President Roosevelt to the Commander in Chief, Allied Forces, Mediterranean Theater of Operations (Eisenhower)37
In view of developments in the situation since dispatch to you of the instructions included in Agwar 5456,38 it is desired that if not already delivered to the French Committee you withhold it and, subject to your discretion, deliver the following which expresses my views on the matter. If, in your judgement, the same ends can be obtained through informal discussions, formal presentation need not be made. In any event we must have formal assurance from the French Committee that no trials of these individuals will take place until the restoration of France is accomplished and then in accordance with the constitutional laws of the French Republic.
“In view of the assistance rendered the Allied Armies during the North African campaign by Peyrouton, Boisson and Flandin the United States Government views with alarm reports reaching it to the effect that these gentlemen have been charged with high treason. If, in view of the charges made, it is necessary that these individuals should stand trial, their trials should not be held until after the liberation of France and the establishment of constitutional government.”