(Testimony of Winston G. , Accompanied By Fred B. Smith, Lawson)
Mr. Lawson.
to the same hotel or something, this would give him names of people to contact there. He might obtain information. There was no report on Dallas for President Kennedy.
Mr. Stern.
You checked?
Mr. Lawson.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Stern.
And found no report. This file would contain the reports such as your final report which we have marked "768," is that right?
Mr. Lawson.
That is correct.
Mr. Stern.
There was nothing in there----
Mr. Lawson.
No, sir.
Mr. Stern.
Reflecting any recent trip to the Dallas area?
Mr. Lawson.
That is correct.
Mr. Stern.
Did anything else transpire before you left for Dallas as far as advance preparation?
Mr. Lawson.
I picked up paraphernalia that we use, sometimes more than other times depending on the type of trip it is. If there is to be a motorcade as there was in this case, we usually get car numbers for the windows and some identification pins for people who will not have identification supplied by a local committee, and other paraphernalia of this type, and 1 obtained those and took them with me.
Mr. Stern.
Did anything else happen before you left for Dallas?
Mr. Lawson.
I called the Dallas office, the agent in charge was not in, and talked to another agent, told him that I was coming down with other agents on the Texas trip and would be dropped off at approximately 7:30 on the evening, Tuesday evening, of the next week, and-----
Mr. Stern.
What was the date?
Mr. Lawson.
I believe that is the 12th of November. That Mr. Puterbaugh and Chief Warrant Officer Bales from the Communications Agency, White House, would be accompanying me, and would they make arrangements to please have us met at the airport and for rooms. And then dictated a confirming memo before I left on the eighth.
Representative Ford.
Did you have any other contacts with PRS other than this one?
Mr. Lawson.
No, sir; I did not.
Mr. Stern.
You then went to Dallas on November 12?
Mr. Lawson.
That is correct.
Mr. Stern.
What did you do in Dallas from the time of your arrival in connection with trying to learn about people who might be potentially dangerous to the President?
Mr. Lawson.
I was aware of the so-called Stevenson incident and so I didn't have to be told that there.
Mr. Stern.
How did you become aware of that?
Mr. Lawson.
I had read it in the paper, and so without making inquiries 1 was aware of that when I went there.
Mr. Stern.
You received no specific advice about that from PRS?
Mr. Lawson.
No, sir; I was aware of this fact. And then of course it was after I arrived there people were talking about it also. And although to my know]edge none of the people involved in that particular incident had threatened the President or were known to us as threatening the President, I asked Agent Howlett if he would view some films of this incident that I understood one of the local TV stations had.
I was informed of this by a local executive of the local paper who was on the host committee, that they had such films. And Agent Howlett did view these and had some still shots made of these individuals, although we still did not know that they were against President Kennedy or might harm him in any way. This was an extra on my part. I had asked Agent Howlett if he had any contact with any individuals, informants in the area that he might have, that the office might have about rightwing elements and what they might do, and was told that prior to my arrival in Dallas they had received some information on some rightwing activity, and that an investigation had been made, and that he also had talked to an informant or two I believe. But to their knowledge there
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