Tom Squitieri: JFK Files May Shed Light on Witness's Death.

On the morning of March 29, 1977, the House Assassinations Committee phoned the Florida home of George de Mohrenschildt, "a crucial witness" in the panel's John F. Kennedy assassination probe, to arrange a meeting. It never reached him. That afternoon, de Mohren -schildt, described in CIA and FBI memos obtained by USA Today as being close to accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, was found dead, killed by a blast to his face from a 20-gauge shotgun. De Mohrenschildt, a Russian exile with murky ties to the CIA, has become a central figure for some promoters of conspiracy theories in the JFK slaying. "I would say he was a handler for Oswald," says Oliver Stone, director of the movie JFK, which has renewed debate about the assassination. A CIA memo describes de Mohrenschildt as "well-acquainted" with Oswald since 1962, another says he was briefed about Oswald by a CIA agent months before the November 22, 1963 assassination. Details of de Mohrenschildt's death, ruled a suicide, and his relationship with Oswald, may be clarified when sealed files on the JFK shooting are opened. A congressional resolution ordering the files opened, delayed in recent weeks, is now expected to be introduced Wednesday. Quick passage is predicted. The resolution is being delayed to provide time for Rep. Louis Stokes, D-Ohio, a key sponsor, to win the approval of all affected agencies. There is no deadline in the resolution for opening the documents, but agencies are expected to comply "as quickly as they can," said Sen. David Boren, D-Okla., Senate Intelligence Committee chairman.