Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Political Activities

Oswald’s post-defection political activity centered on Cuba and the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Aside from a single, apparently uneventful distribution of Committee materials in Dallas between April 6 and April 24, 1963, Oswald’s first public association with the cause came in New Orleans, where under the name “Lee Osborne” he had printed a “Hands Off Cuba” handbill along with an application form and membership card for the New Orleans branch of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. He distributed these materials uneventfully near the U.S.S. Wasp at the Dumaine Street wharf on June 16, 1963, distributed literature downtown on August 9, 1963—which led to his arrest after a dispute with three anti-Castro Cuban exiles—and distributed again on August 16. After his arrest he was interviewed by police and, at his request, by an FBI agent; on August 17 he appeared briefly on a radio program, and on August 21 he debated Carlos Bringuier, one of the Cuban exiles arrested with him, over radio station WDSU in New Orleans. Bringuier further alleged that on August 5, 1963, Oswald had attempted to infiltrate the anti-Castro organization with which Bringuier was affiliated. While the Commission found no credible evidence of conspiracy, it treats these activities as revealing aspects of Oswald’s character and as pertinent context for evaluating his possible motive for the assassination.

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VII examines Lee Harvey Oswald’s Fair Play for Cuba Committee (FPCC) activities in New Orleans during the summer of 1963, the collapse of those efforts, and his subsequent attempts to emigrate to Cuba or the Soviet Union. The chapter demonstrates that Oswald’s FPCC “organization” was essentially a solitary fabrication and traces the personal, professional, and ideological frustrations that culminated in his failed Mexico City visa applications in late September and early October 1963.

Imaginary FPCC Chapter and Fabricated Claims

Oswald’s “organization” was a product of his imagination. The nonexistent New Orleans chapter’s imaginary president was named A. J. Hidell—the same name Oswald used when purchasing the assassination weapon. Marina Oswald testified that she signed the name “Hidell,” apparently chosen because it rhymed with “Fidel,” on her husband’s FPCC membership card, claiming he threatened to beat her if she refused. The chapter was never chartered by the national FPCC organization, and despite Oswald’s statements to New Orleans police that it had 35 members with five typically attending monthly meetings, it was a solitary operation.

Exaggerated Letters to FPCC Director V.T. Lee

Oswald’s letters to FPCC national director V. T. Lee were misleading and sometimes untruthful, reflecting his reluctance to describe events accurately and his need to present himself in a more favorable light. In an August 1, 1963 letter, Oswald claimed an office he had previously said he rented was “promptly closed 3 days later,” asserted that “thousands of circulars were distributed,” and described receiving inquiries through his post office box that he endeavored to answer. He attributed his lack of support to an attack by Cuban exiles in a street demonstration and being “officially cautioned” by the police, which he said “robbed me of what support I had leaving me alone.”

No Evidence Supporting Oswald’s FPCC Claims

The Commission found no evidence supporting Oswald’s claims. No one was found to have attacked any street demonstration in which Oswald was involved prior to the Bringuier incident, which occurred eight days after his August 1 letter. Bringuier was unaware of any such incident, and police reports reflected no Oswald activity before August 9, 1963, except the uneventful Dumaine Street wharf literature distribution in June. The 544 Camp Street address stamped on some of Oswald’s literature could not be connected to him; an anti-Castro organization had occupied those offices until early 1962. There was no basis for his claim of distributing “thousands” of circulars, since he had printed only 1,000 of the claimed 2,000, and no evidence of substantial material support from FPCC national headquarters.

False Claim of WDSU-TV ‘Latin American Focus’ Appearance

Oswald falsely claimed in an August 17, 1963 letter to V. T. Lee that he had appeared on William Stuckey’s 15-minute WDSU-TV program “Latin American Focus,” stating this resulted in being “flooded with callers and invitations to debate’s ect. as well as people interested in joining the F.P.C.C. New Orleans branch.” In fact, WDSU had no program by that name. Stuckey had a radio program called “Latin Listening Post,” on which Oswald was heard for less than five minutes that day. Oswald apparently received only one caller in response to all his FPCC activities—an agent of Bringuier’s investigating the true nature of the alleged organization.