Mrs. Oswald. Yes. Then we received a letter from Connally in which he said that he had turned the matter over to the responsible authorities. That was all in Russia.
But here it seems he had written again to that organization with a request to review. But he said from time to time that these are bureaucrats, and he was dissatisfied.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know when he wrote again?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Was that letter written from New Orleans?
Mrs. Oswald. I don't know. I only know about the fact, but when and how, I don't know.
Mr. Rankin. Did your husband say anything to you to indicate he had a dislike for Governor Connally?
Mrs. Oswald. Here he didn't say anything.
But while we were in Russia he spoke well of him. It seems to me that Connally was running for Governor and Lee said that when he would return to the United States he would vote for him.
Mr. Rankin. That is all that you remember that he said about Governor Connally then?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. With regard to the Walker incident, you said that your husband seemed disturbed for several weeks. Did you notice anything of that kind with regard to the day prior to the assassination?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. On November 22, the day of the assassination, you said your husband got up and got his breakfast. Did you get up at all before he left?
Mrs. Oswald. No. I woke up before him, and I then went to the kitchen to see whether he had had breakfast or not—whether he had already left for work. But the coffee pot was cold and Lee was not there.
And when I met Ruth that morning, I asked her whether Lee had had coffee or not, and she said probably, perhaps he had made himself some instant coffee.
But probably he hadn't had any breakfast that morning.
Mr. Rankin. Then did he say anything to you that morning at all, or did he get up and go without speaking to you?
Mrs. Oswald. He told me to take as much money as I needed and to buy everything, and said goodbye, and that is all.
After the police had already come, I noticed that Lee had left his wedding ring.
Mr. Rankin. You didn't observe that that morning when your husband had left, did you?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know approximately what time your husband left that morning?
Mrs. Oswald. I have written it there, but I have now forgotten whether it was seven or eight. But a quarter to eight—I don't know. I have now forgotten.
Mr. Rankin. What time was he due for work?
Mrs. Oswald. He was due at work at 8 or 8:30. At 7:15 he was already gone.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether he rode with Wesley Frazier that morning?
Mrs. Oswald. I don't know. I didn't hear him leave.
Mr. Rankin. Did you ever see a paper bag or cover for the rifle at the Paine's residence or garage?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you ever see a bag at any time?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Where did your husband have his lunch? Did he take a sandwich to the depository, or did he go home to his rooming house for lunch? Do you know?
Mrs. Oswald. He usually took sandwiches to lunch. But I don't know whether he would go home or not.
Mr. Rankin. Had your husband ever left his wedding ring at home that way before?
Mrs. Oswald. At one time while he was still at Fort Worth, it was inconvenient for him to work with his wedding ring on and he would remove it, but at work—he would not leave it at home. His wedding ring was rather wide, and it bothered him.
I don't know now. He would take it off at work.
Mr. Rankin. Then this is the first time during your married life that he had ever left it at home where you live?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether your husband carried any package with him when he left the house on November 22nd?
Mrs. Oswald. I think that he had a package with his lunch. But a small package.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether he had any package like a rifle in some container?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. What did you do the rest of the morning, after you got up on November 22d?
Mrs. Oswald. When I got up the television set was on, and I knew that Kennedy was coming. Ruth had gone to the doctor with her children and she left the television set on for me. And I watched television all morning, even without having dressed. She was running around in her pajamas and watching television with me.
Mr. Rankin. Before the assassination, did you ever see your husband examining the route of the parade as it was published in the paper?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you ever see him looking at a map of Dallas like he did in connection with the Walker shooting?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. How did you learn of the shooting of President Kennedy?
Mrs. Oswald. I was watching television, and Ruth by that time was already with me, and she said someone had shot at the President.
Mr. Rankin. What did you say?
Mrs. Oswald. It was hard for me to say anything. We both turned pale. I went to my room and cried.
Mr. Rankin. Did you think immediately that your husband might have been involved?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did Mrs. Paine say anything about the possibility of your husband being involved?
Mrs. Oswald. No, but she only said that "By the way, they fired from the building in which Lee is working."
My heart dropped. I then went to the garage to see whether the rifle was there, and I saw that the blanket was still there, and I said, "Thank God." I thought, "Can there really be such a stupid man in the world that could do something like that?" But I was already rather upset at that time—I don't know why. Perhaps my intuition.
I didn't know what I was doing.
Mr. Rankin. Did you look in the blanket to see if the rifle was there?
Mrs. Oswald. I didn't unroll the blanket. It was in its usual position, and it appeared to have something inside.
Mr. Rankin. Did you at any time open the blanket to see if the rifle was there?
Mrs. Oswald. No, only once.
Mr. Rankin. You have told us about that.
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And what about Mrs. Paine? Did she look in the blanket to see if the rifle was there?
Mrs. Oswald. She didn't know about the rifle.
Perhaps she did know. But she never told me about it.
I don't know.
Mr. Rankin. When did you learn that the rifle was not in the blanket?
Mrs. Oswald. When the police arrived and asked whether my husband had a rifle, and I said "Yes."
Mr. Rankin. Then what happened?
Mrs. Oswald. They began to search the apartment. When they came to the garage and took the blanket, I thought, "Well, now, they will find it."
They