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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. IV - Page 308« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Robert Inman Bouck Resumed)

Mr. Dulles.
But you have a million names carded?
Mr. Bouck.
Yes. In the indexes.
Mr. Stern.
In the files which you describe as basic files, I believe, how many cases are current, either in your office or within easy access?
Mr. Bouck.
About 50,000.
Mr. Stern.
About 50,000. So that 950,000 are in some other storage?
Mr. Bouck.
Not all of these cards, you see, will represent cases because we have some cases in which many people are involved. There would be considerably less cases than there would be card indexes, but we do have a very sizable storage of cases under National Archives, some of the older ones having gone to places like the Roosevelt Library.
(At this point Representative Ford left the hearing room.)
Mr. Stern.
These are your basic files which now have something in the order of 50,000 active cases?
Mr. Bouck.
Yes.
Mr. Stern.
And some of these involve more than one individual?
Mr. Bouck.
Yes.
Mr. Stern.
In these cases?
Mr. Bouck.
Yes.
Mr. Stern.
A case might be an organization, as I understand it, rather than an individual?
Mr. Bouck.
That is right.
Mr. Stern.
And the members of that organization would be collected under that one case?
Mr. Bouck.
Yes.
Mr. Stern.
Would they also be listed individually?
Mr. Bouck.
They would be listed individually if they were of interest to us as individuals. Sometimes we would get the membership of a group of people that attended a lecture, let's say, where very derogatory information was given out about the President, but most of these people seem like ordinary citizens and it doesn't seem like worth investigating. We might have 200 people listed in that, this would not be normal, but it would be a few cases like that.
Mr. Stern.
Now, as I understand it you by no means investigate every individual who is in one of these 50,000 cases?
Mr. Bouck.
That is correct.
Mr. Stern.
And what are the criteria that you use?
Mr. Bouck.
The criteria for investigation are feelings that there is indeed an indication that there may be a danger to the President.
Mr. Stern.
But there has to be some indication of a potential danger to the President to get that individual into a case to begin with, I take it. If it were clear he was not?
Mr. Bouck.
Yes; but not necessarily a current indication. We take many of these where we think an individual is becoming hostile and a little bit disgusted with the President, we take many of those cases to watch these people. We keep getting information here and there along, and frequently after we get the second or third piece of information, we decide indeed this individual is perhaps--does perhaps constitute a menace, and at that point we would investigate it.
Mr. Stern.
As I understand it, one of the main purposes of your investigation is to attempt to deal with the dangerous individual at that time?
Mr. Bouck.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Stern.
How would you deal with these people whom we are speaking about?
Mr. Bouck.
We deal with them primarily in three ways. First, if a law violation is involved an attempt will be made to see if a prosecution is in order.
Mr. Stern.
What sort of law violation?
Mr. Bouck.
Well, we have a threat law, for one, that is under our jurisdiction. Then in the case----
Mr. Stern.
This is threats against the President?
Mr. Bouck.
Threats against the President. Then there is----
Mr. Dulles.
Is that a local law?
Mr. Bouck.
No; that is a Federal law.
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