Biography
Edward J. Fitzgerald was a former New Deal government official, named by the informer Elizabeth Bentley, who was prosecuted as the second test case of the 1954 Compulsory Testimony (immunity) Act after refusing to answer a federal grand jury investigating alleged wartime espionage. He was convicted of contempt in August 1955, sentenced to six months, and appealed, calling the case 'a curtain raiser for the 1956 elections.'
The July 30, 1956 National Guardian reported that the New York federal appeals court upheld Edward Fitzgerald’s contempt conviction on July 6 and that he planned a further Supreme Court appeal. The six-month sentence was imposed punishment; this appellate report does not document its completed service. National Guardian, July 30, 1956, p. 3.
