How'd He Do That?

[Walt Cakebread]

At about  2:50 pm 11 / 22/ 63 in the basement of the DPD  FBI agent James Hosty told a Dallas P.D. Detective named Jack Revill, that a communist named Lee Oswald was the man who had shot President Kennedy about a little over two hours earlier.  Hosty also told Revill that the FBI knew that Oswald was in Dallas and they knew that he was capable of committing the assassination of President Kennedy.  Revill reported this information immediately to his superior Captain Gannaway,   and was ordered to write a memo to Captain Ganaway. Revill's exact words were...  "Agent Hosty further stated that the Federal Bureau Of Investigation was aware of the subject ( LHO) and they had information that this subject (LHO) was capable of committing the assassination of President Kennedy"


Lee Oswald had been dragged from the Texas Theater about 1: 50 or an hour before Hosty met Revill in the basement of the Police Station. The name Oswald had not been broadcast over the radio because Lee Oswald had not been identified until after he was being questioned in the Police Station at about 2:15 pm. 

 At about 2:30 pm J.Edgar Hoover had called the Dallas SAIC Gordon Shanklin and ordered Shanklin to send FBI agent Hosty over to the DPD to be present during the interrogation of Oswald.  Shanklin called DPD Capt Will Fritz and informed Fritz that they were aware of Oswald's presence in Dallas and one of his agents, James Hosty,  had been "working with these people" and he wanted that agent to be present during the interrogation of Oswald.

Hosty encountered Detective Revill about 15 minutes later in the basement parking garage of the Police Station., and told Revill that Oswald was the assassin and they HAD INFORMATION  the he was capable of assassinating the President.

Those who have seriously studied the case know that there was some sort of tape recording in the hands of the FBI on 11/22/63 ....That tape allegedly was studied to determine if the voice recorded on that tape was the voice of Lee Harvey Oswald.   There is a great deal of confusion and controversy about that tape.. .

 Could it be that Hoover had a recording of Lee Oswald at the Cuban Embassy loudly threatening to shoot JFK?   

But first things first....The question that is the title of this thread.....

How did J.Edgar Hoover know the identity of the man who was dragged from the Texas Theater ??   Oswald's name wasn't known until about 2:15 and the police weren't certain that the man's true name was Lee Oswald. ....   But J.Edgar Hoover knew.... How'd he know that?   

[Walt Cakebread]

At about  2:50 pm 11 / 22/ 63 in the basement of the DPD  FBI agent James Hosty told a Dallas P.D. Detective named Jack Revill, that a communist named Lee Oswald was the man who had shot President Kennedy about a little over two hours earlier.  Hosty also told Revill that the FBI knew that Oswald was in Dallas and they knew that he was capable of committing the assassination of President Kennedy.  Revill reported this information immediately to his superior Captain Gannaway,   and was ordered to write a memo to Captain Ganaway. Revill's exact words were...  "Agent Hosty further stated that the Federal Bureau Of Investigation was aware of the subject ( LHO) and they had information that this subject (LHO) was capable of committing the assassination of President Kennedy"


Lee Oswald had been dragged from the Texas Theater about 1: 50 or an hour before Hosty met Revill in the basement of the Police Station. The name Oswald had not been broadcast over the radio because Lee Oswald had not been identified until after he was being questioned in the Police Station at about 2:15 pm. 

 At about 2:30 pm J.Edgar Hoover had called the Dallas SAIC Gordon Shanklin and ordered Shanklin to send FBI agent Hosty over to the DPD to be present during the interrogation of Oswald.  Shanklin called DPD Capt Will Fritz and informed Fritz that they were aware of Oswald's presence in Dallas and one of his agents, James Hosty,  had been "working with these people" and he wanted that agent to be present during the interrogation of Oswald.

Hosty encountered Detective Revill about 15 minutes later in the basement parking garage of the Police Station., and told Revill that Oswald was the assassin and they HAD INFORMATION  the he was capable of assassinating the President.

Those who have seriously studied the case know that there was some sort of tape recording in the hands of the FBI on 11/22/63 ....That tape allegedly was studied to determine if the voice recorded on that tape was the voice of Lee Harvey Oswald.   There is a great deal of confusion and controversy about that tape.. .

 Could it be that Hoover had a recording of Lee Oswald at the Cuban Embassy loudly threatening to shoot JFK?   

But first things first....The question that is the title of this thread.....

How did J.Edgar Hoover know the identity of the man who was dragged from the Texas Theater ??   Oswald's name wasn't known until about 2:15 and the police weren't certain that the man's true name was Lee Oswald. ....   But J.Edgar Hoover knew.... How'd he know that?

This post has garnered 36 reviews but not a single response.....The question at the closing is: How did J.Edgar Hoover know the identity of the man ( Lee Oswald) who had been dragged from the Texas theater BEFORE the police had determined the man's identity? 

[Ray Mitcham]

This post has garnered 36 reviews but not a single response.....The question at the closing is: How did J.Edgar Hoover know the identity of the man ( Lee Oswald) who had been dragged from the Texas theater BEFORE the police had determined the man's identity?

Wonder what has happened to the usual suspects, Walt?

[Dale Nason]

Walt, that's an excellent question. I have no idea what the answer is. Another question that might follow could be: If Hoover knew ahead of time that LHO was an assassination threat, then why was the motorcade route changed to go directly by his place of employment? I would think that just the opposite would be proper procedure.

[Richard Smith]

This post has garnered 36 reviews but not a single response.....The question at the closing is: How did J.Edgar Hoover know the identity of the man ( Lee Oswald) who had been dragged from the Texas theater BEFORE the police had determined the man's identity?

That's because, as usual, your post contains a false premise.  Hoover did not know the identity of the person arrested until he was told.  The FBI agents in Dallas found that out around 2PM and "immediately" called FBI HQ with that information.  Nothing you have cited suggests that Hoover knew Oswald's name before he received this information from his agents in Dallas.  There is no mystery here.

Mr. HOSTY. No, sir; it was approximately 1:30 that we got the report that a police officer had been killed in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, and that the police were surrounding a movie theatre where the suspect was allegedly located.
Shortly after 2 o'clock, we received information that this man had been captured and taken to the Dallas Police Department. One of our agents called from the Dallas Police Department and identified this man as Lee Harvey Oswald. I immediately recognized the name.

Mr. HOSTY. Right. There are no regional offices. I then took the file to the agent in charge, told him that we had a case on Lee Harvey Oswald. While I sat there he immediately called headquarters and advised headquarters here in Washington, D.C., that Lee Harvey Oswald was under arrest down at Dallas and had been observed shooting a police officer. They had eyewitnesses to his killing of Officer Tippit.

[Walt Cakebread]

Walt, that's an excellent question. I have no idea what the answer is. Another question that might follow could be: If Hoover knew ahead of time that LHO was an assassination threat, then why was the motorcade route changed to go directly by his place of employment? I would think that just the opposite would be proper procedure.

 If Hoover knew ahead of time that LHO was an assassination threat, then why was the motorcade route changed to go directly by his place of employment?

In a nut shell.....  Hoover did know ahead of time....( He was sanctioning the murder)    He panicked when Lee wasn't shot in the TSBD.......  So he notified his SAIC  Gorgon Shanklin immediately upon Lee Oswald arrest in the Theater.....  The problem he created in his panic was the failure to allow the DPD to identify the man prior to notifying Shankiln....

And Shanklin should have told Hosty to keep his mouth shut about the FBI having a recording of Lee Oswald threatening to shoot JFK.....Although Hosty didn't spell it out for Jack Revill when he and Revill met in the DPD, he DID tell Revill that the FBI had information that Oswald was capable of assassinating the President....

I'm convinced that the "information" Hosty was referring to was the tape recording of Lee yelling at the Cuban ambassador...." Somebody should shoot that SOB Kennedy"  ( Lee was desperate to get a Visa and blurted out that hollow threat ) Hoover had intended to introduce that into the evidence stream after Lee's bulllet riddle body had been carried from the TSBD.... hadn't intended to put that into the evidence stream until  later when he could claim that they had just learned that Oswald had threaten the President in October when he was in Mexico City.  ( And in doing so Hoover avoided the responsibility for allowing Oswald to be at large in Dallas)

Hosty exacerbated the situation when he told Captain Fritz to ask Oswald about Mexico City ( which was a veiled reference to Oswald's outburst at the Cuban Embassy)   Lee Knew exactly what Hosty was referring to and he lost his kool, and exploded at Hosty....

[Walt Cakebread]

That's because, as usual, your post contains a false premise.  Hoover did not know the identity of the person arrested until he was told.  The FBI agents in Dallas found that out around 2PM and "immediately" called FBI HQ with that information.  Nothing you have cited suggests that Hoover knew Oswald's name before he received this information from his agents in Dallas.  There is no mystery here.

Mr. HOSTY. No, sir; it was approximately 1:30 that we got the report that a police officer had been killed in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, and that the police were surrounding a movie theatre where the suspect was allegedly located.
Shortly after 2 o'clock, we received information that this man had been captured and taken to the Dallas Police Department. One of our agents called from the Dallas Police Department and identified this man as Lee Harvey Oswald. I immediately recognized the name.

Mr. HOSTY. Right. There are no regional offices. I then took the file to the agent in charge, told him that we had a case on Lee Harvey Oswald. While I sat there he immediately called headquarters and advised headquarters here in Washington, D.C., that Lee Harvey Oswald was under arrest down at Dallas and had been observed shooting a police officer. They had eyewitnesses to his killing of Officer Tippit.

The FBI agents in Dallas found that out around 2PM and "immediately" called FBI HQ with that information.


Then explain why the DPD didn't know Lee's identity until about 2:30.....And during the 3:00pm interrogation Fritz asked Lee If his name was OH Lee.....

[John Agee]

That's because, as usual, your post contains a false premise.  Hoover did not know the identity of the person arrested until he was told.  The FBI agents in Dallas found that out around 2PM and "immediately" called FBI HQ with that information.  Nothing you have cited suggests that Hoover knew Oswald's name before he received this information from his agents in Dallas.  There is no mystery here.

Mr. HOSTY. No, sir; it was approximately 1:30 that we got the report that a police officer had been killed in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, and that the police were surrounding a movie theatre where the suspect was allegedly located.
Shortly after 2 o'clock, we received information that this man had been captured and taken to the Dallas Police Department. One of our agents called from the Dallas Police Department and identified this man as Lee Harvey Oswald. I immediately recognized the name.

Mr. HOSTY. Right. There are no regional offices. I then took the file to the agent in charge, told him that we had a case on Lee Harvey Oswald. While I sat there he immediately called headquarters and advised headquarters here in Washington, D.C., that Lee Harvey Oswald was under arrest down at Dallas and had been observed shooting a police officer. They had eyewitnesses to his killing of Officer Tippit.

Excellent post Richard, yes, there's no mystery here. Note that most of the mentioned times are estimates.


At about 2:50 pm 11/22/63 in the basement of the DPD  FBI agent James Hosty told a Dallas P.D. Detective named Jack Revill, that a communist named Lee Oswald was the man who had shot President Kennedy about a little over two hours earlier. Hosty also told Revill that the FBI knew that Oswald was in Dallas and they knew that he was capable of committing the assassination of President Kennedy.  Revill reported this information immediately to his superior Captain Gannaway, and was ordered to write a memo to Captain Ganaway. Revill's exact words were...  "Agent Hosty further stated that the Federal Bureau Of Investigation was aware of the subject ( LHO) and they had information that this subject (LHO) was capable of committing the assassination of President Kennedy"

Lee Oswald had been dragged from the Texas Theater about 1: 50 or an hour before Hosty met Revill in the basement of the Police Station. The name Oswald had not been broadcast over the radio because Lee Oswald had not been identified until after he was being questioned in the Police Station at about 2:15 pm. 

At about 2:30 pm J.Edgar Hoover had called the Dallas SAIC Gordon Shanklin and ordered Shanklin to send FBI agent Hosty over to the DPD to be present during the interrogation of Oswald. Shanklin called DPD Capt Will Fritz and informed Fritz that they were aware of Oswald's presence in Dallas and one of his agents, James Hosty, had been "working with these people" and he wanted that agent to be present during the interrogation of Oswald.

Hosty encountered Detective Revill about 15 minutes later in the basement parking garage of the Police Station., and told Revill that Oswald was the assassin and they HAD INFORMATION  the he was capable of assassinating the President.

Those who have seriously studied the case know that there was some sort of tape recording in the hands of the FBI on 11/22/63 ....That tape allegedly was studied to determine if the voice recorded on that tape was the voice of Lee Harvey Oswald. There is a great deal of confusion and controversy about that tape.. .

Could it be that Hoover had a recording of Lee Oswald at the Cuban Embassy loudly threatening to shoot JFK?   

But first things first....The question that is the title of this thread.....

How did J.Edgar Hoover know the identity of the man who was dragged from the Texas Theater ??   Oswald's name wasn't known until about 2:15 and the police weren't certain that the man's true name was Lee Oswald. ....   But J.Edgar Hoover knew.... How'd he know that?