Freedom of Information
Historians Seek Grand Jury Transcripts in Rosenberg Spy Case
Posted Feb 1, 2008, 10:31 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The sons of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are supporting a group of historians seeking release of transcripts from the grand jury investigation into the couple’s spying for the Soviet Union.
The National Security Archive filed the petition (PDF) for the transcripts in an effort to uncover more information about the couple, executed in 1953 for spying, the New York Times reports. The historians seeking the information differ in their motivations. Some want more proof the Rosenbergs were guilty and some hope to uncover prosecutorial misconduct.
“Despite what is known about the grand jury proceedings, many questions—questions about changed testimony, alleged prosecutorial improprieties, the extent of information the Rosenbergs provided to the Soviets, the reasons behind the government’s insistence on the death penalty, and others—remain unanswered,” says a memorandum (PDF) in support of the petition.
Tom Blanton, director or the National Security Archive, says the public interest in the transcripts outweighs the need for secrecy. “What unites the petitioners is the opportunity to end the unnecessary secrecy and to open these unique primary sources to public and scholarly scrutiny,” he said in a press release.
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