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

Right-Wing Groups Hostile to President Kennedy

The Commission evaluated potential links between Oswald and right-wing groups hostile to President Kennedy, noting three provocative incidents surrounding Kennedy’s Dallas trip: the October 1963 attack on U.S. Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson during his Dallas visit, the November 22 full-page black-bordered “Welcome Mr. Kennedy” paid advertisement in the Dallas Morning News, and the November 20-21 distribution of the “Wanted for Treason” handbill across Dallas. There is no evidence Oswald was aware of the advertisement or handbill, though he was aware of the Stevenson incident. The only evidence of Oswald’s engagement with rightist groups is his alleged attendance at a rally featuring Major General Edwin Walker the night before Stevenson’s Dallas appearance, which he referenced in a November 1, 1963 letter to Communist Party information director Arnold Johnson, noting significant political friction between left and right groups in Dallas. General Walker did speak at the rally but had no prior knowledge of Oswald, and there is no evidence Oswald attended other rightist meetings or was affiliated with conservative organizations.

Genesis of the ‘Welcome Mr. Kennedy’ Advertisement

The November 22 “Welcome Mr. Kennedy” advertisement was a paid full-page black-bordered piece in the Dallas Morning News, purportedly sponsored by the fictitious “American Fact-Finding Committee,” with Bernard Weissman listed as chairman and a Dallas PO box as the only contact address. The ad was created by four men: Bernard Weissman, William Burley III, Larrie Schmidt, and Joseph Grinnan. Weissman, Burley, and Schmidt had served together in the U.S. Army in Munich, Germany in 1962, where they devised plans to build a conservative political organization (CUSA) and business entity (AMBUS) by infiltrating existing right-wing groups to seize their leadership. Schmidt moved to Dallas in October 1962, became active in local conservative politics, and repeatedly urged Weissman and Burley to join him to capitalize on publicity from upcoming protests, including the Stevenson demonstration and Kennedy’s planned visit. After the Stevenson demonstration made a physical protest of Kennedy’s visit unfeasible, the four men decided to place the advertisement to boost conservative morale in Dallas, adapting a pamphlet of 50 critical questions about U.S. policy for the ad’s content. Grinnan raised the $1,465 ad cost from three wealthy Dallas businessmen, at least one of whom required a suggested question be included. Weissman believed the ad was a John Birch Society initiative, though Schmidt and Grinnan maintained they acted solely as private individuals. The ad received 50-60 responses: mail postmarked before the assassination was favorable, post-assassination mail was hostile and threatening, and mail postmarked weeks later was again favorable. The four men denied any prior connection to Oswald or Jack Ruby, and the Commission found no evidence linking any of them to Oswald, Ruby, or the assassination conspiracy. An unsubstantiated allegation that Weissman met with Ruby and Patrolman J.D. Tippit at Ruby’s Carousel Club on November 14, 1963, was made by attorney Mark Lane, who declined to name his informant or provide supporting evidence; Commission investigation found no evidence such a meeting occurred.