Mr. Oswald. Approximately the spring of 1961.
Mr. Jenner. Several months following her visit to Washington in January, 1961.
Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.
Mr. Jenner. Where did that discussion take place?
Mr. Oswald. I believe this was a telephone conversation, sir.
Mr. Jenner. Did you call her or did she call you?
Mr. Oswald. She called me, sir.
Mr. Jenner. And you recognized her voice, did you?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, I did.
Mr. Jenner. What did she say on the subject?
Mr. Oswald. That she told me briefly about her trip to Washington, and that she, as she put it, had seen various important people, and that she was reaching or coming to the conclusion that Lee was an agent of one sort or another for the United States Government.
Mr. Jenner. Did you respond to that?
Mr. Oswald. I do not recall, sir, that I did; if so, what my response might have been.
Mr. Jenner. You don't recall whether you responded, and if you did, you don't recall your response?
Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.
Mr. Jenner. All right, have you given us now all your conversations you had with your mother on the subject of whether your brother, that is up to November 22, 1963, as to whether your brother was or might have been an agent of the Government of the United States or an agent of any other government including that of Russia?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. Jenner. As you received these letters, particularly the series of letters in 1961, up to the first of January, 1962, did there occur to you the thought that your brother was or might be an agent of the Russian Government?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it most certainly did not.
Mr. Jenner. And at any time thereafter up to November 22, 1963?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it has not.
Mr. Jenner. Did you have any contact with the State Department or did the State Department have any contact with you at any time while your brother was in Russia?
Mr. McKenzie. Mr. Jenner, I believe the record will show there was a previous telegram to Mr. Christian Herter who was Secretary of State at the time.
Mr. Jenner. Other than the telegram you testified about yesterday.
Mr. Oswald. No, sir.
Mr. Jenner. Did you have any conversations with your mother respecting her contacts, if any, with the State Department during the period of time your brother was in Russia?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir, I did not.
Mr. Jenner. Did you at any time prior to November 22, 1963, no, I will include that date, let's say at any time prior to December 1, 1963, have any view or suspicion that Marina Oswald was or might have been an agent of the Russian Government?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.
Mr. Jenner. In the letter of July 14, 1961, being Commission Exhibit 301, your brother expresses or states, makes some derogatory comments respecting Russia. Is that the first information or knowledge that you had of any change of attitude on his part?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir, it was not.
Mr. Jenner. Indicate the prior event that gave you some suspicion in that connection.
Mr. Oswald. If I understand it correctly, sir, whether or not had I had any prior indication prior to receiving the letter of July 14, 1961, that Lee was becoming——
Mr. Jenner. Disenchanted.
Mr. Oswald. Disenchanted with the Russian way of life?
Mr. Jenner. Yes.
Mr. Oswald. When I received his first letter from Russia after a year or so of silence——
Mr. Jenner. Give the date of the letter.
There is a break between December 17, 1959 and May 5, 1961.
Is it the letter of May 5 of 1961?
Mr. Oswald. I am referring to the letter of May 5, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. All right. It is Commission Exhibit 299.
Mr. Oswald. It indicated to me, whether it so states in there or not, because he did start writing again that he was in fact disenchanted with the Russian way of life.
Mr. Jenner. This is the first letter you received after Lee had gone to Minsk, is it not?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. Jenner. And it is the first letter you received following the undated letter of, in December, 1959, but that you have noted was received on the 17th of December, 1959.
Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.
Mr. Jenner. I take it then the subsequent letters heightened your impression of suspicion that he was becoming—either was completely or was becoming, disenchanted with Russia.
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, in his letter it certainly doesn't indicate that he was, but it was my opinion at that time and still is that he was then——
Mr. Jenner. After you had read that letter, meaning the letter of May 5, 1961, which is Commission Exhibit 299, you felt that, or you had the reaction that, he was becoming disenchanted with Russia?
Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.
Mr. Jenner. And that was later confirmed by subsequent letters in which he expressly stated——
Mr. McKenzie. Disenchantment.
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
(Discussion off the record.)
Mr. Jenner. There appears to be on some of the envelopes now in evidence some stamps. They are in Russian but they may indicate that they are stamps placed upon those envelopes by a censor, and we will now undertake to investigate that circumstance.
Mr. McKenzie. Would you like for me to tell you which ones?
Mr. Jenner. If you will give me the dates I will recite the exhibit numbers.
Mr. McKenzie. It is June 26, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. That is Commission Exhibit No. 300.
Mr. McKenzie. August 21, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. Is the envelope dated August 21?
Mr. McKenzie. Yes.
Mr. Jenner. Would you see if that contains a one-page letter; oh, yes, August 21, that is Commission Exhibit No. 303.
You need not do it.
Mr. McKenzie. And September 10, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. That is Commission Exhibit No. 305.
Mr. McKenzie. And I call the Commission's attention particularly to the word stamped on the envelope "recommende" for whatever it means.
Mr. Dulles. That is French.
Mr. Jenner. Would you please relate, Mr. Oswald, Marina's ability to speak or understand English at the time that she and your brother returned from Russia in June of 1962?
Mr. Oswald. Her ability to understand was far less than her ability to speak English words. I spoke to her on the telephone the night of June 13, 1962 from New York City, to my residence in Fort Worth, Tex., and her statement to me at that time was, "Hello, Robert." I replied but no answer, and Lee took the telephone over again.
Mr. Jenner. During the month they lived in your home, were you better able to form an opinion as to her ability to speak