Excerpts from the Direct Examination
of Whittaker Chambers

Second Hiss trial

From the trial record, pp. 257-258:

Q. Will you tell us how that was done; what the method that was employed was?

A. Mr. Hiss would bring out documents from the State Department to his home at the end of his day's work. I would then take the documents and take them to Baltimore where they were photographed.

Q. What would you do after they were photographed?

A. After they were photographed, I would return them to Mr. Hiss at his home.

Q. The same day or later?

A. That same night.

***

Q. And how often would you see Mr. Hiss to do what you have now described?

A. I will say approximately once a week or once in ten days. (T.R. 258)

***

From the trial record, p. 259:

Q. What would you do with the original documents and the typed documents?

A. The typed documents, plus the original documents, were then taken to Baltimore – or, rather not, taken to Baltimore by me at that time. They were turned over to a photographer who worked in Baltimore, who photographed them.

Q. That is one of your men?

A. That is right.

Q. What was his name?

A. Felix.

***

From the trial record, p. 276:

Q. How long did he do photographic work for you?

A. Felix photographed I think from – for about a year. That would be roughly from April or May, 1937, through the month of 1938 in which I broke.

Felix Inslerman was called to testify in the trial, but he refused to answer questions, citing the Fifth Amendment. This may have influenced the jury against Hiss. [It is now illegal to call a witness to the stand, knowing he or she will take the Fifth Amendment.] Inslerman continued to refuse to answer questions until 1954, when, under pressure from the government, he told his story before a U.S. Senate subcommittee headed by Joseph R. McCarthy.

The press reported that Inslerman's testimony confirmed Chambers' story, but Inslerman's testimony revealed important contradictions that called into question Chambers' version of events. Click here to read annotated excerpts from Inslerman's testimony. Click here to read Inslerman's entire testimony, as annotated.

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