Mr. Fain.

Yes, sir; if he would have met the qualifications we considered that he had been a security risk, and had a potential for any violence or dangerousness, why, we certainly would have stayed on him.

Mr. Dulles.

And you would not have marked the report as closed, the case as closed.

Mr. Fain.

Well, I closed it because my investigation was completed. The assignment was to interview him and the case at the end of the interview with the information we obtained the case was closed. The man had found a job, he was working, he was living in this duplex with his wife, and he was not a member of the Communist Party. Of course, it was true he had been to Russia. He denied any contacts with a Soviet intelligence agent. He denied that he had any contacts. We considered all the facts and circumstances and closed the case, and that is what I did.

Mr. Mccloy.

If you had not come to that, would you have put in another lead for another interview?

Mr. Fain.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Mccloy.

Would it have been incumbent upon you to recommend to you superiors that he be continued under surveillance?

Mr. Fain.

I could have recommended that he be reinterviewed but I frankly didn't see any point in doing that.

Mr. Mccloy.

I understand that. But assuming you did find some derogatory information, or some facts that made you fear that he was a security risk beyond a recommendation for further interviews, what would be your province to do? Would it be your province to recommend surveillance?

Mr. Fain.

Yes, sir; if there had been some facts there to indicate that he was----

Mr. Mccloy.

A potential danger?

Mr. Fain.

A potential danger to the security of the United States, and for instance if we had found that he was a member of the Communist Party and meeting with them, made some contact with them, I certainly would have stayed right on it.

Mr. Mccloy.

You would have recommended that he be kept under surveillance then?

Mr. Fain.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Mccloy.

That is all I am getting at.

Representative Ford.

Are you through, John?

Mr. Mccloy.

Yes.

Representative Ford.

On the top page of Commission Exhibit 824 it says, and I quote, "Oswald and wife Unknown to confidential informant." Did you make that check?

Mr. Fain.

I did. I checked with the confidential security informants that we had there, and they said this man was not known to be a member of the party, and the party had not discussed him for membership purposes or anything like that.

Representative Ford.

Do you have in this area, or did you have at that time in this area reliable confidential informants?

Mr. Fain.

Yes, sir; yes, sir. Excellent informants.

Representative Ford.

During your experience in Fort Worth or otherwise, did you ever have a case similar to the Oswald case, a defector who had returned to the United States?

Mr. Fain.

No, sir.

Representative Ford.

This was your only one?

Mr. Fain.

I had read in the newspapers about them occurring in various areas in the United States but this was the first one I had handled.

Representative Ford.

This was the only one of a similar nature that you handled?

Mr. Fain.

I believe there were some cases back there too. We did handle one or two of those where the man in the service had made some kind of a remark, and we had interviewed him when he returned. I remember two or three of those cases when he returned to this country.
We contacted him to ascertain what his employment was, what his status was, what his present residence was, what his present attitude was, and whether