Mrs. Paine. To Mr. Hudkins I said many things, which I hoped would convince him that he had no story, that his information was very shaky, that Oswald was not in my view a person that would have been hired by the FBI or by Russia. I said to him "You are the other side of the coin from a Mr. Guy Richards of the New York Journal-American who is certain that Oswald was a paid spy for the Soviet Union, and just as inaccurate," and coming to, in my opinion, and of course I made it clear this was my opinion, to conclusions just as wrong.
Mr. Jenner. That is, it was your opinion that Lee Oswald was neither a Russian agent nor an agent of any agency of the United States?
Mrs. Paine. That is right. I said indeed to Mr. Hudkins, I had said to Mr. Richards that if the so-called great Soviet conspiracy has to rest for its help upon such inadequate people as Lee Oswald, there is no hope of their achieving their aims. I said I simply cannot believe that the FBI would find it necessary to employ such a shaky and inadequate person.
Mr. Jenner. And is that still your view?
Mrs. Paine. Indeed it is.
Mr. Jenner. Did you also say to Mr. Odum on that occasion that you knew that Agent Hosty had not interviewed Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mrs. Paine. Probably.
Senator Cooper. Did you read the statements after they had been written?
Mrs. Paine. What statements?
Senator Cooper. The statements of the FBI.