Mr. Chayes.

No; the problem here was that this man had attempted to expatriate himself, and said he was going to naturalize himself as a Soviet citizen, and if he had done either of those things effectively, he would have disqualified himself for a passport.
So there was an unresolved question on the facts known in 1959, or January 1960, whenever it was. And at that point a lookout card should have been prepared for him.
Then in July of 1961, when he came back in in Moscow, and asked for the renewal of his passport, that question of expatriation was then determined, both in Moscow and at home, and it was determined in favor of the applicant. that the outstanding question was then removed, and if the procedures had gone right, the lookout card also, if it had been prepared, would have been taken out of the lookout file and torn up and thrown away.

Representative Ford.

Don't you keep records of what you put in and what you take out?

Mr. Chayes.

Yes, the refusal slip which formed the basis on which this memorandum that we are talking about was made. There was a refusal slip which was a direction to the person in the lookout card office to make a lookout card, and also probably whoever made the refusal slip also sent this memorandum to Moscow saying that a lookout card had been prepared.
If you look at the refusal slip, which is retained in the main passport file of Oswald, it doesn't have the notations that it would have had or should have had if a card had been made. So that on the general basis of the evidence, we conclude that it is probable that no card was made. But you can't say that for sure because even if one had been made, it would have been removed when the issue was resolved.

Representative Ford.

If it is probable one wasn't made, but there is a possibility, remote as it might be, don't you have some means of recording when a lookout card is removed?

Mr. Chayes.

That notation also does not appear.

Representative Ford.

So the probability is increased.

Mr. Chayes.

That is correct.

Representative Ford.

That there was no lookout card ever made and put into the file.

Mr. Chayes.

That is correct, sir. All of this is covered in some detail in our response, our written response to the questionnaire, and comes to the same conclusion, and all of these points are enumerated.

Mr. Coleman.

There is a Commission Exhibit No. 948 where Mr. Chayes under date of May 8, 1964, addressed himself to these problems.

Representative Ford.

Is this that which I have here?

Mr. Coleman.

Yes.

Representative Ford.

And that is to be in the record?

Mr. Chayes.

Yes.

Mr. Coleman.

We will give it an exhibit number.
(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. Coleman.

Back on the record.
I would like to mark as Commission Exhibit No. 948 a letter from the Legal Adviser to the Department of State to Mr. Rankin dated May 8, 1964.
(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 948 for identification.)

Mr. Coleman.

I would like to ask the witness whether this letter was prepared under his direction together with the attachments.

Mr. Chayes.

Yes; the letter and attachments are those which were prepared--I haven't had a chance to examine each right now, but appear to be those which were prepared in my office and under my personal supervision in response to the request of the Commission.

Mr. Coleman.

In Commission Exhibit No. 948 you explain the lookout card situation.

Mr. Chayes.

Yes.

Mr. Coleman.

You treat with the question of Whether a lookout card was in the State Department file on Oswald in 1961.

Mr. Chayes.

Yes, sir; I think it is covered in the answers to questions 12 and