Roy
Marcus Cohn was
born in New York City on 20th February,
1927. His father, Albert Cohn, was a New York State judge and an important
figure in the Democratic Party.
After being educated at the best private school in Manhattan, he entered
Columbia Law School. Admitted to the bar at twenty-one, he used his
connections to become a Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. He played
a prominent role in the trial of eleven leaders of the American
Communist Party and in the prosecution of Julius
Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg
in 1951.
In 1952 Joseph McCarthy appointed Roy
Cohn as the chief counsel to the Government Committee on Operations
of the Senate. Cohn had been recommended by Edgar
Hoover, who had been impressed by his involvement in the prosecution
of the Rosenburgs. Soon after Cohn was appointed, he recruited his
best friend, David Schine, to become his
chief consultant.
For some time opponents of McCarthy had been accumulating evidence
concerning his homosexual relationships. Rumours began to circulate
that Cohn and David Schine were having
a sexual relationship. Although well-known by political journalists,
it did not become public until Hank Greenspun published an article
in the Las Vagas Sun in 25th October,
1952.
Joseph McCarthy considered a libel suit
against Greenspun but decided against it when he was told by his lawyers
that if the case went ahead he would have to take the witness stand
and answer questions about his sexuality. In an attempt to stop the
rumours circulating, McCarthy married his secretary, Jeannie Kerr.
Later the couple adopted a five-week old girl from the New York Foundling
Home.
In October, 1953, McCarthy began investigating communist infiltration
into the military. Attempts were made by McCarthy to discredit Robert
Stevens, the Secretary of the Army. The president, Dwight
Eisenhower, was furious and now realised that it was time to bring
an end to McCarthy's activities.
The United
States Army retaliated by passing information about Joseph
McCarthy to journalists known to be opposed to him. This included
the news that Cohn had abused congressional privilege by trying to
prevent David
Schine from being drafted. When that failed, it was claimed that
Cohn tried to pressurize the Army to grant Schine special privileges.
The well-known newspaper columnist, Drew
Pearson, published the story on 15th December, 1953.
The televised hearings of the Senate hearings exposed the tactics
of Cohn and Joseph McCarthy. Leading
politicians in both parties, had been embarrassed by McCarthy's performance
and on 2nd December, 1954, a censure motion condemned his conduct
by 67 votes to 22. Cohn was forced to resign but he managed to join
a New York law firm and over the years represented an impressive list
of high-profile clients.
Cohn developed a reputation for high living. He made a great deal
of money from his activities but his expensive tastes resulted in
him owing three million dollars in unpaid taxes. Cohn was a survivor
and in 1979 admitted that: "My idea of real power is not people
who hold office. They're here today and gone tomorrow. Power means
the ability to get things done. It stems from friendship in my case."
In the 1980s Cohn's luck ran out. Disbarred from practicing law in
New York State on grounds of unethical and unprofessional conduct,
he contacted AIDs. Roy
Cohn died on 2nd August, 1986.
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