[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

Showing the many ways Oswald’s activities can be interpreted, Epstein suggested
that the Soviet Union created a cover story for Oswald to mask his connections to the
KGB. Epstein stopped short of accusing the KGB of outright involvement in the
assassination; the evidence was too murky to tell. Epstein outlined a tale similar to the
Warren Commission of Oswald’s early life, his time in the Marines, and his dedication to
Marxism. Oswald “became a voracious reader of books and found a hero: Karl Marx.” 280
Epstein reported that Oswald “had become involved with a small circle of Japanese
Communists in Tokyo while in the Marines.” 281 This may have been the start of an
espionage career, Epstein suggested.
Epstein rejected the notion that Oswald had nothing to offer the Soviets, including
classified information about the U.S. air defense system and especially the U-2. Epstein
theorized that much of Oswald’s writings, including his “historic diary” and his statement
of political principles written on the return voyage to the United States showed signs of
being dictated to him. Epstein noted that experts believed the diary was not a
contemporaneous account of events in the Soviet Union but written in one or two
sessions. Epstein wrote that this all suggested that “the diary was prepared …to provide
Oswald with a consistent cover story accounting for his decision to leave the USSR.” 282
Conspiracy theorists would counter that the U.S. intelligence sent Oswald to Russia, and
had him fabricate his diary.
280 Epstein, 60.
281 Epstein, 71.
282 Epstein, 110.
126