Editorial Note
On June 29 the United States Atomic Energy Commission announced that it had decided by a vote of four to one not to restore the security clearance of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, Director of the Institute of Advanced Study and frequent consultant to the government on atomic energy, disarmament, and various other subjects relating to science and national defense. Oppenheimer had been Chairman of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1946 to 1952. His security clearance had been suspended on December 23, 1954, on the basis of charges of disloyalty relating to allegations that he had maintained contacts with subversive individuals and had made false statements to security officers.
At Dr. Oppenheimer’s request, hearings on his case were held before a Personnel Security Board of the Atomic Energy Commission April 12–May 6, 1954. A majority of the Board recommended against the reinstatement of Dr. Oppenheimer’s clearance, as did the General Manager of the AEC (Kenneth D. Nichols), who reviewed the findings. The Atomic Energy Commission subsequently issued two publications containing documentation on the Oppenheimer case: In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Transcript of Hearings before Personnel Security Board, Washington, D.C., April [Page 1473] 12, 1954–May 6, 1954 (Government Printing Office, 1954), and In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Texts of Principal Documents and Letters of Personnel Security Board, General Manager, Commissioners, Washington, D.C., May 27, 1954 through June 29, 1954 (Government Printing Office, 1954). Extensive additional information on this subject is contained in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, volume 10 (1954).