[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CASE OF ETHEL ROSENBERG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  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.

                              {time}  1230

  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.

                          ____________________