If Oswald Was The Assassin, Did He Plan His Escape From The TSBD Very Well?

[Michael T. Griffith]

Thank you for the reply.

Anyway, Brennan's 11/22/63 interview with reporters is discussed in Mark Lane's book Rush to Judgment (p. 92).

Here is what I found in "Rush to Judgment:"

"Furthermore, Brennan's anxiety about himself and his family did not prevent him from speaking to reporters on November 22, when he gave not only his impressions as an eyewitness but also his name. (688)

Footnote 688 : The Dallas Morning News, November 23, 1963.

I haven't been able to find access online to that newspaper (DMN 11/23/63) without subscribing for at least 3-months to the newspaper. But I do have a copy of the 50th anniversary reprint on the way. If anyone here has access to that newspaper and wants to search for whatever Mark Lane might be referencing, please do and post here what you find.

In the meantime, here is what Dallas Morning News reporter Hugh Aynesworth (who was there) wrote in his 2013 book "Witness to History" about this:

"Outside of the building, the police did their utmost not only to protect the general crime scene but also to insulate potentially valuable witnesses from the press. Of the eight or so people I first tried to interview around the book depository, the most important was Howard Brennan, a steamfitter - he had his hard hat with him - who was stationed directly across the street opposite Lee Harvey Oswald perched in the sixth-floor window. Brennan watched in amazement as the shooter aimed and fired, then calmly aimed and fired again.

The first police APB (all points bulletin) came at a quarter to one and was based on Brennan's dexcription of the shooter.

Attention all squads.
Attention all squads.
The suspect in the shooting at Elm and Houston is reported to be an unknown white male, approximately thirty, slender build, height five feet ten inches, weight 165 pounds, reported to be armed with what is thought bo be a .30-caliber rifle.

I saw Brennan talking to two officers and tried to poke my nose into their conversation. 'I saw him up there in that window,' I heard him say as he pointed toward Oswald's sniper nest. 'No doubt he was the one. He wasn't even in much of a hurry.'

One cop asked if Brennan could describe the shooter. 'O course,' he answered. 'I saw him real good.'

Then Brennan noticed me and moved away, asking the officers as he did so to keep me and the other reporters away from him - a request they were glad to fulfill. Brennan, I later learned, feared talking to the press lest he endanger himself or his family. Who knew what accomplices the assassin might have? In fact, for that reason he hesitated to identify Oswald positively in the later police line-up.

And here is what is written in Brennan's book:

From Page 17 of "Witness to History" by Howard Brennan:

"...Before I could reflect any longer I was confronted by a television reporter and cameraman. They wanted to interview me and find out what I knew about the shooting. I did not want to talk to him and I certainly did not want my picture broadcast. If there were more people involved than the young man I had seen then showing me on television as an eyewitness would be like hanging a target over my heart for someone to shoot at.

He kept asking 'Who are you, what do you know about the shooting of the President?' I turned my back on him without answering. He continued to try to get me to talk even though I moved away frim him. Finally I said 'I don't know anything.'

I learned later that my wife, Louise, had been watching television and saw the reporter trying to interview me. Even though my name wasn't given, she knew that I must have seen the assassination. My little grandson, who was less than two, pointed at the TV and said 'There's Granddaddy!' My daughter Vicki had watched the whole scene in a beauty shop. I felt exposed to the whole world as I tried to evade that reporter and cameraman. I don't know how long the reporter stayed with me, but it had to be for several minutes: each time he'd approach me I'd turn or move away a few steps. It is my sincere belief that Lee Harvey Oswald came out of the front door of the Depository while I was trying to avoid the TV reporter. If my attention had not been distracted I might have spotted him right there."

Later at the Sheriff's office:

"With more time to think, I recounted every detail about the young man that might help them apprehend him. His facial features, distinguishing marks, anything that would help. I was asked, 'If you saw this man again, could you identify him?' I said, 'I believe I can!' I knew that I could never forget the face I had seen in the window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.

Sorrels said, 'We appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Brennan. Your testimony may be very important.' I began to realize how important it was. Just then, as I was finishing with my testimony to be signed, another man came in whom I assumed to be an F.B.I Agent who informed us that President John F. Kennedy had died from a massive bullet wound to the head. The F.B.I. and Secret Service men in the office didn't respond visibly to the news, but I think, like me, they had somehow hoped against hope that it wasn't true.

Then came a report that one of the employees at the Texas Book Depository was missing. At that moment, I just wanted to get away from it all. Mr. Sorrels introduced me to two men who were with the F.B.I. 'We'll be going with you,' one of them said. 'For awhile we feel that we should put you in protective custody as a precautionary measure.' I wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but I had a pretty good idea. They felt that since the killer hadn't been caught and may have seen the telecast, that my life might be in danger. If there was a conspiracy, there might be others who would want to silence me. 'We'll be with you at all times for awhile, but we'' do everything in our power to stay in the background.'

Later his wife Louise asked:

"...'How long are they going to watch us?' she asked. I shook my head. 'I don't know. I guess as long as they think I may be in any kind of danger.' Louise shuddered visibly when I said that and I could see the very thought was upsetting her. I reassured her, 'Now don't worry, I'm not really in any danger. They're just doing it as a precaution.'

This didn't seem convincing to her. 'Howard,' she said, 'I'm afraid. We don't know who might be out there looking for you!' I couldn't reply to that. Louise wanted to know everything that had happened in the minutest detail. I repeated the events of the day to her, recounting details that were larger than life. Then she told me something I hadn't heard before. 'I heard on the television that the police have arrested someone they suspect as the killer' This news hit me like a thunderbolt. If this were so, it was a relief. But at the same time, I felt in even more danger, because if the police had found the young man who was in the sixth floor window, there might well be others who would do whatever they could to keep me from identifying him. We turned the television on again. We were becoming more and more embroiled in the drama that was developing and could only wonder what would happen next."

I have a hard time taking this line of argument seriously. If Brennan truly feared for his life, as he later claimed, why did he tell the Dallas police soon after the shooting, that very afternoon, that he believed he could identify the man in the window if he saw him again? Why was Brennan willing to say this, in writing, to the Dallas police, if he feared for his life? How would any Oswald accomplices have found out that Brennan had identified Oswald in the lineup anyway? Brennan's identity would have been sealed and protected until trial discovery began, as the police and the feds surely explained to Brennan when he hesitated and eventually declined to positively ID Oswald.

And, again, how could anyone provide a firm, reliable identification of a stranger they saw only briefly from 120 feet away through a window? It is one thing to see, from that distance, hair color, shirt color, and complexion. It is quite another thing to see the person's face clearly enough to be able to recognize him hours later among several other people.

Speaking of hair color, why didn't Brennan mention the man's hair color in his DPD statement? Also, Brennan said the man was wearing "light-colored clothing." Oops, Oswald was wearing a reddish/brown shirt and dark pants, the same "brown-type shirt" that Officer Baker saw Oswald wearing 90 seconds after the shooting in the second-floor lunchroom. (By the way, Baker said the shirt that Oswald was wearing in the lunchroom was darker than the shirt he saw Oswald wearing after Oswald was arrested, and no one would call the post-arrest shirt light colored. So the man Brennan saw in the window was not wearing the same colored clothing that we know Oswald was wearing.)

Leaving aside the problems with Brennan's description of the man he saw, why did it take federal agents nearly four weeks of "interviews" to get Brennan to say that he was certain Oswald was the man he'd seen in the window. In a matter of days after the shooting, news media blanketed the country with the FBI's "conclusion" that Oswald was the one and only gunman and that there was no conspiracy whatsoever. That should have removed Brennan's alleged fear of retaliation from Oswald accomplices. Yet, it was not until December 17 that federal agents finally got Brennan to say what they wanted him to say.

There's a reason that the HSCA chose not to even mention Brennan in its final report, though it mentioned other witnesses.

[Bill Chapman]

“Avoid” posting it for what reason?

In order to mislead about how 'pristine' Ce399 was

[Peter Goth]

In order to mislead about how 'pristine' Ce399 was

Stand guard, Chapman, stand guard. 

[Charles Collins]

I have a hard time taking this line of argument seriously. If Brennan truly feared for his life, as he later claimed, why did he tell the Dallas police soon after the shooting, that very afternoon, that he believed he could identify the man in the window if he saw him again? Why was Brennan willing to say this, in writing, to the Dallas police, if he feared for his life? How would any Oswald accomplices have found out that Brennan had identified Oswald in the lineup anyway? Brennan's identity would have been sealed and protected until trial discovery began, as the police and the feds surely explained to Brennan when he hesitated and eventually declined to positively ID Oswald.

And, again, how could anyone provide a firm, reliable identification of a stranger they saw only briefly from 120 feet away through a window? It is one thing to see, from that distance, hair color, shirt color, and complexion. It is quite another thing to see the person's face clearly enough to be able to recognize him hours later among several other people.

Speaking of hair color, why didn't Brennan mention the man's hair color in his DPD statement? Also, Brennan said the man was wearing "light-colored clothing." Oops, Oswald was wearing a reddish/brown shirt and dark pants, the same "brown-type shirt" that Officer Baker saw Oswald wearing 90 seconds after the shooting in the second-floor lunchroom. (By the way, Baker said the shirt that Oswald was wearing in the lunchroom was darker than the shirt he saw Oswald wearing after Oswald was arrested.)

Leaving aside the problems with Brennan's description of the man he saw, why did it take federal agents nearly four weeks of "interviews" to get Brennan to say that he was certain Oswald was the man he'd seen in the window. In a matter of days after the shooting, news media blanketed the country with the FBI's "conclusion" that Oswald was the one and only gunman and that there was no conspiracy whatsoever. That should have removed Brennan's alleged fear of retaliation from Oswald accomplices. Yet, it was not until December 17 that federal agents finally got Brennan to say what they wanted him to say.

There's a reason that the HSCA chose not to even mention Brennan in its final report, though it mentioned other witnesses.

How would any Oswald accomplices have found out that Brennan had identified Oswald in the lineup anyway? Brennan's identity would have been sealed and protected until trial discovery began, as the police and the feds surely explained to Brennan when he hesitated and eventually declined to positively ID Oswald.


Here is what is written in Howard Brennan's book "Eyewitness to History" that might give you a clue about what was going on in Brennan's mind on 11/22/63:

“About 7:15 p. m., the phone rang. The voice on the other end identified himself as Agent Lish with the F.B.I. He said, 'We'd like to have you come down to make an identification .'  'Mr. Lish' I asked, 'will this be confidential?' He assured me that it would. I wanted to protect my identity especially from the news media. 'We'll do everything possible to protect your identity,' I was told. Within a few minutes there was a knock at the front door and one of the F.B.I agents who had been watching the house usered me to the car for a ride to City Hall. As we drove through the night, I looked out the window at the city lights wondering what would happen next. I was feeling anxiety and was hopeful that my privacy could be preserved. Already my picture had been on TV several times, although without being identified. We had also heard a report that there was one unidentified witness who could link Lee Harvey Oswald to the killing of John Kennedy.

When we reached City Hall, I was let out to enter alone and go to the third floor where I would meet with Mr. Sorrels and others. When I reached the third floor, the hall was jammed with reporters and media people everywhere. They were all trying to get some sort of lead on what was happening and I had no problem in walking past them Not one reporter knew who I was and that suited me just fine. If they had known my connection with the assassination, I am sure I would have been mobbed right there but time was still on my side.

Pushing my way through this mob I found the office I'd been instructed to go to. Mr. Sorrels was there and another man who identified himself as Agent Robert C. Lish of the F.B.I. Lish was a short man of a medium weight and build who curiously wore his hat most of the time. I remembered talking to him earlier on the phone. I told Mr. Lish, 'I'm not at all satisfied with this situation!' Lish looked a bit puzzled, 'What do you mean?' he said. 'My picture has been on the television several times today without my permission and I know someone is going to recognize me and put two and two together. I want it taken off and I want it taken off right away!' Mr. Lish nodded and said something to another man who was in the room who immediately left. From that moment, my picture never appeared on that television channel again. 'I want to keep my identity a secret!' I told them. 'We'll do all we can to help you do that' Lish said. 'We want you to look at a lineup and see if you can find someone in it who resembles the man you saw on the sixth floor.' I said, 'I'll be glad to cooperate, but I don't think it's fair for me to make an identification. Anyone of a million people who saw him on television a while ago could make the same identification.' Lish smiled diplomatically.

I was led into a darkened room with lights at one end. When we arrived, a group of several men, perhaps as many as seven, were led in and made to stand in line with numbers over them. As soon as I saw him, I think he was number two, I knew without any doubt whatsoever that they had captured the man whom I saw fire the shot that killed President Kennedy. I felt a surge of emotion, a sense of outrage at this young man who had literally thrown the whole world into chaos. As I was looking at each of the men in the lineup I saw a face that I recognized. It was a Dallas Detective that I knew. He was perhaps the most well-known of all the Dallas Police and his picture had been in the papers many times. If he was there, that meant only one thing. My privacy had been broached. I felt sick and a little betrayed. I'd come to City Hall with the understanding that I would be dealing only with the FBI and/or the Secret Service, not the Dallas Police.

The officer walked over to me sticking out his hand to shake. He greeted me by name and I knew if he knew who I was and what my connection with the case was, then others must know. He asked me, 'Does the second man from the left look most like the man you saw?' He was talking about Oswald and I knew what he wanted me to say.

I felt even more angry and betrayed. I hadn't agreed to make an identification to the local authorities. I knew that there were ways my identity could become known through the leaks in the police department and I didn't want any part of it. I knew that they had Oswald on enough charges that he wasn't going anyplace. He had been charged with resisting arrest and carrying a firearm without a permit. There was overwhelming evidence that he had killed Officer Tippit and so my identification in that moment wasn't absolutely necessary. If they needed me later, I knew I could identify him.


Brennan doesn't write anything about his last name appearing in the next day's Dallas Morning News. But in my opinion there is a good possibility that Brennan's name was leaked by the Dallas Police. Or that a reporter (both Aynesworth and Biffle were there) overheard Brennan talking to the Police and overheard his last name that way. I haven't seen any evidence that Brennan gave his name to reporters on 11/22/63. Only Mark Lane's assumption.

[John Iacoletti]

In order to mislead about how 'pristine' Ce399 was

Who cares, since there’s no evidence that CE 399 was involved in the assassination?

[Jack Nessan]

Thank you Jack! Is that the entire article? Or just 5- sentences from the article? Do you have a link (web page address) that you can post?

I hope this transfers

https://chtrmail.spectrum.net/index.php/mail/viewmessage/getattachment/uniqueId/85096/account/0/filenameOriginal/dallas%20morning%20news.png/filenameModified/dallas%20morning%20news.png?folder=SU5CT1g%253D

[Charles Collins]

I hope this transfers

https://chtrmail.spectrum.net/index.php/mail/viewmessage/getattachment/uniqueId/85096/account/0/filenameOriginal/dallas%20morning%20news.png/filenameModified/dallas%20morning%20news.png?folder=SU5CT1g%253D

It just opens a sign-in page.