The Matusow Affair: Memoir of a National Scandal

As a government witness in the McCarthy hearings, Harvey Matusow falsely accused labor leaders, political figures and others of being communist sympathizers. His perjured testimony helped derail many lives. Then in 1955 his confession that he was a witness paid by the government created a national scandal. His book, False Witness, exposed Justice Department manipulation and the FBI's paid informer system. He also accused Roy Cohn, then U.S. assistant attorney, of prefabricating testimony for him. Kahn, who died in 1979, was Matusow's publisher, along with Cameron (who later became an editor at Knopf). The Matusow Affair recounts in detail how and why McCarthy's star witness recanted, and the federal government's strenuous efforts to suppress False Witness. In this era of White House scandals and threatened civil liberties, Matusow's storyhe is director of the Gandhi Peace Centre in Massachusettscrackles with relevance. (October 26)