</s>104-10142-10260 INSPECTOR GENERAL HSCA 1/6/3241 2897 Executive Registry 2797 77-0052 MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence 2797. The S.S.Sofy FROM John H. Waller Inspector General SUBJECT Bernard Fensterwald; Jr. Comments in 22 October 1976 Issue of Washington Star Bernard Fenstewald; Jr ., Comments in Mr. Seymour Bolten SUBJECT 1. The following is a response to your query to Mr. Seymour Bolten concerning comments made by Bernard Fensterwald; JR. 2. The comments made are subject to the marked section of the at- tached newspaper clipping by partially factual and partially sheer speculation. It is true that the Agency has been particularly sensitive about the entire matter because the photographs in question originally from a highly sensitive intelligence operation which was conducted in October 1963 by the Agency and Mexico security authorities against the November 1963 by The Agency and Mexican security authorities again in novitiated from the Warren Commission. It should not be noted that Oswald was in no sense (under investigation and that it should not notice during his was in the noise) under investigation and and that at no time during his stay in Mexico City did the CIA acquire a photograph of Oswald. 3. The Agency has 12 different photographs of an individual, pos- sibly an American as yet unidentified who was observed entering the Soviet Embassy and later the Cuban Embassy, a cropped photograph was introduced and and later that the CIA cuban Embassy, A cropped photograph from- instructions and Staff were made fully city in the course of their inquiry at Headquarters and Mexico City of the origins of the photo- graph, and the fact that we had had the additional photographs of the same instructors were made by the Mexican City of Mexico City that the man in the photograph- individuelity of the National Archives of the United States. was Oswald. However, however, this proved not to be the case. It shouldn't be noted at Station in Mexico city suggested that the main man two of the 12 photographs during a visit to the Agency, but actually show two of our published in the Warren Commission report. It's a matter of more than CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASE IN FULL JFK ACT 5-19.99 1999 <loc_358><loc_828><loc_359><loc_851><loc_292><loc_854>E2, IMPDET CL BY 0064645 <loc_784><loc_875>RELEASE 201 84

Summary:  
The document contains a memorandum from John H. Waller, Inspector General of the CIA, dated 1/6/3241 (likely a formatting error), addressing Bernard Fensterwald Jr.'s comments in a 1976 Washington Star article. It discusses the CIA's involvement in monitoring Lee Harvey Oswald’s activities in Mexico City during October 1963, noting that the Agency had no photographs of Oswald during his stay and that coverage was technical rather than human-source-based. The text references the Warren Commission’s investigation, mentions a 12-photograph analysis of an unidentified individual potentially linked to Soviet or Cuban embassies, and notes that these photos were not confirmed as Oswald. It also includes fragmented discussions about legal restrictions on CIA information disclosure, the lack of coverage on Oswald’s embassy visits due to mechanical issues, and the Agency’s provision of information to the FBI. Later sections include disjointed remarks about a 1971 meeting with Fensterwald, legal challenges to CIA classification, and references to investigations into JFK’s assassination, including claims about lone actors or conspiracies involving figures like James Earl Ray.  

Key People:  
- John H. Waller (CIA Inspector General)  
- Bernard Fensterwald Jr.  
- Seymour Bolten  
- Lee Harvey Oswald  
- James Earl Ray  
- Lawrence Houston (General Counsel, CIA)  
- Sylvia Duran (Mexican employee of Cuban Embassy)  

Key Locations:  
- Mexico City  
- Washington, D.C.  
- National Archives of the United States  

Key Events:  
- CIA surveillance of Lee Harvey Oswald in Mexico City (October 1963)  
- Warren Commission investigation into JFK assassination  
- Analysis of photographs of an unidentified individual at Soviet/Cuban embassies  
- Legal discussions about CIA information classification and disclosure  
- 1971 meeting between Bernard Fensterwald Jr. and Lawrence Houston  

Key Organizations:  
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA)  
- Warren Commission

RFK Declassified Files

00338615_memo_bernard_fensterwald_104-10095-10242.pdf

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