I looked at Lee. I thought that he had told De Mohrenschildt about it. And Lee looked at me, and he apparently thought that I had told De Mohrenschildt about it. It was kind of dark. But I noticed—it was in the evening, but I noticed that his face changed, that he almost became speechless.
You see, other people knew my husband better than I did. Not always—but in this case.
Mr. Rankin. Was De Mohrenschildt a friend that he told—your husband told him personal things that you knew of?
Mrs. Oswald. He asked Lee not because Lee had told him about it, but I think because he is smart enough man to have been able to guess it. I don't know—he is simply a liberal, simply a man. I don't think that he is being accused justly of being a Communist.
Mr. Rankin. That is De Mohrenschildt that you refer to?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Did you tell the authorities anything about this Walker incident when you learned about it?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. You have told the Secret Service or the FBI people reasons why you didn't. Will you tell us?
Mrs. Oswald. Why I did not tell about it?
First, because it was my husband. As far as I know, according to the local laws here, a wife cannot be a witness against her husband. But, of course, if I had known that Lee intended to repeat something like that, I would have told.
Mr. Rankin. Did he ask you to return the note to him?
Mrs. Oswald. He forgot about it. But apparently after that he thought that what he had written in his book might be proof against him, and he destroyed it.
Mr. Rankin. That is this book that you have just referred to in which he had the Walker house picture?
Mrs. Oswald. There was a notebook, yes, that is the one.
Mr. Rankin. What did you do with the note that he had left for you after you talked about it and said you were going to keep it?
Mrs. Oswald. I had it among my things in a cookbook. But I have two—I don't remember in which.
Mr. Rankin. Did your relations with your husband change after this Walker incident?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Will you describe to us the changes as you observed them?
Mrs. Oswald. Soon after that, Lee lost his job—I don't know for what reason. He was upset by it. And he looked for work for several days. And then I insisted that it would be better for him to go to New Orleans where he had relatives. I insisted on that because I wanted to get him further removed from Dallas and from Walker, because even though he gave me his word, I wanted to have him further away, because a rifle for him was not a very good toy—a toy that was too enticing.
Mr. Rankin. Did you say that you wanted him to go to New Orleans because of the Walker incident?
Mrs. Oswald. No. I simply told him that I wanted to see his home town. He had been born there.
Mr. Rankin. When he promised you that he would not do anything like that again, did you then believe him?
Mrs. Oswald. I did not quite believe him inasmuch as the rifle remained in the house.
Mr. Rankin. Did you ask him to get rid of the rifle at that time?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. After he shot at Walker, did you notice his taking the rifle out any more to practice?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Do you recall when you went to New Orleans?
Mrs. Oswald. I think it was in May. Lee went there himself, by himself. At that time, I became acquainted with Mrs. Paine, and I stayed with her while he was looking for work. In about one week Lee telephoned me that he had found a job and that I should come down.
Mr. Rankin. When did you first get acquainted with Mrs. Paine?
Mrs. Oswald. I think it was a couple of months earlier—probably in January.
Mr. Rankin. How did you happen to go to Mrs. Paine's house to stay? Did she invite you?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes; she invited me. I had become acquainted with her through some Russian friends of ours. We had visited with some people, and she was there. Inasmuch as she was studying Russian, she invited me to stay with her.
Mr. Rankin. Did you pay her anything for staying with her?
Mrs. Oswald. No, I only repaid her in the sense that I helped her in the household and that I gave her Russian language lessons. This, in her words, was the very best pay that I could give her. And she wanted that I remain with her longer.
But, of course, it was better for me to be with my husband.
Mr. Rankin. How did your husband let you know that he had found a job?
Mrs. Oswald. He telephoned me.
Mr. Rankin. Did you then leave at once for New Orleans?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And how did you get to New Orleans from Dallas?
Mrs. Oswald. Mrs. Paine took me there in her car. She took her children and my things and we went there.
Mr. Rankin. Did you have much in the way of household goods to move?
Mrs. Oswald. Everything—we could put everything into one car. But, in fact, most of the things Lee had taken with him. Because he went by bus.
Mr. Rankin. Did he take the gun with him to New Orleans?
Mrs. Oswald. I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me that it was not among my things.
Mr. Rankin. Where did you live at New Orleans?
Mrs. Oswald. Magazine Street. By the time I arrived there Lee already had rented an apartment.
Mr. Rankin. When Mrs. Paine brought you down to New Orleans, did she stay with you for any period of time?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, she was there for two days.
Mr. Rankin. How did Mrs. Paine and your husband get along? Were they friendly?
Mrs. Oswald. She was very good to us, to Lee and to me, and Lee was quite friendly with her, but he did not like her. I know that he didn't like her.
Mr. Rankin. Did he tell you why he didn't like her?
Mrs. Oswald. He considered her to be a stupid woman. Excuse me—these are not my words.
Mr. Rankin. Were you and Mrs. Paine good friends?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, so-so. I tried to help her as much as I could. But I also—I was—I did not like her too well. I also considered her not to be a very smart woman.
Mr. Rankin. I think it is about time for a recess, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Very well. We will take a recess for 10 minutes.
(Brief recess.)
The Chairman. The Committee will be in order.
Mr. Rankin, you may continue.
Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, did you discuss the Walker shooting with Mrs. Paine?
Mrs. Oswald. No. I didn't tell anyone. Apart from the FBI. That is after—that is later.
Mr. Rankin. When was it that you told the FBI about the Walker shooting?
Mrs. Oswald. About 2 weeks after Lee was killed.
Mr. Rankin. Before you went to New Orleans, had you seen anyone from the FBI?
Mrs. Oswald. The FBI visited us in Fort Worth when we lived on Mercedes Street.
Mr. Rankin.