Judge Orders Rosenberg Evidence Kept Secret

Attorneys sought material to clear Ethel

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 23, 2008 4:41 AM CDT

(Newser) – Evidence that could clear the name of Ethel Rosenberg must stay under wraps to protect grand jury secrecy, a judge ruled yesterday. Ethel and husband Julius were executed in 1953 for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. Her brother David Greenglass, who testified against her, has since said he lied about Ethel's role to protect his own wife from prosecution. But he has requested that his grand jury testimony not be made public.

Greenglass, now 86, served a decade in prison for his part in the conspiracy. "He may be a scoundrel, he may be a hypocrite, he may be a liar," the judge conceded. But he added, "It's no easy task to compare the value of accountability with grand jury secrecy." The evidence may be released after Greenglass' death.

Communist Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets. Their prosecution has since been labeled a McCarthyist frame-up. (Getty Images)

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, executed in 1953 for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets, appear in this undated file photo. (Archive Photos)

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Judge Orders Rosenberg Evidence Kept Secret

Attorneys sought material to clear Ethel

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Ethel Was Innocent: Witness

Co-defendant admits being spy, calls Julius' secrets 'junk'

Secret Cold War Project Revealed After 45 Years

Project Hexagon collected crucial intelligence on Soviets and Chinese

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Dozens of weapons lost in accidents decades ago are still out there and still deadly

Radiation Weapon Plot Comes to Light

Cold War scheme included assassination, broad contamination

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Lana Peters defected from Soviet Union in 1967

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Judge Orders Rosenberg Evidence Kept Secret

Attorneys sought material to clear Ethel

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

espionage • Soviet Union • nuclear weapons • Cold War • atomic bomb • Communists

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Ethel Was Innocent: Witness

Co-defendant admits being spy, calls Julius' secrets 'junk'

Secret Cold War Project Revealed After 45 Years

Project Hexagon collected crucial intelligence on Soviets and Chinese

Are Cold War's Lost Nukes Still Ticking?

Dozens of weapons lost in accidents decades ago are still out there and still deadly

Radiation Weapon Plot Comes to Light

Cold War scheme included assassination, broad contamination

Josef Stalin's Daughter Dies in Wisconsin

Lana Peters defected from Soviet Union in 1967

About Us

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Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

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What is Newser?