I don't want to see her, I didn't want to.
Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, I am going to ask you about differences between you and your mother-in-law, not for the purpose of embarrassing you in any way, but since we are going to ask her to testify it might be helpful to the Commission to know that background.
I hope you will bear with us.
Have you had some differences with your mother-in-law?
Mrs. Oswald. I am sorry that you will devote your time to questioning her, because you will only be tired and very sick after talking to her. I am very much ashamed to have this kind of relationship to my mother-in-law. I would like to be closer to her and to be on better terms with her. But when you get to know her, you will understand why. I don't think that she can help you.
But if it is a formality, then, of course.
Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, can you describe for the Commission your differences so the Commission will be able to evaluate those differences?
Mrs. Oswald. Well, she asserts, for example, that I don't know anything, that I am being forced to say that Lee is guilty in everything, that she knows more.
This is what our differences are.
Mr. Rankin. And have you responded to her when she said those things?
Mrs. Oswald. She said this by means of newspapers and television.
I haven't seen her.
I would like to tell her that, but it is impossible to tell her that, because she would scratch my eyes out.
Mr. Rankin. Are there any other differences between you and your mother-in-law that you have not described?
Mrs. Oswald. No, there are no more.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know of any time that your husband had money in excess of what he obtained from the jobs he was working on?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. He had his unemployment insurance when he was out of work. Is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And then he had the earnings from his jobs, is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Now, beyond those amounts, do you know of any sum of money that he had from any source?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether he was ever acting as an undercover agent for the FBI.
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Do you believe that he was at any time?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether or not he was acting as an agent for the CIA at any time?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Do you believe that he was?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you know Jack Ruby, the man that killed your husband?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Before the murder of your husband by Jack Ruby, had you ever known of him?
Mrs. Oswald. No, never.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether your husband knew Jack Ruby before the killing?
Mrs. Oswald. He was not acquainted with him. Lee did not frequent nightclubs, as the papers said.
Mr. Rankin. How do you know that?
Mrs. Oswald. He was always with me. He doesn't like other women. He didn't drink. Why should he then go?
Mr. Rankin. Do you know any reason why Jack Ruby killed your husband?
Mrs. Oswald. About that, Jack Ruby should be questioned.
Mr. Rankin. I have to ask you, Mrs. Oswald.
Mrs. Oswald. He didn't tell me.
Mr. Rankin. And do you know any reason why he should?
Mrs. Oswald. I don't know, but it seems to me that he was a sick person at that time, perhaps. At least when I see his picture in the paper now, it is an abnormal face.
Mr. Rankin. Has your husband ever mentioned the name Jack Ruby to you?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. He never at any time said anything about Jack Ruby that you can recall?
Mrs. Oswald. No, never. I heard that name for the first time after he killed Lee.
I would like to consult with Mr. Thorne and Mr. Gopadze.
The Chairman. You may.
(Brief recess)
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, would you like to add something to your testimony?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes. This is in connection with why I left the room. I will tell you why I left the room.
I consulted with my attorney, whether I should bring this up. This is not a secret. The thing is that I have written a letter, even though I have not mailed it yet, to the attorney—to the prosecuting attorney who will prosecute Jack Ruby. I wrote in that letter that even—that if Jack Ruby killed my husband, and I felt that I have a right as the widow of the man he killed to say that, that if he killed him he should be punished for it. But that in accordance with the laws here, the capital punishment, the death penalty is imposed for such a crime, and that I do not want him to be subjected to that kind of a penalty. I do not want another human life to be taken. And I don't want it to be believed because of this letter that I had been acquainted with Ruby, and that I wanted to protect him.
It is simply that it is pity to—I feel sorry for another human life. Because this will not return—bring back to life Kennedy or the others who were killed. But they have their laws, and, of course, I do not have the right to change them. That is only my opinion, and perhaps they will pay some attention to it.
That is all.
Mr. Rankin. Had you ever been in the Carousel Nightclub?
Mrs. Oswald. I have never been in nightclubs.
Mr. Rankin. Did you know where it was located before your husband was killed by Jack Ruby?
Mrs. Oswald. No, I don't know it now either.
Mr. Rankin. Can you tell us whether your husband was right handed or left handed?
Mrs. Oswald. No, he was right handed.
His brother writes with his left hand and so does—his brother and mother both write with their left hand.
And since I mentioned Jack Ruby, the mother and Robert want Ruby to be subjected to a death penalty. And in that we differ.
Mr. Rankin. Have they told you the reason why they wanted the death penalty imposed?
Mrs. Oswald. In their view, a killing has to be repaid by a killing.
In my opinion, it is not so.
Mr. Rankin. Is there anything more about the assassination of President Kennedy that you know that you have not told the Commission?
Mrs. Oswald. No, I don't know anything.
Mr. Rankin. Is there anything that your husband ever told you about proposing to assassinate President Kennedy that you haven't told the Commission?
Mrs. Oswald. No, I don't know that.
Mr. Rankin. Now, Mrs. Oswald, we will turn to some period in Russia, and ask you about that for a little while.
Can you tell us the time and place of your birth?
Mrs. Oswald. I was born on July 17, 1941, in Severo Dvinsk, in the Arkhangelskaya Region.
Mr.