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

Ruby’s Business Activities

This section details Ruby’s business activities. Ruby’s primary income sources were his two Dallas nightclubs, the Carousel Club and the Vegas Club, though he frequently pursued short-lived independent business promotions. At the time of the assassination, he owed approximately $44,000 in delinquent U.S. taxes and was in substantial debt to his brother Earl and friend Ralph Paul, but there was no indication either party was pressuring him for payment, and his tax liabilities were likely susceptible to acceptable settlement. He operated his clubs on a cash basis, often carrying large amounts of cash, so the roughly $3,000 found on him and in his car at arrest had no particular significance. His meager financial records showed no unexplained large transactions, he used bank accounts infrequently, and no entries were made to his safe-deposit boxes in over a year before the Oswald shooting. There is no evidence he received funds after his arrest except small defense contributions from friends, sympathizers, and family, and royalties from a syndicated newspaper article about his life.

Ruby’s Political Activities

This section details Ruby’s political activities. Ruby considered himself a Democrat, possibly influenced by his brother Hyman’s involvement in Chicago Democratic ward politics. When arrested, police found 10 political cards in his apartment urging election of the “Conservative Democratic slate,” but there is no evidence Ruby distributed this literature or ever campaigned for political candidates. None of his friends or associates recalled him belonging to groups interested in political issues, or discussing political problems except on rare occasions.

CHAPITRE VIII. She did not then know Oswald’s address in Dallas.[C6-367]

This section details the Commission’s investigation into allegations of Jack Ruby’s ties to political and subversive groups, first concluding there is no reliable evidence Ruby was ever associated with Communist or radical causes, and dismissing a claim that he took part in Communist activities in Muncie, Indiana between 1943 and 1947 after military records placed Ruby on active military duty in the South during two of the alleged visits, no corroborating lists or witness accounts confirming his presence in Muncie were located, and all individuals named as Ruby’s associates in the claim denied knowing him or having any connection to Communist activity. The section also addresses allegations of Ruby’s ties to ultraconservative groups, pro- or anti-Castro Cuban activity, and organized criminal enterprises, finding none of these claims are substantiated: while Ruby had two right-wing radio scripts from H.L. Hunt’s program in his possession at the time of his arrest, there is no evidence he actively participated in right-wing political efforts, allegations he met with officer J.D. Tippit and right-wing activist Bernard Weissman at the Carousel Club are unsupported by club employees and other witnesses, and no links between Ruby and Cuban revolutionary groups or organized crime were uncovered. The section additionally covers the Commission’s review of Ruby’s roommate George Senator, finding no evidence Senator ever engaged in political activities, and noting inconsistencies in his accounts of his actions on November 22 and 23, 1963, including omissions of accompanying Ruby to photograph the “Impeach Earl Warren” sign and an unverified claim that he offered to make breakfast for friends the morning after Oswald’s shooting.

Ruby’s Early Political Activities and Views on Kennedy

Ruby’s early politically adjacent activities included participating in poolhall associate-led attacks on German-American Bund meetings in Chicago, registering a 1942 copyright for an unpromoted “Remember Pearl Harbor” placard, and attempting to sell Franklin D. Roosevelt busts. His synagogue rabbi believed he was too unsophisticated to hold meaningful political views. The overwhelming majority of witnesses reported Ruby held considerable respect for President Kennedy prior to the assassination, with no reports of hostility toward him.

No Evidence of Ruby’s Communist Party Ties

There is no reliable evidence Ruby was ever associated with communist or radical causes. His Polish-born parents maintained no ties to European relatives after emigrating to the U.S. in the early 1900s, Ruby denied communist connections, and FBI nationwide files contained no records of subversive activity by Ruby prior to the Oswald shooting. A review of all 1963 subversive activity reports from the Dallas-Fort Worth FBI office found no entries related to Ruby or his known acquaintances.