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'''George Seldes''' (16 November 1890 &ndash; 2 July 1995) was an influential [[atheist]]<ref>"[My brother] Gilbert and I, brought up without a formal religion, remained throughout our lifetimes just what Father was, freethinkers." George Seldes, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3rM0pGYtng8C Witness to a century: encounters with the noted, the notorious, and the three SOBs]'' (Random House Publishing Group, 1988) ISBN 0345353293, p. 8</ref> [[United States|American]] [[journalist]]. Although held up to the public as a "liberal,"<ref>Michael Kammen, "Introducton," in George Seldes, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_C8KCi6tZMsC The 7 Lively Arts]'' (Courier Dover Publications, 2001) ISBN 0486414736, pp. xii-xii</ref> he was actually a long-time secret member of the [[CPUSA|Communist Party]] who lied about it.<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}} "I never, never, never was a communist, even though [Communist Party General Secretary] [[Earl Browder]] kept asking me to join." Seldes quoted in Randolph T. Holhut, "[http://www.brasscheck.com/seldes/bio.html The Forgotten Man of American Journalism: A Brief Biography of George Seldes]," ''Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press'' (brasscheck.com)</ref>

'''George Seldes''' (16 November 1890 &ndash; 2 July 1995) was an influential [[atheist]]<ref>"[My brother] Gilbert and I, brought up without a formal religion, remained throughout our lifetimes just what Father was, freethinkers." George Seldes, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3rM0pGYtng8C Witness to a century: encounters with the noted, the notorious, and the three SOBs]'' (Random House Publishing Group, 1988) ISBN 0345353293, p. 8</ref> [[United States|American]] [[journalist]]. Although held up to the public as a "liberal,"<ref>Michael Kammen, "Introducton," in George Seldes, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_C8KCi6tZMsC The 7 Lively Arts]'' (Courier Dover Publications, 2001) ISBN 0486414736, pp. xii-xii</ref> he was actually a long-time secret member of the [[CPUSA|Communist Party]] who lied about it.<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}} "I never, never, never was a communist, even though [Communist Party General Secretary] [[Earl Browder]] kept asking me to join." Seldes quoted in Randolph T. Holhut, "[http://www.brasscheck.com/seldes/bio.html The Forgotten Man of American Journalism: A Brief Biography of George Seldes]," ''Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press'' (brasscheck.com)</ref>

In 1940, during the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]], the [[CPUSA|Communist Party]] decided to create an [[US|American]] version of the London political weekly, ''The Week'',<ref>David Randall, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=MhNlAAAAMAAJ The Great Reporters]'' (Pluto Press, 2005) ISBN 0745322972, p. 85</ref> published by the muckraking British journalist Claud Cockburn, who was also a secret agent of the [[Comintern]].<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=netJI5stGlwC Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders, and Cover-ups: Six Decades of Espionage against America and Great Britain]'' (Random House, Inc., 2009) ISBN 140006807X, pp. 43-47</ref> The resulting publication was ''In Fact'',<ref>John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), ISBN 0300123906, pp. 169-172</ref> a political newsletter that was extremely influential in shaping [[US|American]] public opinion in 1940-1950. This ostensibly "independent" periodical, supposedly published by Seldes and his partner, Bruce Minton,<ref>George Seldes, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2dpAAAAIAAJ Never Tire of Protesting]'' (L. Stuart, 1968), p. 53</ref> was secretly funded by the Communist Party. Seldes later claimed that this was done through Minton without his knowledge.

In 1940, during the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]], the [[CPUSA|Communist Party]] decided to create an [[US|American]] version of the London political weekly, ''The Week'',<ref>David Randall, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=MhNlAAAAMAAJ The Great Reporters]'' (Pluto Press, 2005) ISBN 0745322972, p. 85</ref> published by the muckraking British journalist Claud Cockburn, who was also a secret agent of the [[Comintern]].<ref>Chapman Pincher, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=netJI5stGlwC Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders, and Cover-ups: Six Decades of Espionage against America and Great Britain]'' (Random House, Inc., 2009) ISBN 140006807X, pp. 43-47</ref> The resulting publication was ''In Fact'',<ref>John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), ISBN 0300123906, pp. 169-172</ref> a political newsletter that was extremely influential in shaping [[US|American]] public opinion in 1940–1950. This ostensibly "independent" periodical, supposedly published by Seldes and his partner, Bruce Minton,<ref>George Seldes, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2dpAAAAIAAJ Never Tire of Protesting]'' (L. Stuart, 1968), p. 53</ref> was secretly funded by the Communist Party. Seldes later claimed that this was done through Minton without his knowledge.

"Bruce Minton" was the cover name of Richard Bransten, another secret member of the Communist Party&mdash;a fact Seldes claimed was unknown to him at the time. Bransten was also a [[USSR|Soviet]] agent code-named "Informator."<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}} Cf. {{cite book |title=White Notebook No. 3 (Translated) |last=Vassiliev |first=Alexander |year=1994 |publisher=Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |location=Washington, DC |page=1 |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/White_Notebook_No.3_Translated.pdf |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> He was married to wealthy<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=M8p00bTFvRkC Venona: decoding Soviet espionage in America] (Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, p. 232</ref> [[San Francisco]] socialite [[Louise Bransten]], who was yet another secret member of the Communist Party.<ref>John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), ISBN 0300123906, p. 88</ref> She was also not only another Soviet agent<ref>Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mVpWH51F7toC The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors]'' (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2001), ISBN 0895262258, p. 263</ref> (code-named ''Lyre''),<ref>Gregg Herken, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7s0NGIfflOgC Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller]'' (Macmillan, 2003) ISBN 080506589X, p. 129) cf. [http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/venona/1944/18mar_pash.pdf 132 KGB San Francisco to Moscow], 18 March 1944; [http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/venona/1944/7jun_corday.pdf 257 KGB San Francisco to Moscow], 7 June 1944; [http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/venona/1944/22jun_greeting_charlotte_corday.pdf 270 KGB San Francisco to Moscow], 22 June 1944</ref> but the mistress<ref>Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mVpWH51F7toC The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors]'' (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2001), ISBN 0895262258, p. 257</ref> of [[NKVD]] San Francisco Station Chief [[Grigory Kheifets]].<ref>Daniel J Mulvenna, [http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-diplo&month=0208&week=d&msg=2UO5GGvif1xPsNJ1mNou7A&user=&pw= Wales on Polenberg], H-DIPLO Discussion Log, H-Net (The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, Michigan State University), August 27, 2002</ref>

"Bruce Minton" was the cover name of Richard Bransten, another secret member of the Communist Party&mdash;a fact Seldes claimed was unknown to him at the time. Bransten was also a [[USSR|Soviet]] agent code-named "Informator."<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}} Cf. {{cite book |title=White Notebook No. 3 (Translated) |last=Vassiliev |first=Alexander |year=1994 |publisher=Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |location=Washington, DC |page=1 |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/White_Notebook_No.3_Translated.pdf |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> He was married to wealthy<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=M8p00bTFvRkC Venona: decoding Soviet espionage in America] (Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, p. 232</ref> [[San Francisco]] socialite [[Louise Bransten]], who was yet another secret member of the Communist Party.<ref>John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), ISBN 0300123906, p. 88</ref> She was also not only another Soviet agent<ref>Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mVpWH51F7toC The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors]'' (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2001), ISBN 0895262258, p. 263</ref> (code-named ''Lyre''),<ref>Gregg Herken, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7s0NGIfflOgC Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller]'' (Macmillan, 2003) ISBN 080506589X, p. 129 cf. [http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/venona/1944/18mar_pash.pdf 132 KGB San Francisco to Moscow], 18 March 1944; [http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/venona/1944/7jun_corday.pdf 257 KGB San Francisco to Moscow], 7 June 1944; [http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/venona/1944/22jun_greeting_charlotte_corday.pdf 270 KGB San Francisco to Moscow], 22 June 1944</ref> but the mistress<ref>Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mVpWH51F7toC The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors]'' (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2001), ISBN 0895262258, p. 257</ref> of [[NKVD]] San Francisco Station Chief [[Grigory Kheifets]].<ref>Daniel J Mulvenna, [http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-diplo&month=0208&week=d&msg=2UO5GGvif1xPsNJ1mNou7A&user=&pw= Wales on Polenberg], H-DIPLO Discussion Log, H-Net (The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, Michigan State University), August 27, 2002</ref>

When [[Joseph McCarthy]] asked Seldes if he were a [[Communist]], Seldes vehemently denied [[CPUSA|Communist Party]] membership. According to [[Library of Congress]] [[Cold War]] historian<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/10012/haynes.html |title=Cold War Historian John Haynes Named Kluge Staff Fellow |author=Villamil, Patricia |work=Information Bulletin |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> John Earl Haynes, [[Emory University]] professor of politics and history<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polisci.emory.edu/facultypages/klehr.htm |title=Harvey Klehr, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Politics and History |work=Department of Political Science |publisher=Emory University |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> Harvey Klehr, and former KGB agent<ref>"Alexander Vassiliev is ... a former KGB agent...."{{cite web |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=31935 |title=Alexander Vassiliev, author spotlight |publisher=Random House, Inc. |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> Alexander Vassiliev, "Seldes lied."<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref>

When [[Joseph McCarthy]] asked Seldes if he were a [[Communist]], Seldes vehemently denied [[CPUSA|Communist Party]] membership. According to [[Library of Congress]] [[Cold War]] historian<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/10012/haynes.html |title=Cold War Historian John Haynes Named Kluge Staff Fellow |author=Villamil, Patricia |work=Information Bulletin |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> John Earl Haynes, [[Emory University]] professor of politics and history<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polisci.emory.edu/facultypages/klehr.htm |title=Harvey Klehr, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Politics and History |work=Department of Political Science |publisher=Emory University |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> Harvey Klehr, and former KGB agent<ref>"Alexander Vassiliev is ... a former KGB agent...."{{cite web |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=31935 |title=Alexander Vassiliev, author spotlight |publisher=Random House, Inc. |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref> Alexander Vassiliev, "Seldes lied."<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref>

Seldes was actually a long-time secret member of the [[CPUSA|Communist Party]], according to notes of [[KGB]] archival files made by Vassiliev in 1993-96. A cable from the [[NKVD]]'s [[New York City|New York]] station to [[Moscow]] Center, dated April 19, 1940, identifies "George Seldes" as "a longtime fellowcountryman [Communist Party member],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-mystery-of-ales-2/ |title=The Mystery of Ales (Expanded Version) |first1=Kai |last1=Bird |first2=Svenlana |last2=Chervonnaya |year=2007 |publisher=theamericanscholar.org (Phi Beta Kappa Society) |accessdate=9 January 2011 |quote=In Venona cables, Communist Party membership appears under the cover word of 'zemlyak' (plural: 'zemlyaki'; feminine: 'zemlyachka'), which was translated by the [[National Security Agency|NSA]] as 'fellowcountryman'....}}</ref> who is listed on a special register [secret roll of Communist Party members]."<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}} Cf. {{cite book |title=Black Notebook (Translated) |last=Vassiliev |first=Alexander |year=1994 |publisher=Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |location=Washington, DC |page=164 |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/Black%20Notebook%20Translated1.pdf |accessdate=9 January 2011}}; {{cite book |title=Black Notebook (Original) |last=Vassiliev |first=Alexander |editor1-first=John Earl |editor1-last=Haynes |editor2-first=Phillip B. |editor3=Redko |year=1994 |publisher=Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |location=Washington, DC |page=164 (PDF p. 83) |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/Black%20Notebook%20Original.pdf |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref>

Seldes was actually a long-time secret member of the [[CPUSA|Communist Party]], according to notes of [[KGB]] archival files made by Vassiliev in 1993–96. A cable from the [[NKVD]]'s [[New York City|New York]] station to [[Moscow]] Center, dated April 19, 1940, identifies "George Seldes" as "a longtime fellowcountryman [Communist Party member],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-mystery-of-ales-2/ |title=The Mystery of Ales (Expanded Version) |first1=Kai |last1=Bird |first2=Svenlana |last2=Chervonnaya |year=2007 |publisher=theamericanscholar.org (Phi Beta Kappa Society) |accessdate=9 January 2011 |quote=In Venona cables, Communist Party membership appears under the cover word of 'zemlyak' (plural: 'zemlyaki'; feminine: 'zemlyachka'), which was translated by the [[National Security Agency|NSA]] as 'fellowcountryman'....}}</ref> who is listed on a special register [secret roll of Communist Party members]."<ref>{{cite book |title=Spies: the rise and fall of the KGB in America |last=Haynes |first=John Earl |coauthors=Harvey Klehr, Alexander Vassiliev |year=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300123906 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC |accessdate=9 January 2011}} Cf. {{cite book |title=Black Notebook (Translated) |last=Vassiliev |first=Alexander |year=1994 |publisher=Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |location=Washington, DC |page=164 |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/Black%20Notebook%20Translated1.pdf |accessdate=9 January 2011}}; {{cite book |title=Black Notebook (Original) |last=Vassiliev |first=Alexander |editor1-first=John Earl |editor1-last=Haynes |editor2-first=Phillip B. |editor3=Redko |year=1994 |publisher=Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |location=Washington, DC |page=164 (PDF p. 83) |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/Black%20Notebook%20Original.pdf |accessdate=9 January 2011}}</ref>

"The word got around that I was a communist," said Seldes. The circulation of ''In Fact'' declined, and in 1950, the newsletter ceased publication. Two years later, Seldes urged [[I.F. Stone]]&mdash;who had lauded Seldes as a "distinguished foreign correspondent and crusading liberal journalist"<ref>[http://www.ifstone.org/biography.php A Word about Myself] (The Official Web Site of I.F. Stone)</ref>&mdash;to pick up where he had left off. "In 1952 I was over in Paris  as correspondent for a paper that I knew wouldn't last very long," said Stone. "George [Seldes] saw me over there and encouraged me to start a little weekly like his."<ref>Quoted in John Guttenplan, "[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-george-seldes-1591344.html Obituary: George Seldes]," ''The Independent'' (London), July 14, 1995</ref> In 1953, Stone began his own very influential newsletter, ''I.F. Stone's Weekly'', which he published until 1971.<ref>[http://www.ifstone.org/weekly.php I.F. Stone’s Weekly], The Writings of I.F. Stone (The Official Web Site of I.F. Stone)</ref> Stone was a Soviet “agent of influence,”<ref>Oleg Kalugin and Fen Montaigne, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=OqkNAAAACAAJ The First Directorate: My 32 Years in Intelligence & Espionage Against the West]'' (Darby, Penn.: Diane Publishing Company, 1994), ISBN 0788151118, p. 74</ref> according to Oleg Kalugin, former head of [[KGB]] operations in the United States.<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=dIsmm_ZLHcIC Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), ISBN 0300077718, p. 247</ref>

"The word got around that I was a communist," said Seldes. The circulation of ''In Fact'' declined, and in 1950, the newsletter ceased publication. Two years later, Seldes urged [[I.F. Stone]]&mdash;who had lauded Seldes as a "distinguished foreign correspondent and crusading liberal journalist"<ref>[http://www.ifstone.org/biography.php A Word about Myself] (The Official Web Site of I.F. Stone)</ref>&mdash;to pick up where he had left off. "In 1952 I was over in Paris  as correspondent for a paper that I knew wouldn't last very long," said Stone. "George [Seldes] saw me over there and encouraged me to start a little weekly like his."<ref>Quoted in John Guttenplan, "[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-george-seldes-1591344.html Obituary: George Seldes]," ''The Independent'' (London), July 14, 1995</ref> In 1953, Stone began his own very influential newsletter, ''I.F. Stone's Weekly'', which he published until 1971.<ref>[http://www.ifstone.org/weekly.php I.F. Stone’s Weekly], The Writings of I.F. Stone (The Official Web Site of I.F. Stone)</ref> Stone was a Soviet “agent of influence,”<ref>Oleg Kalugin and Fen Montaigne, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=OqkNAAAACAAJ The First Directorate: My 32 Years in Intelligence & Espionage Against the West]'' (Darby, Penn.: Diane Publishing Company, 1994), ISBN 0788151118, p. 74</ref> according to Oleg Kalugin, former head of [[KGB]] operations in the United States.<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=dIsmm_ZLHcIC Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), ISBN 0300077718, p. 247</ref>