Last fall, the sons of Ethel Rosenberg forced the release of newly declassified documents related to her case, including the bombshell NSA memorandum – dated eleven days after Ethel’s arrest in 1950 – confirming that the US government knew she was not a spy long before her trial and execution. Authored by a top U.S. codebreaker who decrypted secret Soviet communications, the memo revealed his conclusion from reviewing Soviet Intelligence that Ethel Rosenberg was not a spy.

Rosenberg sons Michael and Robert Meeropol consider the memo the “smoking gun” in their mother’s case and, together with the RFC, relaunched the campaign to Exonerate Ethel Rosenberg, calling on President Joe Biden to issue a posthumous exoneration for her wrongful conviction and execution before he left office.

In the final months of Biden’s presidency, thousands of our community members signed and shared the petition and emailed letters to the Office of the Pardon Attorney. Congressman Jim McGovern and his staff, to whom we are profoundly grateful, championed the effort, sending an official request that Biden exonerate Ethel and advocating for her exoneration in articles and on television programs. Recent coverage in Democracy Now! and PBS NewsHour, along with articles and op eds in The Boston Globe, The Nation, AP News, Bloomberg, Just Security and other publications underscored the arguments for Ethel’s exoneration. Countless organizations and individuals shared our petition and calls to action with their communities.

Despite our collective efforts, President Biden did not act on our request, just as his predecessor, President Obama, did not act in 2017 when presented with the campaign’s first petition.

We are deeply disappointed in President Biden’s failure to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg. Despite overwhelming evidence that Ethel was not a spy and the government knew this before convicting and executing her, President Biden did not have the courage to admit our government’s wrongful actions and apologize.

We know Ethel's case is personal for many of you. We've received countless messages from supporters whose families endured the fear and uncertainty of the McCarthy Era, including some who protested during the 1950’s to save the Rosenbergs. Here's just one example:

"I remember the anguish and the horror of the Rosenberg case. We tried so hard to stop what happened. I don't know how your grandparents felt, but I do know that their execution was the height of craven motivations and very political and had nothing to do with justice or keeping us safe from the Soviets. I know Ethel was innocent and so did my parents. A woman so grossly betrayed that it takes one's breath away."

We are very grateful for the support of thousands of people who helped us correct the historical record. We’re not finished with this fight; stay tuned for additional updates. In the meantime, thank you for standing in solidarity with the RFC and Ethel and Julius Rosenberg’s family.