Jan. 22, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy rejected today an informal invitation to visit the Soviet Union. The President’s brother said the plans for his coming world tour had been “completed for some time and I will not be able to alter them at this time.” The Attorney General and his wife will leave Feb. 2 on a trip that will take them to Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, West Germany, and the Netherlands. In his statement today, Mr. Kennedy said he would “look forward to visiting the Soviet Union in the future.” Sources close to the Attorney General said his decision was guided by the opinion of the State Department. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and McGeorge Bundy, the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, were believed to have opposed acceptance of the Soviet invitation.
