Mr. Specter.

on the Assassination of President Kennedy will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I do.

Mr. Specter.

Mr. O'Donnell, the purpose of our asking you to testify today is to obtain whatever knowledge you have about the origin of the trip to Texas by President Kennedy, the events during the trip, and the trip back to Washington, D.C., on November 22. With that general statement of purpose, I will ask you if you have any objection to giving a deposition at this time?

Mr. O'DONNELL. I do not.

Mr. Specter.

Would you state your full name for the record, please?
Mr. O'DONNELL. Kenneth P. O'Donnell.

Mr. Specter.

What were your duties on November 22, 1963?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I was special assistant to the President. I was in charge of his appointments and any itineraries that he might have.

Mr. Specter.

How long had you served in that capacity?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I served as special assistant to the President since the inauguration, January 20, 1961, with the same duties.

Mr. Specter.

Were you a party to the original conversations and decision for President Kennedy to make a trip to Texas in November of 1963?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I was.

Mr. Specter.

Would you outline the origin of that trip to Texas, please?
Mr. O'DONNELL. The origin of the trip I would think came from a conversation between the President, then Vice President Johnson, and myself. It concerned President Kennedy's desire, and President Johnson's desire that he come to Texas and spend some time there, looking forward to the campaign of 1964, in which Texas would play a very vital role in President Kennedy's view.

Mr. Specter.

Approximately when did that first conversation occur, Mr. O'Donnell?
Mr. O'DONNELL. We had been discussing this for almost 6 or 7 months, but the time had never seemed quite right, either in the Vice President's mind or in Governor Connally's mind. Governor Connally and the Vice President had discussed this. They arrived at a general agreement that it be done some time in the latter part of the month of November. I think this decision probably came in October, some time in October.

Mr. Specter.

When had President Kennedy been in Dallas prior to the trip of November 1963?
Mr. O'DONNELL. The last time the President had been in Dallas was as a candidate for the Presidency.
I correct myself. He had been to--visit Speaker Rayburn in the hospital. I was not on that trip.

Mr. Specter.

Then aside from the trip to see Speaker Rayburn, in the hospital, had the President been in Dallas at all since the campaign of 1960?
Mr. O'DONNELL. He had not.

Mr. Specter.

Do you know approximately when it was that President Kennedy visited Speaker Rayburn in the hospital in Dallas?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I don't know exactly. It would be just before he passed away.

Mr. Specter.

Does October 1961 sound about right to you?
Mr. O'DONNELL. It sounds about right.

Mr. Specter.

And how many times had President Kennedy been to Texas between the campaign of 1960 and November 1963, if you know?
Mr. O'DONNELL. Well, he had been to the Speaker's funeral at Bonham. He had been to Houston, to see the new space center, and also he spoke at Rice Stadium. And he had been to El Paso, on a military inspection tour.

Mr. Specter.

Are those, then, all the trips he made, to your knowledge?
Mr, O'DONNELL. That is all I can recollect at the moment.

Mr. Specter.

In a general way, what was the purpose of the President's trip to Texas in November of 1963?
Mr. O'DONNELL. Well, he hadn't conducted any political activities in Texas. There were great controversies existing. There was a party problem in Texas that the President and the Vice President felt he could be helpful, as both sides of the controversy were supporting President Kennedy, and they felt he could