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Justice Michael A. Musmanno gestures during his testimony before the House Committee on Judiciary, Washington, D. C., April 7, 1954.
Credit: Courtesy Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia
In April 1954, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Michael A. Musmanno testified before the House Judiciary Committee during its hearings on a proposed bill to outlaw the Communist Party in the United States. One of the authors of the bill, Musmanno told the Committee that American Communists comprised a "fifth column," ready to assist a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States.