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

FBI Monitoring of Oswald from Defection to Return

The FBI opened a file on Oswald in October 1959 when news reports appeared of his defection to the Soviet Union. The file was opened “for the purpose of correlating information inasmuch as he was considered a possible security risk in the event he returned to this country.” The State Department, CIA, and Office of Naval Intelligence also opened files. Until April 1960, FBI activity consisted of placing information about Oswald’s relations with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and background data on his prior military service into his file. In April 1960, Marguerite Oswald and Robert Oswald were interviewed during a routine FBI investigation of money transfers to Lee Harvey Oswald in Russia. Over the next two years, the FBI continued to accumulate information through periodic reviews of State Department and ONI files, learning that Oswald had attempted to renounce his U.S. citizenship, applied for Soviet citizenship, described himself as a Marxist, offered to give the Soviet Union any useful information he had as a marine radar technician, displayed an arrogant attitude at the U.S. Embassy, and had been discharged from the Marine Corps Reserve as undesirable in August 1960. In June 1962, the Bureau was advised of Oswald’s plan to return and instructed the Dallas office to interview him to determine whether he had been recruited by a Soviet intelligence service.

FBI Post-Return Interviews with Oswald

Oswald was first interviewed by FBI Agents John W. Fain and B. Tom Carter on June 26, 1962, in Fort Worth. Fain reported that Oswald was impatient, arrogant, and unwilling to answer questions about his motive for going to the Soviet Union, though he denied denouncing his U.S. citizenship or applying for Soviet citizenship. Oswald discussed his contacts with Soviet authorities, denied involvement with Soviet intelligence agencies, and promised to advise the FBI if he heard from them. Fain was not satisfied and arranged a second interview on August 16, 1962. While Oswald remained somewhat evasive, he was not antagonistic and seemed to be settling down. He again agreed to notify the FBI of any suspicious approaches. Fain concluded that Oswald was not a security risk or potentially dangerous or violent and recommended the case be placed in closed status—an administrative classification indicating no further work was scheduled but not precluding reopening if warranted.