Alden Whitman v. United States

Alden Whitman, a copy reader on the New York Times, was found guilty on all 19 counts of an indictment charging him with refusing to answer certain questions put to him by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, 1 and was given a suspended sentence of imprisonment for six months and a fine of $500. He appeals.

Whitman presents five arguments for reversal: (1) The scope of the topic under inquiry by the Subcommittee was too broad and indefinite to illuminate the pertinency of the questions in the indictment; (2) the questions in the indictment are not pertinent to any authorized inquiry…