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Comment by mhneu | Hacker News Reader

Your guess is also reasonable - the US would have an incentive to keep such 'sources and methods' stuff quiet.

But my point was not about Oswald having ties to Russia - he lived there for three years. But imagine the CIA had a letter that said "Oswald talked about killing the president" or "the KGB told Oswald he should get a gun and shoot people in America". The CIA probably would have thought that Oswald was crazy and harmless, and that's why they didn't do anything about him. But disclosure of such a letter now would be embarrassing for them.

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I believe it was much more spontaneous than that. Oswald failed at just about everything he did. He couldn't keep a job, the Soviets didn't want him, no one was interested in his story when he came back to the US, he was disillusioned with Soviet Communism, he wanted to go to Cuba but was denied, and he suddenly had an opportunity to do something big, which he always dreamed he was going to do. Heck, his diary was even self-titled "historical diary." He was a loser with visions of grandeur for himself that always failed to pan out.

Sorry I keep replying on this thread, but more and more of the book is coming back to me. One only needs to read the transcripts of his interviews with the Dallas Police Department after he was arrested. He wasn't acting or talking like an innocent man. He was cocky, self-assured, and calm. He even put up a communist fist when he was being walked out in front of the press.

Thanks for recommending the book above. It seems helpful in separating fact from fiction.

From skimming Oswald's Wikipedia's page, a few questions emerge suggesting both guilt and innocence.

* Why did he walk home, change clothes, and arm himself?

* Why did he shoot Officer Tippit?

* If grandeur was his motive, why deny the crime instead of claiming credit for one of history's most notorious assassinations? Aiming for Connally, not JFK, seems more plausible, but he evidently idolized JFK. Why risk hurting his idol? If neither of these, what was his motive? Being plain crazy is valid, but this motive is not highly documented.

* He seemed protective of his wife, which suggests he loved his family. What was his emotional state before the shooting? Was he excited about the birth of his second daughter or still resentful toward society? It would be great if someone analyzed his psychological state in the weeks before the assassination.

* He seemed to be doing well at the Texas School Book Depository according to Wikipedia. Was he in jeopardy of losing his job? (If yes, this supports the theory he was angry at society and lashed out.)

* Why did he ask for the ACLU attorney? This seems like a strange request for someone who murdered the nation's president.

* Why did he claim the photograph of him holding the rifle was fake? Was it even possible back then to forge something so accurately? A lot seems to hinge on this photograph. If you can prove the photograph was authentic, and that the markings match the rifle at the scene, it presents overwhelming proof Oswald was the shooter, especially since he denies buying the rifle, let alone posing with it.

I'll try to address a few of these, from memory:

1 - He didn't deny it to the police. He only denied it to the press. Just days before the assassination Kennedy was on the radio making a particularly anti-Cuba speech, which upset Oswald.

2 - The day he assassinated the president, he left all of his cash and his wedding ring in the home his wife was staying, after unexpectedly stopping by the night before to pick up his "curtain rods." When the police arrived at her home, she led them to the garage to show them that his rifle was kept in the garage and lo and behold, it was gone. She herself testified that at that moment she knew he had done it.

3 - I don't think he was in jeopardy of losing his job, but he suddenly had an opportunity to do something "great."

4 - He asked for the ACLU attorney because he knew that attorney also represented the communist party. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Abt

Thanks for the fast response!

If he was looking for grandeur, why wouldn't he blare it to the press?

The anti-Cuba speech is interesting and could help establish motive.

The most damaging elements against Oswald are that he went home, changed clothes, armed himself, and shot Tippit.

If innocent, why do those things?

One final set of dangling questions: if he didn't care about getting caught, it makes sense that he brought a rifle to work in a bag then left it on the 6th floor with his fingerprints. If he did care, however, why not at least wear gloves and try to be more discreet in transporting the rifle (e.g., at night)? Ineptitude is a reasonable explanation, but there's a difference between stupidity and being unaccomplished. There only seems to be evidence he was unaccomplished. Also was the bag ever found?

Re: wife. He was not a nice man. These details I retained from Stephen King's 11/22/63 book which seemed rather ... unexpectedly well-researched. Here are notes from another author, Mel Ayton: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/motives.htm

"There is also clear evidence that Oswald, like O.J. Simpson, had a history of wife battering. Oswald’s treatment of his wife is documented in the numerous statements made by the Russian émigré community in Dallas and by his wife Marina. According to Ruth Paine, Marina was worried about Lee’s “mental state.” Marina Oswald testified that her husband was given to fits of “unreasonable rage.”"

"Oswald’s treatment of his wife is pertinent to an understanding of his propensity for violence. At one stage Oswald tried to strangle his wife. There were incidents when Oswald hit Marina and she ended up with bruises on her body. At one time during the final year of their lives together some members of the émigré community “rescued” Marina but she returned to her husband after a two week separation."

"Mahlon Tobias recalled a time when a neighbor of the Oswalds complained to him about the couple’s violent arguments. The neighbor reported, “I think he’s really hurt her this time. . . . I think that man over there is going to kill that girl.” Michael Paine was shocked that Lee treated his wife like a vassal and he believed Marina was a person who acted as though she were in “bondage and servitude.”"

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