John Jacob Abt was an American lawyer and politician, who spent most of his career as chief counsel to the Communist Party USA and was a member of the Communist Party and the Soviet spy network "Ware Group" as alleged by Whittaker Chambers.
21 Facts About John Abt
1.
2.
John Abt was a graduate of the University of Chicago, and from its law school.
3.
John Abt was the Chief of Litigation, Agricultural Adjustment Administration from 1933 to 1935, assistant general counsel of the Works Progress Administration in 1935, chief counsel to Senator Robert La Follette, Jr.
4.
In February 1948, Abt left the Amalgamated and Lee Pressman left the CIO to go work for the Progressive Party to support its presidential candidate, former Vice President Henry A Wallace.
5.
John Abt supported the candidacy in New York of Vito Marcantonio, a leader of the American Labor Party.
6.
From 1951 to 1953, John Abt joined Vito Marcantonio and Joseph Forer in defending the CPUSA on a charge from the McCarran Act.
7.
In January 1955 John Abt defended Claude Lightfoot in Chicago, an African-American Communist on trial under the 1940 Smith Act for belonging to a group that advocates the overthrow of the US government.
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Whittaker Chambers Lee Pressman Vito Marcantonio Joseph Forer Angela Davis Alger Hiss 8.
In 1960, John Abt again defended the CPUSA before the US Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the McCarran Act.
9.
John Abt did not learn of Oswald's request until the following day.
10.
John Abt told reporters that he had received no request either from Oswald or from anyone on his behalf to represent him, and so was in no position to give a definite answer.
11.
John Abt was one of the first attorneys to represent Angela Davis for her alleged involvement in the 1970 Marin County courthouse incident.
12.
John Abt was a member of the Ware Group, a covert organization of Communist Party operatives within the United States government in the 1930s, which actively aided Soviet intelligence by passing on government information, as well as furnishing assistance to members of the CPUSA.
13.
John Abt's sister, Marion Bachrach, was a member of the group.
14.
John Abt stated that he had no information about the political views of his former law school classmate Alger Hiss and specifically denied that Hiss was a participant in this Washington group.
15.
John Abt indicated that in at least one meeting of his group, perhaps two, he had met Soviet intelligence agent J Peters.
16.
John Abt became a power among the back-room Reds who steered Henry Wallace through the presidential campaign.
17.
John Abt was requested for legal assistance by Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald upon Oswald's arrests.
18.
An FBI document dated Nov 23,1963, states that police captain Will Fritz confirmed that Oswald was sent a telegram from a Chicago attorney, but Fritz did not deliver it to Oswald as Oswald had expressly asked for John Abt to defend him.
19.
On March 14,1937, John Abt married editor and activist Jessica Smith Ware, widow of Harold Ware; she died in 1983.
20.
In 1984, on his 80th birthday, John Abt admitted to being a long-time member of the CPUSA.
21.
John Abt's memoir appeared in print in 1993, some two years after his death in 1991.