# United States: Senator Joseph McCarthy's subcommittee questions New York Post editor James Wechsler, 1953

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 3 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-26.

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]

- Country: [United States](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/us) (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)
- Where: United States
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Surveillance and subpoenas
- Stage: Pressure (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/surveillance_and_subpoenas#stage-pressure)
- Head of government at the time: [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/dwight-d-eisenhower)
- Issue of the day: By 1953, McCarthy's investigations were examining journalists and other public figures over Communist Party ties from decades earlier, treating a subject's political past as grounds for a congressional hearing regardless of their later, publicly stated views.
- Outcome: Unknown. McCarthy's subcommittee did not formally sanction Wechsler, who remained editor of the New York Post, though he lost a television spot the following year after being called a "controversial personality."
- Era: The 1950s

## 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."[1][2][3][4]

## What reason was given

McCarthy 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."[3][4]

## Timeline

- 1953: United States: Senator Joseph McCarthy's subcommittee questions New York Post editor James Wechsler, 1953

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Joseph McCarthy](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/joseph-mccarthy) | enforced | U.S. Senator from Wisconsin |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [New York Post](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/new-york-post-historical) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. American Experience: McCarthy (film transcript). https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/mccarthy/ (American Experience: McCarthy (film transcript)).
2. James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network). https://www.hnn.us/article/james-wechsler-the-editor-who-dared-challenge-j-ed (James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network), 2004-01-05).
3. McCarthy and His Friends (Reason). https://reason.com/2008/02/14/mccarthy-and-his-friends/ (McCarthy and His Friends (Reason), 2008-02-14).

## Claims cited

[1] James Wechsler was called before Senator Joseph McCarthy's Senate subcommittee, where Wechsler confronted his questioners, according to History News Network. Quote: "He was hauled before the senator's Senate committee in a nasty spectacle in which Wechsler confronted his inquisitors." Source: James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network), 2004-01-05. James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network). https://www.hnn.us/article/james-wechsler-the-editor-who-dared-challenge-j-ed Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/855, checked 2026-09-26.

[2] 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. Quote: "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." Source: McCarthy and His Friends (Reason), 2008-02-14. McCarthy and His Friends (Reason). https://reason.com/2008/02/14/mccarthy-and-his-friends/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/856, checked 2026-09-26.

[3] 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. Quote: "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." Source: American Experience: McCarthy (film transcript). American Experience: McCarthy (film transcript). https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/mccarthy/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/857, checked 2026-09-26.

[4] In 1954, Wechsler was removed from the television program Starring the Editors after being described as a "controversial personality," according to History News Network. Quote: "In 1954 he was thrown off a popular TV show, "Starring the Editors," for being a "controversial personality."" Source: James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network), 2004-01-05. James Wechsler: The Editor Who Dared Challenge J. Edgar Hoover (History News Network). https://www.hnn.us/article/james-wechsler-the-editor-who-dared-challenge-j-ed Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/858, checked 2026-09-26.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1953-us-wechsler-mccarthy-subpoena. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.