Mr. De Mohrenschildt. He kept on repeating that he was not a Communist. I asked him point blank, "Are you a member of the Communist Party?" And he said no. He said, "I am a Marxist." Kept on repeating it.
Mr. Jenner. Did you ask him what he meant by that?
Mr. De Mohrenschildt. I never frankly asked him to elaborate on that, because again, you know the word "Marxism" is very boring to me. Just the sound of that word is boring to me.
Mr. Jenner. What impression did you get in that connection as to whether he was seeking some mean or middle ground between democracy and what he thought Communism was?
Mr. De Mohrenschildt. Possibly he was seeking for something, but knowing what kind of brains he had, and what kind of education, I was not interested in listening to him, because it was nothing, it was zero.
Mr. Jenner. I see. It was your impression, then he could contribute nothing?
Mr. De Mohrenschildt. No, he could contribute absolutely nothing except for a remark like that about the meetings, which was just an ordinary remark a person of his intelligence could understand. But when it comes to dialectic materialism, I do not want to hear that word again.
Mr. Jenner. Did discussions occur as to his attempted defection?
Mr. De Mohrenschildt. From the United States to Russia?
Mr. Jenner. Yes.