Mr. ARENS. In the last 10 years have you traveled abroad? Mr. ARENS. Yes, sir. (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. I display to you now, if you please, sir, a photostatic reproduction of a passport application signed by Anthony Krchmarek, dated July 1950, bearing your photograph, in which the applicant for the passport states that he wishes to go to Czechoslovakia for the purpose of visiting relatives and gathering material for writing. Kindly look at that document, particularly the signature there, and tell this committee whether or not that is a true and correct reproduction of an application filed by yourself to travel to Czechoslovakia? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to identify the document on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. You will observe on this photostatic reproduction that the witness to your signature is Edward Chaka. Did you solicit Mr. Chaka to sign your passport application as a witness to your signature? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. Did you travel to Czechoslovakia in 1950? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. (Document marked "Krchmarek Exhibit No. 3" and retained in committee files.) Mr. ARENS. Have you ever used a name other than the name Anthony Krchmarek? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. I display to you now, if you please, sir, thermofax reproductions of four articles, one appearing in Political Affairs and the others in the Communist Worker of three various dates, in which the name Mike Meadows appears as the byline on these articles. Kindly glance at those articles and tell this committee whether or not those articles truly and accurately reflect articles written by you and published in these respective publications. Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to identify the documents. (Documents marked "Krchmarek Exhibit No. 4" and retained in committee files.) The CHAIRMAN. Is there evidence that they are one and the same person? Mr. ARENS. Yes, sir. In the course of your Smith Act trial, a witness or witnesses identified you, did they not, as a person known within the Communist Party under the name of Mike Meadows? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. Mr. Krchmarek, have you been in attendance in Czecho slovakia, at the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. Mr. Krchmarek, before this committee at a time and place which cannot be revealed to the public for security reasons, man by the name of Frantisek Tisler testified under oath, in the pres ence of a quorum of this committee, in which the chairman and another member of the committee participated. Mr. Tisler stated that he had been, until July or August of 1959, a military attaché of the Czechoslovakian Embassy, and he recited to this committee a number of facts and circumstances under oath. In the course of his testimony, the following appears: In order to assist Krchmarek in this trial alluding to the Smith Act trial in which you were then a defendantfunds were transferred from members of the embassy staff to intermediaries, who subsequently saw to it that these funds were used to aid Krchmarek in his defense during the trial for alleged violations of the Smith Act. Were funds, to your certain knowledge, transferred from members of the embassy staff to intermediaries to be used in the defense of yourself in the Smith Act trial? (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. No; they were not. Mr. ARENS. Were you, in 1953, in contact with representatives of the embassy staff of the Czechoslovakian Government in Washington? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Did you, in 1958, transmit a report to Ambassador Petrzelka of the Czechosolvakian Embassy in Washington? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the grounds given. Mr. ARENS. I should like to read you some testimony bearing on that subject matter which was given under oath before this committee by Colonel Tisler: I recall that in December 1958 Ambassador Petrzelka sent a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague about the 4 November 1958 elections in the United States. This report contained an analysis of the election, and attached to this report were notes from Krchmarek regarding these elections. Is that testimony true and correct? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Colonel Tisler likewise testified under oath that while you were in Prague in a period around 1950 he knew that you were associated with the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute. Is that testimony true or is it in error? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Is the Czechoslovak Institute an institute operating in Czechoslovakia for the purpose of spreading Communist propaganda to Czech and Slovak minorities abroad? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. Colonel Tisler testified that it was. Was he in error when he gave that testimony? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Did you meet from time to time in the 1950's with arious members of the embassy staff, of the Czechoslovakian Embassy? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer for the reasons given before. Mr. ARENS. I should like to read you, sir, some more testimony ven under oath by Colonel Tisler: Krchmarek met various members of the embassy staff on various occasions and rnished them with information on a wide variety of topics. Is that testimony true or is it in error? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer as stated before. Mr. ARENS. Do you honestly apprehend, sir, that if you told this committee truthfully whether or not Colonel Tisler's statement here is the truth, you would be supplying information which might be used against you in a criminal proceeding? (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. First of all, I am declining on all the grounds I have given before. Secondly, there is a possibility— Mr. ARENS. I should like to read you some more testimony: *** Krchmarek met Ambassador Petrzelka in New York during August 1958, and at this meeting Krchmarek told Petrzelka that Krchmarek had recently been made a member of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the United States of America. Is that testimony a true account of the facts, or is it in any way in error? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. I should like to continue reading the testimony given under oath before this committee by Colonel Tisler: At this meeting Krchmarek informed Petrzelka as to the trends and develop ments which were taking place within the Communist Party of the United States of America. Is that testimony true or is it in error? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. This information was subsequently relayed by Petrzelka to the International Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. I should like to read some more testimony from Colonel Tisler and give you an opportunity, if you please, sir, to affirm or deny its validity. I mentioned earlier that the Czechoslovak Government made contributions to Krchmarek's defense fund at the time that Krchmarek was on trial for violations of the Smith Act. I am also aware of the fact that Krchmarek had requested that Ambassador Petrzelka obtain financial support from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia for the activities of the Communist Party of the United States. Is that testimony true or is that testimony false? (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. That is false. It is just as false as the previous claim that was made in there. I deny it completely. Mr. ARENS. Do you likewise, sir, then, deny the validity of the testimony which I read to you heretofore? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. Now answer this, if you please, sir, and tell us whether or not this is true or false: At the same time, I know that Ambassador Petrzelka has paid Krchmarek funds to cover travel expenses involved in Krchmarek meeting Ambassador Petrzelka in New York. Will you deny that while under oath? Mr. KRCHMAREK. Yes, sir. Yes, I deny that. Mr. ARENS (reading): In January 1956 Petrzelka advised Prague that Krchmarek was without funds and it was Ambassador Petrzelka's recommendation that he be authorized to paj Krchmarek $3,000 for living expenses and propaganda activities. Is that testimony true or false? Do you know whether or not that testimony is true or false? Mr. KRCHMAREK. There are about five or six different things in there. (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. ARENS. I will strike the question. Did you at any time receive funds from the Czechoslovak Embassy? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I did not. Mr. ARENS. Did you at any time receive funds from any person known by you to be in an official connection with the Czechoslovak Embassy? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I did not. Mr. ARENS. Did you at any time receive funds from any person known by you to be an official of the Czechoslovak Government? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I did not. Mr. ARENS. Have you received money, which, to your knowledge, was transmitted from either the Czechoslovak Government, an entity of the Czechoslovak Government, or via the Czechoslovak Consular Embassy in Washington? Mr. KRCHMAREK. To my best knowledge, I received no such funds. Mr. ARENS. Have you met in the course of the 1950's with Ambassador Petrzelka? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Was Colonel Tisler's testimony true when he stated under oath that you furnished information to Ambassador Petrzelka? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the grounds given. before. Mr. SCHERER. Have you received any funds from persons known to you to be identified with the Communist Party? (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that. Have you received funds for traveling expenses from members of the Communist Party? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that for the same reasons given before. Mr. ARENS. Do you know a man by the name of Charles Musil? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Was Musil an intermediary between yourself and Ambassador Petrzelka? Mr. KRCHMAREK. No; he was not. Mr. ARENS. Do you know whether or not Musil was in contact in the 1950's, in January of 1956, to be specific, with Ambassador Petrzelka? Mr. KRCHMAREK. Do I have knowledge? Mr. ARENS. Yes, sir. (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. I have no such knowledge. Mr. ARENS. When did you last have a conversation with Charles Musil? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the grounds given before. Mr. SCHERER. Counsel, did you ask this witness whether he knows Colonel Tisler? Mr. ARENS. Did you write for Nova Doba? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the same grounds. Mr. ARENS. During the course of your tenure as head of the Communist Party of Ohio, did you have persons known by you to be members of the Communist Party employed in factories working on defense contracts? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Did you at any time transmit to Ambassador Petrzelka information acquired by you from members of the Communist Party who were, to your knowledge, working in defense plants? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I didn't get that question. Mr. ARENS. Did you at any time transmit any information to Ambassador Petrzelka, which information you acquired from members of the Communist Party who were working in defense plants? (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. I want to make it clear to the committee once and for all that I did not at any time transmit any kind of secret or confidential material to Mr. Petrzelka or anyone else. Mr. ARENS. What did you transmit to him? (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Was the testimony of Colonel Tisler, given under oath. that to his certain knowledge you were transmitting information to Ambassador Petrzelka, a fabrication? Mr. KRCHMAREK. You want an opinion? Mr. ARENS. Was it true? (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the same before. grounds as Mr. ARENS. Are you now, this instant, the chairman of the Communist Party of Ohio? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer on the same grounds given before. Mr. ARENS. Have you ever registered under the provisions of the Foreign Agents Registration Act as the agent of a foreign power! (The witness conferred with his counsel.) Mr. KRCHMAREK. I did not and there is no occasion for me to do so. Mr. SCHERER. What position do you hold in the Communist Party in the State of Ohio? Mr. KRCHMAREK. I decline to answer that on the grounds given before. Mr. SCHERER. You told the press, the Scripps-Howard press, on May 11, just a week or so ago, that your many years of activity in the Communist Party of the United States are well known. You said specifically, "I never denied my affiliation with the Communist Party." Did you tell that to a representative of the Scripps-Howard press! (The witness conferred with his counsel.) |