Investigation of Communist activities in Seattle, Wash., area. Hearings, Part 3

by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities

Mr. Tavenner. Were you at any time a member of the Communist Party?

Mr. O’Connell. I am not now and I have never been a member of the Communist Party.

Mr. Tavenner. You stated a desire to explain the testimony of Mr. Louis Budenz given at the Canwell hearings.

Mr. O’Connell. Yes. At the Canwell hearings, Mr. Budenz—I think to save time, and I want to save time, Mr. Budenz testified that—I think the substance of his testimony was that he did not know whether or not I was a Communist, very much like Mrs. Hartle does. I think it is significant that she was the second top Communist in the State of Washington; and yet if I were the leading Communist that she says I was out there, she still is not sure whether I was or not. I think that is quite significant.

Likewise with Budenz. He was not sure whether I was Communist, but he had heard some discussion about me in the Communist Party headquarters in New York. As far as he knew, in meetings that he had heard, I was supposed to be all right and I was a person they could get along with. He made many statements of that kind. Then he went into the statement about the assassination of Leon Trotsky, which to the press in the State of Washington, left the impression that particularly somehow or other I was involved. So I sued Mr. Budenz in a civil suit in the Superior Court of King County the very next day.

Mr. Willis. In New York?

Mr. O’Connell. No; in the State of Washington—Seattle, Wash. I sued him for libel for the statements that he made about me. I fixed the sum of damages at $1,500,000. He was served with subpena, legally served with a summons, rather, in that suit, and through his attorneys defended the suit by taking advantage of his immunity as a legislative witness before the State legislative committee. He did not defend it.

Mr. Willis. What do you mean, he did not defend it?

Mr. O’Connell. I mean instead of letting the thing come to trial, instead of letting the issue come to trial on facts, to be tried on the facts, and so on, he and his attorneys hid behind his legislative immunity that he was in the State of Washington by virtue of a subpena to appear before the legislative committee of the State of Washington and under the laws of the State could not be legally served with a summons and sued in the State. The case was dismissed on that ground.

Mr. Tavenner. Was this the testimony to which you referred: