CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY
WASHINGTON 25,
D.C
27
May, 1964
MEMORANDUM
FOR: Mr. J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel
President’s Commission on the
Assassination of President Kennedy
SUBJECT: Discussion Between Chairman Khrushchev and
Mr. Drew Pearson re Lee
Harvey Oswald
1.
This will amplify my telephonic remarks to you on 25 May, during which I
informed you that Mr. and Mrs. Drew Pearson had had a 45-minute conversation in
Cairo on 24 May with Chairman Khrushchev.
2.
The CIA Chief of Station in Cairo has reported a conversation which he and his
wife held with Mr. and Mrs. Drew Pearson in Cairo on 24 and 25 May. Mrs. Pearson
is a cousin of the wife of our Chief of Station. Nothing in the cable quoted
below should be construed as obviating any desirability the Commission may feel
about securing testimony directly from Mr. and Mrs. Pearson. We are forwarding
it to you solely for the purpose of placing in your hands at the earliest moment
the information which had been provided to us in this privileged
fashion.
3.
The message from our Chief of Station in Cairo reads as follows:
“Mrs.
Drew Pearson provided on the evening of 24 May the first information on the
Oswald portion of the conversation with Chairman and Mrs. Khrushchev. Mrs.
Khrushchev opened the conversation by inquiring about Mrs. Kennedy and
expressing concern about and affection for her. Mrs. Pearson reassured her,
saying that Mrs. Kennedy had borne up remarkably well and was in good health.
(Most of this conversation was in English which Mrs. Khrushchev speaks fairly
well, with some assistance from Khrushchev’s interpreter, who had served in the
past as interpreter for the Pearsons and who helped
arrange the meeting.) This led into Mrs. Khrushchev’s inquiry about their mutual
friend, the wife of Chief Justice Warren, and thence into mention of the Warren
Commission. Chairman Khrushchev then joined the conversation, expressing sorrow
at the assassination and also inquired about Mrs. Kennedy. Thereupon he asked
Mr. Pearson, ‘What really happened?’ Mr. Pearsons said
in effect that the whole affair had taken place just as had been reported in the
newspapers and presumably by the Soviet Ambassador in Washington. Chairman
Khrushchev was utterly incredulous and his attitude was characterized by Mrs.
Pearson as being archetypical “of every European I have ever talked to on this
subject’. That is, that there was some kind of conspiracy to assassinate
President Kennedy and then murder the assassin with the Dallas Police Department
being an accessory. Mrs. Pearson got the impression that Chairman Khrushchev had
some dark thoughts about the American Right Wing being behind this conspiracy
although Chairman Khrushchev did not articulate this in any clear fashion. Mrs.
Pearson was a bit vague on this point in distinguishing between what Chairman
Khrushchev said and what she thought he believed. When Mr. Pearson said that we
Americans are peculiar people, it[s] understandable that foreigners had
difficulty comprehending this fantastic episode, but in fact Oswald was mad, had
acted on his own, ditto Ruby, Chairman Khrushchev said flatly he did not believe
this. He said he did not believe that the American security services were this
inept. Mr. Pearson again said he agreed this was hard to believe but the facts
were as they appeared. Mrs. Khrushchev also expressed disbelief and reiterated
he affection for Mrs. Kennedy. Mrs. Pearson repeated that the reaction of
Chairman Khrushchev and his wife was one of flat disbelief and archetypical of
the universal European belief that there was some kind of American conspiracy
behind the assassination of President Kennedy and the murder of Oswald. Chairman
and Mrs. Khrushchev could not believe that the affair had happened as it
apparently did and Mr. Pearson made no headway whatever in trying to change
their belief that something was not on the level. Chairman Khrushchev greeted
Mr. and Mrs. Pearson’s efforts with a tolerant smile. The conversation then
drifted into Chairman Khrushchev’s friendly comments about President
Johnson.
“On
the morning of 25 May, Mr. Pearson referred en passant to the Oswald portion of the
conversation, saying that Chairman Khrushchev was completely convinced that the
true story of the Kennedy assassination has not come out. Mr. Pearson said
somewhat ruefully, ‘I couldn’t make a nickel with Khrushchev on this one.’ He
gave the impression that Chairman Khrushchev’s attitude was one of complete
skepticism as to the public version rather than being one of holding concrete
ideas as to exactly what happened.
“On
the evening of 25 May, Mr. and Mrs. Pearson, in discussing the Khrushchev talk,
made another passing reference to the fact that Chairman and Mrs. Khrushchev are
convinced that the public version of the affair is not true and that nothing
they could say altered this belief.”
/s/
Richard Helms
Deputy
Director for Plans
cc:
Mr. John A. McCone
Mr. McGeorge
Bundy
Mr. Richard H.
Davis
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