I had gotten a letter from George which showed that he was very critical on personal grounds of Rags.
Mr. Liebeler. Why was De Mohrenschildt critical of Rags, do you remember?
Mr. Ballen. These are personal matters, and I am just asking a question now. Is it within the realm of your interest? These are really personal matters between one individual and a somewhat removed son-in-law, a son-in-law of his wife, and, so, I wrote back to George and said that his anger was only natural, that the Navajos had a taboo against sons seeing their mother-in-law in pains of having their eyes removed, and maybe the Navajos know what they are talking about.
But to answer your question, the discussion in that matter was on a personal matter, and I really do not think it has anything—any bearing here. If you want me to discuss it, I will.
Mr. Liebeler. No; if you represent to me that the differences were of a purely personal matter, that is sufficient for me.
Mr. Ballen. With only one exception, and that is that George, by his overall nature, is leaning to left center, and Rags, by his overall nature, leans to the right of center, and just among other things this was one of the sources of some conflict.
Mr. Liebeler. They had political differences, in other words, also?
Mr. Ballen. In their overall perspective; yes.
Mr. Liebeler. Have you told us everything that you can remember about your conversations with Rags concerning these statements by De Mohrenschildt that the FBI was responsible for the assassination? Tell us everything about that that you can remember, either about your conversation with Rags, or what Rags told you about his conversation with De Mohrenschildt, and the reactions of other people to De Mohrenschildt's statements.
Mr. Ballen. He or Chris said that the American Embassy down there was very disturbed that George, at a cocktail party possibly run by, well, I think by someone in the Foreign Corps there, whether it be the French, that George or Jeanne had made this statement, and it was a foolish thing for him to say and a distressing thing, and I think also at that party there was a Negro emissary from one of the newly free republics in Africa who told the Haitians that if Haiti is the result of 300 years of freedom, he would like to go back to French rule.