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== House Committee on Un-American Activities ==

== House Committee on Un-American Activities ==

As the [[Republican]] 80th Congress began closing in on suspects such as [[Lauchlin Currie]], [[Harry Dexter White]] and Hiss, Truman stonewalled, in March 1948 issuing a Presidential Directive cutting Congress off from all access to FBI and other information on loyalty or security cases:

As the [[Republican]] 80th Congress began closing in on suspects such as [[Lauchlin Currie]], [[Harry Dexter White]] and Hiss, Truman stonewalled, in March 1948 issuing a Presidential Directive cutting Congress off from all access to FBI and other information on loyalty or security cases:

{{cquote|Any subpena or demand or request for information, reports, or files of the nature described, received from sources other than those persons in the executive branch of the Government... shall be respectfully declined..."<ref>[https://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=1415&st=&st1= 50. Directive on the Need for Maintaining the Confidential Status of Employee Loyalty Records], March 15, 1948. Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1945-53 (Harry S. Truman Library and Museum); Presidential Directive (13 F. R. 1359), reprinted in Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, United States Congress, ''[http://ia360613.us.archive.org/3/items/annualreportfory1953unit/annualreportfory1953unit_bw.pdf Annual Report for the Year 1953]'' (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1954), pp. 186-187 (PDF pp. 194-195</ref>}}

::"Any subpena or demand or request for information, reports, or files of the nature described, received from sources other than those persons in the executive branch of the Government... shall be [https://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=1415&st=&st1=%2050. respectfully declined]..."<ref>Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, United States Congress, ''[http://ia360613.us.archive.org/3/items/annualreportfory1953unit/annualreportfory1953unit_bw.pdf Annual Report for the Year 1953]'' (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1954), pp. 186-187 (PDF pp. 194-195</ref>

Cut off from investigative data, Congress interviewed witnesses itself. Following up on testimony given by [[Elizabeth Bentley|Bentley]], on August 3, 1948, the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]] called [[Whittaker Chambers]]. He repeated under oath what he had been telling [[State Department]] security officials and the [[FBI]] about the [[Ware group]] for a decade:

Cut off from investigative data, Congress interviewed witnesses itself. Following up on testimony given by [[Elizabeth Bentley|Bentley]], on August 3, 1948, the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]] called [[Whittaker Chambers]]. He repeated under oath what he had been telling [[State Department]] security officials and the [[FBI]] about the [[Ware group]] for a decade:

{{cquote|I was a member of the Communist Party and a paid functionary of the party.... the apparatus to which I was attached…. was an underground organization of the United States Communist Party developed, to the best of my knowledge, by [[Harold Ware]]…. The head of the underground group at the time I knew it was [[Nathan Witt]]…. Later, [[John Abt]] became the leader. [[Lee Pressman]] was also a member of this group, as was Alger Hiss….The purpose of this group at that time was not primarily espionage. Its original purpose was the Communist infiltration of the American Government. But [[espionage]] was certainly one of its eventual objectives.<ref>[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/8-3testimony.html Testimony of Whittaker Chambers] before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (August 3, 1948)</ref>}}

{{cquote|I was a member of the Communist Party and a paid functionary of the party.... the apparatus to which I was attached…. was an underground organization of the United States Communist Party developed, to the best of my knowledge, by [[Harold Ware]]…. The head of the underground group at the time I knew it was [[Nathan Witt]]…. Later, [[John Abt]] became the leader. [[Lee Pressman]] was also a member of this group, as was Alger Hiss….The purpose of this group at that time was not primarily espionage. Its original purpose was the Communist infiltration of the American Government. But [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/8-3testimony.html espionage was certainly one of its eventual objectives].}}

When Chambers testified against Hiss, wrote Sudoplatov, "we considered this to be a setback for [[GRU]] intelligence activities in the United States."<ref>Anatoli Sudoplatov, Pavel Sudoplatov, Leona P. Schecter and Jerrold L. Schecter, ''Special Tasks'' (New York: Back Bay Books, 1995) ISBN 0316821152, p. 228</ref>

When Chambers testified against Hiss, wrote Sudoplatov, "we considered this to be a setback for [[GRU]] intelligence activities in the United States."<ref>Anatoli Sudoplatov, Pavel Sudoplatov, Leona P. Schecter and Jerrold L. Schecter, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=lt8FHQAACAAJ Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness, a Soviet Spymaster]'' (New York: Back Bay Books, 1995) ISBN 0316821152, p. 228</ref>

Two days later, Hiss testified, denying that he ever even knew Chambers, in a statement Secretary of State [[Dean Acheson]] helped write.<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, p. 17</ref> Hiss "asked the committee to disregard the evidence and follow its emotions:

Two days later, Hiss testified, denying that he ever even knew Chambers, in a statement Secretary of State [[Dean Acheson]] helped write.<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=dkeRKZOX2n4C&pgis=1 Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case]'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, p. 17</ref> Hiss "asked the committee to "disregard the evidence and follow its emotions":<ref>Tennent H. Bagley, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=fLdPjg5PFrcC Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries, and Deadly Games]'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2007) ISBN 0300121989, p. 274</ref>

{{cquote|it is ''inconceivable'' that there could have been on my part, during fifteen years or more in public office… any departure from the highest rectitude<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,859675,00.html Publican & Pharisee]," ''Time'', May. 26, 1952</ref> without its becoming known.<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,811892.html The Case of Alger Hiss]," ''Time'', February 13, 1950</ref> It is ''inconceivable'' that the men with whom I was intimately associated during those fifteen years should not know my true character better than this accuser. It is ''inconceivable'' that… [etc.]<ref>Tennent H. Bagley, ''Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries, and Deadly Games'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2007) ISBN 0300121989, p. 274</ref> (emphases in original)}}

{{cquote|it is ''inconceivable'' that there could have been on my part, during fifteen years or more in public office… any departure from the [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,859675,00.html highest rectitude] without its [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,811892.html becoming known]. It is ''inconceivable'' that the men with whom I was intimately associated during those fifteen years should not know my true character better than this accuser. It is ''inconceivable'' that… [etc.]<ref>Tennent H. Bagley, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=fLdPjg5PFrcC Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries, and Deadly Games]'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2007) ISBN 0300121989, p. 274</ref> (emphases in original)}}

That day, President Truman finally reviewed Hiss’ FBI file. Pronouncing Hiss “guilty as hell,” Truman told White House Special Counsel Samuel Rosenman, “We shouldn't just indict this son of a bitch. We should hang him.”<ref>Ralph de Toledano, “[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n3_v13/ai_19048238 Embarrassment aided and abetted the Top Soviet spy - Alger Hiss],” ''Insight on the News'', January 27, 1997</ref> Five minutes later, Truman blustered to a press conference that the Hiss case was just an election-year “red herring,”<ref>[https://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=1771&st=&st1= 170. The President's News Conference],  

That day, President Truman finally reviewed Hiss’ FBI file. Pronouncing Hiss “guilty as hell,” Truman told White House Special Counsel Samuel Rosenman, “We shouldn't just indict this son of a bitch. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n3_v13/ai_19048238 We should hang him].” Five minutes later, Truman blustered to a press conference that the Hiss case was just an election-year “[https://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=1771&st=&st1=%20170 red] [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819396,00.html herring],”<ref>Alonzo L. Hamby, ''Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) ISBN 0195124979, p. 453; See also [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/22.gif (Harry S. Truman) to the Attorney General, 16 December 1948], Harry S. Truman Library, Tom Clark Papers, "Attorney General-- White House/President, 1948," box 83, reprinted (as Document 22) in Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., ''[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/14.gif Venona: Soviet Espionage and The American Response]'' (Washington: National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1996), p. 119</ref> a characterization he would repeat [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,893525,00.html as late as 1956]. When Rosenman later asked why he had lied, Truman explained, “You don't understand. The Republicans aren't after Alger Hiss. They're after me. I had to take the [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n3_v13/ai_19048238 political view].” (That year, Truman told Secretary of Defense James Forrestal there were "[http://hnn.us/articles/1706.html too many unknowns]" in the partially decoded Venona messages,<ref>Jerrold and Leona Schecter, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=M2pbieYYHrYC Sacred Secrets: How Soviet Intelligence Operations Changed American History]'' (Washington, DC: Brassey's Inc., 2002) ISBN 1574885227, p. 148</ref> saying, "Even if part of this is true, [http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.1375/article_detail.asp it would open up the whole red panic again].")<ref>The next year, Forrestal would be found dead from a fall from the tower of Bethesda Naval Hospital. (Admiral M.D. Willcutts, [Report on the Death of James V. Forrestal] [Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University], PDF p. 22)</ref>

August 5, 1948. Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953 (Harry S. Truman Library &amp; Museum); Alonzo L. Hamby, ''Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) ISBN 0195124979, p. 453; "[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819396,00.html Off the Record]," ''Time'', January 18, 1954; See also [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/22.gif (Harry S. Truman) to the Attorney General, 16 December 1948], Harry S. Truman Library, Tom Clark Papers, "Attorney General-- White House/President, 1948," box 83, reprinted (as Document 22) in Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., ''[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/14.gif Venona: Soviet Espionage and The American Response]'' (Washington: National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1996), p. 119</ref> a characterization he would repeat as late as 1956.<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,893525,00.html The Old Familiar Fish]," ''Time'', September 17, 1956</ref> When Rosenman later asked why he had lied, Truman explained, “You don't understand. The Republicans aren't after Alger Hiss. They're after me. I had to take the political view.”<ref>Ralph de Toledano, “[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n3_v13/ai_19048238 Embarrassment aided and abetted the Top Soviet spy - Alger Hiss],” ''Insight on the News'', January 27, 1997</ref> (That year, Truman told Secretary of Defense James Forrestal there were "too many unknowns" in the partially decoded Venona<ref>Jerrold and Leona Schecter, ''Sacred Secrets: How Soviet Intelligence Operations Changed American History'' (Washington, DC: Brassey's Inc., 2002) ISBN 1574885227, p. 148</ref> messages,<ref>Robert D. Novak, "[http://hnn.us/articles/1706.html Did Truman Know About Venona?]" ''The Weekly Standard'', June 2003</ref> saying, "Even if part of this is true, it would open up the whole red panic again.")<ref>William Rusher, "[http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.1375/article_detail.asp A Closer Look Under The Bed]," ''Claremont Review of Books'', Fall 2004. The next year, Forrestal would be found dead from a fall from the tower of Bethesda Naval Hospital. (Admiral M.D. Willcutts, [http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd/finding_aids/willcutts/report1.pdf Report on the Death of James V. Forrestal] [Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University], PDF p. 22)</ref>

In her newspaper column, Eleanor Roosevelt set the tone of respectable opinion, writing, "Smearing good people like [[Lauchlin Currie]], Alger Hiss and others is, I think, unforgivable .... Anyone knowing Mr. Currie or Mr. Hiss, who are the two people whom I happen to know fairly well, would not need any denial on their part to know they are not Communists. Their records prove it."<ref>Eleanor Roosevelt, ''Washington Daily News'', August 16th, 1948</ref> (Currie was the NKVD agent<ref>Robert J. Hanyok, ''[http://www.nsa.gov/about/_files/cryptologic_heritage/publications/wwii/eavesdropping.pdf Eavesdropping on Hell: Historical Guide to Western Communications Intelligence and the Holocaust, 1939-1945]'' (Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, 2005), pp. 118-119 (PDF p. 123-124), n. 185; John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, p. 146</ref> in the White House<ref>[http://www.ncix.gov/issues/CI_Reader/Vol3/Vol3Chap1.pdf "Cold War Counterintelligence," ''A Counterintelligence Reader: An American Revolution Into the New Millennium'', Vol. 3, Chapter 1] (Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive) pp. 30-31 (PDF pp. 29-30); Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors'' (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2001) ISBN 0895262258, p. 167</ref> who tipped the Kremlin off in 1944 that the U.S. was on the verge of breaking the Soviet code.)<ref>Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, ''The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB'' (New York: Basic Books, 2000), ISBN 046500312, p. 130; Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., ''[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/preface.htm Venona: Soviet Espionage and The American Response]'' (Washington: National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1996), pp. xiv, xxiv; FBI memo: Belmont to Boardman, February 1, 1956, p. 9 ([http://foia.fbi.gov/venona/venona.pdf FBI file: Venona], p. 71) Currie admitted to the FBI that he knew Hiss. (FBI report: Institute of Pacific Relations, April 7, 1950. FBI file: [http://education-research.org/PDFs/IPR06.pdf Institute of Pacific Relations, Section 6], p. 36 [PDF p. 31])</ref>

In her newspaper column, [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] set the tone of respectable opinion, writing, "Smearing good people like [[Lauchlin Currie]], Alger Hiss and others is, I think, unforgivable .... Anyone knowing Mr. Currie or Mr. Hiss, who are the two people whom I happen to know fairly well, would not need any denial on their part to know they are not Communists. Their records prove it."<ref>Eleanor Roosevelt, ''Washington Daily News'', August 16th, 1948</ref> (Currie was the NKVD agent<ref>Robert J. Hanyok, ''[http://www.nsa.gov/about/_files/cryptologic_heritage/publications/wwii/eavesdropping.pdf Eavesdropping on Hell: Historical Guide to Western Communications Intelligence and the Holocaust, 1939-1945]'' (Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, 2005), pp. 118-119 (PDF p. 123-124), n. 185; John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, p. 146</ref> in the White House<ref>[http://www.ncix.gov/issues/CI_Reader/Vol3/Vol3Chap1.pdf "Cold War Counterintelligence," ''A Counterintelligence Reader: An American Revolution Into the New Millennium'', Vol. 3, Chapter 1] (Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive) pp. 30-31 (PDF pp. 29-30); Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors'' (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2001) ISBN 0895262258, p. 167</ref> who tipped the Kremlin off in 1944 that the U.S. was on the verge of breaking the Soviet code.)<ref>Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, ''The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB'' (New York: Basic Books, 2000), ISBN 046500312, p. 130; Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., ''[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/preface.htm Venona: Soviet Espionage and The American Response]'' (Washington: National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1996), pp. xiv, xxiv; FBI memo: Belmont to Boardman, February 1, 1956, p. 9 ([http://foia.fbi.gov/venona/venona.pdf FBI file: Venona], p. 71) Currie admitted to the FBI that he knew Hiss. (FBI report: Institute of Pacific Relations, April 7, 1950. FBI file: [http://education-research.org/PDFs/IPR06.pdf Institute of Pacific Relations, Section 6], p. 36 [PDF p. 31])</ref>

When Hiss testified, most of those watching, including members of the press, appeared to be on Hiss' side, even giving him a round of applause when he finished.<ref>Denise Noe, "[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/spies/hiss/3.html A Change of Heart]," The Alger Hiss Case (TruTV Crime Library)</ref> So strong was Hiss' denial that the committee wanted to drop the investigation.<ref>[http://www.usembassy.ru/files/All%20the%20President's%20Men.pdf American Values through Film] (English Language Office, Public Affairs section, U.S. Embassy, Moscow), p. 81 (PDF p. 82)</ref> But one member, freshman Congressman [[Richard M. Nixon]] (R-Calif.) insisted that either Chambers or Hiss was lying about whether they had known one another,<ref>Douglas O. Linder, "[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/hissaccount.html The Alger Hiss Trials: A Commentary]," The Alger Hiss Trials, 1949-50. Famous Trials (University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law)</ref> and he asked the committee to appoint him to head a subcommittee to find out which one.<ref>"[http://www.departments.dsu.edu/LIBRARY/archive/unamerican.htm House Un-American Activities Committee]," Mundt Archives (Dakota State University); Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, pp. 15-16</ref>

When Hiss testified, most of those watching, including members of the press, appeared to be on Hiss' side, even giving him [[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/spies/hiss/3.html a round of applause] when he finished. So strong was Hiss' denial that the committee wanted to drop the investigation.<ref>[http://www.usembassy.ru/files/All%20the%20President's%20Men.pdf American Values through Film] (English Language Office, Public Affairs section, U.S. Embassy, Moscow), p. 81 (PDF p. 82)</ref> But one member, freshman Congressman [[Richard M. Nixon]] (R-Calif.) insisted that either [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/hissaccount.html Chambers or Hiss was lying] about whether they had known one another; he asked the committee to appoint him [http://www.departments.dsu.edu/LIBRARY/archive/unamerican.htm to head a subcommittee] to find out which one.<ref>"Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, pp. 15-16</ref>

"Hiss stoutly continued to deny the charge." reported ''Time'', but "it was clear to everyone" that he and Chambers "had known each other quite well in the mid-'30s." The magazine added that Hiss' "favorite phrase, as he fenced tediously with the committee, was: 'To the best of my recollection.' He used it and similar phrases 198 times."<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,779940,00.html Burden of Proof]," ''Time'', September 6, 1948</ref> Chambers offered to take a lie-detector test;<ref>Robert G. Whalen, "[http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-strange.html Hiss and Chambers: Strange Story of Two Men]," ''The New York Times'', December 12, 1948</ref> Hiss refused&mdash;a refusal he kept up for the rest of his life.<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,799060,00.html The Confrontation]," ''Time'', August 30, 1948</ref>

Many editorialists and columnists violently attacked [[Whittaker Chambers|Chambers]] and defended Hiss.<ref>''[http://ia331329.us.archive.org/3/items/thisisnixon017711mbp/thisisnixon017711mbp.pdf This Is Nixon]'' (New York: GP Putnam's Sons, 1956) ASIN B000MXH0XA, p. 40</ref> Some of the vitriol was aimed at [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]], and would intensify. Chambers would write to Nixon in 1952:

{{cquote|[The] Attack on you shows how deeply the enemy fears you as he always fears and seeks to destroy a combination of honesty and fighting courage. Be proud to be attacked for the attackers are the enemies of all of us. To few recent public figures does this nation owe so much as to you. God help us [http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/15/nixon-library-invites-john-dean/ if we ever forget it].}}

Hiss demanded that the committee ask Chambers if he had ever been treated for a mental illness. The committee obliged, and Chambers answered: "I have not, period."<ref>Thomas Sanction, "[http://www.thenation.com/doc/19480904/sanction The Case of Alger Hiss]," ''The Nation'', September 4, 1948</ref> Truman aide George Elsie wrote to White House Counsel [[Clark Clifford]], "Justice should make every effort to ascertain if Whittaker Chambers is guilty of perjury." No suggestion was made that Justice make any effort at all to ascertain if ''Hiss'' might be guilty of perjury, but a handwritten insertion advised "Investigation of Chambers' confinement in a mental institution."<ref>George M. Elsey, [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/21.gif Memorandum for Mr. Clifford], 16 August 1948, Harry S. Truman Library, Clark M. Clifford Papers, "Loyalty Investigations," box 11</ref> (Again, no suggestion was made that Hiss' mental health history might be subject to investigation.) In falling for the fiction that Chambers had been committed to an insane asylum, the Truman administration was "taken in by disinformation being spread by the American Communist party and Alger Hiss's partisans."<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, p. 15</ref>

"Hiss stoutly continued to deny the charge." reported ''Time'', but "it was clear to everyone" that he and Chambers "had known each other quite well in the mid-'30s." The magazine added that Hiss' "favorite phrase, as he fenced tediously with the committee, was: 'To the best of my recollection.' He used it and similar phrases [http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,779940,00.html 198 times]." Chambers [http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-strange.html offered to take] a lie-detector test; [http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,799060,00.html Hiss refused]&mdash;a refusal he kept up for the rest of his life.

Hiss also dared<ref>Geoffrey C. Ward, “[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/7/1988_7_18.shtml Unregretfully, Alger Hiss,” ''American Heritage Magazine]'', Vol. 39, Issue 7 (November 1988)</ref> Chambers to repeat his charges outside of the immunity afforded in congressional hearings, so Hiss could sue him. On August 27, on NBC's ''Meet the Press,'' Chambers called Hiss' bluff, saying, "Alger Hiss was a Communist and may be now."<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17982730/page/5/ Meet the Press Transcript for April 8, 2007, p. 5]</ref> Embarrassment mounted among Hiss' supporters as a month dragged by and still no suit was filed. Even the ''Washington Post'' began to have doubts,<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, p. 162</ref> writing:

Hiss demanded that the committee ask Chambers if he had ever been treated for a mental illness. The committee obliged, and Chambers answered: "[http://www.thenation.com/doc/19480904/sanction I have not, period]." Truman aide George Elsie wrote to White House Counsel [[Clark Clifford]], "Justice should make every effort to ascertain if Whittaker Chambers is guilty of perjury." No suggestion was made that Justice make any effort at all to ascertain if ''Hiss'' might be guilty of perjury, but a handwritten insertion advised "Investigation of Chambers' [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/21.gif confinement in a mental institution]." (Again, no suggestion was made that Hiss' mental health history might be subject to investigation.) In falling for the fiction that Chambers had been committed to an insane asylum, the Truman administration was "taken in by disinformation being spread by the American Communist party and Alger Hiss's partisans."<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=dIsmm_ZLHcIC Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, p. 15</ref>

{{cquote|As yet, no formal action to initiate a suit for slander has publicly been taken by Mr. Hiss ... Mr. Hiss himself has created a situation in which he is obliged to put up or shut up ... Mr. Hiss has left himself no alternative. And each day of delay in making it known that he will avail himself of the opportunity Mr. Chambers has accorded him does incalculable damage to his reputation.<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,888461,00.html No Alternative]," ''Time'', September 13, 1948</ref>}}

 

Finally, on September 27, Hiss filed his long-threatened slander suit against Chambers.

Hiss also [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/7/1988_7_18.shtml dared] Chambers to repeat his charges outside of the immunity afforded in congressional hearings, so Hiss could sue him, adding, "and I hope yon will do it [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/8-17testimony.html damned quickly]." Within ten days,<ref>G. Edward White, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=T6S7htTSBqQC Alger Hiss's Looking-Glass Wars: the Covert Life of a Soviet Spy]'' (Oxford University Press, 2004) ISBN 0195153456, p. 61</ref> on NBC's ''Meet the Press,'' Chambers called Hiss' bluff, saying, "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17982730/page/5/ Alger Hiss was a Communist] and may be now."

 

Embarrassment mounted among Hiss' supporters as weeks dragged by and still no suit was filed.<ref>John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=pNwEyL1b6XQC Early Cold War Spies: the Espionage Trials That Shaped American Politics]'' (Cambridge University Press, 2006) ISBN 0521857384, p. 103</ref> Even the ''Washington Post'' began to have doubts,<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, p. 162</ref> writing:

{{cquote|As yet, no formal action to initiate a suit for slander has publicly been taken by Mr. Hiss ... Mr. Hiss himself has created a situation in which he is obliged to [http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,888461,00.html put up or shut up] ... Mr. Hiss has left himself no alternative. And each day of delay in making it known that he will avail himself of the opportunity Mr. Chambers has accorded him does incalculable damage to his reputation.}}

 

Finally, [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/hisschronology.html after a month], Hiss filed his long-threatened slander suit against Chambers.

==Hiss' suit against Chambers==

==Hiss' suit against Chambers==