Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Homeland Security and the Rosenberg Diaries

Richard Widmann here tries to spin a conspiracy around the involvement of Homeland Security in locating the Rosenberg diaries. He says: 
it is certainly surprising, to me at least, that ICE and Homeland Security spend their time looking for lost documents from the Second World War 
However, as can be seen here, a simple Google search would have told him that Homeland Security investigates stolen cultural artifacts, and the diaries clearly qualified as stolen: 
At the conclusion of the Nuremberg Trials, Kempner returned to the United States and lived in Lansdowne, Pa. Contrary to law and proper procedure, Kempner removed various documents, including the Rosenberg Diary, from U.S. government facilities in Nuremberg and retained them until his death in 1993.

HSI investigation

In November 2012, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware and HSI special agents received information from an art security specialist, who was working with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, regarding the search for Rosenberg Diary. The Rosenberg Diary was subsequently located and seized pursuant to a warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

HSI plays a leading role in criminal investigations that involve the illegal importation and distribution of cultural property, including the illicit trafficking of cultural property, especially objects that have been reported lost or stolen. The HSI Office of International Affairs, through its 75 attaché offices in 48 countries, works closely with foreign governments to conduct joint investigations, when possible.
Should we expect deniers to check such facts before jumping to paranoid conclusions?