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

Oswald Political Affiliation Records

Records of Oswald’s political affiliations document his contacts with the Communist Party USA (through A. Johnson and the Tormey–Weinstock network), the Socialist Workers Party (through Farrell Dobbs and related materials), the Socialist Party of America (through V. Gray), and the Fair Play for Cuba Committee (through V. T. Lee, Bringuier, Martello, Steele, Stuckey, and others). The material covers Oswald’s efforts to distribute “Fair Play for Cuba” literature in New Orleans, his altercation with Carlos Bringuier, the addresses of 544 Camp Street and 4907 Magazine Street, his contacts with anti-Castro Cuban exiles, and his claim of membership in the Communist Party as told to Señora Duran of the Cuban consulate in Mexico City. The chapter also notes that Oswald subscribed to Russian-language periodicals and that one purpose of his Fair Play for Cuba activities was to gain entry into Cuba. Notes 405–450 and 451–526 provide the supporting references, including exhibits CE 93, CE 1145, CE 1147, CE 1410–1414, CE 1799, CE 2120, and others.

Oswald Mexico Trip Documentation

Documentation of Oswald’s Mexico City trip in late September and early October 1963 is drawn primarily from Mexican governmental records (CE 2120, CE 2121, CE 2123) and from the testimony of Marina Oswald, Dr. and Mrs. John B. McFarland, Pamela Mumford, and Silvia Duran of the Mexican Immigration Service. The material establishes Oswald’s departure from New Orleans, his arrival in Mexico City, his visits to the Soviet and Cuban consulates, his contacts with Consul Kostikov and Silvia Duran, his claim of Communist Party membership, the “notation” of an address provided by Duran, and his return trip to the United States. The chapter cross-references the appendix (XIII) for time-of-departure data and the documents Oswald carried with him, and notes that the only witness placing Oswald with anyone else during the trip was thoroughly discredited. Notes 527–556 provide the supporting references, including exhibits CE 18, CE 156, CE 161, CE 1969, CE 2445, CE 2450–2451, CE 2564, CE 2566, CE 2569–2575, CE 3095, and CE 3127.