Changes

Two days after Chambers, Hiss testified, denying that he ever even knew Chambers, in a statement Secretary of State [[Dean Acheson]] helped write.<ref>[[#refWeinstein78|Weinstein 1978]]: 17</ref> Hiss "asked the committee to [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~content=a789433344~fulltext=713240930 disregard the evidence] and follow its emotions":

Two days after Chambers, Hiss testified, denying that he ever even knew Chambers, in a statement Secretary of State [[Dean Acheson]] helped write.<ref>[[#refWeinstein78|Weinstein 1978]]: 17</ref> Hiss "asked the committee to [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~content=a789433344~fulltext=713240930 disregard the evidence] and follow its emotions":

{{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/printout/0,8816,859675,00.html highest rectitude] without its [http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,811892,00.html being 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>[[#refHUAC48|HUAC 1948]]: 1162 (PDF 672)</ref> (Emphases Bagley's)<ref>[[#refBagley07|Bagley 2007]]: 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 [http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,859675,00.html highest rectitude] without its [http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,811892,00.html being 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>[[#refHUAC48|HUAC 1948]]: 1162 (PDF 672)</ref> (Emphases Bagley's)<ref>[[#refBagley07|Bagley 2007]]: 274</ref>}}

The day of Hiss's testimony, 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 [[#refToledano97|hang him]].” Five minutes later, Truman blustered to a press conference that the Hiss case was just an election-year “[[#refTruman8.5.48|red]] [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819396,00.html herring],”<ref>Alonzo L. Hamby, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=oyx3AAAAMAAJ Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman]'' (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&mdash;White House/President, 1948," box 83, reproduced (as Document 22) at [[#refBW96|NSA/CIA 1996]]: 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 [[#refToledano97|political view]].”<ref>Truman "wasn't fronting for Alger Hiss, per se, he thought they were attacking him through Hiss... Mr. Truman figured that that was a fight on him, so he supported Hiss whom he didn't really like; thought he was a terrible fellow." [[#refTrohan1970|Trohan 1970]]: 14</ref> (That year, Truman told Secretary of Defense James Forrestal there were "[[#refNovak03|too many unknowns]]" in the partially decoded Venona messages,<ref>[[#refSchecter02|Schecter 2002]]: 148</ref> saying, "Even if part of this is true, [[#refRusher04|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, [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; [http://jamesforrestal.ariwatch.com/WillcuttsReport.htm#Page0 HTML version].</ref>  In her [http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/who-is-er/q-and-a/q24.htm newspaper column], [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] set the tone of respectable opinion, writing, "Smearing good people like [[Lauchlin Currie]], Alger Hiss and others is, I think, unforgiveable.... Anyone knowing either 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>[[#refER48|Eleanor Roosevelt 1948]]. Currie was an [[NKVD]] agent in the [[White House]], code-named "PAZh/Page." [[#refNSA05|Hanyok 2005]]: 118-119 (PDF 123-124), n. 185; [[#refHK99|Haynes, Klehr 1999]]: 146; [[Gorsky memo]] ([[#refVasBlack|Vassiliev Black Notebook]]: Orig. 39; Trans. 77. Cf. [[#refBLH05|Bachman, Leich, Haynes 2005]]; [[#refLowCher|Lowenthal, Chervonnaya 2005]])</ref>   

The day of Hiss's testimony, 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 [[#refToledano97|hang him]].” Five minutes later, Truman blustered to a press conference that the Hiss case was just an election-year “[[#refTruman8.5.48|red]] [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819396,00.html herring],”<ref>Alonzo L. Hamby, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=oyx3AAAAMAAJ Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman]'' (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&mdash;White House/President, 1948," box 83, reproduced (as Document 22) at [[#refBW96|Benson, Warner 1996]]: 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 [[#refToledano97|political view]].”<ref>Truman "wasn't fronting for Alger Hiss, per se, he thought they were attacking him through Hiss... Mr. Truman figured that that was a fight on him, so he supported Hiss whom he didn't really like; thought he was a terrible fellow." [[#refTrohan1970|Trohan 1970]]: 14</ref> (That year, Truman told Secretary of Defense James Forrestal there were "[[#refNovak03|too many unknowns]]" in the partially decoded Venona messages,<ref>[[#refSchecter02|Schecter 2002]]: 148</ref> saying, "Even if part of this is true, [[#refRusher04|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, [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; [http://jamesforrestal.ariwatch.com/WillcuttsReport.htm#Page0 HTML version].</ref>  In her [http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/who-is-er/q-and-a/q24.htm newspaper column], [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] set the tone of respectable opinion, writing, "Smearing good people like [[Lauchlin Currie]], Alger Hiss and others is, I think, unforgiveable.... Anyone knowing either 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>[[#refER48|Eleanor Roosevelt 1948]]. Currie was an [[NKVD]] agent in the [[White House]], code-named "PAZh/Page." [[#refNSA05|Hanyok 2005]]: 118-119 (PDF 123-124), n. 185; [[#refHK99|Haynes, Klehr 1999]]: 146; [[Gorsky memo]] ([[#refVasBlack|Vassiliev Black Notebook]]: Orig. 39; Trans. 77. Cf. [[#refBLH05|Bachman, Leich, Haynes 2005]]; [[#refLowCher|Lowenthal, Chervonnaya 2005]])</ref>   

When Hiss testified, most of those watching, including members of the press, appeared to be on Hiss's 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's 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 [[#refLinder03|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>[[#refWeinstein78|Weinstein 1978]]: 15-16</ref> The Truman administration fixed its sights, not on Hiss, but on Chambers, Truman aide George Elsie advising White House Counsel [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/un/large/general_assembly/general_assembly3-1.jpg Clark Clifford] on August 16, "Justice should make every effort to ascertain if Whittaker Chambers is guilty of perjury."<ref>[[#refBW96|NSA/CIA 1996]]: 117</ref> No suggestion was made that Justice make any effort at all to ascertain if ''Hiss'' might be guilty of perjury.

When Hiss testified, most of those watching, including members of the press, appeared to be on Hiss's 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's 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 [[#refLinder03|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>[[#refWeinstein78|Weinstein 1978]]: 15-16</ref> The Truman administration fixed its sights, not on Hiss, but on Chambers, Truman aide George Elsie advising White House Counsel [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/un/large/general_assembly/general_assembly3-1.jpg Clark Clifford] on August 16, "Justice should make every effort to ascertain if Whittaker Chambers is guilty of perjury."<ref>[[#refBW96|Benson, Warner 1996]]: 117</ref> No suggestion was made that Justice make any effort at all to ascertain if ''Hiss'' might be guilty of perjury.

The Hiss forces launched a "frightful campaign of vilification"<ref>Hilton Kramer, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=yPZ3AAAAMAAJ The Twilight of the Intellectuals: Culture and Politics in the Era of the Cold War]'' (I.R. Dee, 1999) ISBN 1566632226, p. 6</ref> against [[Whittaker Chambers|Chambers]], a whispering campaign of lies and innuendos. Many editorialists and columnists violently attacked him and defended Hiss.<ref>James Keogh, ''[http://ia700300.us.archive.org/0/items/thisisnixon017711mbp/thisisnixon017711mbp.pdf This Is Nixon]'' (New York: GP Putnam's Sons, 1956) ASIN B000MXH0XA, p. 40</ref>

The Hiss forces launched a "frightful campaign of vilification"<ref>Hilton Kramer, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=yPZ3AAAAMAAJ The Twilight of the Intellectuals: Culture and Politics in the Era of the Cold War]'' (I.R. Dee, 1999) ISBN 1566632226, p. 6</ref> against [[Whittaker Chambers|Chambers]], a whispering campaign of lies and innuendos. Many editorialists and columnists violently attacked him and defended Hiss.<ref>James Keogh, ''[http://ia700300.us.archive.org/0/items/thisisnixon017711mbp/thisisnixon017711mbp.pdf This Is Nixon]'' (New York: GP Putnam's Sons, 1956) ASIN B000MXH0XA, p. 40</ref>

Nixon brought Hiss face-to-face with his accuser on August 25. "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's "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 [[#refWhalen48|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.

Nixon brought Hiss face-to-face with his accuser on August 25. "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's "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 [[#refWhalen48|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.

Trying to explain Chambers' charges, Hiss suggested that his accuser was crazy, asking, "is he a man of consistent reliability, truthfulness and honor?... Indeed, is he a man of sanity?"<ref>[[#refHUAC48|HUAC 1948]]: 1164 (PDF 674)</ref> He demanded that the committee ask his accuser if he had ever been treated for a mental illness. The committee obliged, and Chambers answered: "[http://www.thenation.com/article/case-alger-hiss I have not, period]." On the White House memo advising that Chambers be investigated for perjury was inserted a handwritten line: "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]."<ref>[[#refBW96|NSA/CIA 1996]]: 117.</ref> (Again, no suggestion was made that Hiss's mental health history might be subject to investigation.) The FBI had already checked into this, and [[J. Edgar Hoover|Hoover]] had reported to [[Attorney General]] [[Tom Clark]], "With regard to [[Whittaker Chambers]], there is nothing indicated in the files of the [[FBI|Bureau]], or in the files of the New York office that Chambers has been institutionalized."<ref>[[#refEvans07|Evans 2007]]: 322</ref> 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>[[#refHK99|Haynes, Klehr 1999]]: 15</ref>

Trying to explain Chambers' charges, Hiss suggested that his accuser was crazy, asking, "is he a man of consistent reliability, truthfulness and honor?... Indeed, is he a man of sanity?"<ref>[[#refHUAC48|HUAC 1948]]: 1164 (PDF 674)</ref> He demanded that the committee ask his accuser if he had ever been treated for a mental illness. The committee obliged, and Chambers answered: "[http://www.thenation.com/article/case-alger-hiss I have not, period]." On the White House memo advising that Chambers be investigated for perjury was inserted a handwritten line: "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]."<ref>[[#refBW96|Benson, Warner 1996]]: 117.</ref> (Again, no suggestion was made that Hiss's mental health history might be subject to investigation.) The FBI had already checked into this, and [[J. Edgar Hoover|Hoover]] had reported to [[Attorney General]] [[Tom Clark]], "With regard to [[Whittaker Chambers]], there is nothing indicated in the files of the [[FBI|Bureau]], or in the files of the New York office that Chambers has been institutionalized."<ref>[[#refEvans07|Evans 2007]]: 322</ref> 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>[[#refHK99|Haynes, Klehr 1999]]: 15</ref>

In an act of supreme hubris, Hiss [[#refWard88|dared]] Chambers to repeat his charges outside of the immunity afforded in congressional hearings, so Hiss could sue him, taunting, "and I hope you will do it [[#refHUAC8-17-48|damned quickly]]." Just two days after their public testimony,<ref>Stephen D. Easton, ed., ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=BwtJgD-stVIC The Irving Younger Collection: Wisdom and Wit from the Master of Trial Advocacy]'' (American Bar Association, 2010) ISBN 1604426004, p. 533</ref> Chambers called Hiss's bluff on NBC's ''Meet the Press,'' saying, "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17982730/page/5/ Alger Hiss was a Communist] and may be now."

In an act of supreme hubris, Hiss [[#refWard88|dared]] Chambers to repeat his charges outside of the immunity afforded in congressional hearings, so Hiss could sue him, taunting, "and I hope you will do it [[#refHUAC8-17-48|damned quickly]]." Just two days after their public testimony,<ref>Stephen D. Easton, ed., ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=BwtJgD-stVIC The Irving Younger Collection: Wisdom and Wit from the Master of Trial Advocacy]'' (American Bar Association, 2010) ISBN 1604426004, p. 533</ref> Chambers called Hiss's bluff on NBC's ''Meet the Press,'' saying, "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17982730/page/5/ Alger Hiss was a Communist] and may be now."