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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. IX - Page 356« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Ruth Hyde Paine)

Mr. Jenner.
Were you troubled about her understanding of what was being done?
Mrs. Paine.
I was troubled about her understanding of what she had signed, and I wanted to know what powers she had delegated to someone else. Therefore, I asked specifically about power of attorney, and he told me, no, she had not delegated that.
Mr. Jenner.
Did you have a sense of responsibility in this area?
Mrs. Paine.
Yes; I did.
Mr. Jenner.
But this was not mere curiosity or meddling on your part?
Mrs. Paine.
I felt that it was possible that she was being protected from her friends, and that had no one----
Mr. Jenner.
You mean isolated from her friends?
Mrs. Paine.
All right; yes.
Mr. Jenner.
Do you really mean that, isolated rather than protected from?
Mrs. Paine.
Well, that someone may have thought she should not talk to me.
Mr. Jenner.
Yes.
Mrs. Paine.
And, further, I learned that she hadn't spoken at an earlier time, at that time, to Mrs. Ford. I did not know of anyone who spoke Russian except for official translators for Secret Service or the FBI who had been to see her, and this seemed to me wrong. So I was concerned. And when I reported this conversation with Mr. Thorne to Marina, she said, "Well, that is a lie" and I said----
Mr. Jenner.
She said----
Mrs. Paine.
That is a lie. She had delegated power of attorney, and I knew that at this time I was reporting the conversation to Marina on the 9th of March because I had read it in the paper.
Mr. Jenner.
You had learned it in the meantime?
Mrs. Paine.
Had learned in the meantime that she had delegated power of attorney.
Mr. Jenner.
I have been seeking all that occurred in your visit with Marina and Mrs. Ford in the Ford home on March 9. Have you completed that? Is there anything you would like to add?
Mrs. Paine.
Well, I would like to add that Mrs. Ford was out for a brief period. She went to the washerteria to pick up some clothes that had been at the drier so that for a time Marina and I were alone perfectly free to say anything we wanted.
Mr. Jenner.
And during that period was your conversation, your visit with Marina pleasant?
Mrs. Paine.
Oh, indeed; yes.
Mr. Jenner.
Free and open? What reaction did you get during the period you were alone with her as to her feeling or regard or how she felt about you?
Mrs. Paine.
Well, I felt she was certainly friendly, but I felt the strain of wanting to avoid any reference to her husband or to the events that were so painful to us both. And I didn't want to ask directly anything about why she hadn't written or confront her with that. She did say as I was working at the tape recorder later, and Mrs. Ford was reading from the book, we came to a break in the recording and Marina commented, she had been sitting across the room watching, my profile was very like her mother's, and this is not the first time she has made the connection to my physical build and that of her mother. I don't give this much significance, but I do have the impression that there are many feelings and mixed feelings in us both. It is not a simple relationship.
Mr. Jenner.
Do you anticipate the possibility of, I will use the word, renewing, it may not be the right word.
Mrs. Paine.
I think that would be right. There has been a distinct break.
Mr. Jenner.
Of this cordial friendship and relationship with Marina?
Mrs. Paine.
I would like that if it comes about.
Mr. Jenner.
And do you have a feeling that there is a possibility of that arising out of your contact with her on March 9, having now talked with her face to face?
Mrs. Paine.
I think there is that possibility. I would like her to do some of the initiating, if not most of it at this point. I said I was going to Washington. I had just heard that same evening before going to the Fords. Mrs.
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