Treason in Washington Exposed

Treason in Washington Exposed reproduces Senator Joseph McCarthy’s 1950 Senate speech presenting his case that Communist influence and serious security failures had penetrated important areas of the United States government, particularly the State Department and the formulation of American policy in the Far East. McCarthy argues that the central issue extends beyond formal Communist Party membership to what he calls “bad-policy risks”—officials and advisers whose actions and recommendations, whether through disloyalty or judgment, advanced Soviet interests at the expense of the United States. He develops his argument through documentary evidence and detailed examinations of Owen Lattimore, John Stewart Service, Philip Jessup, Haldore Hanson, the Amerasia affair, State Department loyalty procedures, and the policies surrounding Communist victory in China. Particular attention is devoted to Lattimore’s writings and their alleged parallels with both Communist objectives in Asia and subsequent American foreign policy. McCarthy portrays these interconnected cases as evidence of a small but influential group capable of overriding experienced career officials and shaping policy favorable to Communist expansion, while arguing that public exposure and congressional investigation are necessary to remove dangerous influences from government and restore American foreign policy to the defense of national interests.