In
1945 Elizabeth Bentley, a former member
of the American Communist Party, walked
into the New York office of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and offered to provide information about a Soviet
spy ring. Over the next couple of weeks Bentley identified more than
80 people she claimed were spies.
On 8th November, 1945, J. Edgar Hoover,
sent a message to Harry S. Truman confirming
that an espionage ring was operating in the United States government.
For the next two years FBI agents investigated
the individuals that Elizabeth Bentley
had named. However, they were unable to find enough evidence to arrest
any of these people.
In July 1948 Bentley appeared before the House
of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and during her testimony
named several people she believed had been Soviet spies while working
for the United States government. As a result of this testimony Bentley
became known as the Red Spy Queen.
Doubts about Bentley's testimony began to emerge when it was discovered
that when checked, much of it was clearly untrue. This evidence was
also undermined when it became known that she was being paid by World
Telegram for this material. However, information provided by Bentley
eventually led to the arrest and conviction of Harry
Gold, David Greenglass, Ethel
Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg
for spying.
Elizabeth
Bentley with members of the HUAC:
John
McDowell, Richard Nixon, Karl
Mundt, John Rankin,
F. E. Hebert, J. H. Peterson and J. Parnell
Thomas.
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