GERALD R. FORD CONGRESSIONAL PAPERS, 1949-73 WARREN COMMISSION FILE SUB-GROUP, 1963-64

Warren Commission File, 1963-76. (Boxes E1‑E42, 16.8 linear feet)
On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon Johnson signed Executive Order 11130 appointing a commission of seven, including Congressman Ford, to investigate the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald.  From December 1963 to September 1964, the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (Warren Commission) and its 26 member staff met in executive session and received sworn testimony from over 500 witnesses and experts.  In September 1964, the Commission published both a final report and 26 volumes of hearings and selected evidence, ultimately depositing all accumulated evidence, exhibits and other records in the National Archives as Record Group 272 for storage and eventual release to the public.

To enable him to carry out his duties and to maintain a certain degree of autonomy from the Commission, Ford hired three consultants.  Francis X. Fallon, a law student at Harvard and later attorney in Grand Rapids, John H. Ray, Former Congressman from New York, and John R. Stiles, former Ford campaign manager and close personal friend, had the same access to depositions, testimony and supporting materials as the staff of the Commission.  This trio advised Ford on the particulars of cross‑examination, reviewed and condensed testimony, posed questions for future witnesses, and offered their prepared responses to correspondence from the public on the Warren Commission.  Jack Stiles continued to handle queries for the remainder of Ford's Congressional career.

Following the publication of the Report, Stiles and Ford collaborated on a book, titled Portrait of the Assassin, summarizing the Commission's investigation of Oswald's personality.  The materials Stiles used to draft the book are located in the Bentley Library.  GRF also published articles in Life magazine and California Magazine recounting his experiences on the Commission.

This collection consists primarily of copies of exhibits, reports, proceedings and depositions sent to Ford for his use during the Commission's investigation.  The original texts, along with extensive supporting materials are part of NARA Record Group 272.  Other materials are unique, including personal notes and drafts, correspondence and Ford's writings about the work of the Commission.

The collection was assembled from scattered segments accumulated by Congressman Ford's office and forwarded to the Bentley Library.  Large segments were sent in July 1967 and April 1971, along with yearly installments of related correspondence, articles and other papers originally placed in the "Legislative" series of the Congressional papers.  During processing at the Ford Library, additional material, dated 1972‑76, was added from the "Special Files" Congressional series.  Current arrangement is based on the Bentley Library arrangement with minor changes.

Compiled by Paul Conway, October 1978