11. Mitchell to Garrison, May 17, 1954, box 3, JRO/AEC.
12. Oppenheimer to Hoover, July 17, 1954, Hoover folder, box 201, JRO.
13. Hoover to Brownell, June 18, 1954, sec. 41, JRO/FBI. Ironically, the Russians did apparently consider sending an agent to sound Oppenheimer out about defecting, but nothing came of the plot. Goodchild (1980), 267–68; Weinstein and Vassiliev, 137.
14. “Dissenting Opinion of Henry DeWolf Smyth,” June 29, 1954, box 30, Teller papers, Hoover Institution Library; Oppenheimer to Smyth, Jan. 15, 1964, “JRO, introduction of” folder, series 6, box 1, Smyth papers.
15. Joseph Volpe, who observed Murray at many commission meetings, noted that “you never knew what the hell Murray would say.” Volpe interview (1996).
16. “Concurring Opinion of Commissioner Thomas E. Murray,” June 29, 1954, box 30, Teller papers, Hoover Institution. “Murray felt that Oppenheimer was guilty of disloyalty—not in the sense of treason, but, rather, of not being on the team,” said one of his former aides. Gerard Smith, Sept. 12, 1992, personal communication. Strauss may also have “fixed” one or more commissioners’ votes. Zuckert worked for Strauss after the hearing, and Murray claimed that Strauss “subsidized” Glennan while the latter served on the commission, before the Oppenheimer hearing. Bernstein (1990), 1477; transcript, “LLS Confirmation” folder, series 3, box 2, Smyth papers; “Meeting with Dr. Smyth, Mr. Zuckert, and Keith Glennan,” Apr. 7, 1954, Murray papers.
17. Nichols (1987), 320.
18. Strauss deliberately left out of the AEC statement any mention of Oppenheimer’s role in the H-bomb controversy to avoid alienating other scientists. Strauss to Smyth, June 21, 1954, Smyth folder, LLS/HHL.
19. The Justice Department concluded that “prosecution is not possible with regard to either the 1954 or the 1943 statements.” Tompkins to Hoover, July 14, 1954, supplemental releases, JRO/FBI.
20. Hoover and the FBI continued to pursue the possibility of prosecuting some of Oppenheimer’s defenders. Various memoranda, sec. 35, JRO/FBI file. The FBI disconnected the wiretap on Oppenheimer in early June, but Hoover ordered it reinstalled later in the month, hoping that it might lead to evidence that would allow prosecution of Oppie.
21. Abraham Pais, A Tale of Two Continents: A Physicist’s Life in a Turbulent World (Princeton University Press, 1997), 330.
22. J. Oppenheimer to F. Oppenheimer, Jan. 1953, Frank Oppenheimer folder, box 294, and undated note, Bush folder, box 32, JRO.
23. Strauss also lied when he claimed that he had tried to obtain a salary increase for Oppenheimer after the hearings. In fact, Strauss tried to get Oppie fired as director of Princeton’s institute, but he lacked the votes. “Atomic Gestapo,” Washington Post, June 9, 1954; Pfau (1984), 180, 184; entry of June 9, 1954, Nichols diary, Nichols papers; “Ex-U.S. Lawyer Says FBI Bugged Talks Between Oppenheimer and His Attorneys,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 28, 1975.
24. The Alsops’ articles were later published as a book, We Accuse! (Simon and Schuster, 1954).
25. Rabi to DuBridge, June 21, 1954, box 111.3, DuBridge papers.
26. Rabi interview (1983).
27. Teller to Mayer, n.d. (summer 1954), box 3, Mayer papers; Teller (2001), 399–400.
28. “Memorandum for Files…,” June 23, 1954, Teller folder, LLS/HHTL; Bernice Brode to Oppenheimer, Apr. 14, 1955, box 23, JRO.
29. Surprised by the reaction to his testimony, Teller had second thoughts. But Strauss and Robb dissuaded him from issuing a statement attempting to explain his remarks. Teller to Strauss, July 2, 1954; Strauss to Teller, July 6, 1954; Robb to Teller, July 8, 1954, and Teller to Robb, July 30, 1954, Teller folder, LLS/HHL.
30. Teller (1987), 123. Untitled notes, Sept. 3, 1954, “Lawrence Medical Records” folder, box 3, Childs papers.
31. Childs (1968), 476.
32. James Brady folder, box 1, Childs papers; Molly Lawrence interview (1992).
33. Kamen (1986), 247; “Senator Hickenlooper Aide Is Ordered by Court to Give Testimony in Libel Suit,” Washington Post, Nov. 19, 1954, and “Ex-Aide of AEC Says He Saw A-Chemist with Red Consuls,” Washington Post, Dec. 5, 1954.
34. Kamen to Cooksey, Feb. 2, 1954, folder 29, carton 4, EOL. The defamation suit that Kamen brought against the Washington Times-Herald and the Chicago Tribune in 1952 went to trial in Jan. 1955. Six months later the newspapers paid an undisclosed sum to Kamen. Kamen to Cooksey, Dec. 26, 1954, and Kamen to Cooksey, Feb. 23, 1955, folder 29, carton 4, EOL.
35. Bethe to Oppenheimer, Feb. 9, 1956, box 20, JRO.
36. “I hope I can speak about this interference in the past tense,” wrote Teller to Strauss concerning Oppenheimer. Teller to Strauss, May 13, 1954, Teller folder, LLS/HHPL.
37. Strauss to Neylan, July 22, 1954, folder 5, box 171, Neylan papers.
38. Blumberg and Owens (1976), 375–76; Teller interview (July 7, 1993).
39. Teller’s article was also meant to be a response to a recent book, which mistakenly gave Livermore credit for the hydrogen bomb. In subsequent versions of the H-bomb story, Teller would discount Ulam’s contribution. Teller and Ulam: “Oct. 19, 1954,” Murray papers; Stanley Blumberg and Louis Panos, Edward Teller: Giant of the Golden Age of Physics (Scribners, 1990), 123–25; Teller (2001), 404; Teller to Strauss, Oct. 7, 1954, Teller folder, LLS/HHPL.
40. Teller to Mayer, n.d. (late 1954), box 3, Mayer papers.
41. Bradbury to Fields, Sept. 22, 1954, no. 125192, CIC/DOE; Hansen (1995), vol. 5, 22–29; Francis (1996), 93.
42. Minutes, July 12–15, 1954, GAC no. 41, no. 73403, CIC/DOE.
43. Francis (1996), 88.
44. Hansen (1995), vol. 5, 60.
45. Francis (1996), 94.
46. Teller claimed that he agreed to the promotion only after those fired during the oath controversy had been offered their jobs back. Teller interview (July 30, 1993).
47. Brown and Foster: York (1987), 71–72.
48. Linear implosion: Hansen (1988), 172–76; Francis, 94–95; Defense Nuclear Agency, Report on Operation Teapot, Feb.–Mar. 1955 (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981), 1.
49. Minutes, Dec. 22, 1954, GAC no. 43, no. 31045, CIC/DOE.
50. Decker interview (1997).
51. Tesla: Hansen (1995), vol. 5, 112; AEC press release, Mar. 1, 1955, no. 76635, CIC/DOE.
52. Tesla/Turk: Chuck Hansen, Sept. 25, 2000, personal communication; Strauss to Anderson, Mar. 24, 1955, no. 31120, CIC/DOE.
53. Mar. 8, 1955, entry, TEM diary, Murray papers.
54. Transcript of Wally Decker interview (1983), LLNL.
55. Lawrence to Fidler, Sept. 2, 1954, no. 73036,
