CONCLUSION
Investigation of Oswald’s complete dealings with the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service reveals no irregularity suggesting any illegal actions or impropriety on the part of government officials. The Commission believes, however, that in applying its own regulations the Department should in all cases exercise great care in the return to this country of defectors such as Oswald who have evidenced disloyalty or hostility to this country or who have expressed a desire to renounce their U.S. citizenship and that, when such persons are returned, procedures should be adopted for the better dissemination of information concerning them to the intelligence agencies of the Government. The operation of the “lookout card” system in the Department of State was obviously deficient, but since these deficiencies did not affect Oswald or reflect any favoritism or impropriety, the Commission considers them beyond the scope of its inquiry.
Especially while he was in the Soviet Union, Oswald’s manner to Government personnel was frequently insulting and offensive. As one 1962 communication between the Embassy and the Department of State observed, “It is not that our hearts are breaking for Oswald. His impertinence knows no bounds.”[A15-295] Nonetheless, the officials of the U.S. Government respected Oswald as a troubled American citizen and extended to him the services and assistance for which the agencies of government have been created. Though Oswald was known to be “an unstable character, whose actions are highly unpredictable,”[A15-296] there was no reasonable basis in 1961 and 1962 for suspecting that upon his readmittance to the country he would resort to violence against its public officials. The officers of the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, acting within the proper limits of their discretion, concluded that Oswald’s return to the United States was in the best interests of the country; it is only from the vantage of the present that the tragic irony of their conclusion emerges.
APPENDIX XVI
A Biography of Jack Ruby
In this appendix the Commission presents a biography of Jack Ruby. Although criminal proceedings involving its subject are pending in the State of Texas, the Commission has decided to include this rather detailed account of Ruby’s life and activities for several reasons. Most importantly, the Commission believes it will permit a better evaluation of the evidence on the question whether Ruby was involved in any conspiracy. Furthermore, the Commission believes that in view of the many rumors concerning Ruby the public interest will be served by an account which attempts to give sufficient material to provide an impression of his character and background. The Commission’s desire not to interfere in the pending proceedings involving Ruby necessarily limits the scope of this appendix, which does not purport to discuss the legal issues raised during Ruby’s trial or his possible motive for shooting Oswald.