Mr. Specter. When you say the evening affair, what are you referring to specifically there?
Mr. O'Donnell. There was a political dinner which was to be conducted at Austin that evening, at the end of which the President was going with the Vice President to the ranch. This was a political fundraising dinner.
Mr. Specter. Now, had there been any conversation given at all to omitting a motorcade through Dallas?
Mr. O'Donnell. None.
Mr. Specter. And what were the considerations behind the decision on having a motorcade through Dallas?
Mr. O'Donnell. Well, we had a motorcade wherever we went. Particularly when we went to a large city, the purpose of going there was to give the President as much exposure to the people of Dallas and vice versa, the people of Dallas to the President, as possible.
The speaking engagement was a luncheon which was rather limited. And the President would not want to leave Dallas feeling that the only ones that were able to see him were a rather select group. So it would be automatic, and we would not even proceed with instructions, that the advance man and the Secret Service would, within the time allotted to them—would bring the President into Dallas, through an area which exposes him to the greatest number of people.
Mr. Specter. When was a decision made, if you recall, as to the precise route that the motorcade would follow through Dallas?
Mr. O'Donnell. I don't recall. I would think it would be perhaps a week before the final decision was made. The President would not involve himself in anything like this. Once we agreed on where he would go, that was my responsibility to work it out. The normal course of events—they would say to me, "Do you want a motorcade in Dallas?" I would say, "Yes; this is how much time you have got." They would work out a motorcade. The Secret Service would time the route. Once they had worked out this point, they would come back to me and say, "We have accomplished the purpose you want." The Secret Service would say it takes so much time, the Governor would say "You have to be here at a certain time." Once all those are put together, the route is laid out and accepted.
Mr. Specter. Do you recall how long after the determination of the motorcade route that that information was transmitted to the press in Dallas?