Roy Cohn

Roy Marcus Cohn (February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer who came to prominence during the investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy into Communism in the government and especially during the Army-McCarthy Hearings. While widely unpopular during his lifetime, he nonetheless wielded tremendous political power at times. Cohn, a member of the Democratic Party, was known to be relentlessly homophobic, and fought against human and civil rights for most of his career. This continued even after he was outed as a homosexual. He died of AIDS in 1986.

Anti-Communist investigations

As Saypol's assistant at the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, Cohn helped to win a number of high-profile anti-Communist cases. He was known for his zealous prosecution of William Remington (a former Commerce Department employee whom he convicted of perjury relating to his membership in the Communist Party), for the prosecution of eleven Communist Party leaders for sedition under the Smith Act, and for his work in the Alger Hiss case. But Cohn was most famous for his prominent role in the 1951 espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Cohn's cross-examination of Ethel's brother produced the testimony (later found to be perjured) that was mostly responsible for the Rosenbergs' conviction and execution.

Related Topics:
Manhattan - William Remington - Commerce Department - Perjury - Communist Party - Sedition - Smith Act - Alger Hiss - 1951 - Espionage - Julius - Ethel Rosenberg

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Cohn took great pride in the Rosenberg case, and claimed to have played an even greater part than his public role: he said in his autobiography that his own influence had led to both Saypol and Judge Irving Kaufman (a family friend) being appointed to the case, and that Kaufman had imposed the death penalty on Cohn's personal advice.

Related Topics:
Autobiography - Irving Kaufman - Death penalty

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The Rosenberg trial brought the 24-year-old Cohn to the attention of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who recommended him to McCarthy. He soon became McCarthy's chief counsel—chosen over Robert Kennedy—and gained power nearly equal to McCarthy's in the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, becoming known for his aggressive questioning of suspected communists. After his appointment, Cohn continued to perform as if he were a prosecutor rather than grand jury. Cohn tended to be uninclined to hold the hearing in open forums. This mixed well with McCarthy's preference for holding "executive sessions" and "off-the-record" sessions far away from the Capitol in order to minimize public scrutiny and question witnesses. Cohn, though chosen in part to avoid accusations of an anti-semitic motivation for the investigations, was given free rein in pursuit of investigations. McCarthy would come to admit in regards to Cohn that "putting a young man in charge of other men doesn't work out too well."

Related Topics:
FBI - J. Edgar Hoover - Robert Kennedy - Senate - Grand jury - Anti-semitic

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McCarthy arranged for Cohn's long-time lover, G. David Schine, to be given leave from the Army to serve on the subcommittee; this fueled clashes with the Army which later contributed to McCarthy's public discrediting. After McCarthy was censured in 1954, Cohn resigned and went into private practice.

Related Topics:
G. David Schine - 1954

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When the NBC television network produced a movie in the early 1980s about McCarthy's career, Tailgunner Joe, Cohn responded by writing a paperback book criticizing the movie for factual errors and defending McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade.

Related Topics:
NBC - Television network - 1980s

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