Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

The issue of Roger Craig's story: I am stunned that so many people accept it. I wouldn't care if they accepted it as a possibility, but they accept it as a fact. 

They are quick to point to problems with the bus/cab testimonies, but Roger Craig's story doesn't benefit from that. He doesn't gain credibility because of it. His story has problems of its own. Let's look at them in a hierarchy.

1. It does appear that Oswald himself said that he rode the bus. In the very first Fritz notes from 11/22, Fritz wrote: "home by bus changed britches". In the second notes, Fritz wrote down about the cab ride including the fare of eighty-five cents. Later, Whaley said the fare was ninety-five cents, but there is no reason to think that Oswald lied about it. It's just a discrepancy- that's all. A mature person is not going to harp on it. 

Could Fritz have just made it up? But, these were notes to himself. And if he was willing to write down that Oswald said he was out with Bill Shelley in front, there is nothing more exonerating than that. I think a reasonable person has to conclude that Oswald really said those things.     

Do you think it's possible that Oswald lied, and they decided to substantiate a lie that Oswald started? I still say that the "script" for embarking on this venture does not ring as true:

DA Wade: "OK, listen up everybody. We have a situation here. We know that Oswald was picked up in a private car from Dealey Plaza. But, he's content to say that he went home by bus and cab, so we're going to pick up that ball and run with it. I need witnesses! Get me a bus driver, a cab driver, a witness or two on the bus. And we need physical evidence, such as a transfer ticket. Let's decide on a script and then get the witnesses properly briefed. A lot rides on this, people. We want our man to be a lone gunman- with the operative word being lone. This is Operation Bus and Cab, and it starts now. I want the whole bureau focused on it to the last man. Dot your i's and cross your t's, people. Don't fuck this up. There are a lot of people above my pay grade and yours counting on it."

I got to tell you: I'm just not buying it. I can' see it happening. 

2. The 12:45 pickup is a problem because it's about 10 minutes too long. We have a very fixed and solid chronology: Oswald had his very brief encounter with Truly and Baker in the lunch room at 12:31.3. Then he got a Coke and walked through the office passing by Mrs. Reid. Then he went downstairs and walked to the front where he gave two people directions to the pay phone. And that's it. Presumably, he then left. 

So, what time are we talking about? I don't know for sure but not later than 12:35. So, what did Oswald do between 12:35 and 12:45? Did he just hang around? Did he sit down somewhere? Did he interact with anyone else? I should think not because they would likely have reported it. And even if they didn't interact with him, if they just saw him, it's likely they would have remembered it afterwards. I regard accounting for that extra 10 minutes a major problem for the Roger Craig story.

3. The Ruth Paine aspect of the story is riddled with problems. She didn't own a Nash Rambler station wagon, and her 55 Chevy did not have a luggage rack on top. The impracticality of someone borrowing her car from Irving also seems incongruous. Why would that be done? And what was Oswald referring to when he said, 

"That's Mrs. Paine's station wagon. Don't bring her into this. She had nothing to do with it."  

Well, we know that Oswald drove Mrs. Paine's car- when she gave him driving lessons, which she did several times. So, is it possible that Oswald was thinking that they must have seen him driving a station wagon which they were asking about?

In the context of what Roger Craig said, his response didn't make sense because if it was Mrs. Paine's station wagon that was used to transport him, then she was involved in it, and she had something to do with it. 

But, the bottom line for me is that Mrs. Paine lived in Irving, not Dallas. Who borrows a car from someone in Irving to give a person a short ride in Dallas? 

What I'm saying is that we have only one incongruous statement of Oswald's that was reported by only one person, Roger Craig, Let's not treat it like money in the bank. Let's not presume we understand it. Let's not vest a lot of evidentiary value in it. Let's not even assume that it follows. The odds are great there was a misunderstanding involved. 

4. If you are going to say that Oswald had any anticipation of getting off work at 12:45 that day instead of the usual time of 4:45, then you are imparting him with foreknowledge of the assassination, and therefore, guilt. Would somebody else have set it up? But, consider the suspicion it would have aroused in Oswald if someone had said, "I'm going to pick you up at 12:45 tomorrow. Trust me; you'll be getting off work then." No, no, no, they never would have done that. They weren't going to give Oswald any heads-up. They weren't going to give him anything to think about. So, if somebody else set it up, Oswald must have been told about it that very day and after 12:30. Remember: he was the patsy. And you keep the patsy in the dark. He was not the patsy who was also involved in the assassination, who had knowledge of it. He had no knowledge of it. He was a pure patsy. And I'm sure they worked very hard to keep it that way. 

5. And then, if they had concerns afterwards about how it looked for him to be driven off by somebody, it's likely they would have had concerns beforehand. They would have gone about it cleverly- not had him running down a hill in broad daylight making a scene. 

The problems with the Roger Craig story are at least as great as the problems with the bus/cab story- in my opinion. But, it really is the only alternative to the bus/cab story. There is nothing else with any ties to the evidence at all.