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

Investigation of Muncie Communist Activity Allegation

The Commission investigated an allegation that Ruby was involved in Communist Party activities in Muncie, Indiana between 1943 and 1947, based on a former resident’s claim that a man resembling Ruby (known as Jack Rubenstein) visited the area and associated with suspected Communists. The claim was unsupported: military records confirm Ruby was on active duty in the South during the alleged first two visits, there is no evidence Ruby owned or managed a Chicago nightclub as the witness claimed, the alleged list of communists including Rubenstein was never located, all named associates denied knowing Ruby or participating in communist activities, and the witness never reported the allegation to authorities prior to testifying. The Commission found no basis to accept the witness’s testimony.

Investigation of Ultraconservative Political Activity Claims

The Commission investigated allegations that Ruby was associated with ultraconservative political activity in Dallas. Ruby was found to have two right-wing radio scripts promoted by highly conservative figure H.L. Hunt in his possession at arrest; he had acquired the scripts at a Texas Products Show a few weeks earlier, reportedly became enraged upon discovering them, and threatened to send one to Kennedy, though he did not act on this prior to giving one to a radio announcer on November 23, when he also seemed to confuse extreme right and far left organizations. On November 21, Ruby drove a woman to the office of H.L. Hunt’s son Lamar for a job interview, stating he wanted to meet Hunt to establish a business connection but did not enter the office. An allegation that Ruby visited the home of resigned Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker was fully discredited: the claimant, who had previously denied knowing Ruby or Oswald when questioned by the FBI in January 1964, made the claim in May 1964 before being discharged from the military for fraudulent enlistment.

Right-Wing Association Allegations and Related Inquiries

Right-Wing Association Allegations and Related Inquiries The Commission investigated Mark Lane’s claim that an unnamed informant reported a more than 2-hour November 14, 1963 meeting between Ruby, Patrolman J.D. Tippit, and Bernard Weissman at the Carousel Club. No Carousel Club employees had knowledge of the meeting, Ruby and Weissman denied it occurred, and Tippit’s widow was unaware her husband ever visited the club. Ruby’s November 22 remark that he knew “the Tippit who had been shot by Oswald” was later clarified as a reference to G.M. Tippit, a Dallas Police special services officer who occasionally visited Ruby’s establishments; Larry Crafard, a Carousel employee, could not identify J.D. Tippit in photographs and had no recollection of the alleged meeting, though he initially identified a photo of Weissman as resembling a man Ruby called “Weissman” before later acknowledging he may have mixed up the individual. Ruby’s November 22-23 conduct, including his public hostility to the “Impeach Earl Warren” advertisement that listed Weissman as a contact and his attempts to trace the ad’s post office box and locate Weissman in a city directory, corroborated his denial of knowing Weissman, as it would be unlikely he would draw attention to Weissman if they were involved in unlawful activity together.

Tippit’s Post-Assassination Encounter With Oswald

Tippit’s Post-Assassination Encounter With Oswald Investigation found no evidence Officer J.D. Tippit was acquainted with either Ruby or Oswald. Tippit did not frequent nightclubs, had no reason to enter Ruby’s clubs as part of his police duties, was not a member of any political organization, rarely discussed politics with others, and telephone records for his household after September 26, 1963 showed no suspicious long-distance calls. His November 22 encounter with Oswald was consistent with standard Dallas Police Department procedure: following the assassination, Tippit was directed as part of general orders to all officers to patrol the Oak Cliff area, where he came across Oswald, who matched the general suspect description broadcast to all police cars 15 minutes after the shooting. There is no basis to infer Tippit was acting outside his official duties when he approached Oswald.