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Also that year, NKVD illegal [[Iskhak Abdulovich Akhmerov]] cabled Moscow that [[Michael Straight]] (code-named "Nigel"), an American member of the NKVD's [[Cambridge Five|Cambridge spy ring]]<ref>Richard Norton-Taylor, "[http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/jan/09/guardianobituaries.usa Michael Straight: Cambridge spy whose testimony was crucial in exposing Anthony Blunt]," ''The Guardian'', January 9, 2004</ref> (and future publisher of ''The New Republic''), then working at the State Department, mentioned Hiss as someone with "progressive" views "who occupied a responsible position."<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Random House, 1997 ed.), pp. 183-184</ref> Akhmerov worried that Straight "might guess that Hiss belongs to our family" or "find out Hiss's nature" as a [[GRU]] agent.<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, pp. 155-156</ref>

Also that year, NKVD illegal [[Iskhak Abdulovich Akhmerov]] cabled Moscow that [[Michael Straight]] (code-named "Nigel"), an American member of the NKVD's [[Cambridge Five|Cambridge spy ring]]<ref>Richard Norton-Taylor, "[http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/jan/09/guardianobituaries.usa Michael Straight: Cambridge spy whose testimony was crucial in exposing Anthony Blunt]," ''The Guardian'', January 9, 2004</ref> (and future publisher of ''The New Republic''), then working at the State Department, mentioned Hiss as someone with "progressive" views "who occupied a responsible position."<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Random House, 1997 ed.), pp. 183-184</ref> Akhmerov worried that Straight "might guess that Hiss belongs to our family" or "find out Hiss's nature" as a [[GRU]] agent.<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, pp. 155-156</ref>

Also in 1938, [[Whittaker Chambers]] made his final break with the Communists,<ref>Whittaker Chambers, ''Witness'' (Regnery Publishing, 1952) ISBN 0-89526-789-6, p. 25</ref> asking his wife's nephew<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, p. 319</ref> to hide a packet of copies of documents, hand-written memos and microfilm of documents for him.<ref>Whittaker Chambers, ''Witness'' (Regnery Publishing, 1952) ISBN 0-89526-789-6, p. 40-41</ref>

Also in 1938, [[Whittaker Chambers]] made his final break with the Communists.<ref>Whittaker Chambers, ''Witness'' (Regnery Publishing, 1952) ISBN 0-89526-789-6, p. 25</ref> Conscious of the fate of the disillusioned [[Ignace Reiss]]<ref>Stephen Schwartz, "[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Protected/Articles/000/000/006/224euczs.asp?pg=1 Russian Requiem: The tragic intersection of the lives of Soviet poets]," ''The Weekly Standard'', Volume 11, Issue 6 (October 24, 2005)</ref> and [[Juliet Poyntz]],<ref>Sam Tanenhaus, ''Whittaker Chambers: A Biography'' (New York: Random House, 1997) ISBN 0375751459, pp. 131-133</ref> Chambers asked his wife's nephew<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, p. 319</ref> to hide what he called his "life preserver"&mdash;a packet of copies of documents, hand-written memos and microfilm of documents to be produced in the event of his death or disappearance.<ref>Whittaker Chambers, ''Witness'' (Regnery Publishing, 1952) ISBN 0-89526-789-6, p. 40-41</ref>

In 1939, Hiss became personal aide to [[Stanley Hornbeck]], the State Department's adviser on Far Eastern Affairs. During the [[Hitler-Stalin pact]], Communist Party official [[Roy Hudson]] and Soviet agent [[Robert Minor]] were discussing an attack on the Communist Party organ ''The Daily Worker'' at the National Headquarters of the [[Communist Party]]. Someone mentioned that [[Nathan Witt]] and [[Lee Pressman]] could not be of much help as they, too, were under attack at the time; Alger Hiss was then mentioned as a good Comrade who would be helpful, according to former [[CPUSA]] Politburo member Louis Budenz, editor of the ''Daily Worker''.<ref>FBI memorandum: Ladd to Hoover, January 28, 1949 (FBI file: Hiss-Chambers, Vol. 44), p. 30</ref>

In 1939, Hiss became personal aide to [[Stanley Hornbeck]], the State Department's adviser on Far Eastern Affairs. During the [[Hitler-Stalin pact]], Communist Party official [[Roy Hudson]] and Soviet agent [[Robert Minor]] were discussing an attack on the Communist Party organ ''The Daily Worker'' at the National Headquarters of the [[Communist Party]]. Someone mentioned that [[Nathan Witt]] and [[Lee Pressman]] could not be of much help as they, too, were under attack at the time; Alger Hiss was then mentioned as a good Comrade who would be helpful, according to former [[CPUSA]] Politburo member Louis Budenz, editor of the ''Daily Worker''.<ref>FBI memorandum: Ladd to Hoover, January 28, 1949 (FBI file: Hiss-Chambers, Vol. 44), p. 30</ref>