361.1121 Pyk, Irena Teodozja/2: Telegram
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Henderson)
In pursuance of a suggestion made by Mr. Welles, Mr. Atherton telephoned Mr. Oumansky today in order to make a reply to Mr. Oumansky’s proposal that Mikhail Gorin, formerly the head of Intourist in Los Angeles, and a Soviet citizen, be given a Presidential pardon. It will be recalled that Mikhail Gorin had been found guilty of espionage by the Federal District Court in Los Angeles about two years ago; that the case had been carried up to the United States Supreme Court; and that in January of 1941, the Supreme [Page 934] Court had upheld the decisions of the lower courts. Mr. Oumansky had proposed that if the President would pardon Mr. Gorin, the Soviet Government might favorably consider the release of two American citizens at present in prison in the Soviet Union.
Mr. Atherton informed the Ambassador that he regretted to tell him that after a careful examination on the part of the appropriate American authorities of the matter, it had been decided that it would be out of the question for the time being for a Presidential pardon to be issued to Mr. Gorin. Mr. Atherton added that it should be clearly understood that his answer did not mean that it might not be possible at some time in the future for such a pardon to be issued.
Mr. Oumansky replied that he was to understand, then, that the American Government had refused to give any consideration to his request. Mr. Atherton stated that Mr. Oumansky was not giving quite a fair interpretation of what had just been said to him. It would be more accurate to say that Mr. Oumansky’s suggestion that a Presidential pardon be issued at once to Mr. Gorin had been given all due consideration and that it was regretted that such a pardon could not be issued at least for the time being.
Mr. Oumansky said that he was very sorry to receive this answer; that there was ample precedence for the issuing of such a pardon; that the Soviet Government on several occasions had released American citizens imprisoned for various reasons in the Soviet Union; and that he felt that his request was a reasonable one.
Mr. Atherton said that the matter might be discussed perhaps at more length during the course of the visit which had been arranged for Mr. Oumansky to make at the Department on February 11.25
- No record has been found in Department files of such a meeting on this date.↩