By Brooke Singman, Published December 21, 2016
"A group of New Jersey law students claim to have uncovered bombshell new evidence in one of the most infamous espionage cases of the 20th century, including an FBI document they say may indicate an innocent woman was executed...The investigation concluded that the U.S. government’s case against Ethel Rosenberg was 'basically non-existent.'" Read the full story at the link above.
December 13, 2016, Updated 12/14/2016 9:11 AM
Among the last orders of business for outgoing presidents are the presidential pardons, exonerations and sentence commutations.
Two people among the many actively seeking exoneration from President Obama are Robert Meeropol and his brother Michael, sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The couple was executed in 1953 for spying for the Soviet Union.
Newly declassified documents prove that Julius was in fact a spy, but raise serious questions about Ethel Rosenberg’s involvement. Robert joins Here & Now's Robin Young to discuss the evidence, the documents and why he believes his mother deserves an exoneration.
"It's not just for me, it's not just for my brother [and me]— it's for the betterment of the entire country." Listen to the full interview at the link above.
Rosenberg was executed with her husband in 1953, but mounting evidence indicates she was not a Soviet spy.
Michael Dukakis wants President Barack Obama to officially exonerate an alleged Soviet Union spy, who was executed more than 60 years ago.
Ethel Rosenberg and her husband, Julius Rosenberg, were put to death in 1953 for allegedly passing along secrets about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. But an Easthampton-based campaign by the Rosenbergs’ sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol, hopes to get Obama to proclaim their mother’s innocence.
And now they have a former presidential nominee and Massachusetts governor on their side. Read the full story here.
Dec 9, 2016 - "We speak this week to Michael Meeropol, whose parents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were executed by the US government in 1953. We talk about his efforts to clear his mother's name and the importance of the Brooklyn Dodgers in their lives. Meeropol reads from the letters of his parents where they discuss baseball." Listen to the podcast at the link above.
December 6, 2016
"It is past time for the U.S. government to acknowledge this grievous wrong that was committed during the “Red Scare” of the 1950s. While many people were victimized by the anti-Communist hysteria fueled by demagogues such as U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Ethel Rosenberg, who was a Communist, stands atop the list because she paid with her life after being accused with her husband Julius of committing the “crime of the century” by passing secrets about the atomic bomb to the Soviets.
By issuing the proclamation, Obama would make a powerful, cautionary statement not only about the the Cold War-era of the 1950s, but also about fears stoked by the anti-Muslim rhetoric of president-elect Donald Trump. That message should be to reject guilt by association and sweeping generalizations – whether it be labeling all Communists as un-American 60 years ago, or all Muslims as terrorists today." Read the full editorial at the link above.
December 1, 2016
By Karen Brown
The two sons of Ethel Rosenberg, who was executed as a spy in 1953, are heading to Washington, D.C. Thursday to urge President Obama to exonerate their mother before he leaves office. Hear the interview at the link above.
By David Millward, Easthampton, Massachusetts
30 NOVEMBER 2016 • 9:58PM
The sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were sent to the electric chair after being convicted of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, are today appealing to Barack Obama to exonerate their mother before Donald Trump takes office.
Robert and Michael Meeropol – who took the name of their adoptive parents following the execution – believe it is their last chance to clear their mother’s name.
They fear Donald Trump will have little sympathy for their case, given his personal links to the late Roy Cohn, who was a junior prosecutor in the Rosenberg case. Read the rest of the story at the link above.
By Mary Serreze
November 28, 2016
Two men orphaned in a high-profile Cold War espionage case will appear outside the White House on Thursday to deliver a letter and packet of documents to President Barack Obama.
Robert and Michael Meeropol seek an exoneration for their mother, Ethel Rosenberg, and have urged Obama to act before he leaves office. Read the full article at the link above.
November 2, 2016
To listen to Robert Meeropol discuss the effort to exonerate his mother, Ethel Rosenberg, scroll to the the 1:21 mark in the podcast at the link above.
Rosenberg Fund for Children founder (and younger son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) Robert Meeropol and RFC Executive Director Jenn Meeropol on the campaign to exonerate Ethel. Listen to the podcast at the link above.