SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 4 us. Congress. House, OF THE 1965 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY. EIGHTY-NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H.R. 6097 CARD DIVISION AND OTHER PROPOSALS TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR THE 49-059 MAY 26 AND 27, 1965 Serial No. 4 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1965 KF21 J8. 1965 струд COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY EMANUEL CELLER, New York, Chairman MICHAEL A. FEIGHAN, Ohio ROBERT T. ASHMORE, South Carolina BASIL L. WHITENER, North Carolina HERMAN TOLL, Pennsylvania ROBERT W. KASTENMEIER, Wisconsin JAMES C. CORMAN, California WILLIAM M. MCCULLOCH, Ohio HEARINGS PRINTS AND REPORTS CONTENTS TEXT OF BILLS Page H.R. 80 by Mr. Fulton of Tennessee- H.R. 307 by Mr. Gerald R. Ford-.. Barr, Hon. Joseph M., Under Secretary of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.. Bennett, James V., Esq., chairman, Mental Illness and the Law Com- mittee, American Bar Association, Washington, D.C.. Boggs, Hon. Hale, U.S. Representative from Louisiana.. Clark, Hon. Ramsey, Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.... Ford, Hon. Gerald R., U.S. Representative from Michigan.... Pepper, Hon. Claude, U.S. Representative from Florida__ Rankin, Hon. J. Lee, former counsel to the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy... Schweiker, Hon. Richard S., U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania__ Burke, Hon. James A., U.S. Representative from Massachusetts- Curtin, Hon. Willard S., U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. Daniels, Hon. Dominick V., U.S. Representative from New Jersey. Denton, Hon. Winfield K., U.S. Representative from Indiana__ Friedel, Hon. Samuel N., U.S. Representative from Maryland. Gibbons, Hon. Sam, U.S. Representative from Florida.. Griffin, Hon. Robert P., U.S. Representative from Michigan. Horton, Hon. Frank J., U.S. Representative from New York.. Kunkel, Hon. John C., U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania Langen, Hon. Odin, U.S. Representative from Minnesota... Lindsay, Hon. John V., U.S. Representative from New York... Morse, Hon. F. Bradford, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.. Moss, Hon. John E., U.S. Representative from Californía.... Patten, Hon. Edward J., U.S. Representative from New Jersey- PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1965 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE No. 4 OF THE The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Byron G. Rogers (chairman of the subcommittee), presiding. Present: Representatives Rogers (subcommittee chairman), Whitener, Grider, Jacobs, MacGregor, and McClory. Also present: Benjamin L. Zelenko and Martin Hoffmann, Committee Counsel. The CHAIRMAN. Today, Subcommittee No. 4 of the Committee on the Judiciary begins hearings on measures designed to make the assassination of the President of the United States a Federal offense. The assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the events which followed focused national attention on an anomaly in Federal law: Under existing Federal criminal statutes it is not a crime to assassinate the Chief Executive nor do Federal investigative agencies have absolute jurisdiction to investigate the assassination. The tragic events which ensued from the inability to act are well known. On March 10 of this year, at the request of the Attorney General, I introduced H.R. 6097, a bill drafted to implement recommendations contained in the Warren Commission Report to President Johnson. Over 45 proposals are now pending before this subcommittee which seek to rectify the omission in Federal law, including H.R. 822, introduced by Congressman McClory, a member of this subcommittee. The measures before us differ generally in two respects: The number of Federal officials covered, and the types of actions which are made criminal offenses. Recognizing the urgent need for this legislation, the committee hopes that it will be able to conclude hearings within 2 days. Today, the committee will receive testimony from congressional sponsors of the legislation, and tomorrow we plan to hear from the Departments of Justice and Treasury, the former Chief Counsel of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, Mr. J. Lee Rankin, and the American Bar Association. Without objection, the text of the measures dealing with this subject will be included in the record. 1 |