Reader Ad Slot
Reader Ad Slot placeholder
If you would like to support SpookStack without paying out of pocket, please consider allowing advertising cookies. It helps cover hosting costs and keeps the archive free to browse. You can change this choice at any time.
Sen Joseph Joe Mccarthy — Part 19
Page 19
19 / 80
7 C s- © “Se 0g |
Into this category of security risks fall the persons who, aithough
not themselves communists, have habitual or close associatia. with .
communists -- Who have married communist spouses, who live with
communist parents, who persist in close association with commun-
ists after they have become aware of their trattorous activities,
This is the category in which the State Department Loyalty .
. Security Board, applying the standard of reasonable doubt since
; ; its inception, has made 20 adverse decisions out of 546 adjudi~
' ‘eations (to October 1, 1951)) °°: a .
The next matter to catch the lawyer's eye, after the defini-
-~ the State's case, the type of evidence admitted, the derogatory
infowmation, Every employee of the Department of State under-
goes a thorough investigation by the Department's own Security
Division before he is employed, The only exception to this
eccurred at the end of the war, late in 1945 and early in 1946,
When 12,000 employees of emergency war agencies were by Executive
Order shovelled intc the State Department without previous
screening by the Department, -- J refer to the Office of Strategic
Services, the Office of War Information, the Foreign Economie
Administration, and the like, certain of whose war-time. functions
were deened necessary for the post-war period, and weré assigned
to the Department of State, This number was al once reduced to
4,000 by reduction in force, and a screening committee established
in the Department to pass on the loyalty and eligibility of the
4,000 for employment. It was the report of .a preliminary
exanination by this screening Committee, made by Secretary Byrnes
to Congress in July, 1946, that as I have said before, undoubdted-
ly vurnished Senator McCarthy with his initial figure of 205,
Every person who was in the employ of the State Departmeht
on October 1, 1947, and every person gince amployed, in addition tx
belng investigeted by the Security Division of the Department has
been subsittec to the FBL for a "record check", If the FBI, on
this “record check", turns up a single 1tém of derogetory informa-
_ticn, in tne tovalty field, -- even if 4t ‘be no more than member-
ship in 1941 in tne Washington Book Shop, --. the employee is given
& "full field investigation", and the confidential reports of. that
investigation ers forwarded to the Department Leyalty Security
Board, for cete:..ination of the employee's loyalty. and security
risk, These investigative reports constitute the Presecution --+
the State's case, -- which is before the Board for a judicial
determination,
Just a word about these reports. The FBI has had the benefit
f the Department's original investigation, but it has performed
vast labor in addition, They have interviewed everybody --
refevences, relatives, ‘teachers, employers, supervisors, friends,
/ enemies, landlords, neighbors, and acquaintances, They cover ~
the ‘employee from high school days down. Must of the informa-
: tion secured is confidential, and many of the sources are undis-
ot closed in the report, or denominated as Washington T-1, or New.
York {-1, a person who has previously given veliablie information,
“or a person of unknown Peliability. Even ernonymoas allecstiongs
are reported; heavsay is given full reifi. mea PSports are ve
full-and Gonietoly objective, => they_cover Poth the Tatcrabie
and the unfsvorabJe Information received, -- and they neither
aw @Valuate the trsyimdhy Vor drviwn conciusions, This is left to
- the Doard, which 4s fot an inveptigatcry bety, The Boaré has only
PAPGE Woys Of adding to she Taide: Lj) it may request fortner :
inveatigation by the 3 2) 4t may propose written interrcgatories
to the employes, te get his ‘ex’Z ana tion of items of derogatory
information, or 3) it may go to‘e. hearing, at which tine 42> may
ia cross-examine the employze or hf.e witnesses, These FBI reports, --
. a as
mL, ; with
2 a a Oe ee ee = ~ a
oe a ee
Reveal the original PDF page, then click a word to highlight the OCR text.
Community corrections
No user corrections yet.
Comments
No comments on this document yet.
Bottom Reader Ad Slot
Bottom Reader Ad Slot placeholder
If you would like to support SpookStack without paying out of pocket, please consider allowing advertising cookies. It helps cover hosting costs and keeps the archive free to browse. You can change this choice at any time.
Continue Exploring
Agency Collection
Explore This Archive Cluster
Broad Topic Hub
Topic Hub
letter
bureau
Related subtopics
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic