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July 14, 1954 Admiral Lewis L. Strauss Dear Admiral Strauss, My attention has been directed to a pamphlet published through the Government Printing Office by the Atomic Energy Commission, entitled "In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Texts of Principal Documents and Letters of Personnel Security Board, General Manager, Commissioners." I am troubled by observing that this compilation, which I understand the Commission has distributed generally to the persons on its extensive mailing list, includes General Nichols' letter to me of June 3, 1954, but fails to include my reply of June 9 (which corrected the inaccuracies and misunderstandings in his letter to me). You included my letter to General Nichols of June 1, 1954, but I think that my letter of June 9 ought in all fairness to have been also included, and I request that the Commission now have it printed and distributed to the same mailing list. It seems to me also that our briefs to the Gray Board and to the Commission (exclusive of appendices) should likewise have been included as among the "principal documents." The Commission in its press release of June 16 said: "The wide national interest and concern in the matter make inevitable and desirable close public examination of the final determination." Publication of the briefs by the Government Printing Office and their distribution to the Commission's mailing list along with the other principal documents could only assist that close public examination which the national interest requires; I accordingly ask that this be done. I note also that the transcript published by the Commission does not include Dr. Oppenheimer's unclassified affidavit concerning the 1952 State Department panel concerning the international control of armaments. Together with a classified affidavit concerning Chapter V of the Vista Report, this was added to the record by consent after the close of the hearings. To the extent this material can be treated as unclassified, I request that it also be included in the supplemental printing and distribution. I was surprised by the inclusion in the Commissioner's compilation of the "Recommendations of the General Manager of the United States Atomic Energy Commission in the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer," dated June 12, 1954. If this document, which Dr. Oppenheimer and his counsel have now read for the first time, was of a sort which could be released at the Commission's pleasure, then it seems to me that it should have been shown to us upon its submission to the Commission so that we might have had an opportunity to submit our comments to the Commission, Which obviously would have been relevant to the Commission's decision. Very truly yours, Lloyd K. Garrison cc: Mr. Joseph Campbell |