NY judge: Release testimony by Rosenberg brother in spy case
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has ordered the release of key grand jury testimony from 1950 that may give new fuel to suspicions that Ethel Rosenberg was unjustly convicted of espionage and put to death for conspiring to give nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.
Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein said testimony from Rosenberg’s brother, David Greenglass, can be released because he died last year at 92.
The government could still appeal the order. A government spokeswoman declined to comment.
In a ruling this week, Hellerstein said Greenglass’ testimony was a critical piece of an important moment in U.S. history. Ethel and her husband, Julius, were executed in 1953 for espionage conspiracy convictions.
Hellerstein noted Greenglass has said in interviews that prosecutors pressured him to falsify information about his sister.