satisfied with our records system and the manner in which we kept our records. . )(PaulHartman - 6 September 197 MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION: Dan Rather and Les Midgley 3 September 1975 Mr. Rather said that CBS is working up a series of programs entitled, "The. Assassinations," dealing with the assassinations of President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Rev. King, and the. attempt On Coy. Wallace. He said they. are particularly concerned that they have the facts about any possible CIA connection with Oswald. He said that it seems also, on its face, incredible that CIA had not had .cime contact with an ex-Marine who worLed in the Soviet. � Onion and returned. He said he realized the difference between an interview with him and making him an agent, but wanted to make sure he had covered all the bets. He referred to the work of Mark Lane in this field and I referred to Dick Gregory's paranoia on the subject of CIA connections with the Kennedy death. We went over a variety of matters, but I essentially firmed it up at the end by saying that CIA had no contact with Oswald either during his Russian period or afterwards, that CIA's only records of Oswald came.from our becoming aware of his visits to embassies in Mexico City, which .information was made available to the Warren Commission, that there is absolutely no basis for a conclusion (and some indications to the contrary). that Howard Hunt visited Mexico at the time Oswald was there, and that the Russian traveler that CIA had interviewed was indeed a different'''. individual than Oswald, despite the coincidence of the dates of his residence in the. Soviet Union. I ended by saying I was prepared to give these Answers under oath, based.on information available within the Agency, although I had no personal knowledge of the matter. I said I could not believe that any additional information would sup-face in the Agency as it had been carefully examined from 1963 on, especially by Mr. Belin in the Rockefeller Commission investigations due to his personal interest in the matter. Mr. Midgley referred to the fact that some additional . information is coming out from the FBI,�and I pointed out that the Rockefeller Commission had not had a charter to look into the FBI. We discussed Allen Dulles's com- ments about whether an intelligence agent could ever be exposed, but we left on the final comment by Mr. Dulles that he believed Mr. Hoover's comments on this matter, which Mr. Rather said he probably would himself at that time. I said that this in no way indicated a desire by Mr. Dulles to conceal any CIA activity. Mr. Rather also said that Mr. Helms had become somewhat agitated over the Garrison allegations, and I said this was easily explained by Mr. Helms' concern that such false allegations be made against CIA. In response to Mr. Rather's question, I said I know of no indication that Mr. Helms' agitation was because Mr. Garrison was revealing information about the Agency which Mr. Helms wanted to remain concealed. With respect to Oswald's one appearance in our records, I explained that CIA might well have shied off from any interview with him if there was an indication of prior FB1 interest. As for the military, I said the Interagency Source Register did not indicate Mr. Oswald was a clandes- tine source and that DCS Joint Debriefing 'Program with the military services from 1953 on would probably have indicated any military debriefing for intelligence purposes, but none appear in our files, so I believed none had been conducted We parted with my assurance that anything else that arose which would cast doubt on my statements would be brought to Mr. Rather's attention. The two gentlemen expressed appreciation for our discussion. COMMENT: From their attitude, I believe there is a chance that the program will indicate that there is no CIA connection with Oswald beyond that noted above. This could make a contribution to knocking down the paranoic belief to the contrary. _Al._'e_1113.1.,11.,_._Uwei. insure that Mr. Rather does learn anything which would cause th-i� silghte-gr-d-ouB-t on the above account befErTe�N-J-TTS The programs in November. Distribution: Orig - DCI 1 -� Review Staff I. DDO 1 - DDA 1 OIG 1 - OLC 1 - OGC 1 - Asst/DCI I. - ER W. E. Colby. Director Eoz-as,y,2/I 190,SEP 4.v.1272. MEMORANDUM FOR: SUBJECT REFERENCE DAllegations of Lee Harvey OSWALD'_ Connection with the Agency_ Memorandum of Conversation, Dan Rather/Les Midgley and the DCI, . Dated 6 September 1975 1. The referent memorandum contains two points which require comments. The first point concerns aDegations.that were made shortly after the assassination � of President Kennedy and that have crept up every so often since t4-.-en-Iii-one-form or _another,.therallegatiops are -- � that Lee-Harvey OSWALD had been connected with the Agency..: The allegations are totally unfounded.. 2. The facts .*e40i11g. t/ifs. rit644k:are&s.f.414cc;7.i _ . a. On 27 November 1963 I was instructed by my immediate superior at that time, to make a thorough check within the Agency at Headquarters to determine whether Lee Harvey OSWALD had ever been used by the Agency or been connected with it in any goaceivable way. ...11a.ordereel Me_to _make the checks directly-and perscnally to the degree possible to statements of intermediaries." He also ex- plained that he was following instructions from Mr. R. Helms, who was then the DDP and served as one of the.. Agency's key contact officials with the Warren Commission. b. Although I had already checked the Main Index on the night of the assassination, I rechecked the Main Index and found no record beyond that which I had already obtained before (plus those items which had been integrated into the records system since the assassination). There was nothing in the DDO record d which indicated any Agency connection with OSWALD. Paocurp-ant.tIkarle.Bg".(000 sPzz FOP, Ravi'ew.ott NOY 1976 iRECORD. COPY ..) c. The next comnonent I checked was DCD. There was no record in their Headquarters files. Arrangements were then made for me to check telephonically with each DCD"base in the US. The chiefs of the bases then serached their records and spoke with their officers. I was then advised by each of the chiefs or their designees individ- ually that there had been no contact with OSWALD. d, I then checked with' Division and for any informal desk records. The results were like- , wise negative. e. -7hrough the , of the Office-of Security I had the security files checked.-. There was no record of_OSWALD.. _ f. Although CRS keeps no.r6cords-onArliericans-,-:- r checked their Soviet, Mexican, and. Cuban holdings on -the remote-:chance that they.. may. have recorded., :-somethin4 on OSWALD.There.was.no-s-record in-thoSe.- � g. In .my presence the chief of Administrative Office called the Office of Personnel and received the word that there was no record on an employee or an applicant for employment named Lee ::---Harvey. OSWALD; � - - � . _ h. I also checked the Office of Medical Services and found no record on OSWALD. i. The, also 'found no record on him. j. Finally, I also checked the records of- the . with negative results. k. My checks were completed on 4 December 1963 and I then sent a brief informal note to .� specifying all the checks I had made and stating that the results showed that Lee Harvey OSWALD had never had any connection whatsoever with the Agency. Eventually a statement to this effect was communicated to the Warren Commission. 3, Similar checks regarding use or employment of OSWALD had been requested by the foreign divisions of their appropriate stations, I was told, and the results were negative. -4. I recall very clearly that we were extremely concerned at the time that OSWALD, as an American returning from the USSR, might have been routinely debriefed by DCD, thus having established contact with the Agency. - The same point has now, quite understandably, been made by the two CBS newsmen. Having sipme-knowledge of this sabjecthave-personailyconcluded,that there is valid.: reaSon:for'TCD's. lack of interest:in-OSWALD at that time.� He would *surely have .been contacted and-debriefed by DCD had he he been to the USSR and returned to the US before .. 1957/1958: Travel to the Soviet Union by:Westerners,- particularly: by Anaricans,�-before-thattime was qu5.te. -:bricoirtmon. and we were hungry. for'eYewitness information in - those days. The thaw began in about 1956 and by the end of that decade there were so many persons travelling to and from the Soviet Union that DCD was incapable of talk- ing to all of them. Therefore, a program of selectivity and specific target applicability was instituted. In Jight of.the above, it_seens to.me that OSWAI2D-- j'.f he . :Came--:"ttPDCU-'s*-attent-ibrfatallwOuTd-taveleaSily been� by-passed, because he simply did not Possess the type of information that DCD was seeking at that time. DCD would surely have used its limited manpower on travellers who had had much greater access in the USSR. 5. It should be added that my above-described search in the Agency file holding produced no record or indication that any other US Government agency had-used him as a source or had considered him for recruitment. ���� 6. The second point in the referent memorandum. concerns the papers that were available at Headquarters on Oswald befol'e the day of the assassination. Specif- ically, there were five documents which had been sent to' the Agency before the assassination. Two of the: documents had been sent to us by the FBI, two by the Department of State, and one by the US Navy. A 201 file had been opened on 9 December 1960 on the basis of the receipt of the first of these five documents: The 201 file contained no records that had been originated by any Agency component. The Mexico. . station's reporting of the monitoring of Oswald's activities in Mexico had not as yet been included in the 201 file. The pertinent cables from Mexico- were held at the' Mexico branch at Head- quarters, while the data contained in them had been . disseminated to the FBI upon receipt. The cables were incorporated into 'the file following the assassination. - and were, of course, made available to all concerned, including.the Warren Commission. " - . � � - . 7. It 'shoUld be noted 'that no particularly. great.�- 'urgency-was -.Attached:to -the. handling...of. the.. records.. regarding Oswald before the assassination because name had-no-particuiar�meaning hefOre.thai'IaiefUl I. 8. The facts regarding the records we possessed , -- before the assassination as well as the make up of our computerized records system were explained to Chief Justice Warren, members of his Commission, and a group of the Commission's staff members when they visited Headquarters in about March 1964 for the express purpose of viewing the methods and controls we employed in our records keeping activities. Our 201 file on Oswald was also shown to them at-phe time, -From_all.I.have heard regarding this. visit,-_ the visitors were. satisfied wii7,1 oiir"-rec systeni-aila : the manner in which we kept our records. 4. 6 September 1975 MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION: Dan Rather and Les Midgley 3 September 1975 � Mr. Rather said that CBS is working up a series of .programs entitled, "The Assassinations," dealing with the assassinations of President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy,, Rev. King, and the attempt on Gov. Wallace. He said they are particularly concerned that they have the facts about any possible CIA connection with Oswald. He said that it seems also, on its face, incredible that CIA had not-had Ome contact with an ex-Marine who worked in the Soviet- Union returned,..HR said.he_realized_theM.ffere71qe �betaeplvan interview with. him an0 making him an. agent but wanted to mike sure he had covered All the bets. He.refeTred:. ---toTthe:::work---of-"Mark -Lane - this: field- and I-referred -to Dick Gregory's paranoia on the subject of CIA connections With the Kennedy death. - � �- � � . � � - � --. :We7Went Over a variety .of firmed it up at the end by saying that CIA had no contact with Oswald either during his Russian period or afterwards, that CIA's only records of Oswald came from our becoming aware of his visits to embassies in Mexico City, which information was made available to the Warren Commission, .,:that there is absolutely, no basis for.a conclusion (and b�dtib� CaTiarY): thb:f.H�ward HuitVisited- Mexico at the time Oswald was there, and that the Russian traveler that CIA had interviewed was indeed a different individual than Oswald, despite the coincidence of the dates of his residence in the Soviet. Union. I ended by saying I was prepared to give these answers under oath, based on information available within the Agency, although I had no personal knowledge of the matter. I said I could not believe that any additional information would sui;-face in the Agency as it had been carefully examined from 1963 on, especially by Mr. Belin in the Rockefeller Commission investigations due to his personal interest in the matter. Mr. Midgley referred to the fact that some additional information is coming out from the FBI, and I pointed out 7 that the Rockefeller Commission had not had a charter . to look into the FBI. We discussed Allen Dulles's com- ments about whether an intelligence agent could ever be exposed, but we left on the final comment by Mr. Dulles that he believed Mr. Hoover's comments on .this matter, which Mr. Rather said he probably would himself at that time. I said that this in no way indicated a desire by P Mr. Dulles to conceal any CIA activity.,. Mr. Rather also said that Mr. Helms had become somewhat agitated over the Garrison allegations, and I said this was easily explained by Mr. Helms' concern that such false allegations be made against CIA. In response to Mr. Rather's question, I said I know of no indication 'that Mr. Helms agitation was because Mr. Garrison was revealing information about the Agency which Mr. Helms Wanted to remain coz.icealed. -� With respect to Oswald's one appearance in our records, I-explained that CIA might well have-shied off-from any . interview with him if there was an indication of prior FBI' -* - -interest.' As for the-military, I 'said the .Interagency. Source Register did not indicate MY. Oswald Was a clandes- tine source and that DCS joint Debriefing -Program with. ...the military services from 1953 on would probably have' '. indicated any military debriefing for intelligence purposes, but none appear in our files, so I believed none had been conducted. We parted with my assurance that anything else that arose which would cast doubt on my statements would be � brought to-Mr. Rather's attention.-: The. two gentlemen " expressed appreciation for our discussion. COMMENT: From their attitude, I believe there is a chance that the program will indicate that there is no CIA connection with Oswald beyond that noted above. This could make a contribution to knocking down the paranoic belief to the contrary. We must however z insure that . Mr. Rather does learn anything which would cause 'are-- ontheaboveaccount lieferouc_s 11--e- programs 27E-W5R1115-- Distribution: Orig DCI 1-- Review Staff 1 - DDO 1 - DDA 1 - OIG 1 - OLC 1 - OGC 1 - Asst/DCI W. E. Colby Director � - - 1183 - 435 11 October 1972 1 Disposition - This document was released with portions deleted. The deleted portions contain information identifying several Agency staff employee an Agency component and Agency internal filing instructions. The deletions were made under the authority of exemptions .(b) (1), (b) (2) and (b) (3) . � 11 October 1972 MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD 0 SUBJECT: Fensterwald Request for 20 Photographs I. I interviewed(Ann Goodpasture) who retired recently from the Agency, on Friday night, 29 September. . We met atehei) horne,6200 Cathedral Avenue, Washington, D. C. Ann)was assigned to the Mexican station during the Oswald investigation and was thoroughly familiar with the Mexican aspects of the case. I showed(her)the 24 February, FBI memorandum and she said that she could not identify any of the 20 photographs and doubted that they originated with the CIA. She stated that if the photographs were pans&; to the FBI at any given time, she certainly would Irz.ve known about it; thattrWinston Scott, the Chief of Station, personally super- vised the case and would have come to her for t e pictures. She allowed for rno exceptions. (ScotOis now dead, as ise_olf Larson? the FBI legal attache who headed the FBI investigation in Mexico. tAnntated that the interrogator probably collected the pictures �from. a "mug book" (look-out notices maintained in the embassy) which was available to the FBI. This book consisted of American soldiers AWOL, American travelers to and from communist countries, per- sons wanted for criminal violations, etc. The photos came from a variety of sources including FBI headquarters, CIA, U. S. military services, and the Mexican police. 2. We also queried the Mexican station regarding the 20 photographs with negative results. The entire station file Cix volumes) on Lee Harvey Oswald was forwarded intact to Headquarters rya .;.), 5 February 1970. These also were examined without success. ti-55 000ument Numbir � fot-FOJA Rovtow on NOV 1976 Distribution: cc, r. .MurraX/WH/1) ) Cie N 201-289248 i 5."4;�:-"' CS copy A. E. Dooley INIPDET CL E-110747) CO/ /7. October 1972. Jf . MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD 0 � SUBJECT: Fensterwald Request for 20 Photographs � .� ��� � � . . 1. I interviewedt who retired recently � . from the Agency,lon Fri a'2777-alant �9-septemberqWe met at - yras assigned to the Mexican station during the Oswald investigation 4. Immm � thoroughiy Ia u.i.arwitn the Mexican aspects of the case. I showed the 24 February, FBI rnemorandozn and she said tht she could not identify any Of the 20 phptograph.s and doubted that they originated with the CIA. She stated that if the photographs were passed to the FBI at any given time, she certaii,ly would have knoviin about it; that T__. � ��� � o mo o mom personally super- vised the case and would have come to her for the picture She � allowed for.no exceptions. is now.dead, as is; 'the FBI legal attache who headed the FBI investigation in Mexico. Istated 'that the interrogator probably collected the .pictures from a 'mug book' (look-out notices maintained in. the embassy) wilich was available to the FBI. This book consisted elf Arcericarz, soldiers AWOL, American travelers to and from communist countries, per- sons wanted for criminal violations, etc. � The photos came from a variety of wurces including FBI headquarters, CIA.� U. S. -rnii�itjry _services, and the Mexican police; 1 � .2. We also queried the Mexican station regardin the 20 . . � photographs with negative results. The entire station file t on Lee Harvey Oswald was forwarded intact to Hea.dquarter T.--ar=z-s-eru a r y 1970. These also were examined without success Document Number 1 for FOIA Review bn " -435 . � . " � � � . �-19-September 197.2 � � . . � . --- Disposition -This document was released with portions deleted The , . portions contain information confirming' the existence-of an Agei-icy . . � S-tatiorc in-a specific city abroad, operational cryptonyms , infrm'ton .. � identifying Agency components, Agency staff employees and Agency internal � filing instructions. The deletions were made under the authority of exemptiOns (b)(1), (b) (2) and. (b) (3) . This document had a twd-page 'attachment. The'. - document originated with the FBI and has been referred to the F.t.3I for direct: response to requesters. � � ... � � 1182 - 998 AMENDED COMMENT The disposition of this document has been coordinated with the FBI. As a consequence, a deletion previously made but unnoted i.s now redognized. FBI filing instructions and the name of- a special agent of the FBI are deleted at the FBI's request under the authority of exemption (3)(7) (F). , D SPAT c CLASSIFICATION w 0 li" PROCESSING ACTION . MARKED FOR 1, BAIT' TO Chief, Uestern Hemisphere Division X NO INDEXING REQUIRED INFO. ONLY QUALIFIED DESK CAN JUDGE INDEXING FROM , ./ Chief of Station, Mexico Citql- MICROFILM SUBJECT YP1C LNERGO Transmittal of Memoranda ACTION REQUIRED r - REFERENCES Action: Information only 1. Transmitted herewith the request by a U.S. lawyer in September and October entering the Cuban Embastv memorandum is from local to an interest in the Lee lawyer's request. Our explanz..tory. 2. It appears likely his interest in the photos, of his request. umen't Ntirrskor for FO/A ' Review on � -' ,,a.:.. _ ...,.._... .,.. _ Attacillnents : As stated h/w Distribution: 'Orig. & 2 - Chief, WH4w/atts. -.., - ? ,, are two to examine 1963 of an in tirico LNERGO and Harvey Oswald reply, dated that the and therefore 1 i 92 � 998 NOV 19/6 .,.:.. memoranda concerning some photographs unidentified American City. The 18 provides ,background case 19 September 1972,' lawyer concerned we want � -8,,,l,tt,t, C (0.1,01/444ia-c, rover E. CAITHAMER ,. h n F' taken September 1972 -- related --,of the is self- will pursue you to be aware ......// tn.," _ -.. ,. ....:. -.: ,NrA----- 4 -, . .., ,. , z.:- s.) ' CROSS REFERENCE TO DISPATCH SYMBOL AND NUMBER . HMMA - 42347 DATE � : 19 September. 19721 t IF ATI HOS FILE_ ER � � ____:. MEMORANDUM FOR: (r. Robert T. Nischwitz egal Attach� FROM (John Horton) SUBJECT KE HARV E OSWALD 05-3702 9-18-72) The photographs which your memorandum of 18 September 1972 requested are not in the files of our office. They may or may not be available in Washington. If you are interested in pursuing this matter further, the best bet is to initiate the request through your Washington liaison office. Distribution: Original - Addressee Co. 15,406') - Memo Chrono Headquarters Originator: V, DATE: 19 September 1972 4.i�co-gog-�P Date: September 18, 1972 To: Mr, John Horton From: Robert T. Nischwitz Legal Attach� Subject': LEE HARVEY OSWALD . (105-3702, 9;-..18-72y This document is for the use of your agency only and neither it nor its contents should be further dis- tributed, nor duplicated within your, agency, without appropriate� authorization. � Re your memorandum #15,237, dated May 24, 1972, � in response to my memorandum dated May 15, 1972. Again, under the "Freedom of Information Act", Attorney� Bernard Fensterwald, Jr., of Washington, D. C., has requested "twenty photographs of possible white male Araericans who had been in Mexico City during September and October, 1963" which were shown on February 20, 1964 to Mexican resident Pedro Gutierrez Valencia in an effort to � determine if Gutierrez might identify any of these unknown individuals ag' the person he previously identified as Oswald, whom he claimed to have observed at the Cuban Embassy, Mexico � City, on October 1 1963. These twenty photos were received from your office on February 19, 1964 and all were described as possible Americans who had visited the Cuban Embassy during September, and October, 1963. Gutierrez failed to identify any of them as of the person he had seen there on October 1, 1963 and whom he believed to be Oswald. Also furnished to this office with the aforementioned twenty photographs were the three photo Enclosures 2, F34.4 f�A '":7,71;7'1:715"`Itit!tr,t"' of the individual who visited the Russian Embassy, Mexico City, on October 1 and 4, 1963, as referred to in my memorandum of May 15, 1972. Those same three photos were also previously furnished us by you on November 23 1963. � - � The twenty photos referred to above are not now available tn.files'-of this Office and they may have been returned to your office after they were displayed to :Gutierrez': Valencia. It is requested that you .advise If :the:twenty* photographs are presently available in if not, where they may be. presently located. :In the event the ara available through Our- , . :Office, can they be made public? Enclosed to assist : in expediting your reponse � Copies of your Memorandum, May 24,. 1972, and my. memo,:' � May 15 1972.. I (ill rr i '1-9 ' 6,1 : U4. I A t t. (LASSUKA1101! . - - 1")(0lk)MriLy FL 110,1 , MARKED FOR INDEXING TO X NO INDEXING REQUIRED INFO WRY QUAUfiED DESK CAN JUDGE INDEXING * FROM . MICROFILM SU31:CT Transmittal of Memoranda ACTION REQUIRED � REFERENCES � Action: Information only � 1. Transmitced herewith are two memoranda concerning the request by a U.S. lawyer to examine some photographs taken in S-eptember and October 1963' of an unidentified American - - -- -.:: - --- entering the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City. The 18 September 1972 -. memorandum is from local Vet and provides background -- relate� to an interest in the Lee Harvey Oswald. case -- of the� 1-- lawyer's request. Our reply, :dated 1.9 _Septerqber 1972,,.. is,:self-,..____.,, ... . . - explanatory. . � - . - . - - : -- -- - - - _ ---. ,_ ___-_-_:- ----_-_-__:-: - - - - - ' _ . 2. It appears likely that the lawyer concerned will pursue his in.zerest in the photos, and therefore we want you to be aware , . - 'of his request. '� ' - etc:curium! Numb 1Ier i 1 50, 98 Vrawm.......� 11���.............. for FOIA Review on NOV 1976 . ! . - , � . . .... . - . -.--. ,-- ., .. � - - - :- . ; . 1 _ .. . - . , - - Attachments I- � As stated h/w � � . . -. . � . Distribution: Orig. & 2 -, (w/atts. h/w) � - � *t..- _ : � - i� . . . : S.. �":^-e' .// CROSS REFERENCE TO DISPATCH SYMBOL AND NUMBER DATE � 19 September 1972 rinssgirATION HOS FIIF NUMBER _ I - i . . MEMORANDUM FOR: Legal Attache.. FROM SUBJECT LEE HARVEY OSWALD 9-18-72) � The photographs which your meno.randum of- 18 September 1P72 rectuested are not in the files of 7 - our 'office,- ..They May ..or*.may.,t..12;e7ay.ailable-i.n . - � Washington. If you are interosted_in pursuing this --matter: further; the best.-bet. is to initiate the - � � � � . ' � � request through your Washington liaison office. -Distribution: Original - Addressee - Memo Chrono �f 1:- Headquarters Originator: DATE: 19 September 1972 ...�,7"--'������"�."-��-��-�7-�-�