Mark North - Act of Treason: The Role of J. Edgar Hoover in the Assassination of President Kennedy

These letters, and those reproduced in the photographic inset, were gleaned from various LBJ Library files and may represent only a portion of the correspondence between the two during the described time period. Organization and declassification of Johnsons vice-presidential files is ongoing. Most noticeably, there is a possibly critical gap between September and December 1963, as well as one between December 1960 and September 1961. Undoubtedly there were other writings between the two during the Kennedy administration, but with Hoovers personal files destroyed by the FBI, much may be lost for all time. At any rate, this selection does make apparent the closeness between the two, as well as their increasing interdependence.

The Oswalds signed and filed their 1962 1040-A return on January 29, 1963, the same day they completed repayment of their loan from the U.S. State Department. The date would indicate that Oswald filled out the return after receiving his W-2s, apparently waiting for one or both employers to process the paperwork. Then, as now, sizable companies often utilized most of January to produce the reports. How many of us have received our W-2s on or near the 31st? The return and its preparation were straightforward. By using the short form and the two W-2s, the task would have taken about five minutes, involving the addition of only two sets of numbers. What was finally released on June 8, 1982, to Marina suggests the above, but also deliberate alteration, presumably by either the FBI, Warren Commission, or IRS. A brief history of the struggle to obtain the seemingly innocuous document will assist here.

Pursuant to presidential powers and internal IRS regulations, the return was audited by Internal Revenue as part of its analysis of Oswalds finances during 1962 and 1963 for the Warren Commission.

According to Warren Commission staff member Liebler, there were... Internal Revenue Service people that worked for the Commission.... (See HSCA vol. 11, p. 258). And at page 41 of the same volume, HSCA revealed... the Commission had the Internal Revenue Service do an audit of Oswalds income.... Whether this means IRS provided the Warren Commission staff or FBI personnel with the original return or a copy, or neither, is unclear. After the Commission released its report attempts were made to obtain public disclosure, to no avail. As stated by Anthony Summers at p. 587 of Conspiracy in 1980, IRS records closed: refusal sent to Dallas researcher, June 22, 1968, on grounds that, being dead, Oswald could not give permission to make his returns public (sections 6103 and 7213 of Internal Revenue Code and 18 U.S.C. 1905, cited by Archivist of U.S.A.). And at p. 550,... IRS record for 1962 most recently denied to two private researchers who in 1978 asked to see the record under the Freedom of Information Act.