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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 803 Filed 08/05/25 Page6of9
institution and others, Judge Hellerstein granted a petition to unseal the grand jury
testimony of David Greenglass, Ethel Rosenberg’s brother. In granting the petition
to unseal Greenglass’ grand jury testimony, the court observed that in the 65 years
that had passed since the Rosenberg trial, many believed that Ethel Rosenberg was
innocent and had been framed by Greenglass. Jd. at 628. As a result, and only after
Greenglass had passed away, the court concluded that Grenglass’ grand jury
testimony should be released since it provided information in a case of historical
interest to the public. Id. at 629 (holding that “the requested records are critical pieces
of an important moment in our nation’s history” and “the time for the public to guess
what they contained should end.”). It is noteworthy that Judge Hellerstein refused
to unseal the transcript while Grenglass was alive, finding that Greenglass’ interest
in preserving the secrecy of his grand jury testimony “was sufficient to prevent its
unsealing during his life, despite the public interest in the case.” Id. at 628.
In re Petition of American Historical Association involved a similar request by
historical associations in 1998 to unseal transcripts of two special grand juries
convened from 1947 to 1950 pertaining to the espionage investigation of Alger Hiss.
Inre Am. Hist. Ass'n, 49 F. Supp. 2d 274 (S.D.N.Y. 1999). Hiss, a former high-ranking
State Department official, was convicted of committing perjury in responding to
allegations that he was a Soviet spy. Hiss maintained his innocence until his death
and publicly suggested that his prosecution was a political hit job by Richard Nixon
to mobilize public opposition to communism. Id. at 294. In granting the request to
unseal the fifty-year old grand jury materials, the court noted the significant passage
MARKUS/MOSS
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00015092.jpg |
| File Size | 740.9 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,936 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 18:52:40.009705 |