Evening star., 1949-04-30
Prosecutors Tighten
Case 10 Present 10
CopIon Jury Monday
By Jones J. CuIIinone

Judith Coplon. suspended Justice
Department analyst. In recess
until Monday, Government prose-
cutors today were busy tightening
UP the case they plan TO present
to the Jury Of four women and
eight men next week.
Just before adjournment yester-
day. Mrs. Ruth M. Rosson. Justice
Department attorney. said she
passed some 80 or so" confiden-
tial documents to Miss Coplon in
February after the latter had been
ordered transferred from all duties
involving the handling Of Govern
ment secrets.
Miss Coplon asked to be shown
all reports on Communist and
Russian activity in the United
States, and she passed them on
as q matter Of course because she
did not know the attractive an
alyst was under suspicion. Mrs.
Rosson said.
Showed Her Fictious Report.
Earlier, William 4. Foley had
testified that he allowed Miss
Coplon to read . report divulging
atomic bomb secrets and stating
that two Justice Department
agents had infiltrated into re-
sponsible jobs with Amtorg, the
Russian trading agency in this
country. The latter statement
was fictious, but he did not know
this at the time he showed 1t to
Miss Coplon. Mr.. Foley said. As
chief Of the Internal Security
Division Of the Justice Depart
ment. he was Miss Coplon's boss.
Mrs. Rosson said she was as
signed to perform analytical tasks
on confidential papers. which Miss
Coplon had performed before she
was ordered to stay away from
secret papers. No one told her
that Miss Coplon was under in
vestigation, Mrs. Rosson said, and
she detected nothing unusual in
Miss Coplon's request to view the
secret reports.
Mr.. Foley said he was ordered to
transfer Miss Coplon away from
confidential work in January. after
FBI agents discovered she had
been meeting Valentine A. Gu
bitchev, 80. Soviet engineer en-
ployed by the United Nations In
New York.
Disgruntled at Transfer.
He did not tell Miss Coplon the
real reason for her transfer. Mr..
Foley said, and she was dis
gruntled and pouting" after their
conference.
"She told me she was very much
disturbed by the transfer" Mr..
Foley testified. She said she felt
it was a slight and a criticism of
her ability. She said she won
dered If she had any future in the
department"
Mr.. Foley said the atomic bomb
report was prepared by FBI agents
and initiated by FBI Director j..
Edgar Hoover. After reading it,
Miss Coplon left her job early.
took q train to New York and met
Gubitchev. he said. When she
was arrested. FBI agents reported
they found O handwritten sum-
mary Of the report in her purse. .,
Chief Prosecutor John M. Kel-r
ley. jr., said the report probably
will be submitted as evidence next
week when the FBI agent who
drafted 1t takes the stand.
Report Withdrawn As Evidence.
Assistant Prosecutor Raymond
Whearty offered the report in evi-
dence yesterday. but he quickly
withdrew the offer when Defense
Counsel Archibald Palmer charged
it was an instrument Of "entrap-
ment." Mr.. Palmer moved for q
mistrial when the report was with
drawn, but he was overruled.
MIR. Palmer tried vainly to force
Mr.. Foley to admit that Miss Cop
lon had drafted a report recon-
mending that Amtorg be prose-
cuted for violating the Foreign
Agents Registration Act. Mr..
Palmer said Amtorg had filed a
secret" request for exemption
from provisions of the act. Mr..
Foley said he did not remember
Miss Coplon ever writing q report
recommending prosecution, al
though he recalled that she had
worked on matters relating to Am
torg.
A parade of G-men who trailed
Miss Coplon will take the stand
next week to tell what they saw
on the three occasions they
watched Miss Coplon meet Gubit-
chev in New York