GREENE v. MCELROY.

Opinion of the Court.

On April 28, 1954, more than one year after the Secretary took action, and for the two days thereafter, petitioner presented his case to the EIPSB and was cross-examined in detail. The hearing began with a

because be liked classical music and be considered it a good investment.]

"6. On 7 April 1947 SUBJECT and his wife Jean attended the Third Annual Dinner of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, an organization that has been officially cited as a Communist front. [This dinner was also attended by many Washington notables, including several members of this Court.]

"7. Beginning about 1942 and continuing for several years thereafter SUBJECT maintained sympathetic associations with various officials of the Soviet Embassy, including Major Constantine I. Ovchinnikov, Col. Pavel F. Berezin, Major Pavel N. Asserv, Col. Ilia M. Saraev, and Col. Anatoly Y. Golkovsky. [High-level executives of ERCO, as above noted, testified that these associations were carried on to secure business for the corporation.]

"8. During 1946 and 1947 SUBJECT had frequent sympathetic association with Dr. Vaso Syrzentic of the Yugoslav Embassy. Dr. Syrzentic has been identified as an agent of the International Communist Party. [Petitioner testified that he met this individual once in connection with a business transaction.]

"9. During 1943 SUBJECT was in contact with Col. Alexander Hess of the Czechoslovak Embassy, who has been identified as an agent of the Red Army Intelligence. [This charge was apparently abandoned as no adverse finding was based on it.]

"10. During 1946 and 1947 SUBJECT maintained close and sympathetic association with Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Gregory Silvermaster and William Ludwig Ullman. Silvermaster and Ullman have been identified as members of a Soviet Espionage Apparatus active in Washington, D. C., during the 1940's. [Silvermaster was a top economist in the Department of Agriculture and the direct superior of petitioner's ex-wife who then worked in that department.]

"11. SUBJECT had a series of contacts with Laughlin Currie during the period 1945-48. Currie has also been identified as a member of the Silvermaster espionage group. [Petitioner met Currie in the executive offices of the President at a time when Currie was a Special Assistant to the President.]

"12. During the period between 1942 and 1947 SUBJECT maintained frequent and close associations with many Communist Party

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Opinion of the Court.

360 U. 8.

statement by the Chairman, which included the following passage:

"The transcript to be made of this hearing will not include all material in the file of the case, in that, it will not include reports of investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other investigative agencies which are confidential. Neither will it contain information concerning the identity of confidential informants or information which will reveal the source of confidential evidence. The transcript will contain only the Statement of Reasons, your answer thereto and the testimony actually taken at this hearing."

Petitioner was again advised that the revocation of his security clearance was based on incidents occurring between 1942 and 1947, including his associations with alleged Communists, his visits with officials of the Russian Embassy, and the presence in his house of Communist literature.

Petitioner, in response to a question, stated at the outset of the hearing that he was then employed at a salary of $4,700 per year as an architectural draftsman and that he had been receiving $18,000 per year as Vice President and General Manager of ERCO. He later explained that

W

and his wife E

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members, including R- -S and his wife M, M▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ P▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬, M—— Dand I S - [These persons were apparently friends of petitioner's ex-wife.]

"13. During substantially the same period SUBJECT maintained close association with many persons who have been identified as strong supporters of the Communist conspiracy, including 8———— J. E -F and V-

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- [These persons were apparently friends of his ex-wife.] "It is noted that all of the above information has previously been discussed with Mr. Greene at his hearing before the Industrial Employment Review Board, and that a copy of the transcript of that hearing was made available to you in August of last year."

94-756 68 pt. 2-4

GREENE v. MCELROY.

Opinion of the Court.

after his discharge from ERCO he had unsuccessfully tried to obtain employment in the aeronautics field but had been barricaded from it because of lack of clearance.1

Petitioner was subjected to an intense examination similar to that which he experienced before the IERB in 1952. During the course of the examination, the Board injected new subjects of inquiry and made it evident that it was relying on various investigatory reports and statements of confidential informants which were not made available to petitioner.

Petitioner reiterated in great detail the

15 Petitioner stated by affidavit in support of his motion for summary judgment that "[a]fter my discharge from Engineering and Research Corporation, I made every possible effort to secure other employment at a salary commensurate with my experience, but I was unable to do so because all of my work history had been in the field of aeronautics. In spite of everything I could do, the best position I could obtain was a draftsman-engineer in an architectural firm. I was obliged to go to work for a salary of $4,400 per year, because the basis upon which a higher salary would be justified was experience in a field which was not particularly useful in the type of work which I was able to obtain. As a result of the actions of the defendants complained of, the field of aeronautical engineering was closed to me."

16 For instance, the following questions were asked in connection with the so-called "left wing" radio station in which petitioner owned stock, petitioner's acquaintanceship with alleged subversives, and petitioner's business relationships with foreign governments:

"Q. We have information here, Mr. Greene, that one particular individual specifically called your attention to the fact that [Congressman] Rankin and [Senator] Bilbo had characterized this station as a Communist station, run by and for Communists?

"Q. We have information here, this has come from an informant characterized to be of known reliability in which he refers to conversations he had with you about January of 1947 in which you told him that you had visited M- P the previous evening and had become rather chummy with him, do you wish to comment on that?

"Q. Concerning your relationship with S

I, we have

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Opinion of the Court.

360 U.S.

explanations previously given before the IERB. He was subjected to intense cross-examination, however, concerning reports that he had agreed with the views held by his ex-wife.

information here from an informant characterized as being one of known reliability, in which SL told this informant that shortly following her Western High School speech in 1947, she remarked to you that probably many people will learn things about Russia and she quoted you as replying, 'Well I hope they learn something good, at least.' Do you wish to say anything about that?

"Q. Information we have, Mr. Greene, indicates first of all, that you didn't meet these Russians in 1942 but you met them in early 1943.

"Q. Now, we have further information, Mr. Greene, indicating that the initiative of these contacts came from Col. Beresin.

"Q. We have information here indicating that as a matter of fact, sir, we do know that the meeting between you and Col. Berezin was arranged through Hess and Hochfeld as you indicated. We also have information from a source identified as being one of known reliability referring to a conversation that this source had with Hess in April 1943 in which Hess stated that he had been talking to one Harry, not further identified but presumed to be Hochfeld and that Harry said to Hess that he had a young engineer who is a good friend of ours and of our cause and Harry wanted Hess to set up a meeting between Berezin and yourself. Can you give us some reason why Harry might have referred to you as a good friend of our cause?

"Q. Of course, we can make certain assumptions as to why Cal. Berezin might have wanted to meet you back in December 1942 when we look at a statement like this indicating that you were considered a good friend of their's and of their cause. Of course, some weight is lent to this assumption by the fact that your wife was strongly pro-Communist and after she left you she became very active in Communist affairs, in case you don't know that, I'll pass it on to you."

And the following questions were asked of various witnesses presented

GREENE v. MCELROY.

Opinion of the Court.

Petitioner again presented a number of witnesses who testified that he was loyal, that he had spoken approvingly of the United States and its economic system, that he was a valuable engineer, and that he had made valuable and significant contributions to this country's war efforts during World War II and the Korean War.

Soon after the conclusion of the hearing, the EIPSB notified petitioner that it had affirmed the Secretary's action and that it had decided that the granting of clearance to petitioner for access to classified information was "not clearly consistent with the interests of national security." Petitioner requested that he be furnished with a detailed statement of findings supporting the Board's decision. He was informed, however, that security con

by petitioner evidently because the Board had confidential information that petitioner's ex-wife was "eccentric."

"Q. Now you were in Bill's home, that red brick house that you're talking about.

"Q. Was there anything unusual about the house itself, the interior of it, was it dirty?

"Q. Were there any beds in their house which had no mattresses on them?

"Q. Did you ever hear it said that Jean slept on a board in order to keep the common touch?

"Q. When you were in Jean's home did she dress conventionally when she received her guests?

"Q. Let me ask you this, conventionally when somebody would invite you for dinner at their home would you expect them, if they were a woman to wear a dress and shoes and stockings and the usual clothing of the evening or would you expect them to appear in overalls?"