The Fifties

by David Halberstam

Borden put his material into a letter and on November 7, 1953, he mailed a copy to J. Edgar Hoover and one to the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. In the copy to Hoover, he wrote “more probably than not, J. Robert Oppenheimer is an agent of the Soviet Union.” Hoover forwarded his copy to the White House. Eisenhower’s position was fairly simple and essentially defensive: He wanted to separate himself from Oppenheimer as quickly as possible. He did not want a major investigation led by someone like McCarthy, and he did not want a scandal that might tear apart the nation’s nuclear-weapon apparatus. Eisenhower ordered that “a ‘blank wall’ should be placed between Oppenheimer and information of a sensitive or classified nature.” The matter could have ended there. Oppenheimer was no longer a member of the GAC but merely a consultant to the AEC, a consultant with whom the AEC might choose not to consult. But Strauss wanted blood. Jack Lansdale, who had been one of the top security people at Los Alamos and knew Oppie was no security risk, heard that Oppenheimer’s clearance was to be revoked and asked his old colleague Ken Nichols to intervene.