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Line 162: − In his attack on McCarthy, the Army's Special Counsel Joseph Welch had a problem: his assistant, Frederick Fisher, whom Welch had brought to Washington from his own law firm in New York to work on the case, was a former member of the National Lawyers Guild, U.S. affiliate of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers,<ref>János Radványi , ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=DUZJcDOUKtsC Psychological Operations and Political Warfare in Long-term Strategic Planning]'' (ABC-CLIO, 1990) ISBN 0275936236, p. 48. Cf. Harvey Klehr, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=8YSmiFins9sC Far Left of Center: The American Radical Left Today]'' (New Brunswick , N.J.: Transaction Books, 1988), p. 161</ref> which operated under the control of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.<ref>David Horowitz, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=CYqZjtVp00AC The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America]'' (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2006) ISBN 0895260034, p. 160. Cf. "[http://ia360638.us.archive.org/2/items/reportonnational1950unit/reportonnational1950unit.pdf Report on the National Lawyers Guild, legal bulwark of the Communist Party]," Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, United States Congress (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1950), p. 12 </ref> According to [[Hollywood]] liberal<ref>When CNN talk-show host Larry King asked Clooney, “do you think when people say Hollywood's out of touch with ordinary Americans they have a point?” Clooney responded, “in general we tend to be, you know, is there a liberal bend, sure. I don't make any apologies about that. I'm a liberal, you know. I believe in it.” [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/16/lkl.01.html Interview With George Clooney], “Larry King Live,” CNN, February 16, 2006. Likewise, when Clooney made his acceptance speech at the 2006 Academy Awards, he said, “you know, we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while. I think it's probably a good thing.” (Eric Olsen, [http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/notable-quotables-32006/ Oscar 2006 Quotes for Posterity], Blogcritics, March 20, 2006) Clooney emphasized the point: “I'm proud to be a part of this Academy. Proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch.” Miguel Marquez, [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=1694017 Is Clooney Right About Hollywood's Social Agenda?], ABC News, March 6, 2006. For this speech, Clooney caught not only from conservatives, but from [[Hollywood]] director Spike Lee (“[http://ecentral.my/movies/buzz/buzz.asp?file=archives/buzz/2006/3/22SpikeLeecr&date=3/22/2006 Spike Lee criticises Clooney’s Oscar speech],” ''Malaysia Star'', March 22, 2006) and Comedy Central's ''South Park'' ([http://www.southparkstuff.com/season_10/episode_1002/epi1002script/ Script from “Smug Alert!]” ''South Park'', Season 10, Episode 1002)</ref> George Clooney, co-writer and director of the anti-McCarthy movie ''Good Night and Good Luck'', Welch essentially blackmailed Cohn—threatening to “out” him as a homosexual on national television if he mentioned Fisher. As Clooney put it, Welch told Cohn, “'you leave this young lawyer at my firm alone [by not calling him a Communist], and we'll leave this [homosexual] issue out.'”<ref>Anne Stockwell, “Clooney vs. the far right,” [http://books.google.com/books?id=P2UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 ''The Advocate'', December 6, 2005, p. 56]</ref>+ + + + Line 182:
Line 185: − Cohn later confessed that in fact he found Welch's remark "malicious," "wicked," and "indecent."<ref>Neil Miller, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=SGSGAAAAIAAJ Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present]'' (Advocate Books, 2005) ISBN 1555838707, p. 147</ref> Even former Soviet agent Michael Straight admitted in the ''New Republic'': “As law the comment was improper; as humor it was unjust...” − + − Welch burst into tears, fleeing the scene, as the reporters and cameramen filling the gallery broke into applause.<ref>Paul F. Boller, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=cA8Q1Ev7ol4C Not so!: popular myths about America from Columbus to Clinton]'' (Oxford University Press US, 1996) ISBN 0195109724, p. 165</ref> As he left, “tears still coursing,” according to liberal pundit Nicholas Von Hoffman, Welch winked at reporter John Newhouse,<ref>Nicholas Von Hoffman, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=cwesxAPx4RkC Citizen Cohn]'' (Doubleday, 1988) ISBN 0385236905, p. 237</ref> best known today as the author of ''Imperial America: The Bush Assault on the World Order''. Safely beyond reach of the TV cameras, Welch took his hands from his eyes and, writes former CBS Radio reporter Wes Vernon, asked an assistant, “How'd I do?”<ref>Wes Vernon, “[http://www.renewamerica.com/analysis/vernon/090601 Clearing the air vs. distorting Cold War history (Part 2)],” RenewAmerica.com, June 1, 2009</ref>+ + + +
→Joe McCarthy
==Joe McCarthy==
==Joe McCarthy==
The Army's Special Counsel Joseph Welch had a problem: his assistant, Frederick Fisher, whom Welch had brought to Washington to work on the Army-McCarthy case, was a former member of the National Lawyers Guild, U.S. affiliate of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers,<ref>"[http://ia360638.us.archive.org/2/items/reportonnational1950unit/reportonnational1950unit.pdf Report on the National Lawyers Guild, legal bulwark of the Communist Party]," Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, United States Congress (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1950), p. 11-12 (PDF pp. 17-18). Cf. János Radványi , ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=DUZJcDOUKtsC Psychological Operations and Political Warfare in Long-term Strategic Planning]'' (ABC-CLIO, 1990) ISBN 0275936236, p. 48; Harvey Klehr, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=8YSmiFins9sC Far Left of Center: The American Radical Left Today]'' (New Brunswick , N.J.: Transaction Books, 1988), p. 161</ref> which operated under the control of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.<ref>David Horowitz, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=CYqZjtVp00AC The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America]'' (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2006) ISBN 0895260034, p. 160</ref> Under the Truman loyalty order, such a background could have disqualified Fisher from Federal employment; to have such a person working on the Army's legal team—on a case involving Communist infiltration of the Army, during a war in Korea in which Communists had already tens of thousands of Americans—could ruin Welch's case.
According to Robert Griffith, Welch was essentially blackmailing Cohn "not to bring up Fred Fisher in return for Welch's promise not to explore Cohn's military record."<ref>Robert Griffith, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ViXaw6NSkrYC The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate]'' (University of Massachusetts Press, 1987) ISBN 0870235559, p. 259, n. 46</ref> Even Clooney admits that Welch threatened to “out” Cohn as a homosexual on national television if he mentioned Fisher. As Clooney put it, Welch told Cohn, “'you leave this young lawyer at my firm alone [by not calling him a Communist], and we'll leave this [homosexual] issue out.'”<ref>Anne Stockwell, “Clooney vs. the far right,” [http://books.google.com/books?id=P2UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 ''The Advocate'', December 6, 2005, p. 56]</ref>
After Senator John McClellan, a segregationist Democrat,<ref>Sheldon Goldman, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=EIN4HFLG6eMC Picking Federal Judges: Lower Court Selection from Roosevelt Through Reagan]'' (Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300080735, p. 128. Cf. Dean L. Yarwood, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=Ea4Udz3vbCIC When Congress Makes a Joke: Congressional Humor Then and Now]'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004) ISBN 0742530434, p. 71</ref> pressed Cohn on whether there was something “unusual” in his relationship with Schine, according to Herman, “Welch had his sport with him.”
After Senator John McClellan, a segregationist Democrat,<ref>Sheldon Goldman, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=EIN4HFLG6eMC Picking Federal Judges: Lower Court Selection from Roosevelt Through Reagan]'' (Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300080735, p. 128. Cf. Dean L. Yarwood, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=Ea4Udz3vbCIC When Congress Makes a Joke: Congressional Humor Then and Now]'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004) ISBN 0742530434, p. 71</ref> pressed Cohn on whether there was something “unusual” in his relationship with Schine, according to Herman, “Welch had his sport with him.”
Welch had earlier badgered McCarthy staffer Jim Juliana, an ex-FBI agent—insinuating that Cohn had cropped a photograph of Schine and Stevens—asking Juliana where the photo had come from. Juliana told him he didn't know, upon which Welch asked, "Did you think this came from a pixie?”
Welch had earlier badgered McCarthy staffer Jim Juliana, an ex-FBI agent—insinuating that Cohn had cropped a photograph of Schine and Stevens—asking Juliana where the photo had come from. Juliana told him he didn't know, upon which Welch asked, "Did you think this came from a pixie?”
When McCarthy asked Welch to define “pixie,” Welch replied pointedly, “a pixie is a close relative of a fairy.”
When McCarthy asked Welch to define “pixie,” Welch replied pointedly, “a pixie is a close relative of a fairy.”
Welch turned to Cohn: “I did you, I think, no personal injury, Mr. Cohn?’
Welch turned to Cohn: “I did you, I think, no personal injury, Mr. Cohn?’
Cohn replied: ‘No, sir.’
Cohn replied: ‘No, sir.’
“That was Welch's technique,” according to radical, left-wing<ref>Sam Szurek , [http://www.reverseshot.com/article/emile_de_antonio_interview An Interview with Emile de Antonio], Reverse Shot, Issue 19</ref> filmmaker Emile de Antonio, whose cinematic attack on McCarthy predated Clooney's by decades. In researching ''Good Night and Good Luck'', Clooney boasted, “we had to go back to the actual initial footage of the Army-McCarthy hearings and watch them all the way through. And we did, all of them, 36 days' worth.” From these 36 days of hearings, Antonio cherry-picked the 97 minutes of footage that put McCarthy in the worst light for ''Point of Order,'' a documentary that became the main source of the principal surviving image of McCarthy.<ref>Robert D. Novak, “[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/360baygp.asp McCarthy=Bad],” ''The Weekly Standard'', Vol. 13, No. 11 (November 26, 2007)</ref> (This film in turn was edited still further into a 47-minute version, ''Charge and Countercharge'', for exhibition in public-school classrooms—thus forming an entire generation's view of McCarthy.)<ref>As late as 2006, the teachers' guide to the popular American History textbook ''The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society" recommends both films as enrichment materials. (Mark Simon, ''[http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rbrooki1/Kennesaw%20State/Fall%202008%202112/American%20People%20Instructor%27s%20Guide.pdf Teaching ''The American People'': A Guide for Instructors]'' (Pearson Education, Inc., 2006) ISBN 0-321-39894-7, p. 138. Cf. </ref>
Cohn later confessed that in fact he found Welch's remark "malicious," "wicked," and "indecent."<ref>Neil Miller, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=SGSGAAAAIAAJ Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present]'' (Advocate Books, 2005) ISBN 1555838707, p. 147</ref> Even former Soviet agent Michael Straight admitted in the ''New Republic'': “As law the comment was improper; as humor it was unjust...” “That was Welch's technique,” according to radical, left-wing<ref>Sam Szurek , [http://www.reverseshot.com/article/emile_de_antonio_interview An Interview with Emile de Antonio], Reverse Shot, Issue 19</ref> filmmaker Emile de Antonio, whose cinematic attack on McCarthy predated Clooney's by decades.
In researching ''Good Night and Good Luck'', Clooney boasted, “we had to go back to the actual initial footage of the Army-McCarthy hearings and watch them all the way through. And we did, all of them, 36 days' worth.” From these 36 days of hearings, Antonio cherry-picked the 97 minutes of footage that put McCarthy in the worst light for ''Point of Order,'' a documentary that became the main source of the principal surviving image of McCarthy.<ref>Robert D. Novak, “[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/360baygp.asp McCarthy=Bad],” ''The Weekly Standard'', Vol. 13, No. 11 (November 26, 2007)</ref> (This film in turn was edited still further into a 47-minute version, ''Charge and Countercharge'', for exhibition in public-school classrooms—thus forming an entire generation's view of McCarthy.)<ref>As late as 2006, the teachers' guide to the popular American History textbook ''The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society" recommends both films as enrichment materials. (Mark Simon, ''[http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rbrooki1/Kennesaw%20State/Fall%202008%202112/American%20People%20Instructor%27s%20Guide.pdf Teaching ''The American People'': A Guide for Instructors]'' (Pearson Education, Inc., 2006) ISBN 0-321-39894-7, p. 138. Cf. </ref>
Bursting into tears, Welch fled the Senate caucus room to the applause of the reporters and cameramen packing the gallery.<ref>Paul F. Boller, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=cA8Q1Ev7ol4C Not so!: popular myths about America from Columbus to Clinton]'' (Oxford University Press US, 1996) ISBN 0195109724, p. 165. Cf. Robert Griffith, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ViXaw6NSkrYC The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate]'' (University of Massachusetts Press, 1987) ISBN 0870235559, p. 259</ref> Tears still coursing, according to liberal pundit Nicholas Von Hoffman, Welch winked at reporter John Newhouse,<ref>Nicholas Von Hoffman, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=cwesxAPx4RkC Citizen Cohn]'' (Doubleday, 1988) ISBN 0385236905, p. 237</ref> best known today as the author of ''Imperial America: The Bush Assault on the World Order''. Once safely beyond reach of the TV cameras, according to his assistant, “Welch looked at me and without changing his expression, the tears still streaming down his face, asked, 'Well, how did it go?'”<ref>Richard M. Fried, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=pVatMuvNTsoC Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective]'' (Oxford University Press US, 1991) ISBN 0195043618, p. 216. Cf. Arthur Herman, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=DIibZoDyADEC Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Senator]'' (Simon and Schuster, 2000) ISBN 0684836254, p. 276; Tom Wicker, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=XZlMJehEbIAC Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy]'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006) ISBN 015101082X, p. 163</ref>
McCarthy had “already gone after the Army and accused 'em of being traitors,” according to Clooney. “So Secretary [of the Army Robert T.] Stevens and those guys were like, ''[Expletive deleted] you, we're going to get you any way we can.''” (Italics in original.)
McCarthy had “already gone after the Army and accused 'em of being traitors,” according to Clooney. “So Secretary [of the Army Robert T.] Stevens and those guys were like, ''[Expletive deleted] you, we're going to get you any way we can.''” (Italics in original.)