Noel Field

Field was a former colleague of Alger Hiss's. His name was brought into the case most prominently by Hede Massing. In recent years, Hiss's detractors have pointed out that in the early 1950s when Field was imprisoned in Hungary for espionage, he implicated Hiss. Others note that Field was being tortured and held in solitary confinement at the time and was telling his captors anything they might want to hear. 

After his release from prison in the mid-1950s, Field sent Hiss a note reaffirming his belief in Hiss's innocence, saying, "I need hardly tell you how angered and outraged I was over the irresponsible allegations made against you. Your testimony fully harmonizes with the memory I had of you during our all-too-brief acquaintance in Washington."

For more on this issue, click here to read Ethan Klingsberg's article in The Nation.