Mr. Liebeler. Do you remember anything else about that conversation?
Mr. Paine. No. It was chiefly both he and Freddy, his wife, had to be calmed down. They thought it was a steamrollered job of injustice or something. And I didn't think their admonitions were—I think not to say anything, not to join the hubbub or jump on the things I said or I took it to be things I said would be distorted and blown up and added to the hullabaloo to lynch Lee.
Representative Ford. Did they infer or imply that the allegations or accusations against Oswald bore the semblance of a lynching? And I use lynching in the broad sense.
Mr. Paine. They did not use lynching at all. I added that. They thought he was——
Representative Ford. Being railroaded?
Mr. Paine. No; he said that no one, no member of the Friends of Cuba would want to assassinate the President. That was a crazy idea.
Representative Ford. You said that was a crazy idea?
Mr. Paine. No; he said that. Therefore, he concluded, and this was the same, similar to my feeling, that I first didn't think Oswald had done it because I didn't see how it fitted in, how it helped his favorite ideals.
And Lyman then said the same thing. Therefore, including himself, Lyman, that Lee couldn't have done it, and that this must be—Lee was the ideal person to hang it on.
Representative Ford. How soon was this phone call after the assassination?