</s>104-10143-10049 JC HT-0245-2 JFK JFK AACT 25 January 1977 S/8/1999 HSCA RELEASE HSCa MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Counterintelligence Staff 77-0032 FROM : Russell B. Holmes CI Operations Group SUBJECT Article by Norman Kempster Appearing in The Los Angeles Times of 1 January 1977 and Entitled "CIA Withheld Data on Oswald." (Copy Attached) 1. The undersigned takes umbrage at the continual irresponsibility of the American press in its reporting on Lee Harvey Oswald and the Agency's alleged mishandling of the case. It is particularly galling when the Chief. Counsel, Richard A. Sprague, of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, releases to the press statements which, as cited as the Agency and which are both inaccurate and detri- means to the Agency with the Agency has not been given the opportunity to refute. 2. It its evident from such releases that the Agency is once again to be laid open to public scrutiny by a hostile press aided and abbed by an unsympathetic Congregressional Committee. In other words, the Agency had already the basic rights of any defendant before a court of law, the basis would probably be rejected out of hand. although any argument presented by the Agency in its own 3. The inference of Sprague's public statements (as cited by Kempster) pertaining to the agency's alleged mis- handling the Department of the Agency to the Attorney's alleged dishonest; that it deliberately withheld pertinent information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Warren Commission. Sprague's judgment (based upon incomplete investigation) does not coincide during his first visit left to November 1970 that he will not prejudice (emphasis added) CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM F2 IMPEDET RELEASE IN FULL 1998 CL BY 008885 21059

The memorandum addresses criticisms from Norman Kempster’s article in *The Los Angeles Times* (1 January 1977) regarding the CIA’s handling of Lee Harvey Oswald’s case. It outlines the CIA’s position that the agency did not withhold critical information about Oswald’s interactions with Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City in October 1963. The document details a cable from the Mexico City Station to CIA Headquarters on 1 October 1963, which summarized a telephone conversation between Oswald and the Soviet Embassy. It notes that the CIA disseminated this information to the FBI, State Department, Navy, and Immigration Service by 2 October 1963. The text clarifies that the CIA did not initially know Oswald’s intent to visit Cuba or the USSR but later learned of his visa requests after reviewing embassy records in November 1963. It criticizes House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) Chief Counsel Richard A. Sprague for allegedly misrepresenting the CIA’s actions, including claims that the agency withheld information about Oswald’s contacts with foreign embassies. The memorandum also references a 1976 CIA directive to avoid prejudicing its reputation by addressing press or congressional inquiries about "mission or commission" sins. Key points include the timing of CIA communications, the FBI’s involvement in October 1963, and disputes over whether the agency altered messages for the Warren Commission.  

**Key People**:  
- Richard A. Sprague (HSCA Chief Counsel)  
- Norman Kempster (*Los Angeles Times* journalist)  
- Russell B. Holmes (CIA official)  
- David Phillips (former CIA agent referenced in discussions about Oswald’s contacts)  
- Boris Tarasov (individual mentioned in witness accounts)  

**Key Locations**:  
- Mexico City (Soviet and Cuban embassies, CIA Station)  
- Washington, D.C. (CIA Headquarters, FBI, Warren Commission)  

**Key Events**:  
- Lee Harvey Oswald’s telephone conversations with the Soviet Embassy in October 1963  
- CIA dissemination of information to U.S. agencies by 2 October 1963  
- Review of embassy records in November 1963 revealing Oswald’s visa requests  
- Sprague’s public statements and alleged mischaracterization of CIA actions  
- 1976 CIA directive to avoid prejudicing its reputation through press or congressional inquiries  

**Key Organizations**:  
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA)  
- Warren Commission  
- U.S. Department of State, Navy, and Immigration and Naturalization Service

MLK Declassified Files

00305055_article_by_norman_kempste_104-10143-10049.pdf

Document Summary

Try AI Search