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    Title: DEPT OF STATE DOCUMENTS, CONVERSATION AMEMB PARIS, MR

    RICHARD GIBSON

    Author: n/a

    Pages: 5

    Agency: CIA

    RIF#: 104-10217-10328

    Subjects: FAIR PLAY CUBA; GIBSON, RICHARDSource: AARC

  • 8/11/2019 Richard Gibson

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    Date

    10/28/98

    Page

    1

    JFK

    ASSASSINATION

    SYSTEM

    IDENTIFICATION

    FORM

    .=

    AGENCYINFORMATION

    AGENCY CIA

    RECORD NUMBER 104-10217-10328

    .RECORDSERIES JFK

    .AGENCY

    FILE NUMBER

    80T01357A

    DOCUMENTINFORMATION

    ORIGINATOR DOS

    FROM

    TO

    TITLE DEPT

    OF STATE

    DOCUMENTS

    CONVERSATIONAMEMB

    PARIS

    MR

    RICHARD GIBSON

    DATE

    12/09/63

    PAGES 4

    SUBJECTS FAIR PLAY CUBA

    GIBSON

    RICHARD

    DOCUMENT

    TYPE

    PAPER TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

    .CLASSIFICATION

    CONFIDENTIAL

    RESTRICTIONS OPEN IN FULL

    CURRENT STATUS OPEN

    .DATE

    OF LAST REVIEW

    09/23/98

    OPENING

    CRITERIA

    COMMENTS

    JFK64-52:F8A 1998.09.23.14:38:35:186108

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    tinuing

    the

    interview in

    other

    areas

    resulted

    in

    a

    general

    conversation

    -Lasting about one and one-half hours Points of possible interest that

    arose

    during

    that

    conversation are summarized

    herewith

    by subject

    Mr

    Gibson was asked

    to visit the

    Embassy

    because

    of

    a

    report

    by

    a

    controlled

    American source

    that

    as

    an

    ex-official of the Fair

    Play

    for Cuba

    Committee of

    New

    York

    he

    might

    have

    some

    informa

    tion

    concerning

    Lee

    Harvey

    Oswald

    After the discussion with

    Mr

    Gibson

    concerning

    Oswald was

    completed

    his

    obvious

    interest

    in

    con

    Subject

    Assassination

    of

    President

    Opinions

    of

    Mr

    Gibson

    POL

    Mr

    win Curtis

    POL

    Mr

    C`~C

    1bar-G1eyet

    AMB

    Mr

    Woodward Romine

    CON/GEN

    (2)

    MEMORANDUM

    OF

    CONvERcpT_t'.N

    Date December

    9

    1963

    Time

    3p.m

    Place Consul General's

    office

    Embassy

    Paris

    Participants

    Mr

    Richard

    GIBSON

    U.S

    citizen

    on

    editorial board of

    R6volution

    Oswald

    I

    opened

    the

    conversation

    by saying

    that

    although

    we

    were no

    doubt in

    profound disagreement

    on

    many

    matters

    I

    was sure we held

    identical

    viewpoints

    on

    the

    President's

    murder

    and

    I

    bad therefore

    asked him to

    call at the

    Embassy

    in

    the

    hope

    that he could

    tell us

    some.

    thing

    of

    possible

    use or

    significance

    concerning

    Oswald

    or

    any

    of

    his

    associates

    Gibson

    said

    that he

    did

    not believe

    he knew

    anything

    of

    value but

    would

    tell

    me what

    he did

    know

    viz

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    1)

    That

    he had no

    correspondence

    with or

    knowledge

    of Oswald

    as

    Lee

    Harvey

    Oswald

    that he

    did

    however

    recall

    receiving,in

    the late

    summer of 1962 a letter from Fort Worth from a mat who signed his

    name Lee

    Bowmont

    indicating

    an

    interest

    in

    organizing

    a

    Fair

    Play

    for

    Cuba Committee

    (FPFCC)

    in Fort Worth and

    enclosing

    a

    Fort Worth

    newspaper

    clipping

    including

    a

    photograph

    of

    himself

    concerning

    some

    activity

    or

    other

    in that

    general

    field

    Mr

    Gibson

    said that to

    the

    best

    of

    his

    memory

    Bowmont

    received

    a

    routine

    reply

    enclosing

    some litera

    ture

    Gibson had no

    further

    correspondence

    with

    Bowmont

    (Gibson

    himself

    left

    the

    US

    in

    September

    1962)

    Although

    he had

    no

    reason

    at the time to

    believe

    that

    Bowmont

    was a

    pseudonym

    he now

    thinks

    that Bowmont

    may

    have been

    Oswald

    Gibson

    pointed

    out

    that

    the

    FPFCC received

    many

    letters and

    visits from

    cranks

    some of whom of

    course

    used

    pseudonyms

    I

    asked

    him at

    this

    point

    if he

    thought

    it

    possible

    that in

    replying

    to Bowmont

    he

    might

    have

    given

    him the

    name of someone

    already

    active for the FPFCC

    in the Fort Worth area for Bowmont to get in touch with which would give us

    a

    further

    lead Gibson

    said

    no

    he

    was

    fairly

    sure that

    they

    did

    not

    be

    cause

    in the South and

    Southwest

    at

    that time

    virtually

    the

    only

    workers for

    the

    FPFCC

    were

    Negroes

    that

    in

    that

    region

    they

    would of

    course

    avoid

    putting

    a

    Southern

    white

    in contact with their

    Negro leadership

    and

    that

    Bowmont

    was

    obviously

    from

    his

    letter

    a

    Southern

    white

    Gibson did

    not recall

    that

    they

    had

    anyone

    in Fort

    Worth

    at

    that time

    anyway

    2)

    Gibson said that

    in

    the

    summer

    of

    1962

    the New

    York

    offices

    of FPFCC

    were

    visited

    by

    a

    Trotskyist

    group (Socialist

    Workers

    Party

    ?)

    Gibson

    for

    some reason

    which

    was

    not

    clear to

    me

    seemed to feel that

    Oswald

    may

    have

    visited

    their

    headquarters

    with

    this

    Trotskyist

    group (I suspect

    Oswald's

    pictures

    look

    familiar to

    Gibson)

    Gibson

    went on to

    say

    that

    some of the

    Trotskyist types

    who

    were

    rather

    vocally

    irresponsible

    on

    matters of direct

    action

    could

    well

    without

    intending

    to

    have

    planted

    in

    Oswald's

    mind the

    idea that

    assassination

    had

    merit

    He

    greatly

    doubts

    however

    that

    they

    would

    deliberately

    or

    consciously

    have

    encouraged

    Oswald

    to such

    action

    I

    find that

    I

    have not

    been able to

    decide

    in

    my

    own

    mind

    the

    extent

    of

    Gibson's

    truthfulness

    on

    this

    subject

    I lean

    to

    the

    belief that

    what he

    said

    was true

    insofar

    as

    it

    went

    that he himself

    would

    not be

    capable

    of in

    any

    way

    condoning

    Presidential assassination

    as

    a

    political

    tool

    in

    America

    and

    that he

    is

    probably

    not

    withholding

    information

    which

    he himself

    feels is

    of

    possible

    use or

    significance

    in the

    investigation

    Nevertheless

    I

    think

    he

    might

    be

    withholding

    some additional

    bit

    of

    information

    that

    could indicate

    1

    a

    more

    direct

    past

    communication

    with

    Oswald

    on

    his

    part

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    -3

    Gibson

    In

    the course

    of

    the

    interview

    Gibson

    made

    various

    remarks

    iris=1f rrd

    Lir

    pest

    as

    Ms rressnt

    position

    which

    may

    be

    useful

    whether

    true or

    not

    because

    Gibson

    apparently

    wants

    to

    maintain

    contact

    with

    us (See below)

    '~'~

    _

    Gibson

    says

    he lived in Paris in the last half of the

    '50's

    (exact

    dates

    not

    known

    but

    probably

    '54

    to

    '58)

    that

    he

    worked

    for

    Agence

    France

    Presse

    during

    much of

    this

    time

    that

    he

    along

    with

    some

    other

    American

    Negroes

    in

    Paris

    was

    supporting

    the

    FLN

    and that he was

    betrayed

    to

    the French

    police

    by

    one

    or

    another

    of

    two

    American

    Negroes

    both

    of

    whom were down-the-line

    Thorez

    Communists

    for

    reasons

    he

    thinks

    of

    personal

    dislike

    As a

    result

    the

    French

    police

    were able

    to

    confront

    him

    with

    a

    charge

    of

    forgery

    that was

    literally

    true

    although

    committed

    for

    a

    political

    and not an

    economic reason

    Nevertheless

    the

    potential

    charge

    was

    therefore

    a

    criminal

    rather than

    a

    political

    one

    and

    as

    a

    result

    he lost his

    job

    with

    Agence

    France Presse

    and

    had to

    leave

    France

    He

    returned

    to

    Europe

    in

    September

    1962

    and

    soon

    found himself

    penniless

    and unable to

    obtain

    employment

    At

    this

    point

    J M

    Verges

    Director

    of

    the

    magazine

    Revolution

    offered

    him a

    job

    -

    the

    only job

    he

    could

    obtain Gibson

    appears

    to

    be

    genuinely

    concerned

    (-

    though

    this

    point

    was

    made

    _

    elicately

    and

    hesitantly

    --- the

    may

    be

    too

    far

    out

    on

    a

    limb

    and

    that

    he

    would

    welcome

    opportunities

    to

    display

    his

    continued

    allegiance

    to

    America I

    suspect

    that if

    possibilities

    to do

    this

    arise

    he

    will

    accept

    them

    Qr

    at

    least

    sct'in such

    sway

    that we

    willbiiieveethat he

    is

    accepting

    them

    further

    that

    if such

    opport

    ities

    sho

    i1a

    be

    coupled

    with

    an

    opportunity

    to

    improve

    his

    financial

    situation

    he

    might

    welcome

    that

    too

    If

    a

    subsequent

    contact

    is

    desired

    by

    the

    Embassy

    it will be

    necessary

    for

    me to do so

    initially

    under

    arrangements

    he made with me

    during

    the

    interview

    The

    only

    real

    request

    he made

    of me

    at the

    time

    of the interview

    was

    that if

    his

    name

    were mentioned

    at

    any

    time to or

    by me or other Embassy officers that we express our firm

    is

    a

    bastard

    I was able to

    promise

    him

    this small

    favor

    belief that he

    The material that follows

    is

    for

    the

    most

    part

    of use

    only

    in

    judging

    whether

    he

    himself

    might

    eventually

    be

    useful in

    any way

    It

    contains

    little

    to indicate that he has leftest sources

    of information

    that

    might

    not

    otherwise be

    available

    and

    his

    opinions

    could well

    be based on

    press

    sources

    rather than on more esoteric

    knowledge

    Revolution

    Initially

    I

    knew

    so

    little

    about

    this

    magazine

    that

    I

    didn't

    realize

    it was

    also

    published

    in

    English

    Mr

    Gibson

    tells

    me

    they print

    25,000

    French-language

    copies

    in

    Paris

    and

    15,000

    in

    English

    in

    Lausanne

    3,000

    of

    the latter edition

    are

    sold

    to

    Peking

    Gibson

    sags

    that

    he

    does

    not

    lgtowtbeyond this and the income from newsstand sales the sources of

    Verges

    un s

    for'the

    magazine..-He

    says

    some

    people

    believe

    that

    Verges

    is

    on

    Peking's

    payroll

    quite

    aside

    from

    the

    sales

    of the

    3,000

    copies

    but

    he

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    himself doubts

    it

    He

    believes

    that

    Verges

    came

    out of

    Algeria

    with

    quite

    a

    lot of

    money

    some

    of

    which

    he knows

    at

    one

    time

    during

    the

    AIsr

    i.un

    war

    came from Kidder

    He

    thinks

    Verges may

    still

    hope

    to

    have

    a

    future

    in Algeria

    Algeria

    Gibson indicates that

    he

    still

    retains

    Algerian

    contacts

    or at

    least contacts

    with

    people

    close

    to

    Algerian

    Government

    sources

    In this

    connection

    he mentioned that

    he first

    guessed

    that

    the Moroccans

    had

    pro

    voked the border incidents

    on the

    theory

    that

    their

    only

    chance

    was

    then

    Subsequent

    information

    leads

    him to

    believe that

    this

    was nd

    so

    tint

    within

    the

    Algerian Army

    there

    was

    some

    belief

    that

    a

    little

    push

    on

    the

    border

    and that the

    Moroccans

    with Baathist

    troubles

    in

    addition

    to their

    others

    would

    fold

    that the

    results

    were

    therefore

    diconcerting

    to the

    Algerian

    Government

    and

    that

    the

    Algerian

    Army

    or

    at least

    elements

    in

    the

    Army

    have lost face

    to a

    dangerous

    degree

    Cuba

    Here Gibson seems

    to

    be on

    familiar

    ground

    and

    probably

    is

    He

    was an

    official

    of the national

    headquarters

    of

    the

    FPFCC

    in

    New

    York

    prior

    to

    September

    1962

    Gibson

    himself

    to

    me

    closely

    resembles

    the

    Latin

    American

    professional

    balding perennial

    student

    agitator

    who

    has

    coma

    over the

    years

    to see

    agitation

    and

    inflamation

    as

    virtually

    ends

    in

    themselves

    who sees himself

    as

    a

    tireless

    thinker

    and worker

    for

    a

    better

    social

    order

    but is without

    enough

    consistency

    in

    picturing

    what that

    order

    would

    be to find

    a

    permanent

    party

    home

    anywhere

    To

    such

    a

    person

    Castro

    of

    course

    has merit

    just

    as an iconoclast

    Gibson

    i

    believe

    has

    not lost

    faith

    in Castro

    nor his

    hope

    that

    Castro

    can have

    his

    cake

    and eat

    it

    too

    by

    reaching

    an

    arrangement

    with

    us

    and

    still

    carry

    on

    his

    revolution

    The

    following

    comments

    among

    many

    in

    this

    area

    may

    be

    of interest

    He

    says

    Castro

    has been

    from

    the

    beginning

    an

    opponent

    of

    assassina

    tion

    (as opposed

    to execution?) as an instrument of revolution and that he

    was

    no

    doubt

    genuinely

    upset

    at

    Kennedy's

    assassination

    He

    insists

    that

    Castro

    has never

    been

    a

    Moscow

    or

    for

    that

    matter

    a

    Peking

    Communist

    and that

    there

    remains

    a

    deep

    division

    between

    Castro

    and

    people

    like

    Guevara

    an

    uncommitted

    Marxist

    on

    the one

    hand

    and the

    old-line

    party

    men

    and Moscow

    tools

    like

    Bias

    Roca

    He

    says

    there

    is

    an

    increasing

    tendency

    to send

    the

    latter

    type

    Cuban

    Communist

    abroad

    to

    Embassies

    etc

    to

    shake

    their

    power

    a bit

    He

    places

    the

    present

    Cuban

    Ambassador

    to

    France

    in this

    category

    and

    says

    that

    the Cuban

    Embassy

    in Paris

    is

    presently

    little

    more

    than

    a

    conscious

    captive

    instrument

    of

    the

    French Communist_

    Party