Mr. Hubert. I gather from what you are telling me that the presence of the press and under the conditions that they were present would be considered by you at least as a serious disruption of the normal methods of interrogation of a prisoner?
Captain King. I would say that nothing really that was going on there at that time was normal.
Mr. Hubert. Is it your opinion that the presence of the press as they were, particularly on the third floor, when Captain Fritz was interrogating Oswald did interfere with the investigation?
Captain King. I think it must have—yes, sir.
Mr. Hubert. Can you give us any examples of how it did?
Captain King. Well, the hallways were full—actually with men and officers. I was out on occasion in the hallway and officers tried to keep an aisle or pathway cleared in the hall so people who had business in the other bureaus on that end of the floor and people who were working out of the homicide and robbery bureau could get in and out, and this was a constant battle because of the number of newsmen who were there. They would move back into the aisleway that had been cleared. They interfered with the movement of people who had to be there.
The door from the elevator, the jail elevator—the ones used for the transportation of prisoners—is south of the doorway of the homicide and robbery bureau where the interrogations were conducted, and whenever Oswald was brought down from the jail or taken back from homicide and robbery to the jail, he had to pass through this area. There was noise out there—a considerable amount of noise out there, and I think this must have been a disquieting thing.
Mr. Hubert. And you mentioned that your general policy about the cooperation of the press had an exception, and that is, when it would interfere with an investigation, and you have, I think, demonstrated now that in your opinion there was interference with the investigation?
Captain King. Yes.
Mr. Hubert. Do you know of any effort made by anyone to invoke the exception to the general rule?