White was identified by Chambers as a Soviet spy before HCUA in 1948, but he vigorously denied the charge and died of a heart attack shortly thereafter. But the Venona intercepts are filled with messages showing White's crucial role in aiding Soviet espionage operations and attempting to manipulate U.S. policy. Hence, he proved to be a major Moscow success story. Romerstein's more controversial charge is that Harry Hopkins, FDR's most trusted adviser, was also a Soviet spy. Illegal intelligence officers such as Akhmerov had false identities, worked with only the most secret Soviet agents and took pains to conceal the fact that they were even Soviets from those who might know them in their cover roles.
More evidence abounds.
The Venona Secrets is chock-full of other fascinating information, both critical and trivial, about the Soviet Union, American Communists and Soviet espionage. Romerstein demonstrates that our chief wartime intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services, was crawling with Soviet spies, and that Lauchlin Currie, one of FDR's most trusted advisers, served Soviet intelligence operations while based in the White House and deliberately sabotaged U.S. interests. Romerstein also recounts how the Truman Administration, to avoid political embarrassment, covered up this massive penetration. Romerstein's book has not been reviewed by the major liberal media, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. The charge is blatantly false, as New York Post columnist Eric Fettman, who worked extensively with colleague Breindel on the manuscript, has informed the New Republic.