Incident
United States: Senator Joseph McCarthy's subcommittee questions New York Post editor James Wechsler, 1953
In 1953, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, a Senate panel led by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, questioned New York Post editor James Wechsler about his membership in the Young Communist League in the 1930s. McCarthy suggested in the hearing that a former Communist could use control of a newspaper to spread material favoring Communism while posing as an anti-Communist.1
What happened
James Wechsler, editor of the New York Post newspaper, was called before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, a panel chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, after the Post published articles critical of the senator. Wechsler had belonged to the Young Communist League as a Columbia University student in the 1930s and had since written against Communism. In the hearing, McCarthy said a way to spread material favoring Communism would be for someone to misleadingly claim they had deserted the Communist Party and then use control of a newspaper to go after people who were actually opposed to Communism, implying that Wechsler's anti-Communist writing could be such a cover. Wechsler testified that the conscience of the country and the press would rise up against what he called "this attempt to intimidate newspapers whose only crime is that they have been critical of Joe McCarthy." The exchange was one of several instances in which McCarthy's subcommittee summoned journalists over Communist Party ties from years earlier. In 1954, Wechsler was removed from the television program Starring the Editors after being described as a "controversial personality."1234
What reason was given
Stated justificationMcCarthy told Wechsler that a way to spread material favoring Communism would be for someone to misleadingly claim to have deserted the Communist Party and then use control of a newspaper to "attack and smear anybody who actually was fighting Communism."2
What changed for reporting
Wechsler testified that the subcommittee's questioning was "this attempt to intimidate newspapers whose only crime is that they have been critical of Joe McCarthy," and in 1954 he was removed from the television program Starring the Editors after being called a "controversial personality."34
Timeline
1953
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph McCarthy | enforced | U.S. Senator from Wisconsin |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| New York Post | outlet | affected |
Sources
- American Experience: McCarthy (film transcript)
- James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network)
- McCarthy and His Friends (Reason)
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- James Wechsler was called before Senator Joseph McCarthy's Senate subcommittee, where Wechsler confronted his questioners, according to History News Network.
He was hauled before the senator's Senate committee in a nasty spectacle in which Wechsler confronted his inquisitors.
James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network), James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network), 2004-01-05.Claim 855, checked 2026-09-26. - Senator McCarthy said a way to spread material favoring Communism would be to misleadingly claim to have deserted the party and then use control of a newspaper to "attack and smear anybody who actually was fighting Communism," according to Reason magazine.
would be to claim that we deserted the party and, if we got in control of the paper, use that paper to attack and smear anybody who actually was fighting Communism.
McCarthy and His Friends (Reason), McCarthy and His Friends (Reason), 2008-02-14.Claim 856, checked 2026-09-26. - James Wechsler testified that the questioning amounted to "this attempt to intimidate newspapers whose only crime is that they have been critical of Joe McCarthy," according to PBS's American Experience.
I think the issues raised by Senator McCarthy's attack on the post and myself are perfectly plain. I believe that the conscience of the country and the press will finally rise up against this attempt to intimidate newspapers whose only crime is that they have been critical of Joe McCarthy.
American Experience: McCarthy (film transcript), American Experience: McCarthy (film transcript).Claim 857, checked 2026-09-26. - In 1954, Wechsler was removed from the television program Starring the Editors after being described as a "controversial personality," according to History News Network.
In 1954 he was thrown off a popular TV show, "Starring the Editors," for being a "controversial personality."
James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network), James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network), 2004-01-05.Claim 858, checked 2026-09-26.