[PzLdr]

VENONA?

[Flatus I. Maximus]

Code name for the NSA's program to intercept and decrypt Soviet diplomatic cable traffic. And since all Soviet embassies and such were also KGB fronts, we collected a tremendous amount of information about KGB activities on the ground inside the U.S.

VENONA was pretty much the crown jewel of US intelligence from WWII through the Carter administration, so a lot of espionage prosecutions were compromised to avoid revealing its existence. That's basically why McCarthy was hung out to dry. He'd gotten hold of some leaks and the decision was made that it was better to cripple and slander him than to expose VENONA.

Ann Coulter has a pretty good summary of the declassified parts of it in her book, Treason.