Mr. Hubert. You did not?
Mr. Johnston. No, sir. I’ll say this again in all fairness to the officers that were involved in this thing, with knowing the seriousness of this incident, the international importance of it—that Chief Curry and his subordinate officers made every effort to allow Lee Harvey Oswald to be seen by the press—to see that the man was not being physically abused, that he wasn’t being tortured in any way. I saw none of it personally myself. That would have been out of the realm of reasonableness. He was spoken to in a normal, calm voice by the officers who spoke to him, and I just can’t see it any other way except that Chief Curry tried every way he could, with the national and international importance of this thing, to allow the press to make its coverage of it.
Mr. Hubert. You never saw any indication of maltreatment of Oswald at all?
Mr. Johnston. No, sir; none whatsoever in the period of some 7 or 8 hours that I was connected with it.
Mr. Hubert. Oswald made no such accusations in your presence?
Mr. Johnston. No, sir. As I say, the only thing he said was when he was brought in for the arraignment on President Kennedy, and he says to me, “Is this the trial?” I said, “No, sir; I have to arraign you again on another offense.” And, there was some seven or eight officer witnesses to that arraignment and an assistant district attorney, and that assistant district attorney at that time was Mr. Maurice Harrell [spelling] H-a-r-r-e-l-l.
Mr. Hubert. I believe that is all, sir. I’m obliged to ask you these questions to end it up: I don’t think that we have had any conversation that has been off the record?
Mr. Johnston. No, sir.
Mr. Hubert. Nor any conversation prior to the beginning of this deposition?
Mr. Johnston. No, sir.