Unfortunately Kessler apparently doesn’t know much about the operations of the Communist Party USA during the 30’s-50’s, esp. in government departments. Using agencies created during the New Deal/Depression, CPUSA members infiltrated the government in a flood-like manner, including a number of key congressional committees.
In fact, the chairman of the Special Committee on UnAmerican Activities, Rep. Dickstein (D-NY), was a paid Soviet agent for a number of years (See; Alan Weinstein, “The Haunted Wood”).
McCarthy was a bastard but he did shine a light on the failure of the Truman administration to clean the reds out of the government.
There will be more coming out on this period as research continues at the National Archives.
as research continues at the National Archives.
Do you mean to imply that there are germane archives which were recently declassified on a 50 year schedule?In Blacklisted by History, M. Stanton Evans asserts that persons unknown have laundered much of the historical record which, Evans presumes, would have embarrassed McCarthy's enemies if it were available. Including the record of what the Wheeling, WV newspaper said the following day about McCarthy's famous speech there. Library picked clean.