Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-08-12
CIordy Sees Injustice
In Arrest of Van Fosson

torney, Edward Bennett Will
liams. Mr.. Williams entered his
appearance as attorney for Van
FoSson this morning at the
courthouse. He then asked for
the arraignment postponement
because he expects to be out of
the city.
Mr.. Clardy, a one-term con-
gresham, who was defeated last
fall in his bid for reelection,
was a member of the Un-Amer-
Iican Activities group. Today, he
offered his legal services to Mr..
Van Fosson without compensa-
ton"
Clardy Revealed Case
It was a memorandum written
by Mr.. Clardy to other members
of the committee last fall that
brought the Van Fosson case to
light. In the memo, the con-
gresham decried the Air Force
action in separating the intelli-
Igence operative, a former bonn
bardier-navigator, who holds the
Distinguished Flying Cross and
the Purple Heart.
Mr.. Clardy did not identify
Mr.. Van FosSon by name, but
another committee source did.
The document Mr.. Van Fosson
is charged with misusing is a
113-page file. prepared by the
FBI in December. 1852. on Jay
Lovestone, one of the founders
and former General Secretary of
the Communist Party. U.S.A.
Mr.. Lovestone was expelled from
the party by Joseph Stain in
1929.
Now executive secretary of the
American Federation of Labor's
Free Trade Union Committee,
Mr.. Lovestone offered to appear
before the House committee last
December after a story in The
Star revealed that he had bean
under fire in secret testimony
given by Spencer Miller, jr.. a
former Assistant Secretary OF
Labor.
At the time, Mr.. Clardy said
the committee had testimony
naming a "kingpin" Of a world
wide Red network. Other COM
mittee sources confirmed that he
was talking about Mr.. Lovestone.
/ The ALL official denied the
charges and asked to be called
to testify under oath. He said
Mr.. Clardy was repudiated at
the polls and was trying to ride
a dead horse"
! Committee sources said last
fall that operatives of the Central
Intelligence Agency first learned
that the committee had a copy
of the FBI dossier on Mr.. Love-
stone and so reported it to the
bureau. The FBI then called in
all copies, having circulated them
to interested Government agen-
cies. The leak was easily pin
pointed.
Chairman Walter of the House
committee said last night that
as far as he is concerned the FIR
ing of Mr.. Van Fosson earlier
this year and the turning over to
the FBI of the committee copy OF
the document CLOSED the case"
Explaining why he dismissed
the investigator. Mr.. Walter said
In going over the list of
personnel and seeing his record
I came to the conclusion that II
he would take an Air Force
secret document, then he might
take committee documents.
AS for the Miller-LoveStone
case, committee informantS said
T it was not likely that any re-
port or public hearings would be
held. They said it was doubtful
whether the testimony already
taken would be released.
| The indictment against Mr.
Van FoSson specifically charged
him with unlawfully removing
and unlawfully converting to his
own use a classified document
from the files of the Air Force
Office of Special Investigations.
Six other counts charged him
with making false statements
to OSI officials when questioned
about the document.
/ Conviction on all eight counts
could bring a possible maximum
penalty of 81 years imprison-
ment and $4,000 in fines.
Mr.. Van FosSon, according to
friends, has been unemployed
except for a few weeks since he
left the committee in February
His wife had been working as a
waitress until she became i'll
recently. The Van Fossons have
fu0 cY,ool II daiIobtnre