Case of Ethel Rosenberg
Floor Speech
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the case of Ethel Rosenberg, who along with her husband, Julius, was convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and executed in 1953.
For decades, evidence has cast serious doubt on the charges against Ethel Rosenberg. She had no KGB code name. In 2001, her brother even admitted falsely testifying against her.
Last year, with the help of my colleague, Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes of Connecticut, I urged the National Archives and Records Administration to release information that we believed would exonerate Ethel.
Working with Robert and Michael Meeropol, Ethel's sons, we helped shake loose a Freedom of Information Act request for a crucial document written by a senior U.S. Army code breaker and analyst, Meredith Knox Gardner, in 1950.
In August 2024, we finally secured the release of this document, and it confirmed what we suspected and what the Meeropol brothers have always known: Ethel Rosenberg was not a spy.
Not only that, the government knew that she was not a spy and executed her anyway. Let me repeat that. This government, the United States Government, knew way back then that she was innocent and executed her anyway.
In fact, Gardner explicitly wrote in his classified memo that Ethel ``did not engage in the work,'' meaning espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union, ``herself.''
Despite this concrete evidence, the government has never righted this wrong, and I, for one, think it is unconscionable. The truth is clear: Ethel Rosenberg's execution was motivated by fear and politics, and it was not based on the facts.
I urged former President Biden to exonerate her. The proof is right there in the documents, and we handed over everything. Yet, unfortunately, President Biden did not act.
Ethel Rosenberg's execution was a miscarriage of justice. I think it is a disgraceful stain on our history. It was also a tragedy that left two young boys orphans.
Her sons, Robert and Michael Meeropol, have spent their lives seeking justice for their mother, turning their pain into advocacy. Their work continues through a fund supporting children whose parents have been incarcerated or executed for political reasons. Their own children and family are even involved in this advocacy, and I greatly admire the way they have taken such a terrible tragedy of their lives and used it to put good back into the world.
I deeply admire them, but no family should have to fight this long for the truth. It is my hope that, one day, a Presidential administration will acknowledge the wrongfulness of her death and fully exonerate Ethel Rosenberg so that her name may be cleared once and for all. Until then, let the Congressional Record show and every person in this building know that the U.S. Government knew that Ethel Rosenberg was innocent.
We knew that she was not a spy, and we executed her anyway. I find that to be a disgrace, and I want to apologize for the pain and grief her family suffered because of what happened.
Ethel was put to death during the height of McCarthyism, a time of hysteria when due process was cast aside. She was put to death at a time when due process was not guaranteed and our democratic values were not always upheld. We let fear, anger, and hate get the best of us.
We are currently living through an equally troubling time in our country. People are being targeted and attacked for the way they think, what they say, and who they are.
Facts must still matter, Mr. Speaker. Let's learn from our imperfect history. Nothing will bring Ethel Rosenberg back or erase the pain and challenges her sons have had to face in her absence, but as we continue to work to exonerate her, my hope is that by telling her story, we can prevent this dark chapter in our history from repeating itself.
Ethel's story has not been forgotten, and she must be exonerated.
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