The Warren Commission took the testimony of Marguerite Oswald (Lee Harvey Oswald's mother) over the course of a three-day period, in Washington, D.C., beginning on February 10, 1964. All of her testimony can be found in Volume 1 of the Warren Commission volumes, HERE.
Marguerite became convinced immediately after President Kennedy's assassination that her son, Lee, had been working for several years as an "agent" for the United States Government prior to JFK's murder on November 22, 1963.
And Mrs. Oswald was furthermore convinced that her son had been framed for the President's murder, and she also thought that Lee was framed for the slaying of Dallas policeman J.D. Tippit as well, with Marguerite's direct quote regarding that murder, despite the huge amount of evidence indicating otherwise, being: "I strictly do not believe that Lee killed Officer Tippit" [at 1 H 234].
Marguerite Oswald, to be quite blunt, was a fruitcake (as the quotes contained in this article will fully bear out). Newspaper reporter Hugh Aynesworth said that Marguerite "was one of the weirdest people I've ever run into". And after reading through her Warren Commission sessions, I don't have too much difficulty believing Mr. Aynesworth.
Following are some of my favorite portions of Marguerite's lengthy Warren Commission testimony (with a few of my own comments inserted along the way):
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WARREN COMMISSION CHAIRMAN EARL WARREN -- "Mrs. Oswald, you are appearing voluntarily before the Commission, are you not?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes, voluntarily."
EARL WARREN -- "You requested to do so. In order that you may have a full opportunity to testify in your own manner, and tell us everything that you know, and particularly because we do not know what you know, I am going to ask you if you would like first, in your own way, and in your own time, to tell us everything you have concerning this case. You would like to do that, would you?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes, Chief Justice Warren. I would like to very much. However, there are three things that I have asked that should be brought before the Council, three requests of mine. One has already been granted--that is the counsel, Mr. Doyle. And I do appreciate that fact.
"I have stated publicly that I believe in the American way of life and justice for all men, which is our American way of life. My son, Lee Harvey Oswald, was tried and convicted within a few hours' time, without benefit of counsel.
"And so I am appealing to the Board that my son, Lee Harvey Oswald, be represented by counsel. I am being represented by counsel. My daughter-in-law Marina was represented by counsel. And I understand that all other witnesses will have the privilege of being represented by counsel. However, the main object of the Commission is Lee Harvey Oswald, in the murder of President Kennedy. So I strongly believe that Lee should be represented by counsel.
"Now, my reasons for wanting this done this way is, I will state, that Marina has testified. Marina has testified, according to the papers--and I am assuming that this is correct--that Lee wanted to live in Russia and Cuba, and that is why he went to Mexico. I happen to know differently--because Marina has told me the first day I was with her, "Mama, I write to Russian consul. I want go back to Russia. I like America. But Lee no get work."
"So you see, had a counsel been there in behalf of my son, when Marina said that--it doesn't have to be a court trial or a cross-examination. All I am asking is that this man sit quietly, and when he knows of different facts, then he could say, "Well, Mrs. Oswald, isn't it true that you wrote the Russian consul yourself, wanting to go back to Russia?" And in this way, gentlemen, I believe you would have both sides and a true picture."
[DVP INTERJECTION -- I can't help but sense the irony that comes through when reading the above words spoken by Marguerite Oswald -- i.e., she says that she wants to make sure that "both sides" of the story are heard at the Warren Commission hearings, but then she proceeds to misrepresent Marina's side of the story regarding the letters that Marina wrote concerning her request to return to Russia.
I think perhaps Marguerite, herself, might have misinterpreted Marina's fractured English that Marguerite quoted above, because Marina's Warren Commission testimony is quite clear with respect to the question of whether or not Marina Oswald wanted to return to the Soviet Union in 1963:
J. LEE RANKIN -- "At the time of Exhibit 14 [July 8, 1963], then, you were not anxious to return to Russia?"
MARINA OSWALD -- "I never wanted to return, but Lee insisted and there is nothing else I could do. But sometimes when I wrote these letters, I felt very lonely--since my husband didn't want me, I felt perhaps this would be the best way."
And there is also the testimony of Ruth Paine (who probably knew Marina better than anyone else besides Lee Oswald in the year 1963), which shows that it was Ruth's opinion that Marina definitely had no desire at all to go back to Russia:
ALBERT JENNER -- "During all of your contact with Marina Oswald, did she ever express any view other than that one of wanting to remain in America?"
RUTH PAINE -- "No, she did not."
ALBERT JENNER -- "Was she affirmative about--"
RUTH PAINE -- "Very."
ALBERT JENNER -- "Of wanting to stay in this country?"
RUTH PAINE -- "Yes."]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I cannot see how you can come to a true conclusion by taking individual testimony. Now, I, myself, am here today to testify. I have been sworn in. But that doesn't mean that I can tell the whole story. I may forget something. And the counsel would know.
"We have investigators all over the country, the reporters are interested, the public. I have over 1,500 letters, people expressing their opinion of the way this case is being handled. And, believe me, gentlemen, they are not satisfied. I can produce these documents for you. They think, like I think, that the American way of life, both sides should be heard. I don't think that seven men of this Commission can come to a true conclusion.
"What it will be, it will be an analysis of what the FBI and the Secret Service and the Dallas police have--mainly speculation and opinion of other people. Now, Mr. [Mark] Lane has affidavits, I understand, from the same witnesses that have made statements to the Dallas police, which are contrary to those particular statements.
"I implore you--I implore you, in the name of justice, to let my son, Lee Harvey Oswald, who is accused of assassinating the President, and I, the mother of this man, who is the accused's mother, be represented by counsel. We have information pertinent to this case. My daughter-in-law is the only one who has
testified. ....
"I can prove the statements that I say. And I believe in this way you will have a true picture, and a much better picture, because as you are going along you will be having both sides, and won't have to wait to analyze the situation in the end, as the testimony is being given by each individual, right then and there you will have the other party's testimony..."
EARL WARREN -- "...May I say to you, first, that the Commission is not here to prosecute your dead son. It is not here and it was not established to prosecute anyone. It is the purpose and the province of the Commission to obtain all the facts that it can obtain, and then make an impartial report--not as a prosecutor, but as an impartial Commission--on the manner in which the President came to his death.
"We are trying to recognize the individual rights of all persons who are called before the Commission, to let them have their lawyers, and let their lawyers have an opportunity to examine them, as well as the Commission. You may be sure that if Mr. Lane has any evidence of his own knowledge, or has any accumulation of affidavits from others, to the effect--to any effect, concerning this trial, that he will have an opportunity to come here, just as you are here, in order to present those to the Commission.
"But so far as his being here at all times before the Commission to cross-examine or to be present when all witnesses are testifying--that is not in accordance with the procedures of the Commission. But I assure you that if Mr. Lane has any evidence of any kind bearing upon the assassination of the President, he will be accorded the same opportunity that you have to come here and present them, and we will give him an opportunity in his own way to tell his story, and present his own evidence. And should he want counsel, he may have counsel also."
RELATED ARTICLE
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I appreciate and I understand exactly what you have told me, Chief Justice Warren. But there is one thing--and, of course, I will have to accept your decision, and will be most happy to have Mr. Lane present his testimony the way you have suggested. However, I am not in agreement with you.
"One point I want to make clear. We do not know the questions that you are asking of myself or Marina or the other witnesses. And I contend that you cannot ask them the pertinent questions because you don't know what I know, and what Mr. Lane knows. And so you will still have an analysis in the long run, a conclusion..."
EARL WARREN -- "On that particular thing, may I say this: It is true that we don't know how to examine you at the present time because we don't know what you have to present to this Commission. But we are affording you the opportunity before we ask you any questions to tell your story, in your own way. Then we should know what questions we want to ask of you."
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes, sir. I understand that thoroughly. But I am a human being, going through a life story from childhood, and I may forget something that my counsel would know. And that applies to witnesses. They may forget to testify something that my counsel has facts on. I will have to accept your verdict, but I don't do it graciously. I want that for [the] record."
EARL WARREN -- "Yes. Well, that is all right, Mrs. Oswald. You may state that for the record."
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I have one other stipulation or request. When I tell my story, I will be including people in my story that possibly you don't know of. I request that I have the privilege, through you, of course, to subpoena these people that are in connection with the story that I tell, if you do not have the names already. And I feel sure that I have some information that you don't know about, and there are some people involved.
"I also request that after my testimony, that Marina Oswald...will then testify again, if you see fit. And I believe that I have contrary testimony to her testimony that would make it necessary for her to be recalled. I ask that that be granted."
EARL WARREN -- "Well, Mrs. Oswald, of course you have no power of subpoena, and we have no power to give you the power of subpoena. But you may be sure that if your evidence produces anything that is critical to this investigation, that we will pursue it to the end, in order to determine the weight of the testimony for our final report. You may be sure of that."
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I appreciate that."
EARL WARREN -- "But as to how we do it, or when we do it, you will just have to leave that to the Commission."
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "You will give me the assurance that these people I name, regardless of title I am liable to name some very important people---"
EARL WARREN -- "No, we cannot give you any assurance, because we don't know---"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I see no reason, then, for my testimony."
EARL WARREN -- "Well, Mrs. Oswald, you cannot commit us to subpoenaing anybody. We don't know. You are talking to us, and we are in the dark. You cannot commit this Commission to doing something that might be improper; it might not even be helpful in any way, shape, or form.
"The Commission will be reasonable in every respect. We have no desire to protect anyone. We have no desire to injure you or anyone else in this matter. And certainly you ought to have some confidence in a commission that is appointed by the President, and not try to tie our hands in a way that would be contrary to the manner in which commissions normally proceed."
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Now, Mr. Warren, you made a statement that you in no way--I cannot quote your words--intimidate me. But you did not include my son. My son is being accused of the murder of President Kennedy. And I think that my son should be considered in this. He is dead. But we can show cause that my son is not the assassin of President Kennedy. And so I would like my son--he is the main object of the Presidential Commission, is he not, sir?"
EARL WARREN -- "No, no, he is not, Mrs. Oswald. The purpose of this Commission is to determine what the facts are in the assassination of President Kennedy. It is not an accusation against your son. There was an accusation against your son in the Texas courts. That is an entirely different proceeding. We are here to do justice and be fair to everyone concerned in this matter. And I assure you that that is our main and our only purpose in serving on this Commission. None of us cherish this responsibility."
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I am sure, sir."
EARL WARREN -- "And the only satisfaction we can derive from it is to be fair to all concerned. And I assure you that is our objective in the matter."
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I do not mean to imply that this Commission will not be fair. I know about the men on the Commission. And they are all very fine men, including yourself, Chief Justice Warren. If I have implied that, I will now say I do not imply. But I do state a fact that I do not think that you can come to a true conclusion. I want that for [the] record."
[DVP -- Since it's fairly clear that Marguerite wants to run the whole show herself, maybe Chief Justice Warren should have just turned over his title as Commission Chairman to Marguerite. Ya think?]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I mentioned to Mrs. Rosenthal that Lee and Marina didn't have a baby bed, and Lee didn't have work clothes. .... He needed work clothes since he got this job. .... So she got out a lot of work clothes that her husband didn't want. However, she asked me [to pay her] $10 for 12 pairs of used pants. And I would not buy--give her $12 [sic?].
"Here is a very wealthy woman, and she knows the story. And she knows that I have no money. And yet she expects me to pay for his used clothing. And so I have this principle about me. And I did not buy the used clothing--the clothing for Lee."
[DVP -- As was discovered after President Kennedy's assassination, most topics seemed to boil down to one thing for Marguerite Oswald---money. Another good illustration of this fact is brought out in the book quote shown below:
"The doorbell rings [at the home of Ruth Paine on the night of November 22, 1963] and two men from LIFE magazine appear unannounced. .... Marguerite is fuming...because she's beginning to realize that LIFE magazine is going to do a "life story" segment and she wants to be paid. In her paranoid mind, Marguerite is beginning to suspect that Ruth Paine invited LIFE magazine to come over and that she and Marina, while speaking in Russian, have conspired to sell Lee's life story without her." -- From Page 168 of Vincent Bugliosi's 2007 book "Reclaiming History: The Assassination Of President John F. Kennedy"]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "They [Lee and Marina] lived at a corner house, and there is Carol Street, and opposite Carol Street is a parking lot for Montgomery Ward. They live approximately two blocks from Montgomery Ward. So I had gone by, as I am stating, several times. You have to understand--this is just 6 or 7 weeks that they are in this home. ....
"Marina was not home. I could not understand where so fast that they could have so many friends, that this Russian girl didn't speak English and know her way about, could be gone all day long. That worried me. So I sat in the car on Montgomery Ward's parking lot, where I could see the house, because I wanted to see who Marina was going to come home with. The door was open. I went in the house and no one was there. By this time, I was wondering how she could be gone all the time, being a stranger in town. I sat in the car all day long. She didn't show up. ....
"So...two days later I went to the home and my son was reading...and Marina was in the bedroom. .... I went into the bedroom, and she was nursing June with her head down. And I started to talk. And she still had her head down. And I came around to the front and I saw Marina with a black eye.
"Now, gentlemen, I don't think any man should hit his wife...or beat his wife. But I will say this. There may be times that a woman needs to have a black eye. I am not condoning the act. But I strongly am saying that this girl was not home. And this man was working. And I saw, myself, that this man came home and didn't have any food. This couple doesn't have a maid or anyone to give this working man food. And I think it was her duty to be home and have his supper ready. That is a little thing, maybe. But to me it shows the character of what I am trying to bring out."
[DVP -- Yeah, it shows the "character" of a man who gave his wife a black eye because she wasn't home and supper wasn't on the table when he got home from work (according to Marguerite's version anyway). Nice "character", huh?]
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[DVP -- Below is a hunk of hilarious testimony from the lips of Marguerite "IT ALL COMES DOWN TO CASH" Oswald, wherein she manages to twist things around to suit her odd way of thinking:]
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Mrs. Paine...said, "You don't have to worry about Marina. Marina will always have a home with me, because Marina helps." Now, Mrs. Paine speaks Russian fluently. .... Mr. and Mrs. Paine are separated. Mr. Paine does not live here. So it is just the two women. So, Mrs. Paine didn't graciously do anything for Marina, as the paper stated--that Lee never did pay Mrs. Paine for room or board.
"Mrs. Paine owes them money. That is almost the kind of work that I do, or the airline stewardesses do, serve food and everything. Marina was earning her keep, and really should have had a salary for it. What I am trying to say, gentlemen, Mrs. Paine had Marina there to help babysit with the children--with her children--if she wanted to go running around and everything. So actually she wasn't doing my son or Marina the favor that she claims she was doing."
[DVP -- Classic Marguerite! Mrs. Paine was providing Marina with not only a place to live and food to eat--free of charge--for several weeks in October and November of 1963 (and for two additional weeks in late April and early May of '63 while Lee Harvey looked for work in New Orleans) --- but Ruth was also providing Marina and her children with additional services as well, such as transportation to and from New Orleans (twice), which were occasions that also had Ruth's station wagon performing double duty as a moving van.
And there were also the free car rides to and from various doctors' offices (on multiple occasions); plus the trip to and from Parkland Hospital, where Marina gave birth to her second baby in October '63.
And Marguerite Oswald then has the nerve to suggest, on the public record in front of the Warren Commission, that Ruth Paine owes MARINA money!
Somebody help me pick up my jaw, which is currently stuck firmly to the floor....because the outrageousness of what I just read in Marguerite's Warren Commission testimony is pretty overwhelming. And yet at the same time, when based on the overall record concerning Mrs. Marguerite Oswald, it's fairly typical too.]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Mr. Odum is an FBI agent. And I said, "No, we are going to see Lee." .... So he said, "Well, will you tell Mrs. [Marina] Oswald, please"--to the interpreter--"I would like to question her and I would like her to come with me to be questioned."
"I said, "It is no good. You don't need to tell the interpreter that, because my daughter-in-law is not going with you. We have been promised to see Lee. And, besides, Marina has testified, made her statement at the courthouse yesterday, and any further statements that Marina will make will be through counsel."
"Mr. Odum said to the interpreter, "Mrs. Oswald"--to the interpreter--"will you tell Mrs. Oswald to decide what she would like to do and not listen to her mother-in-
law"."
[DVP -- Sounds like darn good advice if you ask me. ;)]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I would say I spent about 3 or 4 minutes on the telephone [at the Dallas City Jail, talking with Lee, on 11/23/63], and then Marina came back to the telephone and talked with Lee. So we left. Marina started crying. Marina says, "Mama, I tell Lee I love Lee and Lee says he love me very much. And Lee tell me to make sure I buy shoes for June."
"Now, here is a man that is accused of the murder of a President. This is the next day, or let's say about 24 hours that he has been questioned. His composure is good. And he is thinking about his young daughter needing shoes. Now, June was wearing shoes belonging to Mrs. Paine's little girl; Marina told me they were little red tennis shoes, and the top was worn. They were clean, and the canvas was showing by the toe part, like children wear out their toes.
"I ask you this, gentlemen. If Marina had a hundred and some odd dollars in the house, why is it necessary that my son has to tell her at the jailhouse, remind her to buy shoes for his baby, for their child? Just a few dollars out of that hundred and some odd dollars would have bought shoes for this particular child.
"Another way to look at this, as I stated previously--that the boy is concerned about shoes for his baby, and he is in this awful predicament. So he must feel innocent, or sure that everything is going to be all right, as he told me."
[DVP -- Or, we could look at Lee's "Buy Those Shoes" request in another light -- from the perspective of Lee being guilty of killing President Kennedy (which is so obviously the correct perspective, based on the sum total of evidence to be found in the JFK case).
I.E.,
If Lee had been FALSELY accused of murdering the President (or had been "framed" by a person or persons unknown), would you expect his "I'm Really Innocent And I'm Being Framed For Murder" mindset to be of such a tranquil and serene state that, just 24 hours after being charged with two murders he says he did not commit (including Officer Tippit's), he's not concentrating fully on these TWO charges of first-degree murder that are pending against him -- but, instead, his mind is so free of worry about these vile and supposedly FALSE charges that are staring him in the face that he's actually concentrating on mundane and trivial things....like worrying about whether or not Marina has bought a pair of shoes for his oldest daughter?
The jailhouse comments made by Lee Oswald about "buying shoes for Junie" don't PROVE anything, one way or the other, of course. I don't deny that fact. But I'm just wondering if such comments aren't more indicative of a guilty man who has just been accused of double-murder (and knows, of course, full well that he's guilty and will likely receive the proper punishment), versus that of an innocent man who is facing the same two FALSE murder charges?
That's some food for "Junie's Shoes" thought at any rate.
ADDENDUM (VIA TWO BOOK QUOTES):
"No one knew [Lee Harvey] Oswald as well as his wife, Marina. .... Marina told [author Priscilla] McMillan that when she visited her husband in jail on the day after the assassination, she came away knowing he was guilty. .... She said she knew that had he been innocent, he would have been screaming to high heaven for his "rights," claiming he had been mistreated and demanding to see officials at the very highest levels." -- Vincent Bugliosi; Page 962 of "Reclaiming History"
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"Marina could tell that he was guilty. If he hadn't been, she thought, he would have been loudly protesting his arrest, and besides, she sensed that he was saying goodbye to her with his eyes." -- From Page 249 of Jean Davison's 1983 book "Oswald's Game"]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "They didn't want us to know [that Lee had been shot]. They are now telling us this, Marina and I. He talked, and then he turned around and said, "Lee has been shot." I said, "How badly?" He said, "In the shoulder." I cried, and said, "Marina, Lee has been shot." ....
"So I am sitting in the car with the agent. .... Something comes over the mike, and the Secret Service agent says, "Do not repeat. Do not repeat." I said, "My son is gone, isn't he?" And he didn't answer. I said, "Answer me. I want to know. If my son is gone, I want to meditate." He said, "Yes, Mrs. Oswald, your son has just expired"."
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "We were escorted upstairs into a room. They said it was a morgue, but it wasn't. Lee's body was on a hospital bed. .... And there were a lot of policemen standing around, guarding the body. And, of course, his face was showing. And Marina went first. She opened his eyelids. Now...I am a nurse, and I don't think I could have done that. This is a very, very strong girl, that she can open a dead man's eyelids. And she says, "He cry. He eye wet." .... I didn't even touch Lee. I just wanted to see that it was my son---"
J. LEE RANKIN -- "You were satisfied it was your son?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes, sir. That is why I wanted to see the body. I wanted to make sure it was my son. So while leaving the room, I said to the police, "I think some day you will hang your heads in shame...I happen to...know some facts, that maybe this is the unsung hero of this episode. And I, as his mother, intend to provide this if I can"."
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I did say...I wanted my son buried in the Arlington Cemetery. Now, gentlemen, I didn't know that President Kennedy was going to be buried in Arlington Cemetery. All I know is that my son is an agent, and that he deserves to be buried in Arlington Cemetery."
[DVP -- I guess everybody is entitled to their fantasies -- including the mother of Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "I don't remember if I stated while at Six Flags that this particular agent...was very, very rude to me. Anything that I said, he snapped. And I took it for quite a while. At this particular time that they showed the gun on television, I said, "How can they say Lee shot the President? Even though they would prove it is his gun doesn't mean he used it--nobody saw him use it." He snapped back and he said, "Mrs. Oswald, we know that he shot the President."
"I then walked over to Mr. Mike Howard and I said, "What's wrong with that agent? That agent is about to crack. All he has done is taunt me ever since I have been here." He said, "Mrs. Oswald, he was personal bodyguard to Mrs. Kennedy for 30 months and maybe he has a little opinion against you." I said, "Let him keep his personal opinions to himself. He is on a job"."
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Now, there was another instance with this same agent. He followed Marina around continuously. I'm going to make this plain. .... The pictures will always show him by Marina. We were in the bedroom, and he was in the bedroom. And we were getting ready for the funeral [of LHO]. .... While Marina was complaining about her dress, my little grandbaby...was standing by her mother...and Marina was combing her hair. She took the comb and she hit June on the head. I said, "Marina, don't do that." And this agent...snapped at me and said, "Mrs. Oswald, you let her alone." I said, "Don't tell me what to say to my daughter-in-law. .... Now, why did this man do these things? ....
"I am going to say it as strongly as I can...and I have stated this from the beginning...I think our trouble in this is in our own Government. And I suspect these two agents of conspiracy with my daughter-in-law in this plot."
EARL WARREN -- "With who?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "With Marina and Mrs. Paine--the two women. Lee was set up, and it is quite possible these two Secret Service men are involved."
J. LEE RANKIN -- "Which ones are you referring to?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Mr. Mike Howard and the man that I did not know the name." ....
J. LEE RANKIN -- "What kind of a conspiracy are you describing that these men are engaged in?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "The assassination of President Kennedy."
J. LEE RANKIN -- "You think that two Secret Service agents and Marina and Mrs. Paine were involved in that--in the conspiracy?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes, I do."
[DVP -- Marina was probably the "Grassy Knoll" shooter....and Ruth Paine drove the getaway car (that Nash Rambler seen by Dallas Deputy Sheriff Roger Craig, remember). We'll just have to invent a way for the two Secret Service agents to become embroiled in this plot with the two housewives. But that shouldn't be too difficult to do -- after all, Marguerite has managed it quite nicely, while using zero pieces of evidence to support her notion.]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Marina...stated publicly that in her mind she thought that Lee shot President Kennedy. What an awful thing for this 22-year-old foreign girl to think. She thinks in her mind. She doesn't know. But she thinks, gentlemen..."In my mind, I think Lee shot President Kennedy." She doesn't know our American way of life. Lee Harvey Oswald will be the accused assassin of President Kennedy when this information is over with, believe me. .... Marina Oswald was brainwashed by the Secret Service. .... I am sorry, gentlemen, but this is a true story."
[DVP -- I can envision Earl Warren and Gerald Ford, et al, being forced to cover their faces at various times during Mrs. Oswald's testimony, so that Marguerite wouldn't be aware that the Commissioners were about ready to bust out laughing at any moment (such as during the "brainwashed" testimony quoted above).]
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J. LEE RANKIN -- "And you think she [Marina] could understand English fluently?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes, sir. I also told you when she lived with me that month in my home, how we conversed and talked. And yet the impression is that Marina came here and didn't speak English at all."
J. LEE RANKIN -- "How does that show she conspired to assassinate the President?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Because Marina now is not happy."
[DVP -- I guess it never occurred to Marguerite that a major reason for Marina to suddenly turn into an unhappy person after November 22nd is due to the fact that she has had to face a series of crises -- such as: her husband being accused of murdering two people (including the U.S. President) and the fact that her husband was himself killed just two days after the President was slain.
But evidently, according to Marguerite, Marina's sudden turn from happy to unhappy was because Marina herself was part of some sort of plot to kill the President in which she apparently helped to FRAME HER OWN HUSBAND for that murder.
The further we get into Marguerite's testimony, the more obvious it becomes that this woman is slightly off her rocker.]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "It is also a serious charge that my son is the assassin of President Kennedy. You see, we have two sides here. .... Lee Harvey Oswald, or Mr. J. Lee Rankin, or anyone in this room could not have been in that many places in 29 minutes' time. It is utterly impossible. ....
"The reports said that he was on the sixth floor, and then they saw him in the cafeteria drinking a Coca-Cola, and the President came. Then he had to leave the building. He had so many blocks to walk before he caught a bus. He had to board the bus, he had to pay his fare, he had to get out of the bus, then he walked a few blocks, then he caught a taxicab, paid the taxi man, then he walked a few blocks, went to his home and got a coat. Then he walked a few more blocks and shot the policeman. Then he walked a few more blocks and he was in the theater. In 29 minutes' time, it cannot be done."
[DVP -- And it wasn't done in just "29 minutes". Mrs. Oswald, for some reason, seems to think that all of the above things were accomplished between 12:30 and 12:59 PM on 11/22/63, which is an incorrect timeline. In actuality, Lee Oswald had approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes to perform all of the above tasks laid out by Marguerite.]
A LEE HARVEY OSWALD 11/22/63 "TIMELINE"
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Well, now, Mr. Rankin, I have not changed my testimony, if you are implying that. I may not have put it in a position you understood. because as I say, I certainly did not mean to imply that I had proof, because if I had proof [of a conspiracy to kill JFK] I would not be sitting here taking all my energy and trying to show you this little by little. I would have had an affidavit and show you the proof. So if you want to call it speculation, call it speculation. I don't care what you call it. But I am not satisfied in my mind that things are according to Hoyle. And I believe that my son is innocent."
[DVP -- So, Mrs. Oswald apparently thinks that if she (or somebody else whom she thinks has knowledge of some grand conspiracy "plot") had filled out and signed an official "affidavit", that would, therefore, be tantamount to "proof" that a conspiracy did, in fact, exist with respect to the President's murder in Dallas.
I guess it didn't bother Marguerite one bit that there was NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE at all to support any of her conspiracy theories (and there still isn't any such hard evidence of that kind to this day).
It would have been enough, per the elder Mrs. Oswald, to merely have an "affidavit" on file (signed by Marguerite? Or somebody else?) stating that some kind of "conspiracy" existed on November 22, 1963.
What a kook.
And to think that the Commission had to sit there in Washington for three solid days and listen to this nutcase ramble on and on about absolutely nothing of any consequence whatsoever....and, on top of that, the Commission had to endure Marguerite's absurd make-believe tale of perceived "conspiracy" involving Ruth Paine, Marina Oswald, Mike Howard, and another unnamed Secret Service agent.
And this kook wanted to be awarded the power to subpoena witnesses of her own choosing! Ain't that a hoot?!]
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MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "That [Commission Exhibit No. 203] is a picture of the Book Depository the day of the assassination of President Kennedy. And there are people in the picture."
EARL WARREN -- "Well, is there anything you want us to see in the picture?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Well, I would rather you see it yourself. I see what I see."
EARL WARREN -- "What do you see?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "...I see Marina and the child--the girl and the baby--it could be Marina. .... This girl with this baby could possibly be Marina and June. .... This girl holding the baby."
J. LEE RANKIN -- "Right next to the door?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes, sir; right next to the door. In back of her is the hat of a man."
[The following day, 2/12/64, Marguerite testified some more about the things she thinks she sees in the famous photo taken by James Altgens, which is pictured above....]
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "On the picture...you might think I am crazy to say so--the first thing I saw in this picture...was my son, Lee, and Marina and the child. .... That was my first reaction. And, if I am correct--I don't say I am correct--but if I am correct, this would be the solution. Lee was escorted out of the building. Kennedy is shot now...he has passed the window where Lee's rifle is supposed to be. And he is shot in the neck. He has passed this particular part. He is shot in the neck. And then this man that I think is Lee...is being escorted out of the building...I am speculating, sir, I have no proof of this. I wish I did. Could be escorted out of the building by a policeman. .... This is Lee's build and everything. The first thing I saw. Now, they think this is Lee. No, sir, I do not. Everybody thinks this is Lee."
J. LEE RANKIN -- "When you say they think--it is the man leaning against the side of the doorway, is that right?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "Yes. That is the picture that everybody is convinced is Lee."
J. LEE RANKIN -- "And you think it is the one next to him that doesn't show any face? It shows the arms over the head?"
MARGUERITE OSWALD -- "He has his arms up in the air. Now, that is what I saw immediately--against everybody else seeing it. And this woman and child could possibly be Marina. Now, to explain this--whether I thought Lee shot Officer Tippit or not--Lee could be escorted out of this building with a gun in his back possibly. I am just speculating, sir. .... And that is how he got out of the building. And this same officer could have been killed, because he was involved in this, and then he could have been killed, to be kept quiet. There is a possibility of this, gentlemen."
[DVP -- So, per Marguerite, BOTH Lee Oswald and Marina Oswald were probably standing in front of the Texas School Book Depository Building when JFK was shot.
You see, if you are taking part in a covert plot to assassinate the President, instead of laying low and staying out of sight, I guess it must be a good idea to make yourself HIGHLY VISIBLE as the murder is taking place, so that you will very likely get yourself photographed.
This apparently was Marguerite Oswald's mindset as of February 1964 when she hinted to the Warren Commission that both Lee and Marina can be seen in James Altgens' picture.
Well, at least Altgens' photo provided Lee and Marina with perfect alibis in case they were to ever be accused of being actual gunmen in Dealey Plaza. (Or perhaps the baby in the picture is really a gun--merely disguised as a baby in a blanket.)
It's just too bad that Lee Harvey decided NOT to use that perfect "I Was On The Steps" alibi after he was charged with the murder of the President. Instead, Lee admits to the press and to the world (on live television) that he was "inside" the Book Depository when Kennedy was shot:
I wonder if Marguerite ever wondered WHY Lee never spoke up and told the police that he had been in front of the building....if he had REALLY been there at 12:30 PM on November 22nd?
And if Lee was being "escorted out of the building by a policeman...with a gun in his back" [LOL break required here], I wonder which "Lee Harvey Oswald" imposter popped up on the second floor of the TSBD just 90 seconds after the assassination?
Maybe we should hold a seance and ask Marguerite. She could probably tell us. Marguerite Oswald died in January 1981.]
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ONE FINAL HILARIOUS QUOTE FROM MARGUERITE:
"Lee Harvey Oswald, my son, even after his death, has done more for his country than any other living human being." -- Marguerite Oswald; circa late 1963; At Rose Hill Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas
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David Von Pein
April 2008
LINK TO ORIGINAL POST (APRIL 14, 2008)
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