Mr. Coleman. Well, did Mr. Oswald ask for such an affidavit?
Mr. Snyder. I don't think he asked for such an affidavit in those terms. I am not sure that he understood that completely, what the procedure was. But he did ask to renounce his citizenship.
Mr. Coleman. Well, did you provide him with the affidavit?
Mr. Snyder. No, sir; I did not.
Mr. Coleman. Why didn't you provide him with the affidavit at that time?
Mr. Snyder. Well, as the consul and, of course, the responsible person at the time, it didn't seem to me the sensible thing to do—in the sense that—I can't, I suppose, speak for all consuls, but it is sort of axiomatic, I think, in the consular service that when a man, a citizen comes in and asks to renounce his citizenship, you don't whip out a piece of paper and have him sign it. This is a very serious step, of course, an irrevocable step, really, and if nothing else you attempt to provide enough time for—to make sure that the person knows what he is doing. You explain, for one thing, what the meaning of the act is; and, secondly, again speaking for myself—I cannot speak for the Foreign Service in this—provide a little breather, if possible make the man leave your office and come back to it at a later time, just to make sure—for what value there is in making sure—that the man's action is not something completely off the top of his head.
Representative Ford. Mr. Chairman, would it be helpful for the record to have put in the record at this point whatever the law is in this regard, and whatever the Department regulations are on this point?
The Chairman. That may be done; yes.
Mr. Coleman. I would like to say, sir, at 2 o'clock the Legal Adviser to the State Department is coming in, and he is going to put it in at that time.
Mr. Dulles. May I ask a question at this point?