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The President's Commission reconvened at 3 p.m.
Mr. Dulles. Gentlemen, the Commission will come to order.
Are you ready to continue the testimony, Mr. Martin?
Mr. Martin. Yes, sir.
Mr. Dulles. Will you carry forward, Mr. Redlich?
Mr. Redlich. Mr. Martin, I would like to hand you a group of newspaper clippings which have not as yet been introduced in evidence and I would ask you to look through them and to pick out any which you feel create an image of Mrs. Marina Oswald which you feel does not conform to the reality of her personality, as you know it, and ask you in regard to each one to tell us in what respect the facts as reported in each of these clippings do not conform to the real person as you know her.
Mr. Dulles. I assume we can avoid repetition, can't we?
Mr. Redlich. Yes.
Mr. Dulles. Incidents here have been touched on in other papers and we don't need to touch them again.
Mr. Redlich. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
During the intermission we have gone through all of the newspaper clippings and eliminated the duplicate stories and hope to eliminate duplicate facts as we go along.
Mr. Martin. Well, this one is inaccurate that it doesn't have anything to do with her image, so to speak. It says she spent Christmas——
Mr. Redlich. For the sake of the record if we are going to have comment on them I would like to have them introduced as evidence because the record wouldn't state what they are about.
Are you going to make comment?
Mr. Martin. Do you want me to?
Mr. Redlich. If you are going to make comment about it, if you feel there is some inaccuracy here then I would like to introduce that in evidence, since apparently you are.
Mr. Martin. It is inaccurate as far as the date in the article is concerned.
Mr. Redlich. The witness has handed to us a newspaper story which we have marked as Commission Exhibit No. 328.
Mr. Dulles. Could we have the inaccuracy mentioned here?
Mr. Redlich. Yes, the headline of which is "Mrs. Oswald Will Bare Life of Mate" and I request it be admitted in evidence.
Mr. Dulles. Any objection?
Mr. Leech. No.
Mr. Dulles. It will be admitted.
(The document referred to was marked Commission's Exhibit No. 328 for identification and received in evidence.)
Mr. Redlich. I show you Commission Exhibit No. 328 and ask you if there are any inaccuracies in that statement.
Mr. Martin. "Mrs. Oswald and Her Children Now Make Their Home at an Undisclosed Hotel" which is inaccurate—"and it was in that motel room, somewhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that the youngest Oswald child spent her first Christmas. There was a tree, toys and even a visit from Mrs. Oswald's brother who lives 30 miles to the north in Denton, Tex."
That was the inaccuracy that she spent Christmas not in a motel but in our home.
Mr. Dulles. That is about from 3 o'clock in the afternoon as I recall until 7:30 in the evening.
Mr. Martin. No, sir; that was Thanksgiving.
Mr. Dulles. That was Thanksgiving. Spent the whole day of Christmas in your home?
Mr. Martin. Well, she lived there. She was at our home 24 hours a day.
This one—
Mr. Redlich. The witness has produced before the Commission a newspaper story which we have labeled as Commission Exhibit No. 329, the headline of which reads, "Money Gifts to Tippit's Near $200,000 Mark."
Mr. Chairman, I request that Commission Exhibit No. 329 be admitted in evidence.
Mr. Dulles. Any objection?
Mr. Leech. No.
Mr. Dulles. It shall be admitted.
(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 329 for identification and received in evidence.)
Mr. Redlich. Mr. Martin, I hand you Exhibit No. 329 and ask you if it is inaccurate in any respect.
Mr. Martin. The article states that Mrs. Shirley Williamson, a Fort Worth housewife, who felt compassion for the widow, Mrs. Oswald, and the two babies said the fund for the Russian-born widow had reached $76,000."
The fund that Mrs. Williamson collected amounted to some $2,600. That was her total. That is the inaccuracy there.
Mr. Dulles. Is she referring to the funds she collected or the whole collections?
Mr. Martin. Her funds. This has come up numerous times. We even called her about it one time. She had given out press releases that she had collected personally, I think, in excess of $8,000, whereas what she was doing was adding what she had collected to what had already been sent to Marina, and saying that she was holding that money.
Mr. Dulles. But even that total is exaggerated, is it not?
Mr. Martin. At that time, yes.
Mr. Dulles. The total collections?
Mr. Martin. At that time, yes.
Mr. Redlich. Mr. Martin, this article also makes reference to the fund on behalf of the wife of Officer Tippit with which, of course, you have no connection.
I would like to ask you, however, whether at the time you extended the offer to Marina Oswald to live in your home you were aware of the fact that there were funds being raised for Officer Tippit's wife.
Mr. Martin. I was undoubtedly aware of it but I don't recall any conscious knowledge of it or thinking of it.
Mr. Redlich. Do you recall whether you were aware at the time that there were any funds coming in on behalf of Mrs. Oswald?
Mr. Martin. No.
Mr. Redlich. You were not aware?
Mr. Martin. Not aware, no.
Mr. Redlich. The witness has offered to, has presented to, the Commission a newspaper story appearing in the Buffalo Evening News, December 7, 1963, headline of which reads, "Oswald's Widow Reported Hoping to be U.S. Citizen."
This story has been identified as Commission Exhibit No. 330 and I ask that it be introduced in evidence.
Mr. Dulles. Any objection?
Mr. Leech. None.
Mr. Dulles. Accepted.
(The newspaper article referred to was marked Commission's Exhibit No. 330
