to headquarters for questioning (Carmichael, 1993).
Rosenberg had been accused by his brother-in-law, David Greenglass, of being a Soviet agent and selling atomic secrets to the Russians. Rosenberg's reaction was "Bring him here-- I'll call him a liar to his face." Later that day, Rosenberg retained Emanuel Bloch to represent him. Bloch's attempts were blocked and on the evening of July 17, 1950, agents arrested Rosenberg, and then conducted a complete shakedown of the apartment. Although the FBI had some opinions concerning Ethel's spying adventures, the case against her was weaker than that against Rosenberg, which rested entirely on the statements of his cousin.
The director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover issued priority orders for his agents to get all they could on Ethel. "There
is no question. . .if Julius Rosenberg would furnish details of his extensive espionage activities, it would be possible to proceed against other individuals . [P]roceeding against his wife might serve as a lever in this matter"(Radosh & Milton, 1983, 99).
Unable to verify anything against Ethel, with the exception of the fact that she had been with her husband on the dates that the Greenglasses said, the FBI arrested Ethel on August 11, 1950, as she walked to catch a subway after testifying before a grand jury. Because of the "serious threat" of allowing her to deal with her family, she was imprisoned immediately, leaving her two young sons to fend for themselves (Carmichael, 1993).
Over the next several months, while both husband and wife were in separate jail cells, the FBI and the Justice Department struggled to build a convincing case, a task made harder by the fact that they had chosen the wrong strategy, and Ethel had no intention of ever testifying against her husband (Carmichael, 1993).
While the Rosenberg's sit in jail, this is a good time in the narrative to reflect on the events that led to this incarceration.
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